
Lily Huynh/The Cougar
As spring semester kicks off, students are beginning to prepare for their first exams.
Throughout their academic careers, note taking and memorizing content have been the basic studying techniques taught in school. However, each student has a unique mind, and these elementary techniques won’t work for everybody.
With insights from scientific research and advice from fellow students, finding different methods will promote a more successful semester. Here are different study methods to help you ace your exams:
The Feynman technique
Richard Feynman proposed a method where the student teaches themselves or another person the content. This helps to actively engage with the material while also improving comprehension.
Students can start out by finding a comfortable area to speak aloud, like their bedroom or a private room in the library. From there, choose a topic in the material to teach and explain. It doesn’t have to be a deep dive into the content, but a simple overview.
As students improve on the topic, they can get more in-depth in their teaching.
Active recall
From self-generated questions to practice tests, practicing active recall is proven to positively increase the outcomes of test scores, compared to students who don’t. This allows students to help retain information by seeing firsthand their knowledge of the material. By actively doing problems repeatedly, this can also boost student’s confidence, reducing test anxiety.
Another method of self-testing is using flashcards. Grab a handful of index cards and write all of the important facts, phrases or equations onto each card with their answer on the back. Students can go through each one until they are all memorized.
“Every person has a different way they learn best,” said public health junior Samantha Pham, “You know, it could be making flash cards, recording lectures or writing stuff down repeatedly.”
For students who are always on the run, this technique allows them to study anywhere. This technique can also be incorporated into a study group by creating a competitive game out of it.
Pomodoro technique
This method focuses on time management. If you’re feeling burnt out, it can be hard to focus on the material. The Pomodoro technique helps students focus by breaking sessions into 25 minute intervals with a five minute break in-between.
This does not mean you should go on your phone and lose track of time on Instagram during those five minutes. In those five minutes, students should take a short walk or listen to music to give their brain a true break.
There are multiple timers online that specialize in the Pomodoro technique.
Online help
The rise of education online has taken the 2020s by storm. With more access to help online, there are more resources available to help students study. Even though ChatGBT and Quizlet have been deemed as “cheating resources,” they can be used as an effective studying tool.
“First go to Quizlet and see if there are any previous notes from other students that will be so beneficial and time saving,” said supply chain management senior Shahad Alghamdi, “And then ChatGBT. It’s really my best friend.”
Students can copy and paste long readings or presentations into the AI generated website and ask for a summary, notes or even a study sheet.
Don’t be afraid to take advantage of the endless resources on the internet.