Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The more scientists understand about how the brain assimilates, stores and recalls information, the more professors and students can apply these facts to classroom learning. Students in the health industry have an enormous amount of information to memorize and store for long periods of time. In nursing for instance, several years may pass between the time information is first encountered and when it needs to be recalled on a credentialing exam or a rare job occurrence. Here are ten tips based on brain based learning that healthcare students can use to increase effective study practices.
1. When learning new material, experience it in different ways.
The brain uses the senses to integrate material and make memories for later recall. Creating diagrams, making study questions, reading aloud and quizzing another student may all help provide opportunities to experience the information in a different way. Re-reading large passages of text without using it in a different context is not as effective as revisiting the material in a more experiential way.
2. The brain likes order and patterns.
Organize information effectively. Facts are easier to remember if they are assembled logically. When trying to remember large complicated diagrams, try to see smaller patterns or connections between a subset of the information. Use the analytical and the artistic sides of the brain when describing what a structure looks like. The use of color to mark patterns or to distinguish manageable chunks of information may help the brain to recall complicated processes, formulas and anatomical diagrams.
3. The brain enjoys social interactions and pleasurable experiences.
Share your learning. Studying in a group can help recall. Making quizzes for another student and going over them socially, as well as playing memory games with flashcards is beneficial to learners of all ages. Creating crossword puzzles or just sitting and talking through a professor’s PowerPoint presentation are all ways to support effective learning. Keeping a positive outlook and taking breaks when feeling overly stressed is important toward maintaining the positive learning environment necessary to build a strong permanent storehouse of academic information.
4. Get plenty of exercise. The brain needs oxygen.
Taking breaks to walk briskly may enhance memory by increasing oxygen levels in the blood. In addition, active engagement in learning material can be diminished by sitting in one place for too long, especially if a feeling of boredom begins to settle in over time. When looking for ways to restore energy, a quick walk may do more lasting good for most learners than a cup of coffee.
5. Locate factual information in more than one place.
Utilize all your study resources. When studying vocabulary or diagrams, reading the text passages that explains the words while reviewing the other class materials such as handouts, PowerPoint slides and textbook related web animations can enhance learning. Reviewing all the different materials provided and noting the nuances in the presentation of information can provide strong study clues. For instance, words in boldface type or terms explained in several different ways will most likely appear on future exams.
6. Keep a regular schedule – the brain likes positive habits.
While work or extracurricular activities may prevent most students from keeping the exact same schedule every week, maintaining a consistent schedule is important for effective memorizing. Logging in the hours spent each week can be one way to be sure that cramming doesn’t become a habit. Effective studying requires time, patience and practice.
7. Repetition is key for long-term memory.
Be sure to review before mastering new concepts. A portion of each study session should be set aside to review a concept or set of terms from the last study session. The brain needs repetition for information to make it into long term memory, so reviewing mastered information is just as important as learning new material.
8. Make an individual strategy; pay attention to what works best.
Every person learns differently. Brain-based learning gives insight into general patterns of learning and can be beneficial to understanding learning in many ways. The specific nuances for what works best for any one individual will vary. For some students, creating color coded binders for each body system and keeping information compartmentalized works best. For others, a head-to-toe system or a numerical system of organizing large amounts of information may work better. While organizing information is necessary for learning, the specific strategies that work best will vary from person to person.
9. Eat a balanced meal and get enough sleep
The brain needs proper nourishment and rest. Downtime is important for proper brain development and learning to take place. Eating a balanced meal before studying can provided all the nutrients needed for an efficiently working brain. In addition, getting enough rest is the best way to be sure the body is getting all the restorative time it needs to maintain a healthy energy level conducive to learning.
10. Be engaged and active. Learning is a life-long process
From sharing knowledge with others to participating in study groups to reading related articles in health magazines, creating a sustained level of intellectual engagement helps create strong habits of active learning. While exploring peripheral topics, the brain is still integrating and storing facts covered in the last study session.
The field of brain-based learning has contributed a deeper understanding of what constitutes “best practice” teaching and learning in recent years. With the huge amounts of information covered in coursework, as well as the need to remember information for years to come, allied health students are among the best group of students to put this set of knowledge to the test. Understanding and utilizing tips related to how brains learn best may help promote more positive and effective study sessions, as well as possibly raise personal test scores.