How to Craft the Perfect Study Mental Workout Plan

Let’s get practical and discuss how to craft the perfect study mental workout plan, so you could translate the brain-change knowledge into your everyday life as a student before, during, and after classes.

Well reading before class is one of the most overlooked ways to boost your learning in a college course. Think of how a warm-up prepares the body for a workout. Reading the material before class serves a similar function. If you first process this new information and get the neural networks primed, the result will be a much more productive time in class.

Why?

You will have an easier time figuring out which information is most important.

What you hear in class will more easily connect with the networks in your brain because of the mental warm-up.

So make the most of your reading by following these tips:

1. Invite Desirable Difficulties

Get a good workout while you read: If you feel your eyes skimming across the page, or if you reach the bottom and don’t remember much (if anything) of what you just read, then you are barely processing the information at all. It happens to the best of us.

The important thing is to catch yourself, shake the cobwebs out of your head, and start again with the goal of staying more engaged.

Awareness is a step in the right direction.

2. Space It Out

If you have a 50-page chapter to read for Monday’s class, break it down into smaller chunks (perhaps 15- to 20-page sections), and spread your reading out across a couple of days.

Here’s another reason to space things out: If you are zipping through a 50-page chapter in one sitting, I doubt that you are engaging desirable difficulties!

Pace yourself.

Course materials are often organized into sections with headers. Read one or two sections in one sitting, but no more than that.

Remember, your brain needs breaks in order for memories to consolidate. Also, this will help you manage your attention better and help reading become more enjoyable.

Here are two specific methods to trigger challenges that help you get the most out of your reading.

i. SQ3R: The Survey, Question, Read, Rehearse, and Review Strategy

One structured approach to reading for deep processing is SQ3R.

Here are the steps:

• Before you read, survey the section to get a general idea of what information you will encounter.

• Next, formulate a question to keep in mind as you read. Your text may already include learning objectives or preview questions that help with this step.

• Now you are ready to read, but you should read with your question in mind, actively considering what the answer might be. Take notes, putting things in your own words as much as you can.

• After you have finished reading a section, take time to rehearse: put the text material in your own words, then ask yourself the question again (but no peeking at the text or your notes until you have answered!).

• The last step is to review what you have learned, paying special attention to the notes in your own words.

ii. 3R: The Read-Recite-Review Strategy

The 3R approach is another method to encourage deep processing while reading. You can use this technique repeatedly with your texts or your notes.

• Read a brief section or passage.

• Close your book or cover the text, then recite in your own words anything you can remember about what you have just read.

• Open the book and review the passage to check yourself.

3. Self-Test While You Read

As you read, think of questions you could ask yourself to test your learning. Write them down somewhere. When, you reach the end of the section, use these questions as a self-test quiz.

How much did you remember? Take note of the information that you left out, and go back to review that material.

4. Work the Information in Different Ways

First and foremost, make sure you are focused on the meaning of the words, not memorizing the author’s words, which triggers only shallow encoding. How can you do this?

Take notes while you read, but don’t just copy from a book or screen. Instead, put things into your own words. Consider how this new information fits in with your uniquely wired brain.

How does it link to your experiences? Does an image come to mind? If so, draw it. Does a silly thought occur to you? For example, I remember reading about the hippo-campus, a brain structure involved with memory, and I immediately thought: “Hippos are similar to elephants, and elephants supposedly have good memories.”

It stuck.

It worked for me, but it might not work for you. Remember, you are your connections, so make what you read stick in a way that makes sense to you!

5. Go to Class and Train with an Expert

Go to your classes—each and every one of them. These are golden opportunities your brain shouldn’t miss. This is a chance to have a mental workout with an expert on the topic. At the very least, a missed class is a lost opportunity to find out what the professor thinks is most important (in other words, what material is most likely to appear on assessments).

Your professor will present the material in at least a slightly different way than it is presented in the readings, so that alone will provide some helpful cross-training to strengthen your neural networks. But it’s ultimately up to you to make class worth your time. Just as simply moving your eyes across the page fails to result in much learning, sitting there and simply writing down whatever is on the board or slides only triggers the most shallow processing.

So try the following procedures:

Create a Set of Complete and Personally Meaningful Notes

Notice that I said “create” instead of “take.” This is an important distinction. When you “take” notes, you write down the exact words from the board or a slide, and that’s it. Some students who are obsessive (as I was) attempt to write down as many words spoken by the professor as possible.

In both cases, there is a misconception that the professor’s words are magical: If you can just transfer them directly into your brain, you will be in good shape. It’s simply not true.

Cause, research indicates that students who “create” comprehensive and elaborated notes tend to earn better grades. How do you do this? Of course you should write down the outline, terms, or key examples the professor has provided on the board or slides. And it's wise to jot down additional helpful details your professor may state, as long as you are not attempting to transcribe the words verbatim.

What's most important is that you churn the information through your brain so it makes sense to you.

You have to work with the information, and transform it in some way so it will become embedded within your neural networks.

This strategy can range from simply putting things into your own words to jotting down a related example or a personal experience.

It will build bridges that connect the professor's words with your brain.

Try some of these strategies to “create” your own notes:

i. Remind yourself to focus on the meaning, not just the words. As much as possible, put things into your own words. Make your notes personally meaningful.

If note taking seems quick and easy, view this as a warning sign. Keep desirable difficulties in mind.

ii. Listen for organizational cues from your professor. For example, a statement like “So we have just discussed X, and now I’d like to move to Y” is a clear signal that the lecture is shifting to a new topic.

If the instructor tells you “There are four components of Z,” use that as a signal to start a numbered list in your notes.

iii. Develop a set of abbreviations and symbols. Save time by abbreviating or using symbols whenever possible. Include those an individual professor uses and invent some of your own. Just make sure the abbreviations and symbols help you make sense of the material.

iv. Draw a representation of how concepts relate to each other. Try venturing outside the standard outline structure. Consider using arrows, for example. Create drawings to represent the information.

v. Check yourself by noting spots where you got lost or confused. I used to do this by writing a big question mark next to the spot where I got lost. After you mark the spot, shake out the mental cobwebs and then move on to keep up with the pace of the class. Stay after class to discuss the confusing part with the professor or a classmate. Do not wait.

vi. As soon as possible after class, review your notes and jot down any additional information that comes to mind. It’s important to do this while the information is still fresh.

Better yet, do this with a classmate. You may be able to fill in some blanks for each other. I called this “the reconstruction strategy.” But beware of shifting into rote mode!

Don’t just read and copy verbatim; actually discuss the notes, explain what they mean, and focus on which parts of the meaning either of you may have missed or misunderstood.

6. Train Your Brain for Exams and Other Assessments

Students often ask me how best to prepare for exams. It’s a great question, but the problem is that most ask it less than a week before the exam.

When should you start preparing for the exam? Today! But that doesn’t mean you have to spend hours studying today. A little goes a long way, especially when you revisit the material several times a week. 

It’s like going to the gym a few times a week instead of spending 10 hours there on Saturday to make up for a week of sloth.

Here are some suggestions for how to proceed:

Process Your Notes Regularly

Research indicates that you will learn more from processing your notes than you learned while taking them. Rereading is not enough, and neither is copying notes verbatim.

Oh, how I wish someone had told me this when I was a student! I wasted loads of time on this particular rote method. Of course, there is nothing wrong with rereading your notes the first time you revisit them. The problem is expecting that you will somehow be able to “write” the contents of your notes directly into your brain.

This ignores the reality that each of us begins with a brain full of unique connections, where new information sticks best by being woven into the networks that already exist.

Use your notes as a springboard to organize and integrate the course material.

Consider how the different pieces of information connect to one another (internal connections), and then think about how the information relates to your prior knowledge and experiences (external connections).

This is great exercise for the brain, helping to form and strengthen neural networks that can later consolidate into stronger memories.

i. Make internal links. There are often numerous ways that the course material could be organized to show internal links, such as terms that can be grouped by some shared characteristic or terms that are notable for how they reveal opposite tendencies. Experiment with different ways to show internal links.

You could construct a memory matrix, where you identify categories and appropriately place terms, concepts, or other information. Concept maps are another option; these are diagrams or figures you draw to show relationships among the various aspects of the material.

ii. Make external links. You can relate the course material to information you currently know by forming mental representations. Depending on the way your mind works, this could come out in many different ways.

The links could be visual. For example, I think of neural connections as colorful strands of yarn and of building strong memories as similar to knitting a blanket with that yarn. With further processing (strands/connections), the blanket (memory) becomes more and more resilient.

The links could also be verbal—for instance, analogies. Does a certain concept remind you of something else? If so, write in your notes: “It’s like. . .” To understand how brain cells communicate, for example, you could note: “It’s like a conversation.”

You could also imagine methods of linking the material to movements or sounds. Studies indicate that engaging the senses and motor skills when creating a memory yields additional cues that can help embed the new information more deeply into your brain.

The bottom line: You create stronger memories when you process the new information in a variety of ways.

iii. Simply ask “why”?. Doing so is a very effective and straightforward way to make external links. This method of triggering self-explanation has been shown to improve learning more than does simple summarizing or rereading of notes.

Why does it work? It forces you to think about the meaning of the material instead of focusing on the memorization of words.

All about the Internal and External Links

While making notes, try to connect the new information with things you already know. This is one specific way to weave the material into your uniquely connected brain, as shown in blue. In addition, pay attention to the connections you see between the bits of new information you encounter, as shown in green. Both methods help you process the material deeply.

7. Check Your Learning Through Self-Testing—Repeatedly

How did you know that you could ride a bicycle? I remember the exhilarating feeling I had when the training wheels on my bike were removed and I rode down the driveway all on my own. It was scary at first, but eventually I brought the wobbles under control.

How do you know when you have really learned something? Most students rely on how familiar the material seems as they reread it or on how well they do on multiple-choice quizzes or test questions. Think about why that might be the case. Your notes, readings, and multiple-choice questions all contain the verbal equivalent of training wheels: words and organizational features that act as cues for your performance.

The trouble is that, unlike training wheels on a bike, we don’t realize how much our performance is assisted by these aids. The wheels come off for the exam—questions are in random order, unfamiliar wording is used, you’re required to apply what you’ve learned—and suddenly your confidence is shaken.

You feel wobbly. You discover that you really didn’t know the material well. Let’s take the training wheels off for a moment, right now.

Without looking back on the chapter, answer this question: How are memories formed in the brain?

Now look back to page 2 to check your answer. How much did you remember? When you self-test like this, you get a more accurate view of how much you understand.

This is especially true when you ask open-ended questions, like the one I used above—to answer, you are required to pull all of the information you can from the depths of your own brain. The real challenge is to put the course material away (for a few hours or a day) and then later see what you can still retrieve from the strands of information that were encoded. This strategy tests recall memory—a good countermeasure against that annoying human tendency to overestimate what you know.

There is another excellent reason to self-test: The act of trying to retrieve information helps us embed the information in the brain more deeply, which leads to stronger and more readily accessible memories.

Remember, brain cell connections are strengthened by both encoding and retrieval. Making yourself come up with an answer (especially to an open-ended question) is one of the most effective exercises for your memory networks.

In short, self-testing is a great workout that will show you what you really do and don’t know. Don’t be surprised to find that there are some big gaps in your memory.

Be happy you found them and can remedy the problem! Also, remember that if it’s difficult while you’re studying, it’s more likely to be easier while you’re being tested later.

Self-testing creates desirable difficulties that strengthen your memories for long-term retention.

Here are some self-testing options you can try:

i. Use the tools the professor or text author gave you. Many professors and texts provide lists of objectives, preview questions, or review questions. Just make sure to move beyond multiple-choice questions because, to begin with, they are easier. Focus on open-ended questions, like fill-in-the-blank or essay questions.

ii. Make your own tests. This is a lot easier than you might think. For example, go back to the questions you wrote in your notes while reading. Create flashcards and, on the back of each, write where in your notes the answer can be found. This will remind you not to try to rote-memorize “answers.” You can also use the 3R method as a simple and effective way to check your understanding while you study.

iii. Mix up the order of questions. This is a form of brain cross-training. If you always study everything in the same order, the order itself becomes a context cue that fools you into overestimating what you really know. Besides, many professors arrange their exam items in random order.

iv. Try out a variety of study locations. Even without our conscious awareness, cues from the places where we study help us form associations with the new material we are trying to learn. If we study in only one location, we create only one set of context cues to link to the material.

Studying in many different locations gives you the chance to form multiple context cues. In other words, trying out different study locations can actually help you form more connections between brain cells relevant to the material. More connections equal stronger memories.

v. Sort items back into their categories. Shuffle your flashcards and then sort them into piles by chapter or topic. Now you are forced to think about how the items are similar to or different from one another, which is excellent exercise for the mind.

Even if this seems too hard, it can trigger deep learning because of the workout it gives your brain. Remember, difficulties help you learn!

vi. Pretend it is your job to teach someone else this material. Someone who really needs the information. This makes you think about the meaning of the material instead of just focusing on the literal words. Actors often use this method. They are encouraged not to rote-memorize the script but to think of the motivations, goals, and reasons why the person would be saying these things.

Even just talking to someone about the material—a classmate, friend, or family member—can serve as a self-test. The concepts that are hard for you to explain are those that need more attention.

vii. It is never too early to self-test. In fact, some research shows that it helps to start testing yourself even before you’ve read the text or attended a lecture on the topic, especially if you follow up by investigating the correct answer afterwards.

Aren’t you likely to answer incorrectly? Yes, but creating that initial challenge of retrieval for your brain cells prepares you for longer-term retention of the material over time. The answer is less important than the mental exercise the question triggers.

viii. Self-test to keep memories strong. Knowing something now doesn’t mean you’ll know it at test time.

Why?

Cause your brain has undoubtedly changed, at least a little bit, since you first made that memory.

Some students make the mistake of studying only the difficult material, assuming that they already know the easier material.

But if brain cell pathways haven’t been exercised, even if that material once felt “easy,” you may fail to retrieve the information when it matters at a later date (like during an exam!).

Remember, the brain responds like a muscle. Imagine that you have finally reached the point where your biceps are perfectly toned.

Congratulations! But that doesn’t mean you never have to work them again. The same is true of memory.

Remember: Self-test to study; test early and often. Don’t wait until it’s too late!

From the perspective of training your brain, what is the purpose of reading the assigned material before class?

Hints

1. Don’t look back at the text until you have pulled out of your memory as much information as you can.

2. Ask another student to “reconstruct” lecture notes with you shortly after a class. Discuss the content of your notes to see if either of you missed any information. Resist the urge to simply copy missed information. Instead, explain the material to each other in your own words, focusing on the meaning.

3. Examine a set of notes you have recently taken during class. “Re-create” these notes, putting the material in your own words and making internal or external linkages as much as possible. Then devise a plan for how to incorporate more note-creating techniques during the next class.

4. Create a “cheat sheet” list of self-testing strategies to keep close at hand as a reminder while you study. During every session of studying on your calendar for the week ahead, strive to incorporate one or two of these strategies at regular intervals.

That's all.

Did you enjoyed this post? Or maybe you're Not satisfied yet? Go ahead! Ask a question now, and make sure to click on the 'Notify Me' button for notification when we reply back. Stay updated...