It is only a few weeks before finals begin at Austin Prep, and already, students are anxious about the upcoming exams. However, with the correct strategies, diligence, and application of hard work, any student can ace their exams. So, just as you run multiple drills to train your body for gameday, here are five scientifically proven strategies to train your brain for testing day.
1: Active Recall
This strategy involves testing yourself on material without using notes, forcing you to remember rather than look something up.
This strengthens your memory and allows for you to remember concepts even after a longer period of time.
Here’s how to do it:
- Convert concepts into short questions.
- Use flashcards with questions on one side and short answers on the other, or write out answers from memory.
- Grade yourself, correct your mistakes, then repeat the process after a delay.
- To explore deeper concepts, it is recommended to combine short answer practice with problem-solving exercises.
Tips:
- Challenge yourself to use as little notes as possible, to reinforce your memory.
- For further practice, try reviewing concepts in your head throughout the day and then checking your answers.
2: Elaboration
This process involves expanding ideas by explaining how and why they work, linking them to examples and related concepts.
This helps with comprehension of concepts, helping you to explain subjects simply.
Here’s how to do it:
- After studying a section, ask a few “How” and “Why” questions. (Write them down for further review.)
- Answer them in your own words, then compare them to your notes/source
- Add an example to each answer for further comprehension.
- Repeat the process with multiple concepts. (Try to link concepts together as a whole.)
Tips:
- Over-elaborating on answers or examples can lead to confusion. Try to keep your answers simple and as short as possible.
- Try to not use your notes when answering your questions, but simply answer them to the extent of your memory. Then compare them to your notes.
3: Concrete Examples:
For this strategy, you must map abstract principles or concepts to real scenarios.
This helps reduce confusion and improve comprehension.
Here’s how to do it:
- For each concept, create a couple real-life scenarios that relate to the concept.
- Explain to yourself how each example describes the concept.
- Repeat until you understand the concept.
Tips:
- Don’t use a single example each time. Not only is it boring, but using different examples each time can help reveal a common structure in a concept.
- Don’t just memorize the example and forget how it relates to the concept. That would defeat the whole purpose of this strategy.
4: The Pomodoro Technique
This technique involves breaking study into short, focused intervals with breaks in-between. The process helps prevent burnout and helps to incentivize focus.
Studies have shown benefits to productivity from this technique, including improved focus and output from people who use it.
Here’s how to do it:
- Set a 25 minute timer. Work with full focus and maximum effort.
- When the timer ends, take a 5 minute break.
- After doing this four times, take a 20-30 minute break, then continue if necessary.
- (Adjust work time to 40 minutes and breaks to 10 minutes if longer focus suits the task.)
Tips:
- Don’t use your phone or use electronics AT ALL during this process, especially during breaks. This will distract you and make the work time harder to get through.
- Don’t continue working during the breaks. This may sound silly, but make sure you put the work down so you can come back to it refreshed.
5: The Feynman Technique
This technique involves explaining a concept simply as if you were teaching someone who had no idea what the concept was, then refining your explanation where you get things wrong.
This helps to reveal hidden gaps in knowledge and forces you to explain concepts simply, allowing for better comprehension.
Here’s how to do it:
- Pick a concept and act like you’re explaining it to someone who has never heard of it before. (Write it down to help review it later.)
- Find sentences that depend on jargon (specialized language of a specific trade that may be difficult to understand when viewed by an outsider.)
- Simplify those sentences, incorporate examples, and repeat until the explanation is simple.
- Teach it to someone (preferably someone who doesn’t know the concept) or record yourself and review the recording.
Tips:
- Try not to skim the explanation of any subjects, but explain the concept in the full.
- Don’t replace jargon with vague examples, make sure explanations are clear and easy to follow.
(Bonus) Exercise, sleep, and eat:
Did you know that exercising has been proven to increase your brain productivity? Studies have shown that the healthier you keep your body, the healthier you keep your brain. Make sure to get lots of sleep, nutrition, and exercise to keep yourself and your brain in tip-top shape!
