While everyone learns in different ways, there are still some strategies that can help everyone preparing for exams. Edel Walsh explains the concept of interleaving studying and how to utilise it. The most common learning strategies used by students are re-reading lecture notes, listening to recorded lectures and writing out study notes. These are all valid learning and study strategies, but they do need to be combined with other strategies and techniques to truly support exam success.
I would love to go back in time to my own professional accounting student days and advise my younger self of better ways to learn and study.
I was a fan of putting hours and hours of work into my studies. On reflection, I was surface learning, aiming to reproduce material in the exam – and retaining very little.
Deep learning, on the other hand, is where you collect, analyse, and contemplate the information to completely understand it, applying it in an exam and beyond.
We all have our own style of learning. You may be a visual learner who likes reading books, slides and mind maps; or an auditory learner who likes to listen to lectures and podcasts; or perhaps you are a kinaesthetic learner who likes to write out notes.
While you might lean towards one style over another, it is advisable to try out all. For example, combining words and visuals gives you two ways by which to retrieve information later.
Here are some strategies for quality deep learning.
Space it out
Study and learning should be spaced out. While cramming or even doing an all-nighter before an exam might feel productive, it will only result in surface learning. Spacing out your study will result in deeper quality learning.
This can feel frustrating as, invariably, you will forget some of the material along the way. Our brains like repetition though, so the more time you spend going over material, the easier it becomes to retrieve.
Interleaving
I often hear that when on study leave, students like to spend a few days on one subject only and then move to another. In my opinion, a better strategy is to spend a morning studying one subject/topic and changing subject/topic in the afternoon.
This method of studying is called interleaving and it involves mixing up and varying the order in which you study subjects and topics. It’s a very effective method of learning, keeping the mind fresh for new concepts to come in, and giving students the opportunity to go over the subject again at a latter day, building in repetition.
Use examples
When studying concepts, it is useful to be able to explain them with specific examples. This helps you to understand abstract ideas and makes them easier to recall in the exam.
In professional accounting exams, you are required to get under the skin of a topic and apply your knowledge to scenarios. You need to understand why and how things work and not take a concept at face value. Finding examples of these concepts in the real world can give you a deeper understanding, as well as assist with recall during an exam.
Practice exam questions
One of the most effective learning strategies is retrieval practice, such as self-testing and quizzing. This is bringing information to mind from long term memory. The benefit of retrieval practice is that it promotes long term learning and gives you instant feedback on what you know and don’t know.
I cannot underestimate the importance of practising past exam papers under exam conditions.
A common mistake students make is practicing a question with the solution in front of them. This will not promote deep learning and can also give you a false sense of security of your knowledge.
By practising questions under exam conditions, you can ascertain where your knowledge pitfalls are, timing issues and — most importantly — by making mistakes and correcting them, you are learning.
Reflective learning
I recommend all students engage in reflective learning. When you are studying, pause regularly, especially if you find yourself becoming distracted. Ask yourself questions, such as:
- What are the key ideas?
- What terms or ideas are new to me?
- How do the ideas relate to what I already know?
Once you practice an exam question, it is useful to ask yourself the following questions and write your thoughts in a reflective journal:
- What went well?
- What could have gone better?
- What else might you need to learn?
- What strategies might you use the next time to get a better result?
These thoughts can form the basis for what else you need to study.
Edel Walsh is an Academic Performance Coach. You can find her at www.edelwalsh.ie
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