Study effectively at home? Test yourself!

Effectief thuis studeren studietip

There are many tips on the internet to help you with distance education, such as: follow a set schedule, use a fixed place for studying, study in short bursts instead of long stretches, take regular breaks, and ask for help if you need it. Sounds useful, but which approach is most effective, and how do you make sure that you actually learn something?

On Monday morning at 9 o’clock, you’re in your room at your recently decluttered desk with the door closed. You’ve set an alarm for 45 minutes and planned a break at 11. The thick book you need to study during the next 8 weeks lies in front of you, what now? Just start reading? Happily, there is more than 100 years worth of research on this subject, and by now we know more than a little about effective study methods.

Common study methods

These five study methods are often employed:

  • Test yourself – Very effective in many different contexts
  • Spread out learning – Very effective in many different contexts
  • Rereading – After the first time, time can be better spent elsewhere
  • Marking – Not very useful, but can be a helpful first step
  • Make summaries – Can be useful if you are good at summarising

Which method should you use?

Imagine having to study two chapters this week. How would you do this? Research has shown that after reading the text for the first time, students often reread the text to check if they understood everything (rereading technique; Kornell & Bjork, 2007). Sometimes, as supplementary steps, a marker is used to highlight important concepts, or a summary is made.

You would think that these three methods are effective, as they are relatively often used? If they were ineffective, students would have stopped using them long ago. Unfortunately, that is not how it works. A meta study that compared the most used (and somewhat less used) study methods showed that the three methods mentioned above are among the least effective.

So what about spread out learning and testing yourself? Spread out learning means that you don’t try and cram all of the subject matter in a short time, but that it is better to study it in small chunks spread out over several days/weeks. But the absolute winner is: testing yourself.

Research on retrieval practice

An American study asked students to study a text on physics. They were randomly assigned to four conditions:

  • A condition in which students could study the text only once.
  • A condition in which students could study the text multiple times in multiple sessions.
  • A concept map condition in which students were asked to schematically display the content of the text.
  • A condition in which the students, after studying the text, were asked to write down as much as possible of what they remembered of the content of the text ('retrieval practice'). This was followed by another retrieval session after studying the text a second time.

The students were tested after a week to see how much they had memorised. The test consisted of both literal questions and questions in which students were asked to establish the connections between concepts. Students in the 'retrieval practice' condition scored best on the test and therefore had learned the most.

Why is testing yourself the best method?

Firstly, you will learn which parts of the subject matter you already understand and which you do not (if you are honest). This is a so-called metacognitive advantage of testing yourself. Other than this metacognitive advantage, there is a more direct advantage: retrieving knowledge from your long-term memory. It seems that by simply recalling information, this information is better retained. This is already predicted in memory models in the eighties (see for example Raaijmakers & Shiffrin, 1981). You’re not only testing yourself, you’re also learning!

So be sure to use this method when studying at home. Make sure to test yourself every day on the subject matter of that week. Or have a fellow student test you (online)! Keep track of what you already know, and what not. Review this again, so maybe you will remember it tomorrow.

References

Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving students’ learning with effective learning techniques: Promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14, 4-58.
Kornell, N., & Bjork, R. A. (2007). The promise and perils of self-regulated study. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 14, 219-224.
Raaijmakers, J. G. W., & Shiffrin, R. M. (1981). Search of associative memory. Psychological Review, 88, 93–134.

When studying, regularly insert moments when you test yourself by writing down what you remember.

So put this method to use when you are studying at home. Make sure you give yourself a quick review of that week's material every day. Or have another student or a chatbot test you (online)! Keep track of exactly what you do and don't know yet. Review it that day, so that you remember it the next day.

Author

Want to learn more?

Are you looking for a better study approach, or would you like to further develop certain study skills? See what courses we have on offer, or take a look at our other study tips.

Sources

Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving students’ learning with effective learning techniques: Promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14, 4-58.
Kornell, N., & Bjork, R. A. (2007). The promise and perils of self-regulated study. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 14, 219-224.
Raaijmakers, J. G. W., & Shiffrin, R. M. (1981). Search of associative memory. Psychological Review, 88, 93–134.