Through college, I got a lot of advice from professors and fellow students on a bunch of study hacks. Some of the study hacks I heard sounded crazy to me. Like the students who stayed up all night reading chapter after chapter in a textbook or writing papers. I like my sleep too much! Eventually, I found my own way to study, but I was still curious if there are more efficient ways to study than the one I used. I’ve done the research and collected some science-backed study hacks useful for any learner.

5 Study Hacks Proven By Science 

If you’ve taken a psychology class, you may already be familiar with the idea of chunking. The theory is that people tend to remember things better when they learn related ideas in small chunks, rather than simply trying to cram all the details of a topic into their heads at once.It’s all based on the capacity of the working memory and how our brains turn short-term memories into long-term ones. Psychologists have consistently shown that people can easily recall a string of numbers or names that is 5 to 9 objects long.

1. Learn by “chunking”

Research shows that people are much more likely to be able to recall information from a one hour lecture when they review what they learned later on. And, not surprisingly, the more times one turns the information over in their mind, the longer they’ll remember it.One way to do this is to actively read the relevant material from your textbook before your lecture, take notes, and then review those notes that night before you go to sleep. Obviously, it’s helpful to look over your notes again before a test, and the more time you can find to review, the less you’ll be re-learning before your test

2. Don’t fall victim to the Forgetting Curve

Exercise has both long and short-term effects on cognition. When you exercise, your body interprets the physical stress as you fighting or fleeing an enemy and activates your sympathetic nervous system. In response, <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-you-think-better-after-walk-exercise/">your brain is flooded </a>with extra blood, rich in oxygen and nutrients, to make what it thinks could be life-saving decisions. It’s even been demonstrated that exercise can lead to neurogenesis, or the creation of new brain cells–a process previously thought impossible.

3. Exercise before you study (and consistently!)

<a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0033079">A collaborative study </a>published by researchers from Notre Dame and Harvard found that research subjects tended to remember unrelated word pairs better if they had learned them shortly before a good night’s sleep, rather than in the morning before 12 hours of being awake.It has long been theorized that sleep helps to stabilize the memories we form throughout the day. Interestingly, it seems that being awake does the exact opposite–creating interference in our memories and causing us to forget some of what we’ve learned.Try to get 7-8 hours of sleep consistently, and possibly schedule a study.

4. Study before you go to sleep

You may be tempted to commit yourself to hours-long study sessions. There’s nothing wrong with having the occasional study-athon, just make sure that you give yourself shorts breaks while you work.Research has shown that when people try to focus on a single task for a long period of time, their minds start to wander. It’s the same phenomenon you experience when you hear the same sound over and over again–you become habituated to it, and it becomes background.

5. Break up long study sessions for better focus

Studying doesn't have to be hard. There are a lot of simple methods that simplify the process. Find out here 5 science-backed study hacks.

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5 Study Hacks Proven By Science - College Raptor Blog

Post problem-solving anchor charts and references on your classroom wall or pin them to your Google Classroom – anything to make them accessible to students. When they ask for help, invite them to reference the charts first.

1. Go Step-By-Step Through The Problem-Solving Sequence

If a student gets stuck, they should ask themself, “Have I ever seen a problem like this before? If so, how did I solve it?” Chances are, your students have tackled something similar already and can recycle the same strategies they used before to solve the problem this time around.

2. Revisit Past Problems

Sometimes finding the answer to a problem requires the process of elimination. Have your students attempt to solve a problem at least two different ways before reaching out to you for help. Even better, encourage them write down their “Not-The-Answers” so you can see their thought process when you do step in to support. Cool thing is, you likely won’t need to! By attempting to solve a problem in multiple different ways, students will often come across the answer on their own.

3. Document What  Doesn’t  Work

Let’s say your students have gone through the Problem Solving Process, revisited past problems, and documented what doesn’t work. Now, they know it’s time to ask someone for help. Great! But before you jump into save the day, practice “3 Before Me”. This means students need to ask 3 other classmates their question before asking the teacher. By doing this, students practice helpful 21st century skills like collaboration and communication, and can usually find the info they’re looking for on the way.

4. “3 Before Me”

Picture this: You’ve carefully created an assignment for your class. The step-by-step instructions are crystal clear. During class time, you walk through all the directions, and the response is awesome. Your students are ready! It’s finally time for them to start working individually and then… 8 hands shoot up with questions. You hear one student mumble in the distance, “Wait, I don’t get this” followed by the dreaded, “What are we supposed to be doing again?”

Problem-Solving Skills for Kids: The Real Deal

Problem-solving skills for kids can be learned, nurtured by teachers, and practiced by everyone! Learn how with these creative tips.

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Developing Problem-Solving Skills for Kids | Strategies & Tips | Kodable Blog

Studying for your <a href="https://www.icslearn.co.uk/courses/gcse-and-igcse/">GCSEs </a>or <a href="https://www.icslearn.co.uk/courses/a-levels/">A Levels </a>can sometimes be stressful and even a little overwhelming - but not to worry! Luckily there are tons of apps out there to get you organised, keep you motivated and on track to reach your academic goals with ease.  Hit the ground running by using the best that the tech world has to offer. If you’re organised early on, you’re much more likely to create a clear study plan and actually stick to it! To save you some time, below we’ve put together a list of what we consider to be the top 10 studying apps to help keep you in tip-top study shape!

Top 10 Apps For High School Students 2021

Flashcards are a great revision aid and this app allows you to take them with you wherever you go! You can choose to create your own flashcards or search StudyBlue’s library of 500 million flashcards created by other users. You can easily customise the materials with images and audio making it super simple to learn in a way that works for you. Get it on <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.studyblue">Android </a>or <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/studyblue/id323887414">iOS </a>.

#1 StudyBlue Flashcards & Quizzes

If you’re more of a social learner, this is the app for you as it allows you to connect and collaborate with your friends, classmates, or even students on the other side of the world! You can join in with countless Learning Groups on different study topics, share and post resources, and get feedback and advice from other people studying the same subject. Check it out on <a href="https://www.goconqr.com/">iOS or Android </a>.

#2 GoConqr

Find it hard to keep track of your upcoming exams? This app provides a handy visual reminder of all your important upcoming dates. You’ll keep yourself focused as you can easily check how much time you’ve got to cram before you sit each exam. We love the fact that you can colour code all your exams and tests and use icons as a quick visual reference for each subject.  You can also add notes to remind yourself of anything you need to bring on the day. Get it on <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.beyondlearning.examcountdown&hl=en_GB">Android </a>or <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/exam-countdown-lite/id873279955?mt=8">iOS </a>.

#3 Exam Countdown Lite

Designed for high school and uni students, this calendar app lets you build your own timetable to easily keep track of your classes, assignments and exams. It lets you assign tasks to specific classes and comes with reminders so you don’t forget a thing! Plus, it comes with day and week rotation timetables, so you can easily pop in those classes or assessments that you only have every other week. Get it on <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/my-study-life-school-planner/id910639339?mt=8">iOS </a>.

#4 My Study Life

Evernote is way more than just a place to store notes. It’s the ultimate organisation app that lets you add to-do lists, images, webpages, memos and more! Whatever way you like to keep yourself organised, we’re 99.9% sure there’s a function for it on this app. You can type up notes, handwrite notes and photograph them, store things as word docs or PDFs - it really is the only organiser you’ll ever need! Get it on <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.evernote&hl=en_GB">Android </a>or <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/evernote/id281796108?mt=8">iOS </a>.

#5 Evernote

Mind mapping is a great study method as it helps organise your thoughts, spark your memory and come up with new ideas.With SimpleMind you can create your own mind maps, or you can opt for one of the auto layouts and fill it in. You can work to any scale you like as it boasts a virtually unlimited page size and number of elements. Get it on <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.modelmakertools.simplemindfree&hl=en_GB">Android </a>or <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/simplemind-mind-mapping/id305727658?mt=8">iOS </a>.

#6 SimpleMind

Getting too stressed? Taking time to relax is just as important as putting in the hours! Meditation can be a great way to unwind as it relaxes and encourages focus which will also help you when you get back to your studies. Headspace has loads of different courses that are designed to help you with different aspects of your life. There’s a Sleep course which unsurprisingly helps with sleep and a Productivity courses which (you’ve guessed it) helps with productivity. Get it on <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.getsomeheadspace.android&hl=en_GB">Android </a>or <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/headspace-meditation-sleep/id493145008?mt=8">iOS </a>.

#7 Headspace: Meditation & Mindfulness

Do you sit down to study only to get instantly distracted by calls, texts, emails or social media alerts? Then you need Offtime in your life! It allows you to block incoming calls, texts and notifications for set periods of time and can also stop you accessing apps during this time so no more endless scrolling through your Insta feed instead of getting down to work! It even tracks your usage of your phone and apps so you can see just how long you spend procrastinating throughout the day! Get it on <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.offtime.kit&hl=en_GB">Android </a>.

#8 Offtime

Always sleeping in for class or right through your free study morning? You need the ultimate alarm clock. Enter Alarmy. It features super loud ringtones and ‘missions’ to complete before the alarm shuts off making it impossible to ignore or snooze.   Choose from photo missions where you take a photo of a pre-set object, maths missions where you solve maths problems, barcode missions where you have to scan a pre-set barcode and shake missions where you must shake your phone a set number of times to stop the alarm. You’ll never oversleep again! Get it on <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=droom.sleepIfUCan">Android </a>or <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/alarmy-sleep-if-u-can-alarm/id1163786766">iOS </a>.

#9 Alarmy

Want to focus better? Listening to music can help clear your mind and get things done. With Study Music, you can choose different music for different tasks like studying, reading and being creative. Plus, you can add in nature sounds or alpha waves to your chosen music which has been said to make it easier to relax and improve your focus - think of it like being able to bring a piece of the great outdoors with you to the library! Get it on <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.UtkuGogen.CalismaMuzikleri">Android </a>or <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/study-music-to-help-with-brain-power-and-learning/1152448350">iOS </a>.

#10 Study Music 🎧 Memory Booster

From the ultimate mind maps to the best digital study planner, these 10 study apps will keep you on top of your study game.

5 Study Hacks Proven By Science - College Raptor Blog

Developing Problem-Solving Skills for Kids | Strategies & Tips | Kodable Blog

Top 10 Studying Apps for High School Students 2021

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