Midterm season is often very overwhelming, but with the right strategies and mindset, you can anticipate your exams with confidence. The Flying Onion is here to offer tips and studying methods, to help ease your stress for exam day.
To study effectively, it’s necessary to switch from passive habits to active ones. Now, there are many ways to do this, but for long-term memory restoration strategies like Active Recall, Interleaving, and Past-Review work best. (All following information comes from flexcollegeprep.com)
- Active Recall: This is the process of forcing the brain to retrieve information from memory without looking at notes. Recent research has revealed that this method of using active recall can increase scores up to 20% to 73%, a whopping difference in comparison to people who use passive recall methods like just rereading old notes. To perform active recall you must first close your source material and force your brain to retrieve the information from memory, either by answering questions, sketching diagrams, or even explaining concepts out loud, without looking at notes.
- Interleaving: This is the process of mixing different topics or types of problems within a single study session. Studies have shown that this type of studying is most proficient for math. Students over a three-month study scored 76% HIGHER in subjects like math in comparison to those using different practices. To perform interleaving, mix 3-4 related topics/problems types within a single study session, instead of focusing on just one at a time. For example, if you’re studying for English, spend five minutes reviewing vocab. Then, review your character chart for the text you just read in class. Then, return to reviewing vocab. This forces your brain to constantly re-identify which strategy to use for each task, significantly increasing long-term problem solving accuracy.
- Review past exams and practice tests: Midterms exams cover all subject matter from this past semester, so oftentimes, the midterms will have similar structures and questions to those in previous exams. This strategy is effective because it helps transition your brain from consuming knowledge to actively applying it. This also helps, as it gives you a general idea of what your test will look like, making you less nervous on test day. Of course, the best person to ask about the content of your midterm will always be your teacher for that class.
While midterms are an extremely busy time of the year, it’s important to remember to not stress, as these exams only make up 10% of your grade for any given class. That being said, it is still important to study productively and to try your best. Good luck, everyone!
