Study strategies to teach your students

Doing well on exams is about more than innate intelligence or understanding of a subject – it’s about having the right strategy for both studying, and the exam itself.

Having the right study strategy means students can efficiently maximise their knowledge and understanding of a subject. With studying, what works for one student may be different from the next, but fortunately there are a few proven methods your students can try out.  

Explicitly teaching these study methods, and as the exam approaches, exam strategies, can help students achieve to their highest potential. Below are some study methods that students can employ in the lead up to externals.  

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1. SQ3R

The SQ3R method can be used by students when reviewing textbook or written material. SQ3R stands for the five steps of reading comprehension, which are: 

• Survey – skim the section that is being reviewed and note important features like headings, subheadings, images, diagrams and charts.

• Question – using these notes, write questions. For example: what is this section about? What are some key facts and/or figures? What does this diagram/chart show?

• Read – the section(s) and look for answers to the above questions.

• Recite – summarise in your own words, either out loud or on paper, the section(s) you just read. Focus on identifying and recalling major points and answering the questions.

• Review – reform the questions into quiz material and review any portions of weak understanding.

2. Retrieval Practise

Recall is the most important step for learning and involves remembering important information at later times.  

This could look like:  

• Using flashcards – write down the answer or try saying it aloud before flipping over the card to check.

• Practise exams – recreating the exam environment engages active recall and also highlights weak areas to revise.

• Q&A – Write down your own questions and come up with answers for them before checking against study material. This can be done in a group.

3. Spaced Practise

Studying over an extended period improves information recall. Spaced out studying reinforces neural pathways and connections that allow students to easily retrieve knowledge.  

Students can follow this schedule: 

• Days 1 – 3: Learn and review material daily.

• One week: review

• Two weeks: review

This method requires students to create a study schedule and effectively manage their time. Teachers might wish to hold a scheduling session for their students. This might look like printing students a calendar to plan their study sessions or hosting a time for students to input study plans into digital calendars or physical planners.  

4. Feynman Technique

In this exercise, students break down a concept into parts and explain it as if they were teaching the concept to someone else.  

Students can review their notes, then put them away and try explaining the concept out loud or on paper. They can then review this explanation to identify gaps.  

5. Pomodoro Technique

This technique involves timing study sessions interspersed with breaks. It can improve study focus and utilises the reward pathway. Students can alter the timings to suit their needs.  

One common timing breakdown is: 

• Study for 25 minutes

• Have a break for 5 minutes

• Repeat 3-4 times.

• A longer break of 15 – 30 minutes.

6. The Leitner System

This method is useful for memorising large quantities of material when needed.  

The student first creates flashcards. One side is a question or a cue, and the other side is the answer.  

Make boxes for the flashcards, organising them by difficulty. E.g: easy, medium, hard.  

Review flashcards. If the student answers a card correctly, the card moves down a difficulty. If they answer incorrectly, the card moves up one difficulty.  

The student should gradually increase the difficulty of the cards they review. Once they can answer everything in the “easiest” box correctly, they should move onto the next.  

Repeat. The student should review the cards in the “easy” boxes less often as they progress.  

This is a method of “spaced progression” that improves retention. Students can also find apps that employ the Leitner System, such as Anki.  

7. Cornell note-taking system

This is a format of note taking that can help students keep track of ideas. This method is particularly useful if students are reviewing video content or recorded classes, and senior students can bring this method into future study at university.  

• While reviewing the content (video, class, etc.) draw a large margin to the left side of the page.

• In the right column, note the main points of the topic at hand and examples. Leave spaces between the notes.

• After reviewing the content, use the left-hand column to summarise the key ideas and facts, linking content from the right column.

• Fill in any gaps from the right-hand column and clarify information.

• Add examples or further explanations on the right, logging key words or page numbers from textbooks or supplementary material on the left-side.

• Review by using the left-side as a “contents” or prompt column to target important information.

• At the bottom of each page, leave a horizontal summary space to condense information.

These are just a few common study methods students can try. There are countless other strategies available on the internet, and students can find something that works for them on a given topic. 

With these strategies, students can feel confident they are effectively retaining the required information ahead of exams. Kia kaha e te whānau! 

The Term 4 edition of School News is out now. Read it HERE.