TIPS ON HOW TO STUDY

Medical residents learn a variety of techniques, surgeries, and procedures during their training, which they use to save lives later on. Mastering and retaining these skills can literally mean life or death. Recognizing this, a 2006 study concentrated on a group of surgical residents learning to suture arteries. The residents were placed into two groups, each using the same study materials but differing in one critical feature of their training strategy. When evaluated a month later, one group outperformed the other dramatically.

What exactly was their secret? In this discussion, we will look at the strategy that led to their success, as well as two more effective study strategies that operate both inside and outside of the classroom. But first, let us dive into how the brain learns and stores information.

Assume you're trying to memorize the anatomy of the heart.

Upon learning a new notion, neurons in the hippocampus momentarily encode the memory.

Learning about the heart, whether in class or studying its chambers for an exam, reactivates these neurons. This recurrent firing strengthens the connections between cells, cementing the memory.

The knowledge of cardiac anatomy is gradually stored long-term, involving another brain area known as the neocortex.

It is currently unclear how information is transferred from short-term to long-term storage, but it is considered to occur between study sessions and, more importantly, during sleep.

Here, the new information is merged with previously learned concepts, such as how to calculate heart rate or the structure of other organs. And the process does not end there. Each time you memorize cardiac anatomy, you trigger the long-term memory, making it vulnerable to change.

Knowledge can be updated, reinforced, and reintegrated with other bits of information.

This is where we introduce our first study technique.

Testing yourself using flashcards and quizzes drives you to actively retrieve information, which updates and enhances your memory.

Students frequently prefer alternative study strategies, such as rereading textbooks and highlighting notes. However, because the information is immediately in front of you, these techniques might give the impression of ability.

Self-testing, on the other hand, allows you to better assess what you know. But what happens if you forget the answers while doing this? Don't worry, making mistakes can really increase learning in the long run.

It is hypothesized that while you search your brain for an answer, you activate relevant portions of knowledge.

When the proper answer is provided, your brain will be able to better integrate it with what you already know.

Our second technique builds upon the previous.

When studying using flashcards, it is ideal to use a deck that includes different subjects.

Interleaving, or combining the topics you focus on in a single session, might improve retention over practicing a single skill or topic at a time.

Cycling through diverse subjects, akin to testing, may cause the brain to temporarily forget and then recall information, improving memory.

You may also discover links between topics and gain a deeper understanding of their distinctions.

Now that you've learned how and what to study, our final strategy is about when. Spacing your review over many days provides for recovery and sleep between sessions.

While "offline," the brain works actively in the neocortex, storing and integrating knowledge. So, while studying the night before the exam may appear logical—after all, won't the material be fresh in your mind? —the information will not stick with you for long. This returns us to our medical residents. Both groups dedicated the same amount of time to studying the surgery.

However, one group's instruction was compressed into a single day, while the other more successful group's training was spread out over four weeks.

All three of these study strategies work because they are intended to benefit the brain. They compliment and reinforce the extraordinary way the brain functions, sorting through and storing the vast amounts of information it receives on a daily basis.