Best Practices for Studying and Preparing for Tests

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Best Practices for Studying and Preparing for Tests*

From A Guide to Student Success: Part 4

Now that you know how to read the material, how do you study it?

General Studying: We have talked about ways to tackle the book, but studying involves more than that. Reading, paraphrased notetaking, time with a learning community—all of those are great strategies, but sometimes “you don’t know what you don’t know.” Well, how are you ever going to know what you are supposed to know, then? Again, let’s turn back to science for help. The cognitive psychologist Regan Gurung posits that, based on his extensive research, the ways people try to learn are not necessarily helpful. Yes, highlighting helps and rereading is good, but if you want GREAT results, start paying attention to what science is saying!

Gurung suggests three things you need to keep in mind if you want the best learning outcomes:

1. What do you NEED to know? This requires reviewing the syllabus.
2. What DO you know? This requires testing yourself and reviewing those tests.
3. What do you NOT know? Again, review the tests. Many books offer sets of knowledge checks and flashcards to help you in this process.

Spaced and retrieval practice

It is important for you to fully understand the professor’s learning objectives. In other words, what exactly does the professor want you to know? Between the syllabus and the learning objectives in the textbook, you should have a pretty good idea what you need to know. If it’s still not clear to you, ask your study group. At that point you should have it figured out, but if not, that is okay. Helpful tip: Do not spend more time trying to figure it out. It’s time to write to the teaching assistant, or TA, if there is one. TAs are good “first contacts.” If you’re still unclear or there isn’t a TA, then ask the professor. Do not be shy to ask questions. If you can’t figure it out, many others students probably can’t either. 

Preparing for a test: Never, ever, ever cram for a test! Cramming is bad in a multitude of ways:

• Cramming is associated with anxiety and stress, which results in lower scores.
• You will have cognitive overload, which means your brain is overworked.
• Learning takes time, and one night of cramming will not help you learn.
• Lack of sleep results is lower test scores.

You get the idea. Do not cram for a test. Here are a few scientifically supported practices for prepping for a test. Recent research by John Dunlosky and colleagues found that a key component for doing well on exams is spaced practice. The idea behind spaced practice is to study the same content on different occasions. Think of it like this: If you were a softball player, you might practice catching and throwing three of the five days of the week (the same drill on different days). Practicing the same thing over and over embeds it into your memory and recall. It works for softball, and it works for psychology exams!

Next, work on retrieval practice:

• Retrieval practice involves bringing key information to mind to increase learning and retention.
• Test yourself frequently to make sure you know what you need to know.
• This can be done by using the flashcards and practice tests that go with your textbook. Many researchers believe that practice tests are the most underutilized resource that students have.
• Often, textbook authors work hard to provide the student resources to use in retrieval practice. If you have them available, be sure to use them.

Next - Part 5: Creating School-Work-Family Balance 

*Sources: