When reviewing difficult material, many people reread the text, add more highlighting or revisit their notes. These activities create familiarity quickly, but familiarity does not necessarily mean that the knowledge can be recalled and used when needed. A more effective approach is to close the material, ask questions and try to answer from memory.
In cognitive psychology, this is commonly described as retrieval practice. Learners do more than check what they know; they practice bringing knowledge out of memory. Research by Roediger and Karpicke showed that taking a test after studying can improve later retention compared with additional study alone. A major review by Dunlosky and colleagues also rated practice testing and distributed practice as high-utility learning techniques.
Why can rereading create an illusion?
When we see a passage for the third or fourth time, we recognize the wording and the content feels easier. In a classroom, an examination or the workplace, however, the material is usually not open in front of us. We must recall the concept, explain it in our own words or apply it in a new situation. That is a different demand.
Self-testing exposes gaps that rereading can hide. If you cannot explain an idea without looking at the material, that part is not yet secure. The discovery may feel uncomfortable, but it is useful because it shows exactly where to spend more time.
Self-testing is more than completing many test papers
The purpose is not to create pressure or chase scores. It is to make memory work. Learners can use very simple methods:
- Close the book and write the three main ideas you have just studied.
- Answer: “What is this concept, when is it used and what is it often confused with?”
- Look at an example and explain why it is correct or incorrect.
- Redraw a diagram, process or model without viewing the original.
- Answer one short question, then check the material and correct the response.
The important step is to attempt retrieval before viewing the answer. Opening the material as soon as a question appears removes the activity that produces the benefit.
A 30-minute learning routine
- First 10 minutes: study a small section and identify three to five core ideas.
- Next 5 minutes: close the material and write or say what you remember.
- Next 5 minutes: compare your response with the source and mark missing or incorrect points.
- Next 5 minutes: create two application questions by changing the context or producing a new example.
- Final 5 minutes: save the questions to revisit the next day.
The next session should not begin with another complete rereading. Answer the saved questions first, then open the material. Each review then starts with evidence of what you can actually recall.
Feedback should follow the retrieval attempt
Self-testing works best when errors are corrected. An incorrect memory that is never checked can be reinforced. After each response, return to the source, add what is missing and write the correct answer in your own words.
For a multi-step process, test each step and the logic connecting the steps. For a concept, test its definition, example, counterexample and conditions of use. For a skill, perform a real task instead of merely describing the procedure.
Keep the difficulty productive
If questions are too easy, the learner merely recognizes answers and performs little retrieval. If they are consistently too difficult, the session soon becomes discouraging. A practical approach is to start with short questions, gradually increase the interval between reviews and mix older questions with new material.
Self-testing does not replace reading, instruction or guided practice. It helps those activities produce more durable results. The final measure is not the number of pages reviewed, but the ability to explain, apply and recognize the limits of what one knows.
References: Roediger & Karpicke (2006), Test-Enhanced Learning; Dunlosky et al. (2013), Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques.
