The Art of Studying Effectively (part 1): Why Rereading doesn’t Work

We, on average, spend about 25 years studying as per conventional education. We learn so many things, yet nobody teaches us how to learn. We are left to dwell upon the best methods of studying based on our exposure and experience. Some develop a way that works for them and only for them, while others adapt common techniques from toppers to replicate results. However, there are some scientifically proven techniques that work and some that definitely don’t. 

Note: Learning is an extremely subjective process. The decision to integrate these techniques or modify it or even discard it is entirely yours.

Let’s first all about the technique that should most probably be avoided: Rereading. Millions of students spend hundreds of hours rereading textbooks and rereading their notes. While reading the textbook thoroughly to take effective notes is advisable, rereading is not as effective. Furthermore, rereading creates a dangerous false sense of familiarity. Students feel like they are familiar with the concepts, because it looks similar, but they have never practiced retrieving or applying the knowledge. Due to this, a huge number of students have affirmed that they somehow forget most of the things during the exam. This yet again proves this technique is ineffective.

Tomorrow, let’s talk about active recall and spaced repetition.