Benjamin Keep, PhD, JD | Study Less, Study Smart(er) - Extending Marty Lobdell's Study Advice @benjaminkeep | Uploaded May 2023 | Updated October 2024, 13 minutes ago.
Marty Lobdell's video, "Study Less, Study Smart" remains excellent advice for college students on how to study. Here are answers to some of the most common questions that come up when you follow his advice.
0:00 A brief introduction
0:23 What kinds of study breaks should you take?
1:59 Where should you study?
3:34 What kinds of notes should you take?
4:38 Deep processing, shallow processing, and transfer-appropriate processing
7:11 How should you structure study groups?
10:17 Ways to study that avoid confusion between recognition and recall
11:49 The skill of reading textbooks
If you want to be the first to know about the courses I'm releasing, sign up here: https://forms.gle/px7ZmXkvJW26uFWp8
Sign up to my email newsletter here: benjaminkeep.com
RELATED VIDEOS
Marty Lobdell's Study Less, Study Smart is here: youtube.com/watch?v=IlU-zDU6aQ0
For alternatives to highlighting and flashcards, see:
How to do free recall - youtu.be/FatnXnlwAc4
How to Use Free Recall to Learn More Effectively - youtu.be/evIuDvQDDSY
A simple study tip: stop highlighting - youtu.be/_g3NojwBOXw
For my take on note-taking:
The surprising truth about note-taking - youtu.be/cRQqH18wJgw
On reading textbooks (and reading more generally):
Three simple tricks to read textbooks more effectively - youtu.be/neQ7D90R0xo
Learn more from every paragraph - youtu.be/WRjsOU6mOp4
On attitude and framing:
The most common obstacle to effective studying - youtu.be/6i7HrP84DMw
REFERENCES
On restful periods, see: Wamsley, E. J. (2019). Memory consolidation during waking rest. Trends in cognitive sciences, 23(3), 171-173. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7024394/pdf/nihms-1557224.pdf
The screenshot of the graph showing wakeful resting benefits to wakeful active groups comes from research on auditory learning, here: Gottselig, J. M., Hofer-Tinguely, G., Borbely, A. A., Regel, S. J., Landolt, H. P., Retey, J. V., & Achermann, P. (2004). Sleep and rest facilitate auditory learning. Neuroscience, 127(3), 557-561.
On eyestrain, see: Kaur, K., Gurnani, B., Nayak, S., Deori, N., Kaur, S., Jethani, J., ... & Mishra, D. (2022). Digital Eye Strain-A Comprehensive Review. Ophthalmology and Therapy, 11(5), 1655-1680.https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40123-022-00540-9
On the benefits of self-testing study strategies, see: Roediger III, H. L., Putnam, A. L., & Smith, M. A. (2011). Ten Benefits of Testing and Their Applications to Educational Practice. In Psychology of Learning and Motivation (Vol. 55, pp. 1–36). Elsevier. doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-387691-1.00001-6
On the weak benefits of highlighting and a fantastic review of study strategies more generally, see: Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques: Promising Directions From Cognitive and Educational Psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4–58. doi.org/10.1177/1529100612453266
On the value of teaching (or preparing to teach) others, see: Okita, S. Y., & Schwartz, D. L. (2013). Learning by Teaching Human Pupils and Teachable Agents: The Importance of Recursive Feedback. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 22(3), 375–412. doi.org/10.1080/10508406.2013.807263
The classic piece on transfer appropriate processing is here: Morris, C. D., Bransford, J. D., & Franks, J. J. (1977). Levels of processing versus transfer appropriate processing. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 16(5), 519–533. doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5371(77)80016-9. For a more modern view in the context of an experiment, see this piece: A. de Winstanley, P., & Ligon Bjork, E. (1997). Processing Instructions and the Generation Effect: A Test of the Multifactor Transfer-appropriate Processing Theory. Memory, 5(3), 401–422. doi.org/10.1080/741941392
On deep and shallow processing, see: Craik, F. I. M. (2002). Levels of processing: Past, present... and future? Memory, 10(5–6), 305–318. doi.org/10.1080/09658210244000135
On the memory benefit of learning in different environments, one of the classics is: Smith, S. M., Glenberg, A., & Bjork, R. A. (1978). Environmental context and human memory. Memory & Cognition, 6(4), 342-353.
On links between exercise, sleep, and learning, see: Roig, M., Cristini, J., Parwanta, Z., Ayotte, B., Rodrigues, L., de Las Heras, B., ... & Wright, D. L. (2022). Exercising the sleepy-ing brain: exercise, sleep, and sleep loss on memory. Exercise and sport sciences reviews, 50(1), 38-48.
On links between walking and creative thinking, see: Oppezzo, M., & Schwartz, D. L. (2014). Give your ideas some legs: the positive effect of walking on creative thinking. Journal of experimental psychology: learning, memory, and cognition, 40(4), 1142.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Spanish Inquisition clip from: youtube.com/watch?v=yKQ_sQKBASM
Marty Lobdell's video, "Study Less, Study Smart" remains excellent advice for college students on how to study. Here are answers to some of the most common questions that come up when you follow his advice.
0:00 A brief introduction
0:23 What kinds of study breaks should you take?
1:59 Where should you study?
3:34 What kinds of notes should you take?
4:38 Deep processing, shallow processing, and transfer-appropriate processing
7:11 How should you structure study groups?
10:17 Ways to study that avoid confusion between recognition and recall
11:49 The skill of reading textbooks
If you want to be the first to know about the courses I'm releasing, sign up here: https://forms.gle/px7ZmXkvJW26uFWp8
Sign up to my email newsletter here: benjaminkeep.com
RELATED VIDEOS
Marty Lobdell's Study Less, Study Smart is here: youtube.com/watch?v=IlU-zDU6aQ0
For alternatives to highlighting and flashcards, see:
How to do free recall - youtu.be/FatnXnlwAc4
How to Use Free Recall to Learn More Effectively - youtu.be/evIuDvQDDSY
A simple study tip: stop highlighting - youtu.be/_g3NojwBOXw
For my take on note-taking:
The surprising truth about note-taking - youtu.be/cRQqH18wJgw
On reading textbooks (and reading more generally):
Three simple tricks to read textbooks more effectively - youtu.be/neQ7D90R0xo
Learn more from every paragraph - youtu.be/WRjsOU6mOp4
On attitude and framing:
The most common obstacle to effective studying - youtu.be/6i7HrP84DMw
REFERENCES
On restful periods, see: Wamsley, E. J. (2019). Memory consolidation during waking rest. Trends in cognitive sciences, 23(3), 171-173. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7024394/pdf/nihms-1557224.pdf
The screenshot of the graph showing wakeful resting benefits to wakeful active groups comes from research on auditory learning, here: Gottselig, J. M., Hofer-Tinguely, G., Borbely, A. A., Regel, S. J., Landolt, H. P., Retey, J. V., & Achermann, P. (2004). Sleep and rest facilitate auditory learning. Neuroscience, 127(3), 557-561.
On eyestrain, see: Kaur, K., Gurnani, B., Nayak, S., Deori, N., Kaur, S., Jethani, J., ... & Mishra, D. (2022). Digital Eye Strain-A Comprehensive Review. Ophthalmology and Therapy, 11(5), 1655-1680.https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40123-022-00540-9
On the benefits of self-testing study strategies, see: Roediger III, H. L., Putnam, A. L., & Smith, M. A. (2011). Ten Benefits of Testing and Their Applications to Educational Practice. In Psychology of Learning and Motivation (Vol. 55, pp. 1–36). Elsevier. doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-387691-1.00001-6
On the weak benefits of highlighting and a fantastic review of study strategies more generally, see: Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques: Promising Directions From Cognitive and Educational Psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4–58. doi.org/10.1177/1529100612453266
On the value of teaching (or preparing to teach) others, see: Okita, S. Y., & Schwartz, D. L. (2013). Learning by Teaching Human Pupils and Teachable Agents: The Importance of Recursive Feedback. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 22(3), 375–412. doi.org/10.1080/10508406.2013.807263
The classic piece on transfer appropriate processing is here: Morris, C. D., Bransford, J. D., & Franks, J. J. (1977). Levels of processing versus transfer appropriate processing. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 16(5), 519–533. doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5371(77)80016-9. For a more modern view in the context of an experiment, see this piece: A. de Winstanley, P., & Ligon Bjork, E. (1997). Processing Instructions and the Generation Effect: A Test of the Multifactor Transfer-appropriate Processing Theory. Memory, 5(3), 401–422. doi.org/10.1080/741941392
On deep and shallow processing, see: Craik, F. I. M. (2002). Levels of processing: Past, present... and future? Memory, 10(5–6), 305–318. doi.org/10.1080/09658210244000135
On the memory benefit of learning in different environments, one of the classics is: Smith, S. M., Glenberg, A., & Bjork, R. A. (1978). Environmental context and human memory. Memory & Cognition, 6(4), 342-353.
On links between exercise, sleep, and learning, see: Roig, M., Cristini, J., Parwanta, Z., Ayotte, B., Rodrigues, L., de Las Heras, B., ... & Wright, D. L. (2022). Exercising the sleepy-ing brain: exercise, sleep, and sleep loss on memory. Exercise and sport sciences reviews, 50(1), 38-48.
On links between walking and creative thinking, see: Oppezzo, M., & Schwartz, D. L. (2014). Give your ideas some legs: the positive effect of walking on creative thinking. Journal of experimental psychology: learning, memory, and cognition, 40(4), 1142.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Spanish Inquisition clip from: youtube.com/watch?v=yKQ_sQKBASM
