Today's video is brought to you
by the French philosopher Voltaire,
to whom is attributed the aphorism
"Perfect is the enemy of good."
It's a good reminder for this video because
I'm gonna give you 10 specific tips that you can use today
to both prepare for your exams more effectively
and also perform better on those exams
when you're actually taking them.
The thing to remember here though
is that 10 tips are a lot to take in at once,
and if you tried to execute on all 10 of these at once
you're not gonna have good results.
So when you get to the end of this video
pick one or two that you think can help improve
your specific test-taking abilities,
and then try to put those into action.
Let's get started.
The first tip has to do with the few minutes
immediately leading up to your exam,
and it's to do a test preparation ritual.
Now in my mind this ritual has two specific components.
Number one, if you're prone to test anxiety,
then the first thing you're gonna want to do
is pull out a piece of paper and write out
the specific things that are worrying you.
As we talked about in my video on test anxiety,
a study done at the University of Chicago
actually proved that students who did this
got better grades on their tests.
Now the next component to the ritual
is to brain dump any important information
that you have loaded into your brain right now
onto a piece of scratch paper,
or the margins of the test if you can.
This includes formulas, measurement conversions,
and other important facts that you're afraid
you might forget during the test,
but that you think you might need.
The second tip is to be on the lookout
for later questions in the test that might
provide insight or answers to earlier questions.
I've actually noticed tests that I've taken
in previous classes where this has happened.
Later on in the test I'll find a question
that references something in an earlier question,
and it might actually flat out give the answer.
To put this tip in more general context,
simply go back and look over your answers
after you're done with the test.
That way anything that references
anything else in the test is going to catch your eye.
Tip number three is to do a cheat card exercise.
Now in some classes a teacher might let you
bring in a cheat sheet, or an index card,
filled with notes to assist you on the test.
But usually this isn't gonna happen.
Still, go through the exercise of making this cheat sheet.
Going through the exercise of forcing yourself
to try to condense all the material you're studying
for the test into one little summary is gonna help you learn
the most important parts of the material.
Even if you're not allowed to bring
that resulting cheat card into the test,
you've now gone through an exercise that has
really efficiently encoded the information in your brain.
Now your brain basically has that cheat card
stored inside of it, and this is just a simple way
to exploit the fact that the brain
learns best through active recall.
It learns best when you have to work hard
to pull information out of your head.
At the same time, you're also forcing youself
to think critically about what information
is the most important.
What is gonna fit on that little 3 by 5 index card?
When you combine those two factors together
you'll find that you're studying
the most important information in the most efficient way.
With tip number four we're staying on that
active-learning, active-recall train,
but this time the tip is to create quizzes
out of your notes and lecture materials,
and then force yourself to take them.
Just with like the cheat card exercise,
you're forcing yourself to condense
the most important information you're studying
into a more compact format,
but then you're also bringing
some pressure into the situation
by forcing yourself to take that quiz.
Now, speaking of that, the next tip
is to try to simulate the test conditions
as best as you can when you're studying.
This means going to the testing room to study,
actually simulating the time constraints of the test
when you're taking your quizzes,
and also getting your hands on old practice tests
that you can study from.
Basically do whatever you can to make
your study sessions mirror the actual test.
Tip number six has to do if you find yourself
stuck on a question during a test,
and if this happens, try to visualize your study area.
Now the reason you'd want to do this
is because research has shown that
learning is context dependent.
For example, in one study half of the research participants
learned something on land, while the other half
learned something while underwater in scuba gear.
When tested on their recall later,
the students who learned with the scuba gear on underwater
actually were able to recall the information better
when they were back underwater in said scuba gear.
What I'm trying to tell you here is
that you should study underwater.
Now this is not a new discovery,
and another good example of this
comes from the philosopher John Locke, who wrote about,
"A young gentleman, who, having learned to dance,
"and that to great perfection,
"there happened to stand an old trunk
"in the room where he learned.
"The idea of this remarkable piece of household stuff
"had so mixed itself up with the turns
"and the steps of his dances,
"that though in the chamber he could dance excellently well,
"yet it was only whilst the trunk was there;
"nor could he perform well in any other place,
"unless that or some such other trunk
"had its due position in the room."
Now, the English is a little weird in that passage,
but I'm sure you can get the point.
This all comes back around to visualizing
your study location when you're stuck though,
because other research has shown that people who do this
are sometimes able to overcome the effects
of context dependent learning.
Basically that means that if you happen
to study in the library and then you visualize the library
the memory of that study location might help you
forge connections to the material you're trying to recall.
Tip number seven is to try doing at least one
of your study sessions while out on a walk.
If you're having trouble grasping a certain concept,
then try going on a walk and reviewing it
while you're outside.
Now many people actually find that
when they're doing physical activity and they're outside,
their brain makes better connections,
but you're getting an additional benefit as well.
While you're outside, you're looking at the problem
from a different perspective.
Barbara Oakley's book, A Mind for Numbers, points out
that doing this helps you review a concept and learn it
while independent of any environmental cues
of one specific place.
My eighth tip is to apply Hofstadter's Law
to the act of studying.
Now Hofstadter's Law states that,
"It always takes longer than you think,
"even when taking into account Hofstadter's Law."
Encoding the information needed to earn a certain test grade
is almost always gonna take you
longer than you expect it will.
Yes, I know you're absolutely certain
that later on tonight you're gonna study
really, really hardcore, but then your friends
are gonna come in and want to do something,
or a five minute study break is gonna
turn into a Netflix binge.
This is just simple reality,
and smart people plan around reality.
So take the date that you're planning
on starting to study for your test,
and try moving it back a week.
That way you're giving yourself ample time
to review and revise, even if things
get in the way that you didn't anticipate.
Tip number nine is to be deliberate
about taking all your small tasks
and grouping them into as few small,
concentrated blocks of time as you can.
This'll free up time in your schedule
to create large uninterrupted blocks of study time.
Now when you're doing this, as a general rule of thumb,
try to put those uninterrupted study sessions
as early as you can in the day.
This is because your willpower is a finite resource,
and if you use it all on small tasks earlier in the day,
you're not gonna have as much left over
for that big study session you need to get to.
This is where the saying "Eat your frogs first" came from.
Do the hardest things when your
willpower reserves are as high as they can go.
And we are finally to the last tip,
and it is simply to appreciate test-taking
as part of the learning process.
Viewing tests only as assessments,
as basically judgements, makes them scary
and causes undue stress.
Instead, try to see your tests as beautiful,
concentrated bursts of recall and application.
And you can also reduce further stress with cats.
So that is it for this video.
If you found it helpful you can always
leave a Like down below to help support this channel,
and if you want to find more videos
with more additional tips on how to do better on your tests,
then this channel is absolutely full of them.
On the screen right now you'll see thumbnails for videos
on finals tips,
how to deal with test anxiety,
how to not make stupid mistakes on your exams,
and also whether or not you should
change answers on your exams if you feel like changing them.
Whichever one fits your fancy click it right now,
and hopefully it'll teach you something new.
Lastly, if you have questions that are still unanswered,
or maybe you saw something in this video
that piqued your curiosity,
and now you want a more in-depth video in the future,
then leave those questions down in the comments.
Those comments are super helpful for me
because they let me know what to make next,
and somebody might actually
answer your question in the meantime.
So that's it, thank you so much for watching
and I will see you next week.
Hey guys, thanks so much for watching
to the end of this video on test prep.
Now if you want to get more tips
on being an effective student every single week
then you can hit that big red Subscribe button right there.
I also wrote a book on how to earn better grades
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You can find a summary for this video,
along with links to a lot of the research i mentioned,
and other resources at the companion blog post
which can be accessed at the orange logo right there.
Last weeks video talked about how to craft a good
sleep schedule when the rest of your schedule is hectic,
and fittingly, I created that video at 4am
before going to VidCon, but check it out anyway.
And also, if you'd like to ask questions
or just connect with me, I'm on Twitter @TomFrankly,
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Thanks, and I'll see you next week.