Pop quiz: What’s the ONE thing you could work on that is most likely to help boost your grades?

答案：更好的学习技巧！

If you want to improve your study habits, the best place to start is by learning about how we learn—and that’s 为什么 we turn to the science of learning for the best study strategies.

In 根据科学，掌握5个学习技巧, we highlighted some key strategies to boost learning: don’t cram, build a healthy brain, change it up, learn to teach, and test yourself. Now we’ve got four more science-backed study skills for you to master.

技巧1：休息一下

Recent research suggests that 经常休息可以让大脑刷新工作记忆容量，从而最大限度地提高学习效果.

Working memory is sort of like the brain’s scratch pad. This is where we hold information that we’re actively engaged with. 工作记忆将信息委托给大脑的不同部分进行存储，使我们专注于重要的事情。 研究人员已经了解到，我们的工作记忆容量惊人地有限，这在记忆编码过程中造成了某种瓶颈。 “In order to preserve the contents [of working memory in] long-term memory, only very limited amounts of novel information can be processed at any given time,” one group of researchers wrote.

What’s more, this same group of researchers have found that working memory gets worn out when you concentrate on something for a long period of time without rest, making it increasingly difficult to understand new concepts or new information. Several small studies support the researchers’ hypothesis that frequent short breaks allow working memory to recharge, thus improving learning outcomes.

这项研究为最受欢迎的学习策略提供了证据：番茄工作法。 这种时间管理方法将集中精力的工作与短暂的休息交替进行，帮助你更好地集中精力，避免精神疲劳。 One “pomodoro” is a 25 minute focused work session followed by a 5 minute break. 在4到5个番茄工作点之后，你可以休息20到30分钟。 这项技术的名字来源于意大利语“西红柿”，因为发明这项技术的学生使用了一个西红柿形状的计时器来计时。 You will probably have a much easier time downloading a pomodoro timer app (有很多！) than trying to locate a tomato-shaped timer.

技巧2：有意学习

The phrase “intentional learning” hardly sounds like a study skill. After all, if you’re studying something, you’re probably not learning it by accident. When we say “intentional learning,” we mean that you should study with the intention of truly understanding information rather than merely knowing information.

当你只是为了了解一些东西而学习时，记忆是浅的。 它往往不会在大脑中保留很长时间。 When you study to truly understand something, you’re more likely to retain the information.

一位研究人员测试了这个想法 通过比较两组学生：一组被告知他们将对一组材料进行测试，另一组被告知他们需要将这些材料教给其他人。 之后，两组都对材料进行了测试。 怀着教教材的期望学习的那一组的表现明显优于怀着参加考试的那一组。

研究人员假设，期望教授材料的小组采用了更有效的学习方法，自动寻找关键点并将信息组织成一个有凝聚力的结构。 他们学习是为了真正理解材料，因为他们希望能够向其他人彻底解释； 另一组学习只是为了充分了解材料，以便回忆起考试所需的信息。

技巧3：自我解释

一个类似的学习策略叫做自我解释。 自我解释就像它听起来的那样：向自己解释概念。

In an 64项研究分析, researchers found that self-explanation is an effective study strategy because it encourages learners to form inferences and draw connections that enhance understanding. Self-explanation also helps learners to see what they don’t know so that they can fill in missing information.

While studying, don’t just absorb the information. 通过鼓励自己解释原因和方法，积极参与其中。 So, for example, you wouldn’t simply learn the fact that Andrew Jackson was impeached. 你会问自己，他为什么会被弹劾，他的行为与之前的总统有什么不同，他的弹劾与其他弹劾有什么不同，以及这件事如何改变了后来的事件。

技巧4：思考你的思考方式

Metacognition is your awareness or analysis of how you think and learn. 参与元认知的学生仔细地计划、监控和评估他们的学习过程. 他们密切关注哪些学习策略对自己有效，哪些无效； they identify the things they don’t understand in order to seek out answers; 他们知道自己的长处和短处。 所有这些都能帮助你更有效地学习。

你可能已经开始元认知了，只是没有意识到。 When you consider your study goals, create study plans, or reflect on prior study experience, you’re using metacognition to improve your learning outcomes. If you evaluate whether a particular strategy is really improving your study skills, you’re using metacognition. And if you think about what you could do differently to overcome some challenge or confusing piece of information, you’re using metacognition.

你可以用以下一些策略来提升你的元认知学习游戏：

• Pre-assess: Give yourself a quick pretest at the beginning of a study session to help you figure out what you already know and don’t know.
• The Muddiest Point: When you start studying a given topic, ask yourself “What is the most confusing thing about this material?” Think about 为什么 that point was confusing—what contradiction or intricacy tripped you up? 然后理清你的困惑。 使用课本或互联网，或向同学、家庭教师或老师咨询。
• 反思：在每次学习结束时，花一点时间反思一下。 Ask yourself what worked and what didn’t; 你仍然感到困惑的地方是什么？为什么？ 你觉得你对哪些事情有了更好的理解，以及你是如何达到这种理解的。 随着时间的推移，这种自我反省将帮助你完善你的学习技巧，使你成为一个更高效的学习者。

更好的学习技巧让生活更轻松

当你建立了更好的学习技巧，你就会使自己成为一个更有效率的学习者——你学习的效率越高，你花在学习上的时间就越少！ If you’d like to learn more about study skills, check out 成功学期的秘诀, where we talk about the study skills, time management strategies, and organization habits that help students excel.