April 30, 2023
Written/Edited by: Fidha and Mana
Do you feel that you often forget things that you learned in class? Or that no matter how often you review something, it never seems to last for more than a few days before you forget?
Effective study methods can be difficult to develop and maintain, especially with the many AP, IB, AICE, and other board/state exams that are taking place right now. With exams virtually everyday, it can be hard to balance studying, especially if you are not using active recall. In order for our brains to remember something, and store it in long-term memory, there is a process of memory that has been disputed over by psychologists. One of the popular schools of how memory is stored is the Multi-Store Model, developed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968). According to this model, there are three types of memory–sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. In order for sensory memory (things like seeing, smelling, hearing, etc) to be transferred even to short-term memory, “attention” must be given to the sensory stimuli. After this, the short-term memory can hold 5-9 items before we begin to forget what we are looking at, unless we “rehearse” the item. Rehearsal of the item leads to the transfer of the item to long-term memory, and whenever we want to remember something, we “retrieve” the item from long-term memory.
If the Multi-Store model is correct, then studying should mimic this process in order to maximize our knowledge intake. This is what active recall does; by paying close attention to the sensory stimuli, and then rehearsing this stimuli, we will be able to smoothly transfer and retrieve this information. Below, we present three study methods that all involve active recall, and will likely change study methods to be more effective and efficient.
Feynman Technique
Within the great web of studying techniques, there is one named after famous laureate/theoretical physicist Richard Feynman, the Feynman Technique. Although said technique may not be as well known or relevant as some others, studies have shown that it bears much fruit (more so than any other methods, some professionals even claim!) Firstly, to explain the technique: In three simple steps, it can be defined as “Reflect,” “Refine,” and “Simplify.” Feynman took note of the fact that teaching is ironically the best method of learning, at least for some. And so he implemented it in his technique, in which you study, then pretend as though you’re teaching a child your topic. This act of “teaching” will reveal the holes within your basic knowledge (better yet if you can find a real child who will ask you questions, speeding up this process.)
Those who have studied the Feynman Technique emphasize how it’s considerably beneficial to your brain’s critical thinking abilities, and even benefits communication and/or public speaking skills, depending on the specific execution. This method is especially recommended if you plan on becoming a teacher, for obvious reasons, as it organizes your basic thought processes as well. All in all, if you’re having trouble finding a study method that’s right for you, try this technique and improve your various life skills!
Interleaving and Spaced Practice
Another great set of techniques is the combination of interleaving and spaced practice. While spaced practice may be on the more obvious side, interleaving is a bit more complex. Interleaving, a process that was developed to be best suited for math but can be used for a plethora of subjects, is the incorporation of multiple topics and methods into practice questions, rather than solving for one singular topic at a time. As an example, if one were to only learn about balancing chemical equations instead of incorporating the differing types of chemical equations, they may learn only the one specific topic, but forget the connection between balancing chemical equations and figuring out what type of reaction the equation represents. As such, interleaving promotes connections and applications between the ideas that you are studying, rather than isolating them, as isolation may cause confusion on a larger-scale. Spaced practice can be used as an additional helping method to interleaving which enforces rehearsal and repetition, which as discussed earlier, is imperative to transferring memory from short-term to long-term memory.
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