Tag: testing effect

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Retrieve to Achieve

By Brock Bower-Preece

As incoming college freshmen, you are likely to encounter new and challenging material that requires a great deal of memorization. Whether you are studying for an exam or trying to retain information from a lecture, memorization is a critical component of academic success. Research on the correlation between note-taking and test scores does not necessarily support that just studying your notes the night before a test will lead to a good grade. Fortunately, research has shown that using retrieval practice, or actively recalling information from memory, can improve your ability to remember information and perform well on tests. By practicing retrieval, you are not only strengthening your memory, but you are also enhancing your understanding of the material, which can help you excel in your classes. In this way, retrieval practice is a valuable tool that can help you achieve academic success throughout your college career.

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Stop Reading, Start Retrieving

By Jacob Lamprecht

Studying. Most all college students will attempt to study at some point in their college careers. Though variations exist from student to student, oftentimes the same pattern emerges in our studying. First, we find a comfy spot. Then, to continue creating that nice study environment, we put on some music. But not that song, it doesn’t fit my mood right now, so I’ll skip it. Upon finding the right mood for studying, we check our social media to see if anything has happened in the last few moments since we began studying. When we finally get to the point in our studying where we actually open our notes or textbook most follow through with the same procedure. We look at our notes. And then look at them again. Rereading and rereading and rereading to shove that knowledge into our brain. Though this approach feels fulfilling and is easy enough to do once we get past the distractions, research has shown rereading to have little effect upon our eventual test scores (1).

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Test Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself (or Your GPA)

By Anna Rule

We all have the best of intentions when it comes to preparing for an exam, am I right?  I mean – no one sees a test date on a syllabus and says, “Okay I’m going to wing that one.”  We study, we prepare, and we pray to the founding fathers of Eureka College that they grant us some semblance of a working memory to recall the information when we need it.  While our intentions may be great, we need to ask the question; are we preparing effectively?  While we’re cramming our brains with information, how do we know it will stick?

In my years of studying for tests, it never occurred to me that re-reading my notes wasn’t sufficient.  I thought that because I was going through the material, it would be fresh in my mind and “learned.”  Some can get by on this wildly common practice.  Others (like myself) are not blessed with the good memorization gene.  So, what can you do?  Test yourself.  Of course, this is in conjunction with the wise words of Alan, trusty wolf-pack leader, to ‘check yourself.’  But for the sake of retaining information long-term – stick with the first recommendation and test yourself.

In all seriousness, our academic experiences thus far have allowed us to safely assume that everyone learns in different ways.  Some are visual learners, some learn by doing.  Some are extremely lucky and skim over a note or two and ace a test (I am extremely envious of those people).  One review of how we learn carves out a solid list of 8 effective learning strategies backed by a ton of research (1) which you can view here.  We’re going to dive into one of those 8.  Let’s see how we can retain more by testing ourselves.

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Test Better Using the Testing Effect

By Sydney Abdnour

We’ve all heard the saying “you get out what you put in.” This statement applies perfectly to schooling, specifically studying and test taking. In high school, it is easy to cram the night before a test and get a good grade. Unfortunately, that is not the case in college. Even if you consider yourself a “good test taker,” it is important to put more time into your studies than you did in high school. There are many techniques out there to enhance the learning and studying experience for students of all ages. One of the effective ways to help students (especially college students) study and retain information better is the Testing Effect, known more commonly as the Retrieval Practice Effect.

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Go Test Yourself – Serial Position and Testing Effect

By Jeileen Belen and Veronica Rzepniewski

College is a difficult time for people; you’re adjusting to a new environment, taking difficult classes, and surrounding yourself with people that you don’t know yet. Though it may seem stressful, college is a great time as long as you find your balance.

If I could go back in time, I would have listened to older college students who told me that the techniques used for studying in high school is not an effective way to study in college. To all of the first-year college students, the best way to study for a test is to ACTUALLY STUDY; studying the day before or the day of is a sure way to fail a college test. There are expectations of college students to have a fun and active social life while maintaining a good academic standing, and these expectations can be overwhelming. It is important to enjoy your college years, but it is more important to understand your boundaries and find a good social and academic balance. Sources say that having good study skills improves academic self-efficacy and achievement motivation which are the two constructs that best influence GPA (1). College is a whole new ball park, so developing great study habits from the bat will help you succeed. Continue reading “Go Test Yourself – Serial Position and Testing Effect”

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Why You Should Forget Everything You Learned About Studying

By Henry Schimmel and Brennan McGuire

Deep-rooted high school study habits tend to die hard in college if they are not swiftly corrected. One of the greatest challenges new college students face is abandoning their traditional methods of rereading and memorizing class material when preparing for an exam. While these study techniques may have yielded positive results in the high school classroom, they simply won’t suffice in the rigorous domain of higher education. However, it is never too late to change your study habits. You might be pleasantly surprised by the extent to which changing your study routine can improve your academic performance and overall retention of information. While it can be a daunting and arduous task to modify your existing study paradigm, by utilizing the simple method of retrieval practice, you can significantly improve long-term understanding and performance.

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