College & University Information

Study More Effectively


If you are studying for an exam or if you need to learn some material for a presentation, you may be wondering how early you should start to study, and how often you should review the material in order to remember it.

Is it best to study large chunks of the information at a time, or should you try to master small bits of it? Should you review the material again the next day? Or is it best to let a few days go by?

Learning experts have proposed several different schedules for reviewing study materials, but the following is one that works well for most people. Try it to see if it works for you, or whether it is more effective to introduce minor changes to the review schedule.

First, study what you can thoroughly learn in a 40-minute period. During this time keep your mind actively engaged in the material by making notes, asking yourself questions about it, speaking out loud, and making learning maps. Then take a five or ten minute break to do something completely different, preferably something which includes physical exercise and deep breathing.

After your ten-minute break, go back and review your original material and your written notes. Review for about five minutes. The next day review the material again for five minutes. A week later review it for five minutes. A month later review it for five minutes.

If you need to remember the information longer, review it for five minutes after two months, and then again after six months.

Your review will be even more successful if you speak your thoughts out loud. You can say a verbal summary out loud to yourself, or you can speak the summary to someone else.

Each time you repeat the same physical action, or review the same study material, there are chemical changes that take place at the synapses between your brain cells, making it easier for the signal to go through the next time you repeat that thought or action. That is why review and repetition help fix acquired skills and knowledge in your brain.

Saying the material out loud, or writing out a few notes again will involve more of your brain cells in the process of remembering.

People who have sustained some brain damage due to advancing age, brain injury, or because of alcohol or drug use may no longer have the ability to easily refresh their knowledge by quickly reviewing material again. These people may have to spend much more time and effort on reviewing material, and still have a lower rate of recall.

For the majority of people however, the above schedule is a time-effective way to keep information easily available to your memory.

This article is taken from the new book by Royane Real titled "How You Can Be Smarter - Use Your Brain to Learn Faster, Remember Better and Be More Creative" If you would like to know how to improve your learning, download it today or get the paperback version at http://www.lulu.com/real


MORE RESOURCES:
Google

DSF award recipients
Valley Dispatch, MA - 11 hours ago
DRACUT -- The Dracut Scholarship Foundation recently announced the 2008 Dracut High School graduates who received scholarships. The recipients are: Kevin ...


Crescenta Valley Sun

Film editor is compelled to write
Crescenta Valley Sun - 1 hour ago
By Walter Campbell What would you do if you were a successful film editor who had worked on all the theatrical commercials for Walt Disney, Touchstone, ...


Double-wobble vision: London landmarks recreated in jelly
Daily Mail, UK - 4 hours ago
By Paul Harris The Taj Mahal was wobbling gently in the background and somewhere on the table, I think I might have seen the Kremlin slapping from side to ...


Assistant Farm Manager
Shropshire Star, UK - 12 hours ago
Harper Adams University College is one of the premier UK Higher Education Institutions focused on the land-based and food supply chain sector. ...


Gauck happier golfing for Marian
The Republic.com (subscription), IN - 14 hours ago
By Tyler Hoeppner FRANKLIN - Angela Gauck had an amazing golf career at North Decatur High School. She was state runner-up as a sophomore before winning ...


True value of college, university more than paycheques, spending
The North Bay Nugget, Canada - Jun 25, 2008
The symbiotic" relationship between the North Bay area, Nipissing University and Canadore College goes beyond the $172 million injected into the city's ...


Matadors' Jackson signs at 4-year school
Yuma Sun, AZ - 21 hours ago
Missy Jackson, the second-leading scorer on the Arizona Western College women's basketball team this past season, has signed a letter of intent to play at ...


Pakistan Government College University Lahore wins British ...
Pakistan Daily, Pakistan - Jun 23, 2008
THE Psychology Department of the Government College University, Lahore, has won a British research award, the Prime Ministerís Initiative for International ...


Benilde scores 2nd win
Manila Bulletin, Philippines - Jul 2, 2008
By JP ABCEDE College of Saint Benilde continued its impressive start, claiming the scalp of University of Perpetual Help via a 61-54 win yesterday to grab ...


College's rejection criticised by MPs
guardian.co.uk, UK - Jul 2, 2008
Imperial College London is coming under increasing pressure to review its decision to withdraw a place to study medicine from a straight A-grade state ...

College-University - Google News

home | site map
© 2006