It's that time of year again, when students throughout the land head off to school. For the facebook chatter we saw this weekend, it couldn't come sooner for some parents. A recent
article in the
New York Times offers new research on the customary approach to studying. According to new research, gone is the notion of setting up one study space and sticking to it. Instead, researchers suggest switching it up. Study at your desk for awhile and then on the couch. Need to study some more maybe head outdoors. It seems that when students studied the same subjects in different locations they retained more information than if they studied in only one spot. Apparently our brains make unconscious connections between what we are studying and the environment we are in. Another fascinating discovery made by cognitive psychologists is that tests and quizzes are in fact great for learning.
When we struggle to retrieve facts for the test or quiz, the effort we have to retrieve the information helps us store the information more efficiently for the next time we are asked to retrieve it. Researchers make a point of mentioning that cramming for a test is near fruitless when considering retention of information. If we struggle to cram our brains full of information before a test, most of it will fall out after. It seems that the type of assessments that work best for retention are those which test the information gathered in the last study session, not high stress cram session.
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