NYTimes: Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits

"Psychologists have discovered that some of the most hallowed advice on study habits is flat wrong.

"...instead of sticking to one study location, simply alternating the room where a person studies improves retention.
"...in a classic 1978 experiment... students who studied a list of 40 vocabulary words in two different rooms...did far better on a test than students who studied the words twice, in the same room...Forcing the brain to make multiple associations with the same material may, in effect, give that information more neural scaffolding.
"So does studying distinct but related skills or concepts in one sitting, rather than focusing intensely on a single thing...Varying the type of material studied in a single sitting — alternating, for example, among vocabulary, reading and speaking in a new language — seems to leave a deeper impression on the brain than does concentrating on just one skill at a time. Musicians have known this for years, and their practice sessions often include a mix of scales, musical pieces and rhythmic work. 

"...adults of retirement age were better able to distinguish the painting styles of 12 unfamiliar artists after viewing mixed collections (assortments, including works from all 12) than after viewing a dozen works from one artist, all together, then moving on to the next painter. The finding undermines the common assumption that intensive immersion is the best way...
“The idea is that forgetting is the friend of learning,” said Dr. Kornell. “When you forget something, it allows you to relearn, and do so effectively, the next time you see it.”...The process of retrieving an idea is not like pulling a book from a shelf; it seems to fundamentally alter the way the information is subsequently stored, making it far more accessible in the future...When the neural suitcase is packed carefully and gradually, it holds its contents for far, far longer. 

“Testing has such bad connotation; people think of standardized testing or teaching to the test,” Dr. Roediger said. “Maybe we need to call it something else, but this is one of the most powerful learning tools we have.”...tests are so often hard. Paradoxically, it is just this difficulty that makes them such effective study tools, research suggests.

Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits

Psychologists have discovered that some of the most hallowed advice on study habits is flat wrong.

http://nyti.ms/cPHCsv