Effective Study Systems

1. Spacing

Spacing is the practice of revisiting information multiple times over an extended period of time. It is beneficial to students because it builds in opportunities for retention, application, and transfer skills. These skills are essential for effective long-term learning.

Practicing spacing has been shown to be more effective than cramming sessions, because you’re more likely to remember the information.

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Start early

Create your study schedule early on in the semester.
Plan to take breaks between the initial exposure of information and the review period. Example: doing a class reading the day before the lecture.

Review older material during study sessions

Don’t just review recent material!
Intentionally add in study sessions that include reviewing material from earlier in the semester.

Homework does not replace intentional review/studying

Your schedule should include both studying AND doing assigned work.

Plan for short/frequent study sessions

Build in short, frequent review blocks into your schedule.
Make time for a few minutes at the start of a work block to review.
- Examples: looking over flash cards/lecture notes.
Make time at the end of the work block to make a study/review tool.
- Examples: list of the main points; write a summary paragraph; create a few multiple-choice questions

2. Interleaving

The interleaving strategy is choosing to intentionally review material out of the order that it was presented to you in your courses.
When you use the interleaved practice by mixing different problem types or concepts during review, it can result in increases in understanding, and you are more likely to remember the material longterm.

The intentional mixing of problem types or concepts during studying may result in more mistakes early on in studying or completing
assignments, but it also aids you in learning how to better recognize the different concepts/problems and assist with making connections in the long-term.

Plus, you’re very likely to see the problems/concepts presented in random orders on an exam anyway, so you can improve your overall performance by studying the material in a similar fashion.

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Mix up your materials

When a course presents different concepts or topics that you need to learn/prepare/review, when approaching your work, you should mix them up rather than studying them in blocks (aka one subject at a time).

Think about the relationships between topics/concepts

As you review your materials for class, you’ll want to consider how the concepts intersect and differ.
You may decide to use dual coding techniques like charts, diagrams, or concept maps to compare and contrast the topics.

Mix similar concepts/topics

Especially when you are first practicing interleaving, you want to mix together concepts that are similar to each other so that you can identify the similarities and differences in the concepts and be able to better differentiate between the two on examinations.
If you blend two different courses or concepts from the same class period that are completely different from each other, it will be challenging to gain the benefits of the interleaving strategy.

Mix blocked practice materials

When you are given or if you create review materials that are in a blocked format (aka one concept/topic at a time), you should intentionally mix the problems/information out of order during your review.

3. Retrieval Practice

Retrieval practice is a flexible strategy in which you bring information from long-term memory to the front of your mind without looking at reference materials.

Retrieval practice promotes meaningful learning by helping learners to flexibly apply previous knowledge to new situations and in new ways, as well as providing feedback on their understanding of concepts.

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Write it out

Get out a blank piece of paper and write down/sketch out everything you remember about a particular topic from memory.
Compare what you put down to what is in your course materials to identify what you missed or forgot, what you loosely remembered or got wrong, and what you got right.
You can use this information as a rule of thumb for what you need to go back and study again by spending the most amount of time studying what you forgot, a medium amount of time on what you got wrong/loosely remembered, and the least amount of time on what you got right.

Use practice quizzes or tests

If your professor gives you a practice quiz or test, use that as a way to prepare for assessments.
You can make your own practice quizzes and tests from homework assignments or from the review/study tools you make.
Try to match any practice quizzes/tests you make to how your teacher will test you so that you can prepare for the assessments appropriately.

Use flashcards

Flash cards are a great way to practice retrieval by using the cue on the front of the card to recall the information on the back.
Be intentional when looking at the back of the card to make sure you correctly retrieved the information by reading the front and back of the card aloud after checking if you were correct.

Create mind maps, timelines, infographics, etc., from memory

Using a visual tool, like a mind/concept map, is a great way to organize information/ideas quickly and easily.
These types of tools are also useful when comparing or looking at the relationships between concepts or theories.
Start by creating one based on information covered in lectures or readings by looking at the course materials.
When reviewing, practice drawing them out from memory and checking your work.

Reference:
Sumeracki, M., Nebel, C., Kuepper-Tezel, C., & Need Kaminske, A. (2023). Ace that test: A student’s guide to learning better. Routledge