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Three Reasons to Not Study Hard by Roger Lewis Fischel
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Three Reasons to Not Study Hard |
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Education
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The age old question for students revolves around study. Should one study hard or study smart? So many students hear the empty 'motivational' advice to study harder. This advice often falls on deaf ears. My goodness, the student thinks, I already study as hard as I can. If this were good advice, why do so many students who study hard get average grades? In this brief article, I will share three reasons why one should almost never study hard. One should never 'pull an all-nighter.' Waiting until the last minute to study is always counterproductive. The three reasons considered here are: 1) studying hard doesn't allow for separating what is important from what is not; 2) studying hard does not allow the memory to build lasting connections; and, 3) students who make a habit of studying hard tend to burnout. These are, in my opinion, the three most important reasons not to study hard. Rather, one should develop a solid plan to study smart by making study a regular habit. Let's take a deeper look. Separating the Important One of the main reasons to study smart is that in doing so one makes important connections. One is able to separate that which is important and that which is not. To be able to make this separation one must review material many times. In that review process one learns to separate what is important. When not following a study plan, rather waiting until one has no other choice but to study, one loses the ability to separate. The result is that one stuffs the brain with facts, some important and others trivial. When it comes time to be tested on the material one cannot separate one from the other. One is just as apt to get stuck on the trivia of the material as going for the most important. Lasting Memory Connections When one is learning new material, no matter what the subject, one is able to keep from five to seven chunks of information in short term memory (STM). When one is studying hard, one overloads STM. As the oldest chunk falls off making room for a new chunk, it is likely that the retrieval of that chunk from long term memory is lost. If one studied in an orderly, habitual manner, this would not be a problem. It is problematic when one relies on recall when one's memory cannot be reached. By studying hard, one places oneself at a distinct disadvantage. The long term memory suffers because connections to it are either weak or non-existent. This problem is similar to, but distinct from the inability to separate the important from the trivial. Burnout Finally, the students who procrastinate, who study in large blocks, find that their perfomance is no better than average. This is discouraging. When waiting for the last minute one must cram many hours of learning into one or two long blocks of time. This wears on the body. Walking into a test, tired from an all night study session is distracting. The memory isn't functioning well. What is important is not clear. In short, one is not at one's peak for performance. Do this one or two times and still get average grades is frustrating. Often one gets a sense of failure, of 'what's the use.' I cannot do better so why try. Burnout is the result of studying hard. The Last Word There is a common thread between these three study hard negatives. The inability to separate the important from the trivial; the failure to create meaningful memory and recall; and, burnout are all results of the failure to have a robust study plan. Each, when considered alone, is worthy of changing one's study habits. When taken together, they present an important picture of why one should study smart, not hard. Dr. Roger Lewis is the owner of Effective Study Tips where he introduces parents and their children to the most effective study habits we know of. Dr. Lewis is a career educator teaching in both middle-school settings and in university departments of education. His specialty is in the teaching of reading methods for k-12 students. He is now retired concentrating on sharing his knowledge with a broader audience.
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study hard, study smart, effective study tips,
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