Learning a new language or picking up a hobby may sound great in theory, but many end up giving up before long. Researchers from Iowa State University have found that spacing (间隔) and retrieval (提取) practice can help promote our learning process.

Study authors define spacing as a strategy to learn in small doses over time. In other words, it’s the opposite of pulling an all-nighter the night before a big test. Meanwhile, retrieval practice requires habitually recalling what one has just learned.

During one study, medical students who received repeated surgery training for three weeks performed far better and faster on tests both two weeks and one year afterward compared to medical students who had the same training all on one day.

Over 200 studies show that people tend to learn and memorize more information for longer periods using retrieval practice compared to other strategies. The results suggest that people who combine both spacing and retrieval practice have the best chance of remembering new information.

But retrieval practice and spacing aren’t used widely. Why? Experts explain that false beliefs regarding how best to learn new information or skills are responsible for that. “Probably the biggest misunderstanding is that learning has to feel easy to be working, and that’s not true at all. You’ll learn more effectively if you insist and get through some challenges.” Prof. Carpenter comments. “And spacing and retrieval practice are really challenging, pushing many learners out of their comfort zone and bringing up insecurities, a fear of failing, or other emotions they want to avoid.” He added.

Prof, Carpenter has integrated retrieval practice and spacing into her university courses via various online tools. Still, she says there are many other ways to bring the strategies into the classroom.

George Santayana, a philosopher, said those who don’t learn from history are doomed to (注定) repeat it. In other words, if you fail to learn from past mistakes, you’re likely to make them yourself. 【小题1】 In addition to providing the knowledge of the past, studying history helps develop transferable (可转移的) skills that will prepare you for various career opportunities down the road. So why not explore useful strategies that will improve the effectiveness of your study?

【小题2】 While reading your textbook, always try and place events, dates, locations, and details within the context of the big picture. How do they fit in? Why are they important to what’s going on? How do they support the sequence of events occurring? There isn’t anything you can’t memorize if you employ this technique.

Watch movies! While educational, most historical films and documentaries are also very entertaining. 【小题3】 Thus, if you are serious about learning history, ensure the movie you select is true to historical facts.

Keep important information. To memorize key dates, names and events, you can employ a flashcard, on one side of which writes a key event, date or fact. On the opposite side, write the definition, description or explanation. 【小题4】 But it’s just as effective today as it was one hundred years ago.

Take notes in class. Write down only those truly significant things. To achieve this, listen carefully in class and determine which are the most important points made during a lecture. 【小题5】 More importantly, organize your notes by topic, then years, decades and centuries, use arrows and other notation (符号) devices to identify important information.

We all know that studying is boring. Every time you have to read a textbook or review for a test, you may start thinking of a million things you’d rather be doing like watching TV.【小题1】

Let’s go through them, shall we?

Get interested in the topic. To be able to dive into different aspects of any topic, you can’t jump straight into the details.【小题2】That’s why we should teach children how to build something in a video game before encouraging them to read through History and Theory of Architecture.

Change your environment. Having an environment that’s helpful to focus can make you enjoy your work. One tip is to add in things that you enjoy. For example, I have carefully selected some music that can help me focus. Another thing you can try is to go to your favorite coffee shop or your own secret spot in the library when you need to study.【小题3】

Get a study partner. Studying with a partner is great for making the act of studying less boring.【小题4】You might distract(分散注意) each other. For example, I tried to study with my roommate, but we usually ended up playing online games. Besides, if you have some super-smart study partners, they will do all the homework and then you won’t learn anything.

【小题5】Your desire to do a task partly depends on the reward you’ll get for finishing it. Your pre-planned rewards can encourage you to work harder because you know you’ll get something fun after completing it.