How should you study?

The weird thing about learning is that we all do it, but we hardly ever talk about how we do it. And when we do, it’s usually adults talking to adults.

But since kids, teens, and young adults are the ones who are expected to learn lots of material and get graded for it, it seems to me that you all should know some of this information, too!

It turns out that there’s no mystery in the best ways to study. It also turns out that almost all the advice that people give you is wrong. Oops! I’ll give you a don’t-do list at the end, but here are the study techniques that researchers have found really do work:

#1: Lots of quizzes

Ew! Lots of quizzes! Yuck! That means I need to be prepared every day to possibly take a quiz?

Exactly. It turns out that if you take little quizzes (which shouldn’t affect your grade, in my opinion), you learn the material more deeply. That’s because you find out over a period of weeks all the little things that you’re missing, and you can fill them in.

Your brain learns things through repetition. If you fail to remember something a few times, and each time you go back and look up the answer, eventually your brain will remember that thing.

#2: Lots of studying

Oh, man. Really? More studying?

Well, no, not more studying. Just more often studying. If you like to leave things to the last minute, you’re not doing yourself any favors. Your brain works by being reminded of things (like your parent nagging you to clean your room!). You have to nag your brain on a regular basis in order to get it to commit things to memory.

This is true of facts, like dates on a history test, skills, like doing a new type of math problem, and also performances, like sports or music. You don’t need to do it more if you do it often.

#3: Don’t just move on

You mean I can’t just forget I ever had to study geometry? I have to do those problems again?

Yes, indeed. Were you one of those kids who knew the name of every single type of dinosaur when you were 5? How many can you remember now if you’re not still into dinosaurs? Probably many fewer.

In order to learn something really well, you have to cycle back to it. That’s why modern math teaching is moving toward “integrated math”—mixing all the types of math together rather than teaching them in separate years.

#4: Make it a community effort

I shouldn’t just sit in my room with my headphones on?

That can be fun and relaxing, but it doesn’t make for the best learning all the time. You need to mix it up. And also, you need to be open to guidance from adults. Maybe you got a math teacher you don’t click with, or your parent drives you crazy. That doesn’t mean you can’t work with them.

Explaining to someone else something you have learned is a great way to figure out what you know and don’t know. Answering their questions challenges your brain. Hearing their ideas can help your brain connect the knowledge and skills you have learned. At the very least, try to work with another student. You may just want to play video games together, but take a bit of time to challenge each other in math or exchange ideas about a story you read.

It will do you a lot of good! And now….

What doesn’t work:

– Cramming the night before
– Rereading your notes
– Highlighting important things in a book
– Always working alone

Don’t. Do. It.

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I notice that lots of great pieces on learning and teaching are written for adults, but I hardly ever see them written for the people who need them—kids! This piece was based on a piece for teachers. If you and your parent or teacher want to read more details, please visit “Why Teachers Should Help Students Learn Effective Study Strategies.”