3 ways to use the science of learning for revision
Every day scientists are discovering more and more about how we learn. But what is surprising is how few of the learnings we implement into our daily study practices.
Here we introduce three ways to enhance your learning and revision.
1 - Want to remember more?
Ever thought that you had the potential to use your study time more effectively? Ever thought you could remember more?
We have all spent the night before a test cramming, red bull in hand, hoping that what we are reading will stick, just long enough to write it in the exam paper. If we are lucky, we have remembered the right content for the exam. It’s a risky business.
The problem: Cramming is stressful! You will have no lasting connections to the knowledge and won’t deepen your understanding of the information. It works for short-term memorisation, but try and recall the information a week later, and it’s gone.
According to neuroscience research, cramming is misaligned with how our brain works. How can we work with our brains rather than against our brains? Can we use what we know about learning to our advantage?
The answer: Spaced Repetition! When you repeat information multiple times, your brain takes it in. But, there’s a catch. The repetition can’t just be you saying a fact repeatedly in one short burst of time. We need to go over the information in intervals - usually in gradual stages over days. Doing this helps strengthen your memory and your power to recall.
The science: Spaced repetition is literally how your brain is encoded to make memories. If you only go over something once, your brain discards that information, deeming it unimportant. It assumes that you won’t need to reaccess it. The brain only strengthens and consolidates memories that it encounters frequently. This is a good thing as we discard information that will not be useful to us in the future. When we make a memory, the information doesn’t get stored in one place. The information gets scattered over multiple locations all over the brain. If you go back to the topic over gradual intervals, the neuron connections become stronger and stronger until you have pathways to recall that fact whenever you need. It is said that you can retain about 85% of the information after 48 hours.
A Harvard Study by George A Miller revealed that our brain has limitations. His studies showed that human brains only remember five to seven new pieces of information at one time. In more recent studies, this number has been found to be even fewer, only around four. This study explains why when we need to learn a vast amount of information, cramming does not work.
Takeaway number #1
- It’s more effective to do little and often. Saying something ten times won’t commit it to your memory.
Takeaway number #2
- You need to repeat the content over a couple of days for memories that last.
How can I do this in practice?
Many students find the Leitner Model to be helpful.
How you can try the Leitner model at home:
1) Make flashcards and place them in a box. Separate into sections.
2) Make a schedule for when you’ll revise your cards.
3) When you go through a section, place the cards you get right into the next section. You’ll visit this section less frequently. Place those that you get wrong into the previous section.
It will look something like this->
There are also various spaced repetition apps available.
Hit Like if you’ve tried spaced repetition before.
Comment to let us know your favourite spaced repetition methods or apps.
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2 - Ready to switch on your entire brain?
We all know that we should warm up and stretch before demanding exercise, so why do we not do the same for our brains? A brain break recalibrates your brain and fires up all the different sections using physical movement, mindfulness exercises and sensory activities.
Benefit 1: When we learn, the information is scattered across different sections of the brain. When we do a brain break, we fire up the left and right hemispheres, the corpus colosseum, the temporal lobes and parietal lobe and the prefrontal cortex. We prepare our brains for new concepts and to take on complex information.
Benefit 2: Dopamine, serotonin, epinephrine, oxytocin are systematically released for rewards. These hormones give us a good feeling. Swipe to read a simple exercise that will improve your focus and cognitive ability.
Scroll through the gallery to see a brain break you can do at home.
3 - Need to stay motivated?
You know that feeling when you learn something new, and you feel fantastic? That is dopamine you’re experiencing. You feel motivated to go back and challenge yourself some more after you experience a hit.
Rather than learning through intimidation or fear, learning through fun means students gain an innate curiosity about the content.
What does dopamine do?
On a scientific note, it is a type of neurotransmitter hormone that sends messages between cells. Amino Acids impacts dopamine levels, and that’s why protein-rich foods are essential in our diet. So pay special care to your diet when studying for a big exam.
Dopamine is released when your brain is expecting a reward. Activities that make us excited and happy raise dopamine levels and these activities boost our mood. Better yet, raised levels of dopamine help learning, problem-solving and productivity. It helps sharpen our memory, too!
Knowing how dopamine works, we can hack our brains and study smarter. Keeping a healthy lifestyle and eating the right food enhances your brainpower too.
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