Why does testing yourself improve memory

Ask your instructor which concepts are most important, which chapters to focus on, and what you will have to do on the test. Also ask for some sample test questions and whether there is a copy of a similar test on file in a library. Look over the tests you have already taken in the course to predict what you will need to prepare for. Examples of these skills include: Remembering specific facts. Comparing, contrasting, and otherwise interpreting meaning in the information studied.

Applying principles and theories to solve problems that may not have been covered explicitly in the materials. Predicting possible outcomes given a set of variables.

Evaluating the usefulness of certain ideas, concepts, or methods for a given event or situation. Overview all the work to be done and schedule time to do it. On the basis of your familiarity with the test, make a list of all the tasks you must complete to prepare for it. Given what topics you expect to be most important on the test, set priorities among your study tasks and plan to do the most important ones first.

In scheduling your test preparation work, keep as much as possible to your own routines. If you do not know how to make a study schedule, refer to the article on time management. If you find yourself fretting or talking about your work rather than studying, relax for a few minutes and rethink what you are doing — reappraise your priorities and if necessary rethink your study plan to address your worries and then START WORKING.

Previous Next. Materials provided by Kent State University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length. Science News. Journal Reference : Mary A. Pyc and Katherine A. Science , 15 October DOI: ScienceDaily, 15 October Kent State University.

How practice tests improve memory. Retrieved November 11, from www. Is social learning processed differently from direct learning? Neuroscientists provide empirical Research shows it works well for students from preschool through graduate and professional education.

As for distributed practice vs. The reasons for this are not fully understood, but probably have to do with a process called memory consolidation. As we revisit information over time, the memory becomes more stable and less easily disrupted. Neuroscientists believe this partly reflects the transfer of the memory from the hippocampus in the mid-brain to areas in the cerebral cortex. Combining self-testing with distributed practice is especially powerful.

Even better is to get some sleep between your study sessions. Memory consolidation is known to occur during sleep. A study by Toppino and several colleagues in France has shown that if you interpose sleep between two study sessions, you'll remember more — and in a much more lasting way — than if you study for the same amount of time without a sleep break. A report released last year by the National Council on Teacher Quality found, shockingly, that 85 percent of the textbooks used to train teachers in how students learn had less than a page on validated strategies; 59 percent of the 48 education psychology textbooks surveyed offered not one sentence.

Students themselves are often misinformed or just plain disorganized. This story was produced by The Hechinger Report , a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education.

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