Brain Hacks: Simple steps to growing a test taker’s brain
Hacks: Tricks, shortcuts, or inventions intended to make something easier to do.
Brain Hacks: Shortcuts to studying and learning based on understanding how our
brains learn.
Introduction
One of the biggest lessons Growth Mindset teaches us is that with the right kind of effort, you
can grow your brain into one that is wired to do anything you set out to do. You can learn
anything, even if it feels challenging at first, because as you try it, your brain grows itself so that
doing it becomes easier.
In college, one thing everyone needs to learn is how to study to succeed on college exams. In
other words, you need to study in ways that grow a test taker’s brain!
If your brain grows like a muscle, and studying is the equivalent of exercise, then two big
questions to tackle are:
1.) What does my brain need in order to do well? and
2.) How do I study to get it there?
This activity will introduce you to four of the “big ideas” about college learning and studying.
It’s not everything you need to know. But if you try to put some of these ideas into practice,
you will learn to study much better, much sooner. Here’s how it works:
1. The people in your Home Group have each been given one of four different Brain
Hacks to learn about. Take a couple of minutes to read yours on the back of this
sheet. Then, when your instructor tells you to, find the other students in the class
who have the same number hack as you and group with them for the next part.
2. The goal for your Hack Group is to learn about your hack, AND prepare to explain
your hack to your Home Group when you return to it. In your Hack Group, discuss
what you think are three “big ideas” in your hack, and three study strategies that
are related to the hack. Make notes, so you can explain to your home group.
3. In your Home Group, compile the information you share with one another into a
“Big Ideas” list and “great strategies list” Your group must then vote on what it
thinks is the most interesting “big idea” and strategy and explain why.
4. The final round is a sharing out. Each group shares a big idea about learning and a
good study strategy and the class makes a master list. Students can help one
another with their explanation.
5. If there is time, we will also play a game using what we’ve learned. If not, we will
play it next week.
Hack 1: Practice the Performance. Tests challenge your brain to do
specific things. Study in ways that grow and strengthen those abilities.
Not all tests are alike, but they generally challenge your brains ability to do specific things. Even if you
haven’t taken a college test yet, you can bet it will ask you to:
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recall a lot of related information in response to questions
think about that information in relationship to other information
use the information to do something- like answer a question or solve a problem
do all of these things without using any notes or books
Ok, that last one sounds even more obvious than the others, but it’s really very important. Here’s why.
The big one: “reviewing” is not a good way to practice remembering
Many students study by re-reading or “reviewing” notes or slides or a book. When the material seems
totally familiar, they feel ready. But they’re not: reviewing strengthens your brain’s ability to
recognize information - you see it, and it triggers a memory of having seen it before. But recognizing
won’t help you to actually retrieve the information when you need it.
Independent retrieval of what you’ve learned is what tests demand from you. That means using the
information to answer questions, think about other information, or solve problems. You want to study
in ways that strengthen those retrieval abilities in your brain.
It takes time and practice, so let’s get busy!
Test yourself – even while you are learning
An excellent strategy for retrieval is to find ways to actually test yourself as your way of studying. This
way, you practice retrieving information even as you are still learning to understand it. In fact, research
tells us that studying this way can help you understand things better, sooner.
You can do this by doing things like:
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Use all the questions in your textbooks as an open book exam. Find the information needed,
make notes on it, and then answer the questions.
When reading new material, ask yourself what it means. Then make notes that answer your
question.
For every chunk of notes you write, write a quiz question near the margin. The next time you
study, begin by answering the questions from the previous session.
Practice explaining the complete ideas of your notes to yourself or a friend.
If you are solving problems, like in a math class, do as many as you can. Most professors only
assign enough problems to introduce you to the material. But a test will ask you to solve
problems out of your head, on the spot. You must practice until it you can do it consistently.
Walk someone (or yourself) through each step in a setting up and solving a problem.
This approach may feel harder at first. You might think it’s more work. It’s not!
Students who try this method often report that it feels like more work. In a way, it is – your brain is
working harder because it is trying to process the information and work with it, rather than passively
absorb it. But the result is that you actually learn better, and remember much better at test time
It WILL be on the test. One final thing – in college, the answer to the question “will this be on the
exam?” is always “it’s quite possible, so learn it”. It doesn’t matter if the professor spent much (or any)
time on it in class. If it is in the materials and is related to what you discussed in class, you are
responsible for it. Believe it.
Brain Hack 2: Hack your curiosity. Your brain learns best by answering
questions – to strengthen your ability to understand something…question everything!
When you were a young child, you probably asked “why?” about everything. You couldn’t help it – the
world was a mystery, and you wanted to know! Growing up, you may have stopped asking that question
all the time, but you’ve never stopped being naturally curious.
Curiosity = better learning through brain chemistry!
Researchers believe that being curious actually changes your brain chemistry so that it remembers
things better - not only what you were curious about, but any information you encounter when trying to
resolve a question. This is important because creating a strong network of memories is the best way to
promote recall and do well on exams.
Not feeling curious about your classes? You’re not to blame.
Don’t worry -- that’s natural, too. Curiosity is really a desire to end uncertainty – the uncomfortable
state of not knowing. Not knowing can be very unpleasant (especially with an exam coming up!). When
uncertainty worries us, we sometimes actively avoid being curious. But avoiding being curious means
avoiding studying, which just makes things worse. Push yourself, though, and good things happen fast…
Push yourself to be curious, and your desire to be curious will increase naturally.
Curiosity leads you to resolving uncertainties -- which in turn makes your brain feel happy and rewarded
(think of the good feeling you get when you solve a math problem, or finally understand something
you’ve been struggling with). When your brain feels rewarded, it increases production of dopamine,
serotonin, and opiod chemicals. Your brain will quickly learn that curiosity leads to feeling good. You’ll
begin to feel more curious naturally. And that’s not even the best part!
The hack that engages your curiosity is the same hack that makes you a better test taker.
That’s the best part. Research says that people who quiz themselves when studying test better than
people who don’t. Tests challenge you to answer questions, and your brain gets better at what you
practice. So push your curiosity!
Make notes – ALWAYS!
When your brain is busy resolving uncertainty, it needs to make notes. Notes slow it down, help it to
think more carefully, and build durable memories – all while creating a study guide in your own words.
Takes time up front, but saves time later – and adds points on the test!
So, to prepare for answering questions, practice answering questions – yours!
As long as you’re asking questions and seeking answers, you’re exercising your curiosity, making sure
you understand what you are studying and helping you brain practice to become a better test taker.
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In class Asking questions to yourself about whatever you’re listening to – a history lecture, a
math problem, a French poem -- helps you to focus, connect ideas, and remember better. Make
question marks in your notes where you need more information. It will help you focus later.
After class Class notes – yours or from slides –should guide your studying, not be the focus of
it. After class, review your notes, and ask yourself what they mean. Then, go into materials
seeking information to resolve the uncertainty. Add what you find to your notes.
With your books Different classes require different kinds of reading. Some books are like
reference books to answer questions about concepts or problems. Others require more critical
questioning -- about ideas or opinions, for instance. Many come with questions in them as well.
Answer them! It’s learning and test prep at the same time!
While preparing for tests Quiz yourself constantly. Don’t just read your notes – turn them into
quiz questions or flash cards and then ask and answer. Ask yourself what your notes mean, and
explain them to yourself or someone else in detail.
Brain Hack 3: Interval training.
Like your muscles, brain exercise
requires careful balancing between rest and frequent, varied, activity.
By now you’ve heard it a bunch of times: Your brain is like a muscle; it grows stronger with exercise. But
there’s really more to it. Like with muscles, your brain not only needs exercise – to grow, it needs the
right amounts, at the right times.
30 hours a week? Of WHAT?
New students want to know how much time they should set aside for studying each week. Professors
and study skills experts often tell students that a good rule of thumb is that you should study 2 hours per
week outside of class for every hour in it. At 15 credits, that’s 30 hours - more than 4 hours of studying
per day! This often leaves students scratching their heads – What are we even supposed to do with that
time? THAT is actually a much better question.
Time management: It’s about managing work, not time
When people hear “time management”, they often think about scheduling chunks of time for different
things. When time management experts think about it, they think about improving work routines – how
to use time to make the work more efficient.
Learning to do this in college is a challenge, because it’s hard to know how long something will take if
you’ve never done it before. Moreover, what kind of work you may need to do and how much time it will
require varies from class to class. Still, there are some general principles about time and learning that can
help you to form the foundation of a solid plan.
Interval training: time management basics
Most forms of exercise for strengthening your body call for doing thing day-to-day, mixing up activities,
doing many short sets instead of few long ones. Not surprisingly, the brain learns and grows best by
following similar principles. Knowing this can make it much easier overall to figure out a study schedule.
Here are a few specific examples:
Shorter sets, more often.
Researchers agree that your brain focuses better, learns more easily, and remembers things much better
when it works in short, frequent sessions (even 20 minutes between classes is good) with breaks in
between. Research suggests your brain even learns during the breaks, especially with things it seems
stuck on. So spend at least a little time, each day - on each class.
Mix it up for optimal learning.
Research also tell us that study sessions are most productive when you switch up subjects. A good plan,
for example, might be to spend a half hour on math, break, a half hour working on a paper, break, a half
hour making notes on a chapter, break, then back to math. There are multiple benefits to this:
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Each class engages different kinds of thinking, exercising different brain functions.
The more parts of your brain that are active overall, the better the learning.
This method will also make sure you are moving each class forward, so you don’t fall behind in one
thing on the days when you do have to do more of another.
A little each day builds better memories.
Building a memory takes effort; forgetting it happens naturally. Forgetting happens fastest with new
knowledge, because the neurological connections are still weak. If you revisit it even once, however, the
pathways strengthen considerably.
In other words, if you learn something on Monday but don’t revisit it on Tuesday, you will forget it
almost immediately. But if you work with it on Tuesday, you’ll strengthen the memory and it will last
much longer. When you go to begin preparing for an exam, it will all feel much more familiar to you.
Brain Hack 4: Coaching is necessary. Every athlete has at least two
coaches – themselves and someone else. You need to know if it’s all working.
You’re a new student, needing to strengthen your brain and develop new skills as quickly as you can.
You’ve got some skills already, but this is a whole other level. The work is harder, there is much more of
it, it moves faster, and you get much less day-to-day guidance from your professors.
That’s why it’s so important for you to learn how to learn and study for yourself. That’s actually a good
thing -- The skills you develop will help with every class you ever take in your life. You know the line,
“Give a person a fish and they will eat today, teach them to fish and they will eat for a lifetime?” Well,
you’re learning to fish!
But if I’m learning it for myself, how do I know if it’s working?
That’s an excellent question. Unfortunately, the most common student answer, “I’ll know when I get my
grade” is not a good one. What if your grade is disappointing? This causes stress and leads to
procrastination, which makes learning harder. Even a good grade is not a great indicator. It’s better if
you can tell how you’re doing while you’re doing it. Don’t wait for grades to tell you that you should be
doing something different. There are ways to see as you go.
Metacognition: being the athlete and the coach.
Metacognition means thinking about how you are thinking and doing. When you study, you need to take
time to find out what may be working or not. Here are a few ideas for monitoring yourself
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Check your syllabus and Sakai site regularly. Most people never figure this out! Your syllabus and
Sakai page are ongoing guides to help you see if you feel on track or are falling behind. The
moment you feel behind, you need to make adjustments -a tutor, maybe, or a new time
management plan.
Set draft deadline for your papers. It’s very difficult to predict how long a paper will take before
you start it. Take whatever deadline you have in the syllabus, and set a personal deadline for a
few days or a week before. Then start the paper immediately, to see how much effort it will
take.
Notes-to-book-to-notes: The basic formula Studying in nearly every class should follow the same
basic pattern: 1. Make notes in class. 2. Use the notes to guide you as you study in your books.
3. Make notes on what you read in the books about what was done in class. 4. Study these
notes. This is the basic formula you should follow in each class.
How to tell if you’re learning: Challenge yourself to demonstrate what you know, and see if you
still need work. For example, if you can’t explain your notes in full detail to someone yet, you
may need to consult your book again. If you can’t do a bunch of math problems in a row
without error, you may need more practice, or a tutor to help you think it through. If you’re not
comfortable with how your paper sounds when you read it the next day, try to identify
specifically what doesn’t feel right. Consider having a tutor or friend read it with you.
Monitoring your own progress is hard when everything is new. It’s a great idea to have someone give
you a hand. Fortunately, there’s the AEC.
Get a coach to work with. For free. At the AEC.
URI’s Academic Enhancement Center offers a group of academic coaches who meet with students every
day to take a look at how they can strengthen their studying.
AEC coaches are called coaches instead of tutors because they can work with you one to one as often as
you like – studying your own technique with you, offering you expert advice, and watching to see how
you apply strategies over time. And because they work with so many students, they are very
understanding not only about what it is like not to have well developed skills, but how it can feel to
struggle. Students who work with the coaches always have positive things to say.