As a student, I often find myself in a panic before a test when I realize that even though I have been studying for hours, I still don’t understand the content.
Research by the University of San Diego’s psychology department reinforces my experience: Simply reviewing the content and looking at your notes is not enough to retain information. Instead, they advocate for spaced repetition, which is repeating content over a period of time, and active recall, the ability to internalize and deeply grasp a concept rather than just vaguely understanding it.
To practice better study habits and become a so-called “academic weapon,” I tried four different study methods to see which ones help with content absorption and retention.
The Pomodoro Technique
My studying has been undermined in the past by issues with time management and distractions. The Pomodoro Technique involves cycles of work and rest, where you work for 25 minutes at once and take a 5-minute break before starting again.
The Pomodoro Technique helps reduce burnout and break down work into manageable chunks. However, one issue with this technique is that it requires an immense amount of self-discipline when you are taking your 5-minute break not to extend it.
For my part, I ended up completely ignoring the 5-minute limit and took breaks for more than 15 minutes before getting back into my studying. One way to combat this is to work with your friends; by following the same Pomodoro timer, you can help keep yourselves accountable rather than taking an interminably long break.
Additionally, I found that when using this technique, my focus broke a lot and I wasn’t able to reach a state of “deep work” — a term coined by Cal Newport, a well-known professor of computer science at Georgetown University who has written popular books about productivity.
Rating: 3/5 Falcons
The Feynman Technique
The Feynman Technique involves explaining concepts as if you were explaining it to a child, which is said to solidify your understanding of a certain idea and identify gaps in your knowledge.
To implement this technique, after every concept I reviewed, I would explain it to one of my friends. Additionally, as Chemistry teacher Kathy Nakamatsu recommends, you can always try explaining it to a stuffed animal if your friends are busy.
Personally, I found this really helpful for concept-heavy subjects like chemistry. After every concept I reviewed, my friends and I would try to explain the concept to the other person to make sure we had a good understanding of it. I felt like this technique helped me understand the content and I was able to retain the information weeks later, as compared to when I just watched a video or simply read the content.
Rating: 4.5/5 Falcons
The Leitner System
Created by German science journalist Sebastian Leitner in 1972, the Leitner System is a form of spaced repetition where you write down information onto flashcards and review them over time, separating them into three piles: content that you know well, content that you somewhat need to review and content that you don’t understand.
When I tried this method, I fully expected to take weeks to remember this material. However, just the act of writing these facts down on paper helped me understand and remember the concepts a lot better.
Rating: 4/5 Falcons
The Blurting method
The Blurting method is a form of active recall where you write down everything you can remember about a given topic and compare it to your notes or textbook. The process forces your brain to recall information, which helps identify gaps in your knowledge and strengthens memory over time. When you struggle to recall something and then check the correct answer, your brain creates a stronger connection to that piece of information. That is why this method is better compared to passively reviewing or just reading the material.
Normally, after watching a video lecture, I simply just move on to the next one, leading me to get information for different sections jumbled together. To improve this, after watching every video, I took five minutes to list out everything that was covered in it, including how it worked and its different applications. After this, I compared it to the notes I took down while watching the video and figured out what concepts I felt the least familiar with.
The Blurting Method helped me lock in concepts to my brain, especially after watching videos. Because it is a form of active recall, this really helped me to retain information for long periods of time.
Rating: 4/5 Falcons
Overall, the Blurting method, Leitner System and Feyman technique are all methods that I will be sure to use in the future because of how well they help me understand the gaps in my knowledge as well as retain information. I strongly recommend trying these methods for those looking to experiment with new ways to study.
