QUESTION: If a student reviews shortly after a class, will the student save on the amount of study time? 

ANSWER: Yes!  A student can save himself or herself hours of study time by reviewing his or her notes shortly after a class.  By reviewing daily or every other day, the student will save even more study time!

WHY?  Many people think that if they learn something, they slowly forget it over time.  Researchers beginning with Hermann Ebbinghaus in the 1880 discovered that forgetting does not happen slowly but exponentially (we forget more quickly as time goes on). 

The black line in the chart below shows the learning and forgetting associated with a class lecture.  Before the lecture, a student probably knows little or nothing about the subject matter.  At the end of the lecture, the students knows nearly 100% of what was presented.  If the student does not review what was learned, the student rapidly forgets the material until after about 30 days, the students remembers almost nothing of what was taught in the lecture.

If, however, the student reviews for about ten minutes shortly after the lecture, the student can recall most, nearly all, of what was taught.  If the student then reviews for a few minutes every few days, the student can recall nearly all of what was taught.

 Chart found at: http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infocs/study/curve.html

SAVE YOURSELF TIME!  Review right away and at least every few days!  You will save yourself hours of study time later. 

Last updated - 06-14-10