Maximizing Study Time: How Many Times Should You Review Material?

[land_of_ice]

When you are studying are you trying to learn what you don't really get, most of the studying time that you put in, or is that time for you more spent, re-enforcing things you already know?

 

[QuarkCharmer]

I always heard that you have to go over something 6 times until it becomes stored in long-term memory. I usually take notes during a lecture, that evening I will transcribe them into a better format (in pen), filling in everything in a little more detail. The next day I will simple read them over highlighting the things I could not immediately remember. After that I will review only the highlighted material. Then I will re-review everything and type the notes up clear, compact, and concise. Before any major test I just scan over the notes, and I usually know everything, thus feel more confident on the tests.

That way I go over it at least 6 times before it's needed.

I don't do this for everything though. If it is a subject I am really interested in I won't start this method until I get stuck on something. It helped out a great deal in some of my humanaties courses where I was required to remember names/places/ideas/movements/artists that I really had no interest in.