Does your child spend hours highlighting their textbook, only to have their mind go blank the moment the exam hits their desk? It’s not a lack of effort. It’s the “Illusion of Competence” tricking their brain into thinking it has mastered the material when it’s really only familiar with everything. This post tackles how to study effectively and shares proven tips for studying effectively that move beyond the surface and get straight to the science of how neurodiverse brains actually learn.
As someone who has spent a lot of time with kids who have dyslexia and ADHD, let me start by sharing that most students are never actually taught how to study, much less how to study effectively. We tell them to go study, but we don’t give them the manual for their own brain.
In this post we are going to dive deeply into 5 tips for studying effectively. We’re going to look at specific, science-backed ways to move information from short-term memory into long-term memory.
Let’s talk about the “Cramming Hangover.” We’ve all done it and we’ve seen our kids do it. They stay up until 2 AM, pour facts into their heads, pass the test the next morning, and then “poof” the information vanishes the following day.
In the world of cognitive science, we call this the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve. In a nutshell, our brains are designed to quickly forget things that don’t seem important. If you only see a piece of information once or twice, your brain says, “Thanks, I don’t need to remember this.”
The first of the five tips for studying effectively is the anti-cram method. This is the practice of reviewing information at increasing intervals. Instead of studying for three hours on Sunday night, have your child study for 20 minutes on Sunday, 15 minutes on Tuesday, and 10 minutes on Thursday. This is necessary in order to let the brain know that you want to retain the information.
The Modification: For many of our kids, time is often an abstract concept. They need to visually see and feel the repetition.
The second of the five tips for studying effectively involves changing habits. Most students study by re-reading their notes or highlighting their textbooks. Unfortunately, research shows that this is actually the least effective way to learn. It creates an illusion of competence. Because the words look familiar, the student thinks, Oh, I know this. But familiarity is not the same as mastery. Think of mastery as when you can name something within 3 seconds.
You want to force their brain to “pull out” the information. Think of this as a workout for the brain’s neurons. The harder it feels to remember, the more the memory is being cemented.
In order to determine how much they know, have your child get a blank sheet of paper. Write down every single thing they remember about the subject they are studying (for example: The French Revolution.) Don’t use any other material. Once they’ve detailed everything on paper then have them open the book to see what they missed.
The Modification:
Many of our kids have a massive gap between their verbal intelligence and their writing ability. If you ask a dyslexic student to write down everything they know, they might freeze because the act of spelling and handwriting consumes all their brain fuel. If that is a concern
We tend to think the best way to study is through blocked practice. This looks like doing all your Math, then all your Science. But the brain actually learns better when it’s slightly confused.
Many students study in blocks. They will do 10 of the same types of problems at a time. Unfortunately, this creates a false sense of mastery. They need to mix up different types of problems or subjects within one study session. This is called interleaving. If a student is practicing Math, they shouldn’t do 20 multiplication problems in a row. They need to do a multiplication problem, followed by two division problems, and then move on to a word problem. This forces the brain to constantly determine the type of problem they are solving. It doesn’t allow learning to go on autopilot. An analogy might be going from driving on a straight highway without traffic to driving on a busy city street with traffic lights, pedestrians and turns.
The Modification: Many of our kids often struggle with transitions. Partially because it requires a lot more energy to focus on a new topic. Modifying interleaving into a physical activity minimizes this struggle.
The fourth of the five tips for studying effectively Textbooks are great but our brains are wired to process images and words through different channels. When we use both, we double the chances of the information sticking.
For every major concept, the student needs a sketch note or a doodle pad. If they are learning about the water cycle, they shouldn’t just write the definition of “evaporation.” They should draw a quirky little sun with a straw sucking up water. The “weirdness” of the image makes it sticky.
The Modification: Many dyslexic thinkers are Big Picture thinkers and highly spatial. There are several different ways to leverage that:
The last of the tips for studying effectively is determining when you truly know something. That’s why the ultimate test of whether you know something is if you can explain it to someone else. This is named after Richard Feynman, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist who was famous for making the complex simple.
Have your child sit down and “teach” you the concept. But they can’t use jargon. If they say something like the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell, ask them to explain what that means. Have them explain it so that a child would understand. If they stumble or can’t explain it in plain English, they’ve uncovered a “knowledge gap.” That’s exactly what they need to go back and study.
The Modification: Standing up and using large-motor movements is incredibly grounding for kids with dyslexia or ADHD.
Incorporating these 5 tips for studying effectively probably feels like a lot. So, here’s my challenge to you: Don’t try all five at once. Pick one. Maybe try the “Voice-to-Text Brain Dump.” Or buy some index cards.
It’s all about small wins. That’s how we change the trajectory. Their brain isn’t broken; it just needs a different set of keys to unlock the door. If you are interested in tutoring for your child head over to our contact page and schedule a free consultation.
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