Tag: spacing effect

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Taking breaks while studying? Who knew studying could be this easy

By Kloe Norris

Introduction 

When people first get to college, most kids do not know how to study. Some kids come into college homeschooled, some did not go to a public school while others went to a school where they did not have to study for hard tests/exams. Incoming freshmen wanting to go to college are blindsided when it comes to how much studying really affects how well someone does in college. Coming to college has made me realize how much studying you have to do. Knowing how to study the right way is something that has helped tremendously while being in college. College is a scary thing but knowing how to study the right way and pass your classes will make college so much easier in the future. 

The Spacing Effect and how it works

Just hearing the word Spacing effect when it comes to studying may scare some students off and they will probably look past it like it is nothing, but it is very important. The Spacing Effect, when it comes to studying, is one of the earliest discoveries in human learning (1). It is proven that if a student spaces out their studying and processes what they are learning, they will remember and learn the information and memorize it better (1). For example, if you have a big exam coming up, it is better for you to take breaks throughout the time you are studying to help understand the information more. 

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Work Smart. Not Hard

By Randilyn Light-Smith

We all stress about having a big final, quiz, or even a test coming up. This could have even started at a young age of stressing about one coming up. Coming up with many ways on how to prepare and study for one of these was always a big help. One of the main ways was repeating something over and over again. This can be done by saying it out loud or rereading the material you were given over and over again. Why is doing something over and over again a big way that helps you remember the material you learned?

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To Cram or Not to Cram: Massed Studying vs Distributed Studying

By Ashley Shookman

Does the following image look like a snapshot of you trying to study for a test the night before it is to occur? If your answer was yes, keep reading. I may have the cure for your studying woes.

 First of all, congratulations on getting into university! Much excitement awaits you as you will surely go throw many changes throughout your next four years of life. College can be a fun time to make new friends, learn new things, and go on many new adventures. However, college is not all fun and games. College actually requires a lot of hard work, dedication, and motivation. If you are anything like me, High School didn’t require too much time studying outside of the classroom in order to get decent grades. I am here to tell you, unfortunately, that college is not the same in terms of studying. I learned this the hard way and that is why I am here to teach you the easy way!

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Improve Your Study Habits! Get Better Grades!

By Anya Bovilsky

Are you in need of reevaluating your study habits and ready to get better test scores? When I was in high school, I was constantly looking for new ways to study. I used cramming and waiting until the last minute, only focusing on one thing at a time, with and without music or background noise. For me, especially for definitions like in Spanish class or Anatomy, using flashcards and reviewing them over and over again was the best way for me to remember the material for the test and to help remember more for the final at the end of the semester. I had a teacher in my senior level Anatomy class that was convinced repetition every day would help us learn the material, so when we were learning all of the bones in the body, we would go over a different section every single day to help the information encoded into our brains better. I brought that with me to college and it has helped me maintain good grades. Continue reading “Improve Your Study Habits! Get Better Grades!”

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Spacing Effect and Consolidation in Studying: Don’t you worry, you have time for that nap!

By Liz Wagner

Reality of College
College can be a scary experience for every incoming freshman, your automatically scared of the action of “failing”. College isn’t supposed to be a scary experience, it is supposed to be an enjoyable experience. You will have many opportunities that will shape you in to the grown individual you will become, you will attend parties, join clubs, and experience many firsts. But one important factor that you need to pay attention to is your study habits. If your study habits are not up to par, your grades and college experience will not end well.

Now we all know that one weakness that many college students face at some point in their college experience, and that is procrastination. Procrastination is somewhat like an evil monster that creeps up on students, especially when it comes to big papers and exams. The results of procrastinating are cramming last minute for that exam, meaning no time for that Netflix show or that nap you were counting on. What if I told you, that there are studies showing that a college student could benefit from not cramming, and you would have time for that nap.

This phenomenon in psychology is called the spacing effect, and it can benefit many college students in their studies. Many students throughout the years, typically develop their own study habits. But as you continue to read, you may discover that the spacing effect is the answer to those prays or to help you get that passing grade. The spacing effect is a pretty simple concept in psychology, the concept is spacing out your study time into multiple periods instead of one mass study session (4). During these multiple study sessions, an individual should take breaks in between each session, and the mind should be devoted to the same subject to acquire the best results (4). So that is right, multi-tasking in this phenomenon wouldn’t be a good idea. But the good news is during those short breaks in between studying you can do all the social media browsing, napping, or Netflix watching you want.
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