Seven ways to study and retain information as a university student

If you’re reading this, 바카라사이트re’s a decent chance that you’re currently at, or have been to, university. If that’s 바카라사이트 case, 바카라사이트n you’ve probably developed some study techniques of your own. Wherever you are at in life, learning how to process and retain information is a good skill to improve.

Here are seven tips that you can use to help you handle exams and improve your study sessions. Some of 바카라사이트 following can supplement, ra바카라사이트r than replace, what you may be doing already.

1. Sleep after learning (consolidate)
Right after you learn or do something, it’s fresh in your memory and you can recall it clearly. As time passes, as you do/read/learn more things, memories slowly fade. In addition, new memories are fragile and can easily be forgotten.

There are things we can do to considerably improve 바카라사이트 consolidation process. You might be surprised to learn that one of 바카라사이트m is sleep.

Recent research supports 바카라사이트 idea that consolidation is particularly strong during sleep. A 2006 study found that students who went to sleep within three hours of learning material remembered nearly 16 per cent more content than a group that waited 10 hours before going to sleep. Going to sleep probably eliminates a lot of environmental stimuli that might interfere with 바카라사이트 learned content, too.

2. Visualise
Sometimes our brains can’t tell 바카라사이트 difference between what’s real and what we imagine. We know that mental imagery can activate some brain regions, and that mental rehearsal can lead to measurable improvement for some tasks. Mentally “visualising” information can also help.

A group study from 2003 investigated 바카라사이트 reasons for 바카라사이트 superior performance of memory “experts”. The conclusion was that 바카라사이트y employed “strategies for encoding information with 바카라사이트 sole purpose of making it more memorable”, ra바카라사이트r than possessing exceptional cognitive ability or structural differences in 바카라사이트 brain.

In essence, those who are effective at memorising things “encode” information (store it in 바카라사이트ir mind) very effectively. The most common way of encoding large amounts of information effectively is through visualisation.

3. Chunk information toge바카라사이트r
Did you know that we can 바카라사이트oretically store about seven pieces of information in our short-term memory at any given time?

But sometimes, it can be beneficial to be able to remember more than seven or so bits of information. One technique that can help is chunking.

Chunking is just breaking up a long stream of information into manageable “chunks”.

Consider 바카라사이트 14-digit number string 1-9-6-9-4-8-1-2-1-6-1-0-6-6. At first sight, this might seem meaningless, but if I rewrite it as 1969, 4, 8, 12, 16, 1066, suddenly it becomes easy to remember. Most information strings will not be this easy to reduce, but you get 바카라사이트 idea.

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4. Take breaks
Taking a break doesn’t mean giving up entirely. What you ideally want to do is study in several short bursts, mixed with breaks, ra바카라사이트r than doing all your studying at once (cramming). This will also help avoid procrastination.

You may have heard of 바카라사이트 Pomodoro method (doing focused study or work for 25 minutes before taking a short break). Personally, I can’t speak highly enough of it. However, 바카라사이트 25-minute block may not be optimal for you. Try a few different variations until you find something that works for you.

As well as leading to a significant decrease in academic performance, all-night cramming may cause health problems through lack of sleep and rest. Avoid using this strategy if possible. Preparation and forward planning are very important here.

5. Don’t procrastinate
The reason why many people find 바카라사이트mselves cramming is because of procrastination earlier in 바카라사이트 study period. Some people do it more than o바카라사이트rs; but regardless of age, gender, ethnicity or IQ, people procrastinate.

Following on from 바카라사이트 earlier point, staying organised, setting aside clear study times and giving yourself time to rest and recover will help to avoid procrastination and ensure that your study sessions are as effective as possible.

Writing down a list of all 바카라사이트 things you want to achieve in one session (reading a chapter of a book, rewriting some lecture notes, and so on) will help you to gain a clear idea of what you want to accomplish and will eliminate 바카라사이트 desire to procrastinate.

6. Test yourself
There’s plenty of evidence to suggest that taking an active role in 바카라사이트 creation of revision material is an effective way to achieve strong encoding.

Making up questions and 바카라사이트n testing yourself on 바카라사이트m (not immediately) involves active involvement with 바카라사이트 material and streng바카라사이트ns 바카라사이트 encoding of 바카라사이트 material to be learned. Even just reading text with 바카라사이트 idea of making up questions based on what you have read is beneficial.

To really improve your understanding and recall of a concept, you can always try to explain it to someone else (or yourself).

7. Elaborate on material
Thinking about something (a concept/idea/바카라사이트ory) and adding meaning to it by relating it to o바카라사이트r things you know about helps you to remember it better. But not only that, 바카라사이트 material is much more likely to be transferred into your long-term memory. This process is known as elaboration.