A guest blog from Dr Jenny Shipway, who studied biochemistry at university and now works in science communication and education training.
Find the full set of “How to Revise” articles here
The Lazy Brain
Brains are great at taking sneaky short-cuts to avoid thinking too hard, especially when they’re feeling tired. If you get stuck on something while revising, it might be for this reason.
Words are Powerful
Words not only help us communicate, but also help us organise our thoughts. By forcing things into words, we can prevent our brains from taking short cuts, and force them to think things through properly.
Many problems can be solved simply by stating the problem out loud. How many times have you asked someone for help but, as you are describing the problem you realise what the answer is? By describing the problem step by step, it’s suddenly obvious where you were going wrong.
As a bonus, when you take the effort to put things into your own words this forces the thoughts through your brain in a way that means you are more likely to remember it in future.
Your best study buddy is already in the room
Can you explain Mitosis to Mr Pokey?
Research shows that much of what people learn in schools comes from talking with their teachers and classmates. But what if you’re alone? Don’t despair, your study buddy does not have to be human, or even alive.
As you study, you could explain concepts out loud to:
Your pet
A beloved soft toy
A smiley face drawn on your finger
A picture of someone you love or respect
Pretty much anything with two googly eyes stuck onto it
I don’t know what the research says about giving your buddy a name, but I would imagine this would help too.
Keep Your Language On Track
For best effect:
Speak in complete sentences rather than letting your thoughts jump around. If you need to repeat yourself to do this, then do so (your study buddy won’t mind). Making yourself repeat the same idea again but more clearly is really helpful.
Keep your language scientific and appropriate to the level of study where possible.
Don’t let your brain take short-cuts by using unprecise language or skipping through ideas. Speak slowly and deliberately, like you really are trying to explain something to someone who doesn’t already know it.
By repetitively speaking biology jargon words out loud, you will be much more likely to remember them in future. And by using them in complete, meaningful sentences, you will be telling your brain that they are useful things to recall and flagging them up as things worth remembering in future.
It’s important that you’re not just repeating sentences you read elsewhere, the key is to produce new sentences that serve a purpose in explaining something to your study buddy.
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