Effective Learning How to remember more without trying

1. Effective Learning How to remember more without trying A Review of the Best and Worst Learning Techniques

2. A Review of the Best and Worst Learning Techniques What do you do to help you learn?

3. Learning and practising new skills helps the brain retain information Focus on learning in more than one way. Use the different parts of the brain More connections are made and we remember more

4. Optimum conditions for learning The brain works well when: • it is rested - sleep affects our performance • it is hydrated - drinking water helps the electrical connections of the brain • it is unstressed - when it is stressed, it can focus only on 'escape’ • it enjoys itself - important to stimulate interest in what we are learning.

5. Teach What You've Learned to Another Person

6. Review information regularly • Spread out study sessions. • Cramming information at the last minute may allow you to get through that test, but the material will quickly disappear from memory. • It’s much more effective to dip into the material at intervals over time. • Regular practice tests help long term recall of information • Use Flash Cards

7. Stop Multitasking Research suggests that multitasking can actually make learning less effective. You may lose significant amounts of time You may learn more slowly, become less efficient and make more errors. How can you avoid the dangers of multitasking? Focusing your attention on one task at a time and continue working for a predetermined amount of time.

8. Ineffective techniques Highlighting and underlining. • They offer no benefit beyond simply reading the text. • May get in the way of learning; because it draws attention to individual facts, it may hamper the process of making connections and drawing inferences. • Re-reading.

9. Key points • Spread out learning • Ditch highlighters • Use flash cards. • Plan study sessions