Most people don’t know how to study. They read their notes, maybe read them out loud, and write them out to memorize them, but that’s about the extent to which they “study.” This approach is totally okay if it’s what works for you, but if you find you can never make time for studying a particular way anymore, maybe that method isn’t the best one for you! So… whether you know how to study or not, here are 10 different techniques you can use to have better luck on this year’s midterms and exams.
- Flashcards
- SQ3R
- Pomodoro
- Testing
- Note-taking
- Feynman
- Interleaving
- Paraphrasing
- Reflecting
- Teaching
Now, before diving into each method, we’d like to preface by saying that these aren’t all of the methods that exist, so don’t worry if none of these stand out to you—there are many more out there to explore!
What is “Studying”?
First, let’s define what “studying” actually is (since really anything could be studying… so don’t stress!): Studying is just a way to understand what you’re learning. Whether you even need to study if you just pay attention and take notes in class is up to you… because that, too, works for some people!
But let’s now get into it…
Flashcards
This one’s pretty straightforward. So much so that you might have tried it before! Basically, how this technique works is you would take the important ideas, definitions, and maybe even some examples of course material you’re learning in school and write these things down on physical index cards or type them into an online flashcard system, then read them over and test yourself on them until you memorize them.
Leitner System
This is a system within the flashcard technique where you need your flashcards and a box! To use this method, you use two or three boxes and in each, separate the flashcards you’ve created so you’re studying in a more organized way that encourages spaced memorization. For example, box 1 has the definitions you learned in one of your classes and box 2 has the main ideas of that same class. Maybe you’d be able to fit two different one-hour periods during your busy school day to study those cards. Therefore, you might decide to either spend an hour on one of those boxes followed by the other hour on your other box. Or you might think you’re able to get through each box in 30 minutes, so then you’d split your two hours of the day into four! Another option for this system is to separate each box of flashcards you have into days. In this example, day one of studying box 1 is Monday, day one of studying box 2 is Tuesday, and then you proceed in that order of switching from box to box for every day of the week (and then maybe giving yourself one or two days of rest after two weeks of studying this way).
Online alternatives to flashcards
Feel like saving the trees and not spending any money? Try Quizlet, which is an online flashcard application. It’s free to download and just as easy to use!
The SQ3R Method
If you’re the kind of student who actually reads the required textbooks (or wants to be better at it) and are looking for a “one-and-done” studying method, SQ3R is for you!
Steps of SQ3R
- Survey “S“: Skim the first chapter and take notes on any headings, subheadings, images, or other standout features (i.e., charts).
- Question “Q“: Make questions up about the chapter’s content (i.e., What do I already know about this subject? What is this chapter about?).
- Read “R“: Read the full chapter and look for answers to the questions you created.
- Recite “R“: After reading a paragraph or section (depending on how much information you can retain), summarize it, then recall the key points.
- Review “R“: After you’ve read a chapter, review the material to fully understand it then test yourself on the questions you made up. Re-read any parts of the text that you don’t remember or that you don’t fully understand.
Pomodoro
A time-management studying technique that we’ve covered before here at HC at U Ottawa—check out this article!
What you’ll need for the Pomodoro study method
- A timer of some kind
- The material you’re wanting to study
Using a timer, you’ll break up your studying into 25-minute (or 45-minute) increments. After each session, it’ll be time for a break for as little as 5 minutes or as long as 15-minutes. We wouldn’t recommend taking a longer break than 15 minutes unless you absolutely need to because you may never want to go back to studying! Nonetheless, your break is when you will completely disengage from your studying either work on something you need to for a different class or just do something for yourself that you love!
A little trick for the Pomodoro method: If you have four or more sessions of studying, take a 30-minute break so as to not burn yourself out. You’ll find your studying to be more effective this way.
Online alternatives
Study along with and take breaks according to “Study With Me” YouTube videos or set up a study session with friends or classmates of 30 minutes to one hour. In this way, you’ll have accountability and good company during your study periods as well as people to be with when your breaks start and end.
Testing
This method is similar to others above but this idea of testing yourself with questions based on your course materials can stand on its own as an effective way to study using active recall.
Questions could range from being as simple as “what does health mean?” to “what is the leading social determinant of health in Canada resulting in a shorter life span?”
Note-taking
Maybe you’re a visual or hands-on learner. In that case, you can write your notes by hand (maybe add some doodles on your margins), then start highlighting! Here’s a legend to get you started:
- Green highlighter = Terms
- Purple highlighter = Quotes
- Pink highlighter = Important dates
- Yellow highlighter = Important people
Feynman
This technique was first discovered by Richard Feynman, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist.
It’s a technique that reminds me of the show Are You Smarter Than A Sixth Grader? (or is it a fifth grader?)… This is because it requires a person to take complex ideas and terms and put them into simpler terms, enough so that your sixth-grade (or fifth-grade) self could read what you’re studying and 100% understand it.
A little trick for the Feynman technique: Mix in some other studying techniques with the Feynman Method! Maybe after you’ve made your course notes easy enough for a child to fully comprehend, you could teach them to a pretend class of elementary kids! You might even add moments within your “teaching” to ask the “class” questions and envision some answers that they might come up with. This would require a lot of imagination, but why not make studying fun, right? Maybe one of your pretend students, Billy, doesn’t know what health means so he answered the question “what are social determinants of health?” incorrectly! In that case, then you could work your way around explaining the definition first, just to ensure that you yourself understand what it is before getting into the main topic of Social Determinants of Health, for example.
Interleaving
Interleaving involves mixing (interleaving) multiple subjects or topics while studying. This makes us think of when Rory Gilmore from Gilmore Girls was studying for a midterm and she had each of her classes in front of her on the kitchen table. In the scene, she would spend five minutes or so on one topic/class and then switch to the other… then the other… and so on.
For example: Let’s say you need to learn words from topics like diet and exercise for a class so you mix words found within each of those topics (or maybe just alternating rather quickly from each) instead of learning all the words from one topic all at once, then switching gears to the second topic.
Paraphrasing
Along with providing your own examples of the material being taught in class, you can paraphrase all of the information provided on the professor’s PowerPoint presentations and what their lectures are teaching you! Try downloading the presentation (if you can) and adding in what’s on each slide in your own words in the Notes section.
A little trick to paraphrasing: Often, professors teach by paraphrasing what’s on their slides so just make sure to keep your ears open and your typing fingers ready so you don’t miss a single word they’re saying!
Reflecting
This method goes along with paraphrasing. For some people, simply reading over their slides and notes from classes is enough to understand the course material. With that said, other techniques that’d fall into this category would be making connections between your day-to-day life and what’s being taught in class and maybe doing your own individual research to add to your notes.
Teaching
My personal favourite: teaching! This, I find, is the best way to memorize and truly understand what I’m learning. Of course, it would look a little interesting renting out a room for only yourself and standing up in front of that empty room just to study… but go for it if that’s what works for you! Or, you can wait until you get home to study by teaching the material to your imaginary classroom!
A little trick for teaching: Teaching to study works really great if you’re alone, yes, but also if you’re “teaching” to your friends/family members! Try inviting them to the room you rented out on campus or to your house for your lesson!
Conclusion
Hopefully, this article helps you to discover what studying means and what methods you may be interested in trying out for yourself. If not, don’t worry! There’s so much more research out there on other ways to study successfully, even if you’ve never learned how to begin with! With that said, you’re bound to find a way to get those straight As you desire.