It’s the most draining time of the year… aka, it’s finals season. But, once these next few weeks are over, we finally have winter break and can use that time to rest and reset! With that being said, don’t cram material over the testing period! Not only will this not help you retain material well, it’s just an exhausting waste of time. One of the best studying methods with incredibly high rates of accomplishment is the active recall method. With this method, you don’t just passively read over texts and notes; instead, you formulate questions and create your own responses to increase memory. Here are some ways to best utilize active recall.
1. Write questions when note-taking
Instead of just taking notes, ask questions about what you don’t understand! Most of the time when I take notes, I say that I’ll fully comprehend them later. But, later, I ended up cramming, and it became a disaster. Asking questions is a great way to keep your mind on the topic and actively recall information!
2. Flashcards
Make a quizlet or get some paper flashcards! By creating these, you actively recall everything that you are learning and aren’t just passively skimming over text. Some ways to really help you actively remember information is to use highlighters, draw pictures and use colorful pens!
3. SUMMARIZE WHATEVER YOU ARE READING
If flashcards and writing questions aren’t for you, you should try summarizing! Read a section of text, and then say out loud or write down what the text was saying in your own words! By doing this, you’re not just trying to think through a dense work, you’re putting it in your own way so that you can fully understand it!
4. Teach a friend!
If you study best with a group, then this is an ideal method! Create a study group with people from your class, or just ask a friend to participate and help you. Stand up and teach your friends all about the topic, and have them recite back to you exactly what they remember from it! That way, the material is fully cemented in your brain, because in order to successfully teach someone, you have to know all the material well! Another option would be to have friends from class each teach a section of material, so you can all knock out as much studying as you can!
5. create practice exams
Sometimes the best way to study is to recreate a testing environment, as well as create hard, testable questions. This is similar to the creating questions section of this article, but in this case, your questions wouldn’t be your notes; instead, they would be like an actual exam. Book a classroom, make a practice test with friends (so you can each get an unfamiliar exam) and set a timer to practice! This will for sure help ease some of those testing jitters so you can feel even more prepared for your exam!
I hope that this gave you some study ideas! And remember, you are never defined by a grade. You are an amazing, intelligent and exceedingly hard-working person!