Imagine this…
You have a biology exam tomorrow. Sheets and sheets of vocabulary and concepts to memorize lay before you, calling your name. “[Y/N!]*, [Y/N]! Study me!!!” You give in to their cries, and sacrifice the hours of the night studying like never before.
The next day rolls around, with a new 7 hours of sleep debt weighing down your eyes. You ask around your peers if they’ve studied, scoffing at their pathetic 2-3 hour study times. The test is written and you wait for the results.
Results come in, and the letter grade gazing back at you is challenging to comprehend. How is this possible? You look over at the puny 2-3 hour studiers. They got a higher grade than you. A fiery pool of volcanic rage overcomes you, how could this be?!
Obviously, this situation is slightly exaggerated, but very possible. Fortunately, there is a way to fully avoid this spine-shuddering route. “The solution may not be to work harder, but more strategically.” 1
The Art of Studying
“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.” 2 – Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Before the day of the exam, make sure all your gaps in knowledge in the subject are completely conquered. In this way, the exam will not be a piece of guesswork but rather a simple acknowledgement of your highly developed brain.
The key to finding out what you don’t know is assessment. 4
- Test yourself
- Try explaining the topic to someone else
- Review past papers
- Use learning apps such as Quizlet
If you find yourself lacking knowledge in a certain area, focus on repairing that part. Don’t waste time excessively reviewing material you already understand.
The Learning Pyramid
To ensure complete confidence over your knowledge, the Learning Pyramid 3 suggests that certain ways of testing your knowledge are more effective than others. Here is the list from most to least effective. The percentages represent how much the method will solidify the knowledge.
- Teaching Others (90%)
- Practiced by Doing (75%)
- Group Discussions (50%)
- Demonstration (30%)
- Audio Visual (20%)
- Reading (10%)
- Lecture (5%)
The Grade 9 Humanities Teacher
In grade 9, I had this incredible humanities teacher. She would give us fun projects, teach the class in an engaging way, make us exercise when nobody knew the answer, but most importantly remind us to review material every single day.
As you’ve probably heard many times before, the brain is like a muscle. Without letting it rest, limited gains will be made, as rest time is peak time for muscle growth. Your muscles don’t grow while you’re exercising.
Review is a healthy dose of intensity for your brain to effectively remember things without spending a crazy amount of time. Doing it regularly builds more long-term knowledge than a late night cram would. In other words, spacing out your study sessions will improve long term memory. 6
TL;DR
There are many tricks and strategies to improve studying efficiency that few are aware of. To become an elite student, follow these tips.
- Master your knowledge. Leave no room for guesswork on your exams.
- Follow the Learning Pyramid to make the most of your study time.
- Review daily.
With these secrets now passed down to you, I wish you luck, student. I hope your upcoming biology exam will return wonderful and glorious.
*Y/N stands for Your/Name