Study Skills

Learning how to learn

How often have you thought about (or have been taught about) HOW you learn? Since learning represents a large part of your life, you’d better be good at the actual art of learning. Learning and studying are skills, and having good learning and studying habits are a much better predictor of success at school than anything else (Source). Everybody can learn how to learn and it's never too late to improve on your existing skills. So, what should you do?

Let's start with the TL;DR version:

Effective learning means:

Thinking about your learning, be aware of what works and doesn't work for you (aka, be metacognisant)
Spreading out your learning, chunk it, review regularly, space it out rather than cram, interleave it. "Spaced review" works.
Quizzing yourself, interrogate yourself, write practice answers, explain it to others. Practice makes perfect indeed.

(...but if your general attitude to reading is "TL;DR " then you may consider working on your attention span or your ability to read longer texts)

Read on for more information.

1. Think about your own learning

Let’s start with metacognition, which is at the base of it all. In its simplest form, metacognition is thinking about thinking. In this case, it's analysis of your own learning. It's a form of self-awareness and reflection.

Metacognition also includes self-regulation—the ability to orchestrate and organise your learning: to plan, monitor success, and correct errors when appropriate—all necessary for effective intentional learning… Metacognition also refers to the ability to reflect on one’s own performance. (National Research Council, 2000)
You should ask of yourself “What am I doing now?,” “Is it getting me anywhere?,” “What else could I be doing instead?” "Am I learning this in the best possible way?" This general metacognitive level helps you stop being unproductive or using inefficient study methods. (Perkins and Salomon, 1989)

Metacognition represents more than just study skills, it has been linked to improving your general thinking skills and promoting conceptual understanding. a There is also evidence that improved metacognition is associated with overall academic success and that students with poor metacognitive skills perform less well academically than peers. b

So basically, know thyself and then act upon it.

2. Don't cram, 'interleave' your review

There is a lot of research about how to learn most effectively, but the concept that is currently seen as one of the most effective ways to learn is called ‘distributed practice’ or ‘interleaving’ or ‘spaced practice’. Basically, review your stuff regularly and consistently, don't start just before tests or exams.

Interleaving vs Blocking

‘Blocking’ the learning of new knowledge seems to make sense. First you learn A, then B, then C. So your learning might look something like this: AAA BBB CCC; You start with the first topic or skill, learn all about it, then move on to the next topic or skill. A lot of research shows that while this is the most common form of learning in schools, it is not actually the most effective way in which to learn. Research shows that the brain retains information better when that new information is mixed up with older information, when it is ‘interleaved’ c When you interleave, your learning pattern might look like this: ABC ABC ABC, rather than the blocked AAA BBB CCC. (Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-interleaving-effect-mixing-it-up-boosts-learning/)

Tiramisu Learning

You could see interleaved or distributed practice as a perfect Tiramisu cake. The cake will only be delicious if there are many layers. The layers work together and the end result is an A grade cake. It’s the same with learning, you need to have lots of layers of exposure to the same information (ingredients) to make a perfect cake.

(‘Tiramisu learning’ is a patented teaching term, developed by our very own Ms Liversidge)

The forgetting curve

Here is the forgetting curve, it’s the line in green. You will remember more each time you review it. It is better to study in short blocks which are spaced out over time, rather than in one big block. Incorporate ‘interleaving’ (repeated review sessions) in to your study sessions so that you retain significant information. Be ‘metacognisant’.

Finally, this one is so obvious, yet so challenging for some:

3. Practice (No, really??)

There is a reason why people say practice makes perfect – because it’s true.
Students who regularly practice the things they have to be able to do, typically achieve 26 percentile points higher than similar students who don’t. (Source: http://www.evidencebasedteaching.org.au/the-10-best-evidence-based-study-tips/) Practice testing is the best way to do this.
Interrogate yourself, quiz yourself, explain it to others, rehearse, say the dates or the quotes out loud, make flash cards, re-read, review, make mind maps, make timelines, create flow charts, rewrite, rehearse until you know it. (PS, endless highlighting is not efficient, you need to DO something with what you read: Source: http://journals.sagepub.com/stoken/rbtfl/Z10jaVH/60XQM/full)
Writing practice answers and giving them to your teacher, or exchanging them with fellow students, is an extremely important way to improve your grades.
Learning and studying is a skill, and like any skill, you need to practice it.
How did you get so good at playing piano, kicking a footy, applying make-up, scoring at netball, packing the dishwasher, playing candy crush or Resident Evil etc etc. You simply become good at what you practice....

Note: There will be a lot of factual tests, just to make sure you are on track. These do not count towards the official final grade, but they will be used to gauge your understanding, your knowledge and your study habits. The tests can take all sorts of forms; multiple choice, an online quiz, an essay or an extended written response. There are three tests per AOS.

Read these ten study tips from a fellow student:

History: Revolutions - How to Maximise Your Marks - ATAR Notes

Source: https://atarnotes.com/revs/

Katherine Twite completed History: Revolutions in 2014, with a study score of 45 raw:

I completed Revs 3/4 when I was in Year 11, and I loved it. Whilst the amount of content and skilled to be learnt was kinda insane, I can honestly look back on it as one of the most enjoyable and useful subjects I undertook during my VCE. If you take Revs seriously, it sets you up with some pretty neat skills. It definitely improved my writing, as well as increasing my ability to analyse and research information (very useful for both Year 12 and uni). Below, I’ve summarised the things I did that helped me achieve my study score. I hope you find them useful!

Top 10 suggestions for smashing Revs:

1. Read widely

Your textbook is a great place to start. But often, it only covers events briefly and from one perspective (that of the author, plus a few other historians’ extracts). It is very important to read a few different (but reliable) sources for information about key events. I was lucky enough to be able to borrow some books from my cousin, but your school or local library should have a few you can look at. There are also some good websites, such as Alpha History, which are quite helpful and accessible. VCAA has a full of list of appropriate resources for each revolution, which I recommend highly.

2. Write a tonne of practice responses

This not only lets you improve your writing/evaluating skills; it also helps you memorise dates and quotes. This is because you’re required to write them out in context. On top of this, practice responses also help you establish which quotes are useful for different points, so you know which are the most important to commit to memory.

3. Develop a system for organising notes

When I had a SAC coming up, I’d dot point all the key things I had to know (people, events etc.). Then, I would condense all my notes from class and other sources into one Word document. Below each point, I would type out quotes from historians regarding that particular event, idea or individual. Finally, I printed off the notes, and highlighted dates, important figures, people’s names and quotes in different colours. For example, I highlighted all quotes in green so that they stood out. This worked really well for me, but it’s important you have a method that suits how you remember things.

4. Be familiar with a few key historians’ views of key events

Don’t just rely on the quotes that have been used in your textbook. Look at some of the historians’ books that you discuss frequently, and establish their view of the revolution’s events. Again, check out your library.

5. Do more than just memorise dates

Think about the how and the why – not just the when and the where. Try and put yourself in the shoes of the different groups involved in and affected by the revolution you’re learning about.

6. Be your own historian

What is your view of the events you’ve learnt about? This may seem a bit counter-intuitive, seeing as we are also going on about bias in history. But in this case, if you’ve carefully considered the information you have learnt, and a variety of viewpoints, forming an opinion demonstrates a deeper level of understanding. NB: By this, I don’t mean you should write in your responses things like, “I think…” Please, never do this.

7. Discuss, debate and teach

One of the best ways to consolidate what you have learnt is talking about it with someone else. The night before the exam, I made my family listen to my rundown of the Chinese Revolution (sorry guys). If it comes to it, you can always teach your dog/cat/goldfish about Mao or Rasputin.

8. Develop your vocabulary

I know that Revs is not English, but your SACs and exam require you to do lots of writing pieces and more expanded your vocabulary is, the better you can express yourself. I found it really helpful to create lists of synonyms for words and phrases like ‘led to’ and ‘exacerbated’ so I could express my points more effectively, and ensure my writing flowed.

9. Make timelines, flowcharts and mind maps of key events

Making your own timelines (by hand) helps you solidly establish the chronology of events. Flowcharts help you understand how multiple factors contributed to one key event. Mind maps help you see events in context.

10. Have fun with it (or, at least, try to)!

One benefit of doing Revs was that it meant I discovered some great meme pages. I convinced myself that this was revision.

Bonus exam tip!

(This was my strategy, but do what you are most comfortable with.) During reading time, read through all the questions and rank them from easiest to hardest. Then, do them in that order. This means you can ensure that you’ve answered all the questions you can get maximum marks from. It also prevents you spending too long on one question for which you probably won’t get full marks. Also, if you come across a really difficult question that you have no idea how to tackle, just give it a shot and write down anything you can think of that relates to what the question seems to be asking. (You don’t know what the examiners might award marks for if that question was answered poorly by most people!)

Good luck for the rest of Revs 3/4!

Finally, a note on notes:

Handwritten notes versus typed notes... which one is better?

Two excerpts below about research into this subject. The full article is here https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-learning-secret-don-t-take-notes-with-a-laptop/
"Obviously it is advantageous to draft more complete notes that precisely capture the course content and allow for a verbatim review of the material at a later date. Only it isn’t. New research by Pam Mueller and Daniel Oppenheimer demonstrates that students who write out their notes on paper actually learn more. Across three experiments, Mueller and Oppenheimer had students take notes in a classroom setting and then tested students on their memory for factual detail, their conceptual understanding of the material, and their ability to synthesize and generalize the information. Half of the students were instructed to take notes with a laptop, and the other half were instructed to write the notes out by hand. As in other studies, students who used laptops took more notes. In each study, however, those who wrote out their notes by hand had a stronger conceptual understanding and were more successful in applying and integrating the material than those who used took notes with their laptops."
What drives this paradoxical finding? Mueller and Oppenheimer postulate that taking notes by hand requires different types of cognitive processing than taking notes on a laptop, and these different processes have consequences for learning. Writing by hand is slower and more cumbersome than typing, and students cannot possibly write down every word in a lecture. Instead, they listen, digest, and summarize so that they can succinctly capture the essence of the information. Thus, taking notes by hand forces the brain to engage in some heavy “mental lifting,” and these efforts foster comprehension and retention. By contrast, when typing students can easily produce a written record of the lecture without processing its meaning, as faster typing speeds allow students to transcribe a lecture word for word without devoting much thought to the content.

Comment by Ms VW: I see merit in both methods of note taking as both have their advantages and disadvantages. It is not up to me to recommend a method to you, because you will use your metacognition to decide the most efficient way to learn for YOUR brain.

Repetition is the Key to Revision

John Etty provides practical advice on a crucial activity.

Done correctly, revision can be very satisfying. Working at your own pace, teaching (and re-teaching) yourself and covering material which you perhaps did not understand in the classroom can be very rewarding. At the very least, though, revision is crucial before sitting an exam. Just staring at your notes, however, is not an effective use of your time.

The Nature of Memory

The information you have learned and understood is stored in your brain, whether you realise it or not. The key to effective revision is to re-learn the material in such a way that the information is readily available in the stress of an exam. Reading through your class notes may trigger a memory of the material, but if an exam question does not trigger the memory in the same way, you will discover that your knowledge was weaker than you thought. The key, then, is to learn the material in as many ways as possible so that each piece of information may be triggered by many different keywords.

Revision Methods

It's a cliché, but different people learn in different ways. Whatever learning style best suits you, there are some methods of revision which will benefit everyone.

'Active' Revision

Simply reading your notes or a textbook will help you to remember a certain amount of the information, but it will not remain there long if it is not reinforced. If reading is a method of revision you prefer, at least make it 'active' by reading with a pen in your hand. Highlight, underline, add question marks, exclamations and notes to yourself. Don't just read and expect the material to stick inside your head - it won't!

Use as many senses as possible

Try to engage all your faculties in the revision process. Read silently, write notes, read aloud (perhaps onto an audio tape), listen back to your recorded notes (while you read your written notes!). All these methods will stimulate the senses and help to reinforce the material.

Don't revise for hours at a time

Strange as it may sound, once you've actually started your revision you may be tempted not to stop for fear of never re-starting. This is a mistake. Your concentration will begin to wane after 35 to 40 minutes. Even if you don't feel it, your revision is getting less effective the longer you go on. Instead, try revising for 40 minutes in an hour, having a 20 minute break and then using the same tactic with a different subject when you recommence. During your break, make a drink or get some fresh air, but do not watch television!

Choose your surroundings carefully

Before you even start revising make sure that you have somewhere comfortable and quiet where you can work. If playing Metallica at deafening volume helps you to work, then you can do this, but outside interference will not help you to learn.

Use different colours

Primary school may be a distant memory, but using different coloured pens to highlight key points or headings in your work can mean the difference between a daunting, unintelligible mass of writing on a page and a clearly presented system of revision notes.

Mnemonics and rhymes

Juvenile and embarrassing as this may seem, forming mnemonics (DBDDBS is a common mnemonic to help students recall the fates of Henry VIII's wives - Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived) and rhymes to aid revision are recognised and long-used methods of committing otherwise difficult information to memory.

Strategically placed revision material

Visualisation techniques recommend that you should copy out revision information onto pieces of paper and place them in prominent positions. Repeatedly looking at the information displayed on your walls is known to help you to commit the material to memory. The theory is that you are then able to visualise the display, even when in the strange environs of the exam room.

Use different layouts

Similarly, setting your notes out in 'spider diagrams' or 'mind maps' may help you to organise your ideas on complex subjects. These can also be used to contextualise topic headings and allow you to appreciate an overview.

Index cards

Make your notes on index cards instead of just producing reams of A4 paper. This breaks your notes up into bitesize chunks of material and will make the material seem much more manageable.

Long timelines and timeframes

Synoptic units in particular can be prepared for using long timelines and timeframes. These can be produced to demonstrate change and development, or continuity over a long period. You can add depth of detail or simply use broad headings.

Pictures and cartoons

Simply because you must produce essays and extended written answers in the exam, you don't necessarily have to revise in the same lengthy way. If drawing cartoons and pictures helps you to remember the key ideas, then try it. Political cartoonists have made this method work for years - why can't you?

Planning is essential

You should allow around four to five months for the whole revision process. If your exam is in May or June, you should be planning your revision during January and beginning the first stage in February. The key to revision is repetition through different stages.

Get hold of a copy of the syllabus with a list of all the topics you could be examined on.
Go through your notes and remove anything superfluous, and make a list of any notes or topics you're missing.
Next you must swap, beg, steal or borrow copies of the notes you don't have.
The main note-making phase involves making fairly detailed notes from the class work and homework you did over the course. Once you have done this, you may find it useful to keep your revision notes in a separate file and put away your class notes. This alone may give you a strange sense of achievement.
If you want, or it you are concerned about the quality of your original notes, you can use different textbooks to add more information or a different perspective.

The next phase is the consolidation of your note-making and the repetition of the material. This step (and the previous one) is where the real learning takes place. You may wish to try the reading, recording and listening technique mentioned above, or you may prefer to make further sets of revision notes from the first set you made. Repeating this process will allow you to reinforce the key points and produce a series of revision notes, each more concise than the last.

The final phase of your revision is perhaps the most important. Here you practise applying information to answer a specific question. Clearly, in the exam you must respond to the question in the form of an essay, but while revising you can employ various methods:

Plan essays (very important).
Write essays (essential).
Set yourself titles (useful for getting yourself to think about how questions are formed and what they require).
Write tests for others - e.g. set tests for your friends and get them to do the same for you.
Test yourself: Write down a list of numbers (you could use 1 to 20, or a list of random numbers) and then test your versatility by trying to think of a fact, date or statistic for that number. You could try the same with letters. Think of the names of key people, movements or places beginning with each letter of the alphabet.
Try to rewrite your notes and/or diagrams from memory.
Every stage of revision reinforces the material. The more effectively and thoroughly you do each stage, the easier it will be to recall the information in a meaningful way in the stress of the exam. In addition, if you try a variety of methods, you are more likely to find a method which particularly suits your favoured learning style.
Make sure you think carefully about the amount of time required for the final stage of revision. Allow too little time, and you may know the material well but you won't be able to apply it appropriately. Leave too much, and you risk getting bored or over-anxious before the exam arrives.

Making Your Revision More Effective

Revising effectively requires more than simply staring at your notes, as we have seen. However, there are several ways to maximise the effectiveness of the revision you do:

Don't waste time writing out notes in full sentences - use your own shorthand. For instance, G for Germany, Br for Britain, A-H for Austria-Hungary, AH for Adolf Hitler, WC for Winston Churchill (not toilet!), JRM for James Ramsay MacDonald, devp for develop or development, govt for government. (These and other abbreviations are very useful in creating concise notes. You will develop your own code, which you may, of course, use when planning exam responses. But remember not to use them in your actual answers!)
Make sure all your notes for one topic are in one place. Having a booklet containing all your revision notes to carry around makes it much easier to keep track of your work.
You may be able to tailor your revision to the type of exam to be sat. Looking at plenty of sources on given topics is an essential way of preparing for a source-based paper.
Keep a log of revision already done. This may seem like a pointless exercise, but it serves the purpose of helping you to keep track of the balance of your revision. It is important not to concentrate on one subject at the expense of others. Avoid the temptation to over-revise the subjects you like, or, equally, the ones you feel least confident about.
Revise different topics in rotation. Work out an order you are happy with, and stick to it. Be kind to yourself, though. Don't force yourself to revise all your least enjoyable subjects close together.

Conclusions

Failure to perform well in an exam may be blamed on many factors. Many of the reasons used to explain failure revolve around other people. By contrast, there are usually only two explanations for success: good teaching and/or effective revision. Therein lies the satisfaction to be gained from revision. If you revise properly and do well in the exam, you can take pride in the knowledge that you were responsible for your own success.

John Etty teaches history at Ratcliffe College in Leicestershire