Test & Practice: Looking at a Study for Great Studying

How Algonquin College helps you with your study techniques

A 2013 study called “Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques” and published in “Psychological Science in the Public Interest,” looked at the most commonly used learning techniques and concluded that the following are the best practices for studying:

1. Practice testing — any form that allows students to test themselves, including using actual or virtual flashcards, doing problems or questions at the end of textbook chapters, or taking practice tests. Practice testing should be completed as a low-stakes or no-stakes practice or learning activity outside of class from summative assessments that are administered by an instructor in class.

2. Distributed practice — studying material over a number of relatively short sessions. Students mass much of their study prior to tests and believe that this popular cramming strategy is effective.

Although cramming is better than not studying at all in the short term, given the same amount of time for study, would students be better off spreading out their study of content? The answer to this question is a resounding “yes.” The term ‘distributed-practice effect’ refers to the finding that distributing learning over time (either within a single study session or across sessions) typically benefits long-term retention more than does massing learning opportunities back-to-back or in relatively close succession.

Algonquin College can help you with your study techniques. Our Student Learning Centre encourages students to engage actively and critically in the learning process. As well, Peer Tutoring matches current students who are having academic challenges with trained students for one-to-one tutoring.