Documentation:Learning Commons:Content/Myths About Learning/Myth 2 Method

From UBC Wiki

Myth 2: I only need one good method for studying.

Sometimes, study methods that worked in high school - just don't serve you well in university. If your tried and true study strategies aren't working, use a different approach. Monitor your learning, by measuring your knowledge against what you expect. Before you start studying, guess how it'll go. Predict your homework and test results, and see if you're accurate or not. Notice when your expectations fall short of (or overshoot) reality, and adjust your approach accordingly. This is called metacognition, and it's an important part of effective learning.

There's also some evidence to suggest that mixing it up (in terms of where, when and how we study and learn) promotes recall (Carey, 2015)

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Bust the Myth

  • Reflect on your studying by asking yourself these three questions: what did you do? Was it effective? What can you change?
  • Test your perceptions. After an exam, make a prediction of how many questions/problems you answered correctly. When you get the test back, see how your score matched with your prediction. If you were way off, consider changing your study strategy to incorporate more self-testing, spaced study sessions and varied approaches to practice.
  • Use strategies like generating your own questions and creating concept maps. Need some guidance? Take a look at this video by Dr. Stephen Chew, on How to Get the Most Out of Studying: Putting Principles for Learning into Practice.
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