3 tips on how to study effectively

00:05:08
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjPFZaMe2yw

Summary

TLDRDuring their training, medical residents learn techniques crucial for life-saving surgeries. A 2006 study showed that residents who spaced study sessions over four weeks performed better than those who crammed in one day. Scientific insights explain why this spacing enhances memory. Initially, information is encoded in the hippocampus, and repeated exposure strengthens neuron connections, stabilizing memory. Over time, this knowledge moves for long-term storage in the neocortex. Sleep also plays a crucial role in integrating new knowledge. Effective study techniques include self-testing, which updates and strengthens memory, and interleaving study topics, enhancing retention. These techniques align with how the brain efficiently processes and stores information, making them applicable beyond the classroom.

Takeaways

  • 💡 Spacing study sessions improves memory retention.
  • 🧠 Memory initially encodes in the hippocampus.
  • 🛌 Sleep aids in knowledge integration into long-term memory.
  • 🔄 Self-testing strengthens and updates memory.
  • 🔀 Interleaving study topics leads to better retention.
  • ❌ Making mistakes can benefit learning.
  • 📚 Cramming is ineffective for long-term memory retention.
  • 🔬 Understanding brain processes helps optimize learning.
  • 🏥 Medical residents used effective study techniques.
  • 🗝 Aligning study methods with brain function enhances learning.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:08

    Medical residents learn life-saving techniques and procedures during training. A 2006 study divided surgical residents into two groups to test a change in study methods with one group showing significant improvement in performance after a month. The video investigates this success and other effective study methods by exploring how the brain learns. Initial learning involves encoding memories in the hippocampus; frequent studying strengthens neural connections, transitioning memories to the neocortex for long-term storage. Sleep and revisiting information update and solidify knowledge.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • What study technique helped the surgical residents perform better?

    The residents who spaced their study sessions over four weeks performed better than those who crammed their studies into a single day.

  • Why is testing yourself with flashcards and quizzes effective?

    Testing yourself actively retrieves and strengthens memory by updating knowledge, giving a clearer picture of what you know.

  • How does the brain store information long-term?

    The brain transfers information from short-term to long-term memory during study sessions and perhaps most crucially during sleep, storing it in the neocortex.

  • What is interleaving in studying?

    Interleaving involves mixing different subjects in a study session, which strengthens memory by forcing the brain to forget and retrieve information.

  • Why is making mistakes beneficial during learning?

    Mistakes help improve learning by activating relevant knowledge, which allows the brain to better integrate correct answers when revealed.

  • What role does sleep play in memory retention?

    Sleep helps integrate new knowledge with existing information during memory consolidation, aiding long-term retention.

  • Why is cramming less effective for long-term retention?

    Cramming doesn't allow time for the brain to consolidate knowledge effectively, reducing long-term retention.

  • What is the memory encoding process in the brain?

    Memory encoding involves initially storing information in the hippocampus, then gradually reinforcing it for long-term storage in the neocortex.

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  • 00:00:07
    During their training,
  • 00:00:08
    medical residents learn countless techniques, surgeries, and procedures
  • 00:00:13
    which they’ll later use to save lives.
  • 00:00:15
    Being able to remember these skills
  • 00:00:17
    can quite literally be a matter of life and death.
  • 00:00:20
    With this in mind, a 2006 research study took a class of surgical residents
  • 00:00:26
    learning to suture arteries and split them into two groups.
  • 00:00:30
    Each received the same study materials,
  • 00:00:33
    but one group implemented a small change in how they studied them.
  • 00:00:37
    And when tested one month later,
  • 00:00:39
    this group performed the surgeries significantly better
  • 00:00:43
    than the other residents.
  • 00:00:45
    We’ll discuss the secret to that group’s success,
  • 00:00:48
    along with two other highly effective study techniques
  • 00:00:51
    which can be applied both in and out of the classroom.
  • 00:00:55
    But to understand why these methods work,
  • 00:00:57
    let's first unpack how the brain learns and stores information.
  • 00:01:02
    Say you're trying to memorize the anatomy of the heart.
  • 00:01:06
    When you’re introduced to a new concept,
  • 00:01:08
    the memory is temporarily encoded in groups of neurons
  • 00:01:12
    in a brain area called the hippocampus.
  • 00:01:15
    As you continue to learn about workings of the heart
  • 00:01:18
    in class or study its chambers for an exam,
  • 00:01:21
    you reactivate these same neurons.
  • 00:01:24
    This repeated firing strengthens the connections between the cells,
  • 00:01:28
    stabilizing the memory.
  • 00:01:30
    Gradually, the knowledge of heart anatomy is stored long-term,
  • 00:01:34
    which involves another brain area known as the neocortex.
  • 00:01:39
    How information is transferred from short-term to long-term storage
  • 00:01:43
    is still not completely understood,
  • 00:01:46
    but it’s thought to happen in between study sessions
  • 00:01:49
    and perhaps most crucially during sleep.
  • 00:01:52
    Here the new knowledge is integrated with other related concepts you already know,
  • 00:01:57
    such as how to measure heart rate, or the anatomy of other organs.
  • 00:02:02
    And the process doesn’t end there.
  • 00:02:04
    Each time you recall heart anatomy, you reactivate the long-term memory,
  • 00:02:09
    which makes it susceptible to change.
  • 00:02:11
    The knowledge can be updated, strengthened,
  • 00:02:13
    and reintegrated with other pieces of information.
  • 00:02:17
    This is where our first study technique comes in.
  • 00:02:20
    Testing yourself with flashcards and quizzes
  • 00:02:24
    forces you to actively retrieve knowledge,
  • 00:02:26
    which updates and strengthens the memory.
  • 00:02:29
    Students often prefer other study methods,
  • 00:02:32
    like rereading textbooks and highlighting notes.
  • 00:02:35
    But these practices can generate a false sense of competence,
  • 00:02:39
    since the information is right in front of you.
  • 00:02:42
    Testing yourself, however,
  • 00:02:43
    allows you to more accurately gauge what you actually know.
  • 00:02:47
    But what if, while doing this, you can’t remember the answers?
  • 00:02:51
    Not to worry—
  • 00:02:52
    making mistakes can actually improve learning in the long term.
  • 00:02:57
    It’s theorized that as you rack your brain for the answer,
  • 00:03:00
    you activate relevant pieces of knowledge.
  • 00:03:03
    Then, when the correct answer is later revealed,
  • 00:03:06
    the brain can better integrate this information with what you already know.
  • 00:03:10
    Our second technique builds on the first.
  • 00:03:13
    When using flashcards to study, it's best to mix the deck with multiple subjects.
  • 00:03:18
    Interleaving, or mixing the concepts you focus on in a single session,
  • 00:03:23
    can lead to better retention than practicing a single skill
  • 00:03:27
    or topic at a time.
  • 00:03:28
    One hypothesis of why this works is that, similar to testing,
  • 00:03:33
    cycling through different subjects forces your brain to temporarily forget,
  • 00:03:37
    then retrieve information, further strengthening the memory.
  • 00:03:41
    You may also find connections across the topics,
  • 00:03:44
    and better understand their differences.
  • 00:03:46
    Now that you know how and what to study, our final technique concerns when.
  • 00:03:52
    Spacing your review across multiple days
  • 00:03:55
    allows for rest and sleep between sessions.
  • 00:03:59
    While “offline,” the brain is actively at work,
  • 00:04:02
    storing and integrating knowledge in the neocortex.
  • 00:04:06
    So while cramming the night before the exam may seem logical—
  • 00:04:10
    after all, won’t the material be fresh in your mind?—
  • 00:04:13
    the information won’t stick around for the long term.
  • 00:04:17
    This brings us back to our medical residents.
  • 00:04:20
    Both groups studied the surgery for the same amount of time.
  • 00:04:23
    Yet one group’s training was crammed in a single day,
  • 00:04:27
    while the other more successful group’s training was spread over four weeks.
  • 00:04:32
    The reason all three of these study techniques work
  • 00:04:35
    is because they’re designed with the brain in mind.
  • 00:04:38
    They complement and reinforce the incredible way the brain works,
  • 00:04:42
    sorting through and storing the abundance of information
  • 00:04:45
    it’s fed day after day.
Tags
  • study techniques
  • memory retention
  • medical residents
  • brain learning
  • neuroscience
  • self-testing
  • interleaving
  • sleep and learning
  • long-term memory
  • educational research