Studying

What is the challenge of learning?

"Research indicates that people forget 80 percent of what they learn only a day later." - College Success OER Textbook 

Sometimes students will feel confident understanding new material they just learned. Then, weeks later before an exam, they find that they can only remember what the instructor covered during the last few days—the earlier material has vanished from the mind! What happened? Chances are that they didn’t consistently and regularly review the material, and what they initially learned never made it to long-term memory. 

The forgetting curve is the challenge of learning in college.  How can you approach learning in and outside of classes so that the information makes it to your long term memory? Concepts and strategies in this unit will help.

What is learning deeply?[1][2][3]

Learning deeply “doesn’t just mean the ability to remember stuff for an examination. It means the ability to create. It means the ability to analyze and synthesize, to solve problems, and to understand what that problem-solving means.” What matters most about the college experience and earning grades “is learning deeply, thinking about implications and applications, and expanding the powers of one’s mind. If students intend to learn deeply, grades will usually take care of themselves.” - Dr. Ken Bain

Stories about deep learning are the basis of What the Best College Students Do, a book by historian and educator Dr. Ken Bain. In writing this book, Dr. Bain conducted more than one hundred interviews with notable lifelong learners, like Stephen Colbert of The Colbert Report and astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Dr. Bain asked each interviewee to talk about how they used their college experience to develop and feed their curiosity about topics that interested them—topics that came to define them in many ways. The deep learning each person experienced helped them go on to lead focused and purposeful lives.

If Dr. Bain were to interview you, what would you tell him about an experience you had in which you learned deeply? What factors account for how you absorbed knowledge during that experience and how you used the knowledge for something that mattered a lot to you? Conversely, which factors were missing when you had the experience of not learning deeply?

How can you tell if you are actually engaged in deep learning? Dr. Bain offers the following classification of learners:

• Surface learners: They do as little as possible to get by.

• Strategic learners: They aim for the highest grades rather than for true understanding.

• Deep learners: They gain a real, rich education in college because they pursue their passions more than grades. They are also comfortable with experimenting more than with “getting it right,” and they develop a personal connection to their studies.

Which learner do you feel you are now? Are you drawn to learn more deeply?

To illustrate the process of deep learning, let’s use an example of what deep learning is not: “cramming” for a test―studying right before an exam without much preparation beforehand. Can you remember a time when you stayed up late to cram for a test the next day? How did it turn out for you? Did you pass the test? Did you learn much while you were cramming? How much do you remember now of the material you studied then?

The problem with cramming is that it doesn’t give the brain ample time to process information or to make the kinds of critical connections necessary for the brain to retrieve the information later on. When you cram, you simply forget what you have learned much faster than when you study diligently and steadily over an extended period of time.

Why would this matter? Why not just cram, take a test, do reasonably well, and move on to the next challenge?

One of the main reasons not to embrace this approach is that without learning deeply, you lose the opportunity to apply what you learn to other pursuits (in college and in life). For example, if you have classes later in college that build on earlier courses, will you retain and be able to apply what you should have learned from the classes in which you cram? Will you need to learn the material on a deeper level this time?

Another cost of cramming is that you forgo the pleasure and satisfaction of acquiring knowledge at a deep level.

In sum, learning deeply goes beyond just test scores. It connects to skills you will need the rest of your life, like critical thinking, critical analysis, applying principles to solve problems, assessing your effectiveness, revising, and applying what you know.

So, if you are looking ahead to do well on a test or some other kind of assessment, avoid cramming. Start studying now and keep studying as you go along. Use your time-management skills and tools to make the time for it. Recall improves when studying is spread out over time, because every time you retrieve information or knowledge, you’re learning it more deeply. Also, by spreading out your studying, you can avoid mental exhaustion and having to cram before exams. Take study breaks to relax both mentally and physically.

What is the study cycle? 

“When students use metacognition, they become tremendously empowered as learners because they begin to be able to teach themselves” – Dr. Saundra McGuire, Author - Teach Yourself How to Learn

Intense Study Sessions [7]

Study sessions can be exhausting. With so many upcoming assignments, it can be difficult to stay started or stay focused on a particular task. In order to optimize your study time, consider the following guide that can help you identify priorities, focus on a specific task, take scheduled breaks, and keep on top of your progress.

What are memory strategies?

Research indicates that people forget 80 percent of what they learn only a day later. This statistic may not sound very encouraging, given all that you’re expected to learn and remember as a college student. Really, though, it points to the importance of a different studying approach—besides waiting until the night before a final exam to review a semester’s worth of readings and notes. 

When you learn something new, the goal is to “lock it in” and move it from short-term memory, where it starts out, to long-term memory, where it can be accessed much later (like at the end of the semester or maybe years from now).  Below are some strategies for transferring short-term memory to long-term memory:

1. Start reviewing new material immediately: Remember that people typically forget a significant amount of new information not too long after learning it. As a student, you can benefit from starting to study new material right away. If you’re introduced to new concepts in class, for example, don’t wait to start reviewing your notes and doing the related reading assignments—the sooner the better.

2. Study frequently for shorter periods of time: Once information becomes a part of long-term memory, you’re more likely to remember it. If you want to improve the odds of recalling course material by the time of an exam (or a future class, say), try reviewing it a little bit every day. Building up your knowledge and recall this way can also help you avoid needing to “cram” and feeling overwhelmed by everything you’ve may have forgotten.

3. Use repetition: This strategy is linked to studying material frequently for shorter periods of time. You may not remember when or how you learned skills like riding a bike or tying your shoes. Mastery came with practice, and at some point, the skills became second nature. Academic learning is no different: If you spend enough time with important course concepts and practice them often, you will know them in the same way you know how to ride a bike—almost without thinking about them.

4. Strengthen your memory: We’ve discussed the importance of zeroing in on the main concepts you learn in class and of transferring them from short-term to long-term memory. But how can you work to strengthen your overall memory? Some people have stronger memories than others, but memorizing new information takes work for anyone. Below are some strategies that can aid memory:

   • Incorporate visuals: Visual aids like note cards, concept maps, and highlighted text are ways of making information stand out. Because they are shorter and more concise, they have the advantage of making the information to be memorized seem more manageable and less daunting (than an entire textbook chapter, for example). Some students write key terms on note cards and hang them around their desk or mirror so that they routinely see them and study them without even trying.

   • Create mnemonics: Memory devices known as mnemonics can help students retain information while only needing to remember a unique phrase or letter pattern that stands out. For example, the mnemonic “ROYGBIV” could help students remember the order of the colors of a rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet).

   • Get quality sleep: Although some people require more or less sleep than the recommended amount, most people should aim for six to eight hours every night. School puts a lot of demands on the brain, and, like tired muscles after a long workout, your brain needs to rest after being exercised and taking in all sorts of new information during the day. A good night’s rest can help you remember more and feel prepared for learning the next day.

   • Connect new information to old information: Take stock of what you already know—information that’s already stored in long-term memory—and use it as a foundation for learning newer information. It’s easier to remember new information if you can connect it to old information or to a familiar frame of reference. For example, if you are taking a sociology class and are learning about different types of social groups, you may be able to think of examples from your own experience that relates to the different types.

How to bust learning myths?

Sometimes the best way to learn a new idea is to first “unlearn” an old idea that’s hindering the new one. This is certainly the case with principles of learning because there are many misconceptions about how people best acquire knowledge and retain it. Below, we identify and deconstruct some of these misconceptions and replace them with ideas you can use to help you learn deeply.

Here are the myths or misconceptions about learning explained in more detail below.

• Myth 1: Talent Is Everything!

• Myth 2: I Only Need One Good Method for Studying

• Myth 3: If It’s Easy, I Must Be Learning

• Myth 4: Planning My Learning Is a Waste of Time

• Myth 5: Failure should be avoided at all costs

Myth 1: Talent Is Everything!

If you believe that your learning abilities are fixed, you’ll put up mental blocks that hinder your learning. For example, if you usually get straight A’s, you may avoid taking intellectual risks that take you out of your comfort zone or jeopardize your perfect record. Similarly, if you believe you are not good at something, like math, you may avoid really trying or lower your expectations.

But students who have a “growth mindset” toward learning, and who believe they can really improve over time and with effort, are the ones who tend to take more chances, progress faster, and see risk and failure as part of the learning process.[4] “Research suggests that students who view intelligence as innate focus on their ability and its adequacy/inadequacy, whereas students who view intelligence as malleable use strategy and effort as they work toward mastery.”[5]

• Apply what you learn in practice. Practice builds accuracy and fluency. This fluency also builds the confidence and flexibility to apply what you’ve learned in different situations. 

• Feed your curiosity. Ask questions, perform experiments, talk to experts, work with others, make mistakes, and explore your questions from many different angles. This helps develop a mindset of growth and will take you farther in your development.

Myth 2: I Only Need One Good Method for Studying

If your tried-and-true study strategies aren’t working, use a different approach. Monitor your learning by measuring your knowledge against what you expect. Before you start studying, think about how it will go. Predict your homework and test results, and see if you’re accurate or not. Notice when your expectations fall short of reality, or overshoot it, and adjust your approach accordingly. This is called “metacognition,” and it’s an important part of deep learning.

• Test your perceptions. After an exam, make a prediction of how many questions/problems you answered correctly. When you get the test back, see how your score matched with your prediction. If you were way off, consider changing your study strategy to incorporate more self-testing, spaced study sessions and varied approaches to practice.

Myth 3: If It’s Easy, I Must Be Learning

When faced with familiar terms or examples, you might find yourself feeling like you really understand the material. But in fact, your brain might really just be responding to the fact that it has seen this exact material before. This is called the familiarity trap—when everything seems familiar and your brain doesn’t have to work so hard and so it feels like you’ve mastered the material, even though you haven’t. Try to mix things up as you’re studying.

More and more evidence suggests that confusion is where deep learning lies. It might even be that some level of confusion actually activates the parts of your brain that regulate learning and motivation, helping you achieve a greater level of understanding. If you’re not confused, you might not be learning.

Try not to let yourself get discouraged if it feels like you aren’t understanding something. Not understanding can be a good sign. For a brief explanation, see Learning Goes Through the Land of Confusion by Rhett Alan, a physics professor at Southern Louisiana University.

BUST THE MYTH!

• Retrieve—don’t regurgitate. Develop your own test questions, ask yourself questions, solve sample problems, and analyze for deeper meanings. Need some good questions to ask yourself? Try this: Why is this answer important? What does it relate to? How does this answer connect with what I already know? Can I elaborate on this answer? Can I illustrate it with an example? Retrieving what you’ve learned from your memory helps you strengthen connections and relearn each time you do it, that is, every time you retrieve something from memory, you’re essentially re-learning it and creating different pathways for retrieval. The more paths you create to knowledge, the more likely it is that you’ll find a way there when you need it.

• If you’re confused, don’t give up. Working hard to understand a problem or to figure something out isn’t a bad thing, and it will likely lead to a deeper understanding of the material, which will stay with you for a long time. This is especially important if your other courses build on that concept you are grappling with. 

Myth 4: Planning My Learning Is a Waste of Time

Being a self-directed learner requires planning. Answering the five questions from the graphic, above, can help to build a disciplined approach, which will help you tackle your academic work.

1. What am I being asked to do?

2. What do I already know that will help me - and what do I need to know?

3. What's my plan - what steps are involved?

4. What progress am I making

5. What would I change or do differently next time?

Planning can also help you develop a workable schedule for studying. “Research shows spacing study episodes out with breaks in between study sessions or repetitions of the same material is more effective than massing such study episodes. Massing practice is akin to cramming all night before the test.”[6]

Planning reduces stress, helps you avoid cramming, and builds skills in metacognition. Planning is an important part of any career or occupation, so learning to plan well contributes to your overall competency. Even learning to plan takes practice, so start early!

BUST THE MYTH!

• Target your studying: Try to study key themes, and take what you know about the exam structure into account when you’re planning. If you know you’ll have an essay, write outlines! If you have to solve problems, go over homework or make up your own problems.

• Review or practice throughout the term. Without regular review, you may have to relearn a large portion of the course right before the final.

Myth 5: Failure should be avoided at all costs

“Every success is built on the ash heap of failed attempts.” This reminder from Prof. Michael Starbird (University of Texas at Austin) offers a good reason not to fear failure. Failure doesn’t often feel good, but it may be your best teacher in helping you learn deeply. In fact, in the book 5 Elements of Effective Thinking, authors Edward Burger and Michael Starbird say that failure is an important foundation on which to build success.

But seeing failure as an opportunity for learning requires a fresh mindset. Once you make a mistake, you can ask, why is THAT wrong? Failure is an important aspect of much creative work, though it goes by a different name: iteration. Iteration is important in refining, working through problems, starting small, and refining until more can be added. Iteration is a feature of work in design, science, technology, and really any field where innovation is important.

BUST THE MYTH!

• Use failure as an opportunity to rethink and relearn. Ask yourself why you got it wrong and what happened. What is an alternative approach? How might a new approach be more successful? 

• Give yourself permission to fail. When working through problems or studying unfamiliar concepts, consider allowing yourself to fail nine times before getting it right. This may free your mind to think creatively about solutions without the pressure to “get it right.” You may find that repeated failures may actually lead you to new insights about the problem that you can take into other contexts.

Why study with other students?

Studying with fellow classmates and/or working with them on projects and class assignments can significantly enhance deep learning. Group work can help teams chunk bigger tasks into more manageable parts and steps. It can also help participants manage their time better. In addition, group work often involves discussion and collaboration, which can improve everyone’s understanding of the material. Another benefit is the opportunity for feedback on ideas and performance. And working in groups always helps members develop stronger communication skills—both speaking and listening skills.

Below is a summary of the key points in the video:

• Know your strengths and learn what others can bring to the table. Consider these strengths when assigning roles or project tasks.

• First meetings are key to setting a good tone. Plan enough time to

  • Learn people’s goals for the group

  • Learn people’s strengths

  • Assign roles

  • Set up a meeting schedule

  • Review the tools you will need to support your work (Google docs, Wiki page, etc.)

• Be clear about everyone’s goals so that the group has a clear idea of what people expect to get from the group study process. Goals are important to motivation.

• Get everyone working:

  • Assign tasks that play to individual strengths

  • Assign a progress-checker role to follow up on progress

  • Use meetings to review progress and provide guidance and support where needed.

  • Choose a good online tool to help you collect and respond to one another’s ideas and questions between meetings.

• Conflict is natural and can be necessary to achieve collaboration. Learn to manage it.

  • Develop effective communication skills.

  • Work toward mutual understanding.

  • Keep group interests at the forefront.

  • Be flexible in looking for solutions.

  • Make sure solutions work for everyone.