Preparation for any important event can be time-consuming and stressful, but finding the right methods to approach such challenges is crucial to future success. This idea can be applied to a variety of contexts, one of which being test taking. Exams serve as measures to assess how much a student has learned about a specific subject in school. For students, however, exams are not as simple as mere tests of proficiency. Instead, they may be seen as severe stress-inducing challenges which stem from external pressure and their desires to achieve high scores. It’s inevitable that exams will incite tense and uneasy emotions, so instead, it’s essential to focus on developing effective study habits in preparation for the exam, which may relieve some of that unwanted stress.
I’m certain that everyone has found themselves cramming the night before an exam in an attempt to retain as much information as possible in a panic. However, the harsh reality of this unproductive habit is that it’s ineffective since it’s difficult to recall information that’s only been reviewed for a couple of minutes, especially during a time of stressful cramming. Instead, a more effective approach is a method known in psychology as distributed practice or spaced practice. This means that content is reviewed often in short intervals for an extended period of time. Based on personal experience and scientific studies, distributed practice has been proven useful and serves as an important factor in an effective study habit. But of course, this method of practice may be difficult to incorporate into one’s current study habits. However, with persistence and consistency, it becomes easier over time to adapt and understand this way of time management.
Another method to improve study habits is a practice known as interleaving. Interleaving is switching between studying different topics, concepts, or formats of practice. Although it may seem counterintuitive, alternating between topics or skills as opposed to studying one topic or skill at a time may help with memorizing the information. However, paramount to any method which aims to improve study habits is adequate sleep. Studies suggest that sleep can help with memory, hence cramming information the night before an exam is often ineffective and useless. Therefore, sleeping the ideal seven to nine hours is crucial, especially the night prior to the exam.
Obviously, study habits can take on many forms and different methods work for different people, but distributed practice and interleaving may be some ways of practice that could be worth trying! However, most of all, remember that sleep is of utmost importance in contributing to a high score on an exam!
Discussion Questions:
What are your study habits like?
Would you want to incorporate distributed practice and interleaving into your current study habits? Why or why not?
How much sleep do you get on a daily basis? Before an exam?
Vocabulary:
Preparation: something done to get ready for an event or undertaking
Time-consuming: taking a lot of or too much time.
Stress: continuous feelings of worry about your work or personal life, that prevent you from relaxing
Method: a planned way of doing something, especially one that a lot of people know about and use
Assess: evaluate or estimate the nature, ability, or quality of
Proficiency: a good standard of ability and skill
External: relating to the outside of something
Pressure: an attempt to persuade someone by using influence, arguments, or threats
Desires: a strong hope or wish
Inevitable: certain to happen and impossible to avoid
Cram: to prepare yourself for an examination by learning a lot of information quickly
Psychology: the science of behavior and mental processes
Persistence: determination to do something even though it is difficult or other people oppose it
Consistency: the quality of always being the same, doing things in the same way, having the same standards etc.
Counterintuitive: opposite of common-sense expectation
Alternating: (of two or more things) occurring in turn repeatedly
Paramount: more important than anything else
Ideal: the best or most suitable that something could possibly be
Prior: existing or arranged before something else or before the present situation
