Study techniques help you in fast and efficient learning. Making an effective plan for studying is key to academic success. Using the best study techniques can make a significant difference. Some common traditional methods include rereading notes or highlighting texts. These might not always be the most effective. Therefore we will explore the top and proven study techniques
in this article. Study smarter, not harder, and get higher grades by retaining knowledge.
What are the Best Study Techniques?
Study techniques are organized strategies and approaches that students use to effectively acquire, understand, retain, and apply knowledge.
These techniques are designed to enhance the learning process and help students reach a deeper level of understanding and retention of information.
Best study techniques are essential tools for academic success and have several key purposes:
Facilitate learning: Study methods provide a clear structure and approach to learning. They help students organize information in a logical and understandable way, making it easier to assimilate new concepts and data.
Improve retention: These techniques are designed to help students remember and retain information over the long term. By using methods such as spaced repetition or elaboration, neural connections are strengthened and the ability to recall crucial information is improved.
Increase understanding: Study methods encourage deep understanding of concepts. Rather than memorizing superficially, students strive to understand the fundamentals and relationships between ideas, allowing them to apply knowledge more effectively in a variety of situations.
Optimize time: These techniques allow students to use their study time efficiently and productively. By focusing on proven methods, wasting time on ineffective approaches is avoided.
Preparing for assessments: Study methods are particularly useful for preparing for exams and assessments. Students can use these techniques to effectively review and consolidate their knowledge, which improves their performance on tests.
Building Confidence: By using successful study methods and seeing positive results, students gain confidence in their learning and study abilities. Group study can motivate students to continue to improve and strive academically.
Adaptability: Study methods are not universal and can vary depending on the person and the type of content to be learned. Students can experiment with different approaches and adapt them according to their needs and preferences.
Latest Study Techniques
Below are the best study techniques for exams, and memorization. Being a student you can implement these on different platforms such as competitive exams and professional training.
The Pomodoro Technique
This technique consists of dividing your study time into 25-minute chunks. Take breaks of at least 5-minutes and start again with another 25-minute chunk. The good thing about this timed study technique is that it usually leads to great concentration. Most importantly, you will learn to study without distractions.
Example: If you are studying Administrative Law, work for 25 minutes on a specific topic. Then take a 5-minute break. Repeat this cycle until you complete four rounds and then take a longer break.
Tip: Take advantage of short breaks to move around, stretch, or get some fresh air. This will help you clear your mind and reduce fatigue.
Mnemonic Rules
The name mnemonics refers to memory. In short, they are tricks and techniques to learn how to memorize. There are many, but to avoid confusion we will point out the most common ones. Over time you will be able to invent others yourself. Basically, they are techniques to retain information and make it easy to remember.
A short story or tale: Imagine that we have to memorize 5 European capitals. Paris, Berlin, Athens, Lisbon, Rome. We can invent a story where the words to be memorized appear in some way: Paris was a child who felt love for Rome, he got into a sedan car to go to Berlin, he put the antenna in Athens to listen to the radio in Lisbon.
Initials: Let’s use the same material to memorize. P aris, B erlin, A thens, L isbon, R ome. We get PBALR. Memorizing pbalr is difficult. But what if we turn the initials into a sentence: P ara B a iLa R (the capital letters indicate that they are different words P for Paris, B for Berlin, etc.) it is much easier to remember.
Chunking: There are times when you need to memorize very complex words or slightly complicated formulas. We advise you to chunk them.
Example: If you need to remember the name of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), it is best to chunk it: deoxyribonucleic acid.
The Feynman Technique
Richard Feynman was a physicist who won the Nobel Prize in the last century. In addition to being a researcher, he was also a university professor. He was an ingenious man and came up with this system so that his students could better understand their lessons.
It is a mental climbing technique. We will ascend through the knowledge of what we want to study. Before you start studying choose your subject wisely and set intentions.
Example: If you are studying the administrative litigation process, try to explain it to someone using simple terms. If you can do so clearly, it means you have thoroughly understood the topic.
Tip: Write down your explanation and check to see if there are any parts where you are not completely sure. This will tell you where you need to dig deeper.
Study Cards or Flashcards
It’s very simple, and it’s probably one of the oldest study techniques. On a card, you write a definition, formula, question, etc. The idea is that you read the question and try to answer it, then you turn it over and check if you got it right. Every good student usually has a deck of cards like this and it’s very common for classmates to ask each other questions.
Flashcards are highly recommended for several reasons. On the one hand, by doing them you are doing some study work. On the other hand, it poses a challenge and that is always fun. It allows you to revise anywhere and thus make the most of your time.
Conceptual or Mental Maps
Mind maps consist of circles, rectangles, squares, and other geometric shapes that contain information. These islands of information are connected to others, forming a grid or network of information. Many colors are used and they are intended to be as striking as possible. There are dozens of apps and programs to make conceptual maps, although you can do it yourself just as well. In diagrams, the order in which the information is presented is fundamental. In conceptual maps, this order is not so important.
Example: If you are studying the topic of “administrative procedures”, you can create a mind map where you place the concept in the center and branch out its different stages, such as initiation, instruction, and resolution, among others.
Tip: Use different colors and symbols in your mind maps to represent key concepts or topics you need to review in more depth.
Cornell Method
In order to have a good understanding of the classes, it is essential to have been able to take first-class class notes. With this method, you will have the most amazing notes of the entire school. Be patient, at first it may be a bit more work, but believe us, you will soon get the hang of it and you will have notes that will allow you to understand the classes better, and then allow you to study them much more easily.
Spaced Repetition Technique
This technique involves reviewing information that has already been memorized at increasing intervals of time. This is supported by psychology studies showing that our ability to remember improves when we space out our reviews rather than cramming everything in at once. This process is used to mitigate what we refer to as “The Forgetting Curve.”
Example: If you study a topic today, review it the next day, then three days later, then a week later, and finally a month later. This method is very useful for topics that require memorization, such as specific dates or laws.
Tip: Use apps like Anki or Quizlet that are specifically designed for spaced repetition in what we know as “flash cards.”
Study Techniques to Improve Time Management
Study planning involves time management, which is a very important factor in the entire process:
It is necessary to draw up a study schedule that reflects all the hours we have available for studying, since this way we can distribute the subjects or topics among them. This schedule will allow us to optimize every minute. In addition, important dates should also be included. Remember that you also need to consider time for breaks and that designing a study schedule implies a commitment to stick to it, so it must be realistic.
This plan will help you create your own routine, adapted to your biorhythms. It is advisable to always study at the same time.
- The space must be adequate, without distractions. In this post, we offer you some recommendations to create a good study environment.
- Take breaks. Studying non-stop is impossible and will only lead to frustration, as the brain also needs to stop from time to time. Therefore, set breaks after about 40-45 minutes of studying to cool off and regain strength.
- Change your subject. Several studies, including one from Harvard University, have shown that switching subjects is beneficial for the brain, as it makes us more attentive to what we are doing and, therefore, helps us retain the concepts we want to study.
- To avoid losing concentration, you should avoid interruptions. That’s why it’s best to leave your phone on silent.
Conclusion:
Most of the time, poor academic results are due to mistakes we make when studying, but there is no magic formula, no single method that will ensure success. Try out the above best study techniques to find out which suits you the best. Identifying that method will allow you to achieve a higher performance.
As we have seen, there are different techniques to improve your way of studying, but they are all based on creating an adequate routine with an environment conducive to concentration.
