How to study for exams - Evidence-based revision tips

Summary

In this educational video, Ellie, a final year medical student at Cambridge University, debunks common yet ineffective revision techniques like rereading, highlighting, and summarizing, supported by evidence from psychological studies. Instead, she advocates for active recall, a method proven to strengthen memory connections, and offers practical strategies like using Anki flashcards, closed-book note-making, and self-posed questions to enhance study efficiency and exam performance.

Takeaways

• 🎓 Ellie, a final year medical student at Cambridge University, introduces a series on evidence-based revision tips for exams.
• 📚 Traditional study techniques like rereading, highlighting, and note-making are popular but not as effective as believed, according to research in psychology.
• 🔍 The script reviews studies that show rereading has low utility in improving retention compared to other learning techniques.
• 📝 Highlighting and underlining are also rated as having low utility, potentially even hindering performance on higher-level inference tasks.
• 🔑 Active recall, or practicing retrieval of information from memory, is highlighted as the most effective study technique with substantial evidence supporting its benefits.
• 📈 Studies cited demonstrate significant performance improvements through practice testing compared to just restudying material.
• 🚀 The act of retrieving information strengthens neural connections, making active recall a powerful learning method.
• 🤔 There's a mismatch between what students intuitively believe to be effective study techniques and what research evidence supports.
• 📱 Anki, a flashcard app, is recommended for memorizing facts and concepts through spaced repetition, a method supported by active recall.
• 📝 Making notes with the book closed is suggested as an effective way to engage in active recall, helping to better commit information to memory.
• ❓ Writing questions for oneself based on the material is an alternative to traditional note-taking that encourages active engagement with the content.

Q & A

Who is Ellie and what is her educational background according to the video script?

Ellie is the host of the channel and a final year medical student at Cambridge University.

What is the main focus of the new series Ellie is starting in the video?

The new series focuses on sharing evidence-based revision tips for exam preparation.

What common study techniques does Ellie claim are often ineffective according to research?

Ellie claims that rereading, highlighting, and making notes or summarizing are common but often ineffective study techniques.

What is the concept of active recall as introduced by Ellie in the video?

Active recall is a powerful study technique that involves testing oneself and practicing the retrieval of information from the brain, which strengthens neural connections.

What evidence does Ellie present to support the inefficiency of rereading as a study technique?

Ellie cites a paper by Professor John Loski, which analyzed hundreds of papers and rated rereading as having low utility compared to other learning techniques.

How does Ellie describe the effectiveness of highlighting and underlining according to the available evidence?

Ellie, referencing Professor Dan Loski's paper, states that highlighting and underlining have low utility in most situations and may not boost performance effectively.

What does the evidence suggest about the effectiveness of summarizing or making notes as a study technique?

The evidence suggests that summarization is of low utility and can be an effective learning strategy only for learners who are already skilled at summarizing, but it requires extensive training for others.

What is the main reason Ellie recommends against using rereading, highlighting, and summarizing as primary study techniques?

Ellie recommends against these techniques because the evidence shows they are less effective compared to other strategies like active recall and spaced repetition.

What are some practical strategies Ellie suggests to apply active recall in one's studies?

Ellie suggests using an app like Anki for flashcards, making notes with the book closed, and writing questions for oneself as practical strategies to apply active recall.

What is the importance of cognitive effort in learning according to the script?

Cognitive effort, such as actively retrieving information from the brain, is important in learning because it strengthens the connections between information and enhances retention and understanding.

How does Ellie suggest using Anki to improve study efficiency?

Ellie suggests using Anki by creating flashcards and rating them based on ease of recall, which adjusts the review schedule according to the user's performance, effectively using spaced repetition.

What is the significance of the 1939 study mentioned by Ellie in the context of active recall?

The 1939 study demonstrated that students who had a practice test performed significantly better than those who only restudied the material, highlighting the benefits of active recall in improving learning outcomes.

What is the Cornell note-taking method that Ellie briefly mentions in the script?

The Cornell note-taking method involves writing questions for oneself based on the material, which encourages active engagement with the content and retrieval of information during revision.

How does Ellie suggest using questions to enhance the revision process?

Ellie suggests writing questions for oneself as a way to engage in cognitive effort during revision, which helps in retrieving information from the brain and strengthening memory.

What book does Ellie recommend for further understanding of effective study techniques?

Ellie recommends the book 'Make It Stick' for further insights into evidence-based study techniques, including active recall and spaced repetition.