1. Say out loud what you want to remember
Research shows that compared to reading or thinking silently, the act of speech is a “quite powerful mechanism for improving memory for selected information. In short, while mentally rehearsing is good, rehearsing out loud is even better.
2. Take notes by hand, not on a computer
There’s lots of advantages of taking notes on a computer: No trace of modification to make notes neatly; typing is faster; no need to remember which notebook you need to bring and so on.
But research shows taking notes by hand enhances both comprehension and retention, possibly because you’re forced to put things in your own words in order to keep up. Which means you’ll remember what you heard a lot longer.
3. Make a revision Plan
Some students want to learn a lot of new knowledge in a short time and they also want to learn as much as they can, so they prefer to narrowing as much as revision time.
Actually it’s totally not new research and that’s why our teachers always assign us homework. Never underestimate the power of revision. Researchers already found that we can’t remember new things forever and the only effective way is repeating and repeating. This also corresponds to why saying out and taking notes by hand can make learning more effective.
4. Test yourself after revision
A number of studies show that self-testing is an extremely effective way to speed up. When you start to test yourself, your brain has to think, remember and output what you learnt. At the same time, it’s different from only remembering what you’re taught, it’s a time that you know how to apply knowledge. More importantly, you know what you already grasp and what you still need to learn. Not only will you gain confidence in how much you do know, you’ll more quickly learn the things you don’t know.
5. Learn several subjects in succession.
Instead of blocking (focusing on one subject, one task, or one skill during a learning session) learn or practice several subjects or skills in succession.
The process is called interleaving: Studying related concepts or skills in parallel. And it turns out interleaving is a much more effective way to train your brain (and your motor skills.)
Why? One theory is that interleaving improves your brain’s ability to differentiate between concepts or skills. When you block practice one skill, you can drill down until muscle memory takes over and the skill becomes more or less automatic. When you interleave several skills, any one skill can’t become mindless — and that’s a good thing. Instead you’re constantly forced to adapt and adjust. You’re constantly forced to see, feel, and discriminate between different movements or different concepts.
And that helps you really learn what you’re trying to learn, because it helps you gain understanding at a deeper level.
6. Get more sleep.
Sleep is when most of the memory consolidation process takes place. That’s why even a short nap can improve your memory.
In one study, participants memorised illustrated cards to test their memory. After memorising one set of cards, they took a 40-minute break, with one group napping while the other stayed awake. After the break, both groups were tested on their memory of the cards. The sleep group performed significantly better, retaining an average of 85 percent of the pattern, compared to 60 percent for those who stayed awake.
Another interesting discovery with no empirical evidence yet to find out the cause is that our brain can figure out a puzzle in your sleep that you struggled to solve when you’re awake. Have you had a similar experience before?