Maybe a little struggling does the mind good.
Students remember material better when they take tests on it rather than merely studying it, according to new research in the journal Science. We’re used to studying textbooks and reviewing notes until our eyes beg for mercy, so this is a breakthrough.
The study, which evaluated how much students retained about a passage a week after reading it, dismisses the idea that popular studying methods such as creating diagrams of information make information easier to remember.
Taking a test – even a practice test – isolates students from crutches such as textbooks and forces them to rely on memory. So an exam doesn’t just force students to regurgitate what they’ve learned; it embeds the information deeper into memory.
Of course, this is just one study. The results make sense, though, because students generally prepare for important exams such as the SAT, LSAT or just the Microeconomics final in the same way: practicing with old tests. This research suggests taking exams not only gives us experience with the specific test’s format but also helps to store the information we know.
The technique comes with a downside, however.Students feel less confident in their memory while testing and may be tempted to study with the book constantly beside them.
With that in mind, for our next exam, we’ll consider giving the crutches a break to see if we can stand our own.
