I can’t be the only one who experienced intense waves of anxiety and stress while memorizing lists of information for exams. I still remember how distressed I felt studying for an AP US History exam on all the US Presidents, their presidency terms, and major facts about them. For hours and hours, I’d review the material only to revisit it later with nearly half of the information lost in the air. Reflecting on my past study methods taught me that my study sessions had the potential to be more efficiently structured and much less time-consuming if I had known the following techniques to boost memorization.
Interleaving vs Blocking
Interleaving is a study method where individuals review a mix of subjects or information, unlike blocking where the entirety of one subject is reviewed followed by the next subject. Although blocking may seem more organized and beneficial for memorization by splitting all the subjects apart and approaching each as a separate folder in our brain, interleaving has shown remarkable effects. According to a research study on analyzing how instructional designs affect learning about ECG diagnosis for medical students, students provided with mixed categories to remember presented a 16 percent higher accuracy in recall than other students provided with blocks of single categories to memorize.
Whether interleaving refers to studying different academic subjects within the same day or mixing different topics to study within the same subject, the practice of memorizing diverse information during the same study session can be more efficient long-term. This method naturally forces students to explicitly distinguish retained information between the different topics, develop analysis on similarities or relationships one subject has to another, and increase focus by avoiding information overload in one subject. While it may be challenging to transition from a block study schedule to an interleaving one, it’s always worth the effort to explore how to use the same period of time for amplified academic success and focus.
Chunking Information
One of the most challenging experiences with memorization includes interacting with extensive, complex, and intricate details for an exam. When we dive into these concepts to study, such as for a human anatomy exam where memorization is pivotal, studying detailed parts of the entire body from top to bottom can be extremely overwhelming. Instead, the chunking method is a technique where a whole is divided into sections to memorize in smaller chunks. This technique correlates to Ebbinghaus, a psychologist specialized in memory, and his research on the serial position effect which includes the primacy and recency effect. The primacy effect defines the tendency for greater recall of information reviewed at the beginning of a studying term, and the recency effect defines the tendency for greater recall from the end of a term. Together, these two ideas prove that information reviewed in the middle of the study session is harder to recall. As a result, splitting the material into smaller chunks will provide more opportunities to have a beginning and end that are easier to remember.
Spaced Repetition
Finally, spaced repetition is a study design where students schedule a plan to repeatedly memorize information over a long period of time. The goal is to recall information after longer time intervals and eventually retain the information long-term, even after an exam or assignment. By implementing the review schedule, students will remember more and more material through each review session and at last be prepared for the exam when they can recollect all the information necessary. Spaced repetition correlates to the study phase retrieval theory discovered by Greene, a memory psychologist. Greene explains that with each additional review session on the same material, the individual is capable of recalling information from the previous session and in addition able to now absorb more information than before. Despite the initial time-investment, spaced repetition expands the students’ ability to retain a wider range of information and prevents studying for hours cramming last minute.
Here on Starry Scholar, I took a moment to share the effects of three major study techniques including interleaving, chunking, and spaced repetition. Each method carries its own advantages based on psychological studies. While studying can be physically and mentally exhausting, I hope these techniques accompany your academic journey and help you save time, feel prepared, and excel on your exams!
We hope you enjoyed this article. For more content on how to find your academic success, check out some of our articles here on StarryScholar. If you have any questions/comments, feel free to leave them in our “Community Discussion” tab, or email us at @[email protected]! Remember, you got this ☆
Interleaving is a study method where individuals review a mix of subjects or information, unlike blocking where the entirety of one subject is reviewed followed by the next subject. Although blocking may seem more organized and beneficial for memorization by splitting all the subjects apart and approaching each as a separate folder in our brain, interleaving has shown remarkable effects. According to a research study on analyzing how instructional designs affect learning about ECG diagnosis for medical students, students provided with mixed categories to remember presented a 16 percent higher accuracy in recall than other students provided with blocks of single categories to memorize.
Whether interleaving refers to studying different academic subjects within the same day or mixing different topics to study within the same subject, the practice of memorizing diverse information during the same study session can be more efficient long-term. This method naturally forces students to explicitly distinguish retained information between the different topics, develop analysis on similarities or relationships one subject has to another, and increase focus by avoiding information overload in one subject. While it may be challenging to transition from a block study schedule to an interleaving one, it’s always worth the effort to explore how to use the same period of time for amplified academic success and focus.
Chunking Information
One of the most challenging experiences with memorization includes interacting with extensive, complex, and intricate details for an exam. When we dive into these concepts to study, such as for a human anatomy exam where memorization is pivotal, studying detailed parts of the entire body from top to bottom can be extremely overwhelming. Instead, the chunking method is a technique where a whole is divided into sections to memorize in smaller chunks. This technique correlates to Ebbinghaus, a psychologist specialized in memory, and his research on the serial position effect which includes the primacy and recency effect. The primacy effect defines the tendency for greater recall of information reviewed at the beginning of a studying term, and the recency effect defines the tendency for greater recall from the end of a term. Together, these two ideas prove that information reviewed in the middle of the study session is harder to recall. As a result, splitting the material into smaller chunks will provide more opportunities to have a beginning and end that are easier to remember.
Spaced Repetition
Finally, spaced repetition is a study design where students schedule a plan to repeatedly memorize information over a long period of time. The goal is to recall information after longer time intervals and eventually retain the information long-term, even after an exam or assignment. By implementing the review schedule, students will remember more and more material through each review session and at last be prepared for the exam when they can recollect all the information necessary. Spaced repetition correlates to the study phase retrieval theory discovered by Greene, a memory psychologist. Greene explains that with each additional review session on the same material, the individual is capable of recalling information from the previous session and in addition able to now absorb more information than before. Despite the initial time-investment, spaced repetition expands the students’ ability to retain a wider range of information and prevents studying for hours cramming last minute.
Here on Starry Scholar, I took a moment to share the effects of three major study techniques including interleaving, chunking, and spaced repetition. Each method carries its own advantages based on psychological studies. While studying can be physically and mentally exhausting, I hope these techniques accompany your academic journey and help you save time, feel prepared, and excel on your exams!
We hope you enjoyed this article. For more content on how to find your academic success, check out some of our articles here on StarryScholar. If you have any questions/comments, feel free to leave them in our “Community Discussion” tab, or email us at @[email protected]! Remember, you got this ☆