HOW DOES ONE STUDY SMARTER?

When learning anything new, it can be tempting to simply try to memorize everything in the hope that you’ll be able to recall the information later on when you need it.

However, although the brain does have a rather impressive ability to retain certain information that is drilled into it over and over through memorization, this certainly isn’t the most efficient way to learn. Memorizing takes up a lot of time and significant effort, and we often tend to forget things simply because we don’t find them interesting.

Luckily, as it turns out, the brain learns more effortlessly when you make creative connections between ideas. By making connections with things you already know and understand, one learns faster and new ideas also become easier to understand.

There are two main forms of learning; passive learning and active learning, and in life, both forms are equally important to a well-rounded learning experience.

Passive learning happens when you aren’t consciously putting in an effort to learn something. For example, getting to know the names and personalities of the actors in a new TV-series. With passive learning, you are enjoying the activity while also obtaining new information and being able to recall and utilize this when necessary.

Active learning happens when you are consciously making an effort to learn by doing things, like making a summary using your own words or diagram to connect new information in a meaningful way.

You have most probably yourself experienced that if one reads with a purpose rather than simply re-reading material four times without much thought, one remembers better and reproduce the material much easier. This disproves that the notion of simply “studying hard” will get results.

So how exactly does one study smarter? Contact us by email (info@studysmart.org.za) or visit our website (www.studysmart.org.za) and we will share the secrets with you