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On a recent rainy evening, my partner and I rummaged through our board games and decided to play Stratego. Although I thought carefully about where to place my game pieces on the board and believed I had a good strategy, it quickly became apparent that my chosen strategy was no match for the one my partner had chosen to use. Before long, my defenses were destroyed, and my flag was captured. There was nothing inherently wrong with my choice of strategy, but it was not the best strategy for this particular situation. 

Studying for tests and exams can sometimes feel like a similar sort of guessing game. We might have good intentions to study for an upcoming exam, but for those intentions to succeed, we need to ensure that the strategy we have chosen is the best fit for our situation. Unlike a game of Stratego, we do not go into an exam totally blind. We can use our course materials to identify what we will be tested on and how we will be tested. That information helps us create the best learning strategy for our situation. 

In order to create a learning strategy for your next test or exam, you will need to begin by thinking about the material you will be tested on and the way the exam will be completed. For example, will you be taking a written exam? An oral exam? Will the exam require you to complete certain equations? Will you be asked to identify the bones in a human foot, explain social learning theory, or select the applicable provisions of the Statute of Winchester? Will the exam be open-book or open-notes? Will you be required to adhere to strict test-taking requirements, like those associated with the Respondus LockDown Browser with Monitoring used by Purdue Global? 

Clearly identifying both the content you will be tested on and the format of the exam will help you prepare an appropriate study strategy. Let’s look at a few common exams and the best strategies to use when learning the material. 

Memorization

When your exam requires rote memorization, some of the best strategies include active recall and spaced repetition. Active recall requires that you write or speak the answers without looking at them. This means that simply rereading your notes or your textbook again and again is not a productive strategy. Rereading builds familiarity with the material, but this is not the same as memorizing it. Apply active recall strategies like using flashcards, mnemonic devices, or question-based note-taking. To create an effective flashcard, write a question, word, or prompt on one side of an index card. Then, write the answer on the back. Test yourself before flipping the card over. Repeat the stack of flashcards several times each day. Mnemonic devices are clues that help us remember something, like when we associate the information with an image, sentence, or word. Examples of mnemonic devices include acrostics, rhymes, acronyms, and others. For instance, I still use a rhyme I learned years ago when I find myself stumbling over the spelling of a word, “‘i’ before ‘e,’ except after ‘c.’” To get started with question-based note-taking, return to the notes you took during the seminar and while completing the course reading. Rewrite your notes like an interview by turning headings into questions instead of statements. For example, you might have a heading like: “The role of caring in nurse-patient relationships.” Rewrite that statement as a question, like: “What is the role that caring plays in building nurse-patient relationships?” 

When using an active recall strategy, pair it with spaced repetition. Avoid cramming for the exam the night before. Instead, space your repetition of the material out over several days or even weeks. Create flashcards on the first day of the new week, and study them for a few minutes every day before taking the quiz at the end of the week, for example. Build on your progress by studying for the final exam throughout the entire term. Start by making a set of flashcards using the names, dates, terminology, or other data you need to memorize for the unit exam. Quiz yourself using the flashcards for a few minutes every day. At the end of the unit, make a new set of flashcards for the next exam. Review those flashcards every day. But build on your progress by also continuing to quiz yourself on the first set of flashcards. Building your set of flashcards with each unit of your course will help you be prepared for the final, cumulative exam at the end of the term. 

Conceptual Understanding

Some exams, especially oral or written exams, will require a conceptual understanding of important terms and theories. Creating flashcards to memorize a list of words is not a productive strategy for this type of exam. Instead, you will need to learn how and why things work so that you can explain them clearly. To prepare for this kind of exam, try making a concept map or using the Feynman Technique. 

Make a concept map by connecting main ideas with sub-ideas and supporting details in a mind map or an outline. A mind map is a visual representation of information or ideas. Place the central concept or the most important idea at the center of a blank page, and add associated concepts, words, or images around that main idea. The Feynman Technique is a strategy that includes reading a topic, closing your notes or textbook, and explaining it as simply as possible, as though to a child. Follow a four-part approach: study, teach, fill in the gaps, and simplify. 

Problem-Solving

Exams for math courses and other subjects might involve applying a formula, showing fluency in a procedure, or following a set of logical steps. Once again, reading through previously solved problems is not the best approach. Instead, use an active study strategy. In short, you need to practice, practice, practice. Apply the steps, procedure, or formula to different problems and practice solving them. A great approach for this strategy is to redo every homework question or practice test problem, especially those that you missed points on previously. Before beginning your practice routine, return to your favorite memorization strategy, like using flashcards or mnemonic devices, to memorize the formulas. Next, practice writing those formulas, steps, or procedures down from memory. Once you are confident that you have memorized the steps, apply your learning by practicing again and again. 

Open-Book or Open-Note Exams

Sometimes our courses assign an open-book or an open-note exam. This should not signal that there is no need to study. Rather, you will need to apply the best learning strategies for this particular testing situation. Open-book and open-note exams often test skills like navigating information, applying information critically, or analyzing information. Begin your preparation for these styles of exams by getting organized. This involves two steps: organizing and indexing. First, organize your notes or course materials logically. This might involve putting digital files into categories and creating easy-to-access folders for those categories on your computer. Or, it might involve physical files, which you could organize into folders or a three-ring binder. Your goal for this step is to create a logical and coherent framework, structure, or layout for the material you will need to use during your exam. 

The next step is to index that material. The goal of indexing is to make your search and retrieval process more efficient. You do not want to waste precious exam time searching through your notes or course materials to find the information you are looking for. Use an index to make retrieving that information quicker and easier. For example, you could use label tabs between topic sections of your three-ring binder so that you can easily flip to the appropriate section when the time comes. You could create a written index, like one you might find in the back of a textbook, and write down the chapter and page number for each term or idea that you might look for during the exam. Another useful strategy is to create a Google Doc for the information and use the headings tool to create document tabs. For example, create a Heading 1 for every major category within the document, and then use the Heading 2 setting for sub-categories within that section. Break this up further using Heading 3 or Heading 4 to create an easy-to-use index right next to your document. When using the document during your exam, you can simply click the heading title to the left of your document to move to that spot in the document quickly and easily. 

At the start of your next course or the next time you are faced with an exam or test to study for, assess the situation and choose your best strategy. For more strategies to support your learning, be sure to check out our Strategies for Success Webinar Series, happening right now! 

Until next time, this is Dr. Linscott with another Learning for Success podcast. Happy Learning!