10.14.02
Deciding When to Study
Deciding When to Study
| II. Deciding
when to study depends in part the subjects to be studied and
the kind of learning sought. |
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| A. Most people learn more slowly just before
going to bed than they do earlier in the day, but subjects reviewed just before going to
bed are remembered better. |
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| 1. Thus, try to schedule your learning early in the day and
spend an hour just before retiring to review what you have learned. Make this a
habit (habits generally take about three weeks to establish--at the three week
point for many activities, the
probability that the "habit" will continue is just above 50%). |
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| 2. Reviewing immediately after class (if only for 5 to 10
minutes) consolidates learning and is paramount for classes with new conceptual content (e.g.,
mathematics, logic, and the sciences). |
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| B. For rote memorizing, spaced
practice is distinctly superior to massed practice. Spaced practice results in markedly
higher retention. |
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| 1. For foreign language, biology, and other classes requiring
large amounts of memorized material, study in 15 to 20 minute sessions. |
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| 2. The increase in retention for shorter periods of study for
memorized lists is dramatic compared to the retention had for longer periods of study.
Some researchers report two to three more information is remembered
using spaced practice in comparison to the same number of minutes
using massed practice.
|
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| C. For understanding,
massed
practice is the superior study method. |
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| 1. Massed practice results in markedly higher retention for
subjects such as mathematics, science, and philosophy. |
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| 2. If you are attempting to gain insight into a difficult
subject, massed practice (40 minutes to 90 minutes of study) is much more effective
in developing your understanding of the content. |
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| D. If your attention persistently wanders, it is
usually better to stop studying and reschedule than to reinforce inconsistent and
unproductive study periods. Before you stop, however, it is useful to
write yourself a contract as to when and where you will replace the
lost study time. |
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