THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING

A couple of weeks ago, all the Year 12 students attended a workshop called ‘The Science Of Learning’ hosted by Dr Jared Horvath. We all thought that it was going to be another boring study skills session, but this time, with a neuroscientist yapping instead of one of our KGV teachers (no offense to them). Believe me when I tell you it was the complete opposite of that!

Dr. Horvath is a professor at clears throat Harvard University, and  an award winning neuroscientist with expertise in human learning, memory, and brain stimulation. However, I think his biggest accomplishment is keeping the entire Year 12 cohort engaged and actively listening for an hour and fifteen minutes. His charismatic and humorous way of delivering his insights into learning has left an impact and I can’t help but remember them. Instead of keeping his study tips to ourselves, I along with the other Year 12s at The Lion’s Crest thought it would be great to impart his wisdom for the whole school to access. 

So, regardless of what year you’re in and what you’re studying for, here are ‘Dr Horvath’s top 5 tips to ace studying’: 

1. Ride your threshold

Most of you might know that humans can hear sounds between a frequency of 20 Hz to 20 kHz. This is our threshold for hearing. 

Similarly, there is a threshold for our focus and we lose focus if we study too long. In order to regain focus, you must reset your threshold. This is where the Pomodoro technique comes into play. If you have never heard of this before, it's basically studying for 25 minutes and taking 5 minute breaks. However, Dr Horvath suggests that instead of the default 25 minutes, you need to figure out your unique focus time before having to reset your threshold. 

Now, this is the key part: In order to reset your threshold, you need a change of context. Taking a break means you need to get out of the room you were studying in, and find a different environment to change your context. This will allow your brain to reset the threshold in time for you to start your next study session. If you were studying using an electronic device, then stay away from it during your break!

2. Never EVER multi-task!

Dr Horvath couldn’t have stressed this enough: Humans can’t multitask! Sure, you can walk and talk at the same time, but that’s not the same as multitasking when you are studying. 

Multitasking is like giving your brain  an overload of information to process and you only end up sucking at both tasks. When you are studying, please only focus on studying. Don’t think that you can get away with doing a past paper with your favourite TV show playing in the background. 

3. Space it out with active recall

Have you ever crammed your entire syllabus the night before the test and forgotten what you learned within the next 2 days? This is because little and often is better than learning one big chunk. If you study something for at least 10 minutes, with focus, and revise it the next day, and then revise it again 2 days later, and again after a week, two weeks and even a month later, you would probably remember it for the rest of your life (or maybe just until your final exam). This is because, the more you access the piece of information you studied, the easier it will become to recall that piece of information in an exam. 

“But how do I revise?”

ACTIVE RECALL! This is the most popular tip that almost everyone recommends and that’s because it works! Like I mentioned before, you need to access what you studied often to remember it, and testing yourself is a great way to do this. 

A common mistake that most students make is they test themselves but they never check if they were right or wrong. Active recall will not work if you don’t notice the topics you are getting wrong often and focus on them. 

Flashcards using the Leitner system is a great way to combine active recall and spaced repetition into one. 

All your flashcards would start in box 1 and if you get them right you move them up a box. If you get it wrong, it stays in that box. You need to revise the flashcards in box 1 three times a week, box 2 two times a week and box 3 once a week. Your aim should be to get all your flashcards to box 3. 

4. Note-taking techniques

Always handwrite your notes – either on paper or on your tablet. Typing is fine for production of knowledge, not for absorbing it.

However, it is debatable whether you should write your notes when your teacher is teaching or if you should wait for them to finish. Personally, I would suggest that you absorb everything your teacher is telling you and only write down key words or phrases to trigger your memory later on. Dr Horvath suggests this modified version of ‘Cornell Notes’: 

First, you take notes either in or after class. The next day, you write questions on the side based on your notes and test yourself. 2 days later, you write a summary of your notes on the bottom of the page. This way, you’ve got good notes to refer to, active recall and spaced repetition. 

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Always remember that change cannot happen overnight and you have to be consistent in how you study. I hope this summary of Dr Horvath’s simple strategies for learning is useful and helps you reach your academic potential to the fullest!