Bridging the Gap Between Memorization and Understanding
You’ve finally reached the point where you’ve learned all the necessary information for your exam. You’ve memorized every definition, fact, and theory that could possibly appear. So why is it that when you attempt a practice exam question or someone asks you about the content, you struggle to put what you know into words? You’ve acquired all the knowledge, so why is it difficult to express it?
The Challenge: Memorization vs. Understanding
The reason lies in the distinction between memorization and understanding. Memorizing information allows you to recite facts, but understanding enables you to answer application-based questions and explain concepts effectively. True understanding involves grasping how terms relate to each other and how theories function.
Teaching: A Powerful Method for Deeper Understanding
One powerful method to bridge this gap is teaching the information to someone else. Don’t worry, you don’t need to become a professional teacher overnight. Simply explaining a concept to a friend, family member, or even your pet can significantly enhance your understanding. The key is verbalizing the information.
The Impact of Teaching
- Enhanced Retention Teaching helps retain up to 95% of what you learn, compared to the 5-10% retention rate from passive learning methods like lectures or reading textbooks. When your brain knows you need the information to teach someone, it prioritizes that knowledge, ensuring it remains accessible.
- Purposeful Learning Preparing to teach forces you to think about the information differently than when studying alone. You focus on key points, distill complex concepts into essential components, and eliminate irrelevant details.
- Improved Communication Teaching others helps you become more concise and focused, enhancing your ability to express ideas clearly. This practice is crucial for writing exam answers that are easy for examiners to understand.
The Double Benefit of Teaching
Teaching allows you to learn the information twice. First, you learn the material yourself, and then you reinforce it while teaching. This strengthens the neural pathways responsible for retrieving the information, making it stick even better. You also build new connections between concepts, enhancing your ability to explain them clearly.
During the teaching process, you may also become aware of areas where your understanding is lacking. If you find it difficult to explain a certain idea or if the person you’re teaching doesn’t grasp what you’re saying, it’s a sign that you need to revisit that particular information and deepen your comprehension.
Easy Integration into Your Routine
Teaching someone else is an incredibly effective study strategy that requires minimal preparation and can easily be incorporated into your daily routine. You can try it while commuting to school or during a lunch break with a friend. The act of verbalizing the information solidifies your knowledge and improves your ability to recall and apply it during exams.
Steps to Implement Teaching
- Identify a Concept: Choose a topic you need to study.
- Teach Someone: Explain it to a friend, family member, or even your pet.
- Reflect: Identify areas where you struggle and revisit those concepts.
Conclusion
Unlock the power of teaching, embrace a deeper understanding, and witness your exam performance soar. Remember, it’s not just about memorizing; it’s about truly comprehending the information. By incorporating teaching into your study routine, you’ll enhance your ability to understand and articulate complex concepts, leading to greater success in your exams.
For more study strategies, check out other posts in our series:
- Cue Card (Lichter System)
- Blank Page Recall
- Turn Text into Diagrams
- Spaced Repetition
- One Page Summary
- Who What When Where Why How Tables
- Exam Questions
- Create a Bound Reference
Post by Study Coach – Megan Ross
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