Keep this card handy during study sessions as a reminder of effective techniques.
Encoding Techniques (Getting Information In)
- Elaborative Interrogation: Ask "why" and "how" questions about the material. Don't just accept facts; explain them to yourself.
- Dual Coding: Combine verbal and visual information. Draw diagrams, create mental images, use charts alongside text.
- Chunking: Group related pieces of information together. Instead of memorizing 10 separate facts, organize them into 3 meaningful categories.
- Connection-Making: Link new information to things you already know. How does this relate to previous material? To your life? To other subjects?
Retrieval Techniques (Getting Information Out)
- Practice Testing: Test yourself constantly. Use flashcards, practice problems, or simply close your notes and try to recall what you just read.
- Free Recall: After reading a section, close the book and write down everything you remember. Check what you missed.
- The Feynman Technique: Explain the concept in simple terms as if teaching someone else. Where you struggle to explain, you don't truly understand.
- Practice Problems: For quantitative subjects, do problems without looking at examples. Struggling through problems builds retrieval strength.
Spacing Techniques (Timing Your Practice)
- Distributed Practice: Spread study sessions across multiple days rather than cramming. Three 1-hour sessions beat one 3-hour session.
- Interleaving: Mix up different topics or problem types within a single study session rather than doing all of one type, then all of another.
- Review Scheduling: Review material at increasing intervals (1 day, 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks). Each successful retrieval strengthens the memory.
What to Avoid
- Rereading: Feels productive but produces minimal learning. Replace with retrieval practice.
- Highlighting without processing: Marking text doesn't mean you've learned it. Always follow highlighting with active engagement.
- Massed practice: Cramming everything into one session is inefficient. Your brain needs time between sessions to consolidate.
- Passive review: Looking over notes is not studying. You must actively test yourself.