The Science of Study

THE SCIENCE OF STUDY A massively complex network of neurons; that's what your brain is. With more than 90,000 miles of fibers (that's almost the length of the entire U.S. coastline), it allows you to process information in fractions of seconds, not to mention it controls the processes that keep your body alive. It's also infinitely expandable, meaning the capacity to learn is limitless. But what happens inside the brain when you learn information, and does the method you use to learn really make a difference? WHAT HAPPENS IN THE BRAIN Learning takes place mainly at synapses, the junctions between neurons. As you learn something new, the performance of the involved synapses change. Name For instance, when you meet a new person, your brain needs to associate Synapses change an image with a name. Name 3 Storage of such information takes place in different parts of your brain, but as you see the new person more and more, the synapses related to the name and image begin firing simultaneously. 4 It's through this simultaneous firing that you truly learn the new information. Synchronizing synapses isn't the only biological effect of leaming: When you take on a new, difficult skill or learn a piece of brand-new information, the brain actually becomes larger in size. Such changes are not noticeable on a day-to-day basis, but they can be seen over time. MIND YOUR METHOD PARIENTAL Does the way in which we go about studying really make a difference? LOBE OCCIPITAL FRONTAL LOBE LOBE TEMPORAL LOBE Cortex STAYING UP LATE Multiple experiments have shown that staying up late can often be counterproductive. In fact, a Harvard study found fatigue negatively affects the cortex, which stores information in the brain. A Hendrix College study broke students into three groups (night owls, morning larks and regular robins) and tracked their study/sleep habits for their freshman years. GPA BY GROUP AT END OF YEAR 2.84 3.18 3.18 NIGHT OWL MORNING LARKS REGULAR ROBINS CRAMMING Cramming often proves effective in the very short term, but those gains tend to vanish as time passes. We perform better when study sessions are spaced out over longer periods of time rather than packed into one sitting. hours urs 2 hours • hours udy for chem test chem test Study for chem test study for chem test TESTING YOURSELF Frequent testing of material you've just recently been exposed to can also be effective. In a University of Louisville study, a professor tested one class at the end of each lecture with quizzes on what they'd just heard Another class of the professor's used the same syllabus but did not do the daily quizzes Students in the quizzed class significantly outscored those in the other class on midterm exams. WHO STUDIES THE MOST? Each academic field of study requires combinations of different study methods. The average weekly hours of study by academic majors may provide insight into which methods students of particular disciplines are utilizing. 23.7 AVERAGE WEEKLY STUDY HOURS BY ACADEMIC MAJOR Architecture Chemical engineering A 21.6 19.7 18.4 E 18.1 18 17.5 O 16.7 TT 16.4 目 162 * 16 Physics Chemistry Art Nursing Music Biology Mathematics Philosophy Theater 16 m 15.9 O 15.2 国 151 | 15 Anthropology English Elementary education Accounting History 14.7 M 14.6 14.4 13.9 Computer science Political science Economics O 13.9 13.8 13.3 O 13.2 12.8 E 12.5 Q 12.1 Psychology Sociology Finance Business administration Journalism Communications Marketing Physical education Leisure studies 11.1 Speech 10.8 SOURCES http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id3=how-does-our-brain-learn http://healthlibrary.brighamandwomens.org/Relatedltems/6,667866 http://www.thebatt.com/opinion/calling-off-cramming-1.1778158#.UbjT25_C8ak http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1903838,00.html http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2008-11/cramming-not-long-term-study-strategy http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/back-to-school-cramming-doesnt-work-in-the-long-run.html http://www.apa.org/gradpsych/2011/11/study-smart.aspx http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/number-of-hours-students-study/2012/05/21/glQA3viTgU_graphic.html http://www.besteducationdegrees.com/ 2 hours Study for chem test