More time or less time This is less

More time or less time? This is less about the amount of time you spend on study and more about how efficiently you use your time. BUT if you organise your study around spaced practice, you will find that you learn more in less time overall.

The Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve Everyone’s brain is designed to forget things – this is not a failing, it is just a fact. So, how can we overcome it?

The (Spaced) Learning Curve If we leave some time betwe en our study, we allow our brain to forget When we revise it, it beco mes a strong er memo

Leave about 24 hours before you revise the information. Then, increase the gap between each revision session.

You should start looking back to the topics from Term 1 and early Term 2 now.

Take a blank piece of paper and write down everything you remember about the topic. Then check your textbook and add in what you missed out. Better still, try to teach the topic to a friend or family member!

Allowing your mind time to forget information between revision sessions, actually strengthens the memory you form. Don’t be discouraged by forgetting – it is part of

Use technology to help • Phone calendar: When you have a lesson, put a reminder alert when you need to review the information. • So… – Class is on Tuesday. Put an alert for Wednesday night. – On Wednesday night, test / review your knowledge. Put an alert for the next Wednesday. – Whenever you review the information, put an alert for the next review.

How much time should I leave? • It depends… – Some things you remember more quickly (familiar topics) – School curriculum has a tight turnaround for assessment so you can’t space out as much as would be ideal. 1 2 3 4 5 Ideal context 1 day 7 days 16 days 35 days Review before a test School 1 day 3 days 7 days Day before the SAC Exam preparation

Extra Resources Thomas Frank, ‘How to remember more of what you learn with spaced repetition’, https: //collegeinfogeek. com/spaced-repetition-memorytechnique/ (Good explanation and video)

http: //www. learningscientists. org/blog/2016/7/21 -1 http: //www. learningscientists. org/blog/2016/4/12 -1