Published • loading... • Updated
Cramming for Exams? Experts Weigh in on How to Study Better
Researchers say spaced study and retrieval practice improve long-term retention, while cramming mainly helps short-term test performance.
- Research shows cramming helps pass exams but fails for long-term retention; experts recommend spacing study sessions over time to improve learning outcomes and memory consolidation.
- Robert Bjork, professor emeritus of cognitive psychology at UCLA, noted that "mass practice can be very wasteful of time." He founded the Bjork Learning and Forgetting Lab, which has documented why such methods fail long-term.
- Cognitive psychologist Pooja K. Agarwal recommends "retrieval practice" as an effective strategy; by creating "desirable difficulties" through mental challenges, students strengthen neuronal connections, making information easier to retrieve later, Bjork explained.
- Popular study hacks like chewing gum and listening to music do not improve learning, Agarwal said. "We tend to think that what feels the easiest will be retained the easiest, and it's actually the opposite," she noted.
- Cognitive psychology professor Henry L. Roddy Roediger emphasized that sleep consolidates memories created during the day. Agarwal also suggests taking one minute to reflect on learning, a metacognitive practice that strengthens long-term retention.
Insights by Ground AI
22 Articles
22 Articles
laprovincia.es+3 Reposted by 3 other sources
“Nobody teaches them how to study,” “nobody talks to them about learning techniques,” or “they don’t know how to prepare exams well” are common comments among families with school-age children. Published on September 8, PISA has found that students in 15 have serious difficulties in understanding and interpreting texts of more than 400 words (a folio). In addition, the international evaluation organized by the OECD has detected an increase in st…
Coverage Details
Total News Sources22
Leaning Left8Leaning Right2Center7Last UpdatedBias Distribution47% Left
Bias Distribution
- 47% of the sources lean Left
47% Left
L 47%
C 41%
12%
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
