What are the best ways to learn? And more importantly, what are the best ways to remember what you learn? Effective learning is about remembering the information you learn, recalling it when you need to, and using that information effectively to successfully achieve a particular task or goal.
So how do you become a better learner? The following tips will help you get more out of your study time.
Keep learning sessions short & frequent
Short frequent learning sessions are more effective than longer and infrequent ones. Study for 30 to 50 minutes at a time with a 5 to 10 minute break between sessions.
Keep Learning New Things
Keeping your brain active on a regular basis will help with absorbing and retaining information.
Review
Schedule time to go over what you've learnt in one to two day intervals. This will help consolidate your learning and help you remember.
Practise what you learn
Students mostly learn via textbooks or lectures. While this is necessary, actually putting new knowledge and skills into practice can be one of the best ways to improve learning. If you don't use what you learn, you are likely to forget it, so practice is key to effective learning.
Use pen & paper for note taking
Writing notes by hand (not on a laptop) will help with remembering as you are more likely to think about what you're writing and process the information better.
Teach others
Teaching someone else what you are trying to learn can improve your own learning and help you remember more.
Mix up different study techniques
Learning the same information using a number of different study techniques can help you learn more and faster than if you just repeat the same technique. For example, try out learning with pictures & graphics, then listen to a lecture or tutorial on the topic, then put what you've learned into practice.
Test yourself
Answering questions and taking tests are an effective way to improve long-term recall of the materials you learn.
Don't multitask
Students who switch between tasks tend to lose time and concentration. Trying to perform more than one activity at once can make learning less effective.
Sleep!
Taking time to rest your brain is vital to retaining what you learn, and getting some sleep in between study sessions will help you remember what you've learnt.
So how do you become a better learner? The following tips will help you get more out of your study time.
Keep learning sessions short & frequent
Short frequent learning sessions are more effective than longer and infrequent ones. Study for 30 to 50 minutes at a time with a 5 to 10 minute break between sessions.
Keep Learning New Things
Keeping your brain active on a regular basis will help with absorbing and retaining information.
Review
Schedule time to go over what you've learnt in one to two day intervals. This will help consolidate your learning and help you remember.
Practise what you learn
Students mostly learn via textbooks or lectures. While this is necessary, actually putting new knowledge and skills into practice can be one of the best ways to improve learning. If you don't use what you learn, you are likely to forget it, so practice is key to effective learning.
Use pen & paper for note taking
Writing notes by hand (not on a laptop) will help with remembering as you are more likely to think about what you're writing and process the information better.
Teach others
Teaching someone else what you are trying to learn can improve your own learning and help you remember more.
Mix up different study techniques
Learning the same information using a number of different study techniques can help you learn more and faster than if you just repeat the same technique. For example, try out learning with pictures & graphics, then listen to a lecture or tutorial on the topic, then put what you've learned into practice.
Test yourself
Answering questions and taking tests are an effective way to improve long-term recall of the materials you learn.
Don't multitask
Students who switch between tasks tend to lose time and concentration. Trying to perform more than one activity at once can make learning less effective.
Sleep!
Taking time to rest your brain is vital to retaining what you learn, and getting some sleep in between study sessions will help you remember what you've learnt.
