3 tips on how to study effectively

翻译人员: Gia Hwang 校对人员: Carol Wang

During their training,

住院医生在培训期间

medical residents learn countless techniques, surgeries, and procedures

学习了无数技术、手术和流程，

which they’ll later use to save lives.

以后将用这些来挽救生命。

Being able to remember these skills

能记住这些技能

can quite literally be a matter of life and death.

实际上是生死攸关的问题。

With this in mind, a 2006 research study took a class of surgical residents

有鉴于此，2006 年开展了一项研究，

对象是些学习动脉缝合的外科住院医生，

learning to suture arteries and split them into two groups.

并将他们分为两组。

Each received the same study materials,

两组收到的学习材料相同，

but one group implemented a small change in how they studied them.

但其中一组稍微改变了学习方法。

And when tested one month later,

在一个月后进行测试时，

this group performed the surgeries significantly better

该组的手术表现

than the other residents.

明显好于另一组的医生。

We’ll discuss the secret to that group’s success,

我们将讨论该小组成功的秘诀，

along with two other highly effective study techniques

以及另外两种

课堂内外适用的高效学习技巧。

which can be applied both in and out of the classroom.

But to understand why these methods work,

但是，要了解这些方法为何有效，

let's first unpack how the brain learns and stores information.

让我们首先来解开 大脑如何学习和存储信息。

Say you're trying to memorize the anatomy of the heart.

假设你想记住心脏的解剖结构。

When you’re introduced to a new concept,

当接触新概念时，

the memory is temporarily encoded in groups of neurons

大脑的海马体

将记忆暂时编码成神经元群。

in a brain area called the hippocampus.

As you continue to learn about workings of the heart

当上课继续学习心脏的工作原理

in class or study its chambers for an exam,

或研究心脏腔室备考时，

you reactivate these same neurons.

你会重新激活相同的神经元。

This repeated firing strengthens the connections between the cells,

重复的神经信号增强了细胞间的联系，

stabilizing the memory.

从而稳定了记忆。

Gradually, the knowledge of heart anatomy is stored long-term,

心脏解剖学知识逐渐被长期储存，

which involves another brain area known as the neocortex.

这涉及另一个大脑区域——新皮质。

How information is transferred from short-term to long-term storage

信息如何从短期存储转移到长期存储

is still not completely understood,

尚不完全清楚，

but it’s thought to happen in between study sessions

但被认为发生在学习期间，

and perhaps most crucially during sleep.

也许最关键的是在睡眠期间。

Here the new knowledge is integrated with other related concepts you already know,

此时新知识与已知的其他相关概念结合，

such as how to measure heart rate, or the anatomy of other organs.

像如何测量心率或其他器官的解剖结构。

And the process doesn’t end there.

而且这个过程并没有就此结束，

Each time you recall heart anatomy, you reactivate the long-term memory,

每当回想起心脏解剖结构时，

都会重新激活长期记忆，

which makes it susceptible to change.

使它容易改变。

The knowledge can be updated, strengthened,

知识可以更新、强化，

and reintegrated with other pieces of information.

也可以与其他信息重新整合。

This is where our first study technique comes in.

此时就用到第一种学习技巧。

Testing yourself with flashcards and quizzes

用闪卡和测验来测试自己，

forces you to actively retrieve knowledge,

会迫使你主动检索知识，

which updates and strengthens the memory.

从而更新和增强记忆力。

Students often prefer other study methods,

学生通常更喜欢其他学习方法，

like rereading textbooks and highlighting notes.

如重读课本并标注笔记。

But these practices can generate a false sense of competence,

但这些做法可能会产生已掌握的错觉，

since the information is right in front of you.

因为信息就在眼前。

Testing yourself, however,

但自我测试

allows you to more accurately gauge what you actually know.

可以更准确地衡量你的实际掌握情况。

But what if, while doing this, you can’t remember the answers?

但如果这样做时想不起答案怎么办？

Not to worry—

不用担心——

making mistakes can actually improve learning in the long term.

长远来看，犯错误实际上可以改善学习。

It’s theorized that as you rack your brain for the answer,

从理论上讲，当绞尽脑汁寻找答案时，

you activate relevant pieces of knowledge.

就会激活相关的知识片段。

Then, when the correct answer is later revealed,

而当发现正确答案时，

the brain can better integrate this information with what you already know.

大脑可将这些信息与已知信息优化整合。

Our second technique builds on the first.

而第二个技巧则建立在第一个技巧之上：

When using flashcards to study, it's best to mix the deck with multiple subjects.

使用闪卡学习时， 最好将多科目的闪卡混在一起。

Interleaving, or mixing the concepts you focus on in a single session,

与练习单一技能或主题相比，

can lead to better retention than practicing a single skill

在学习中穿插或混合所关注的概念，

可以提高记忆力。

or topic at a time.

One hypothesis of why this works is that, similar to testing,

该方法有效的假设是，与测试类似，

cycling through different subjects forces your brain to temporarily forget,

循环浏览不同科目迫使大脑暂时忘记它，

then retrieve information, further strengthening the memory.

然后再检索信息，从而增强记忆力；

You may also find connections across the topics,

还可找到跨主题的联系，

and better understand their differences.

并更好地了解其中差异。

Now that you know how and what to study, our final technique concerns when.

既然知道了如何学习和学习什么，

最后的技巧就是何时学习。

Spacing your review across multiple days

间隔几天再复习，

allows for rest and sleep between sessions.

以便在两次复习之间能休息和睡觉。

While “offline,” the brain is actively at work,

当 “离线” 时，大脑正积极工作，

storing and integrating knowledge in the neocortex.

在新皮质中存储和整合知识，

So while cramming the night before the exam may seem logical—

那么在考试前一晚死记硬背 似乎就合理许多——

after all, won’t the material be fresh in your mind?—

毕竟你对这些材料又记忆犹新了吧？

the information won’t stick around for the long term.

这些信息又不是长期存在。

This brings us back to our medical residents.

说到这里，我们再回到住院医生的案例。

Both groups studied the surgery for the same amount of time.

两组医生学习手术的总时间相同，

Yet one group’s training was crammed in a single day,

但一组是集中培训一天，

while the other more successful group’s training was spread over four weeks.

而更成功的另一组则分散在四星期内。

The reason all three of these study techniques work

这三种学习技巧之所以奏效，

is because they’re designed with the brain in mind.

是因为设计时考虑了大脑的特点。

They complement and reinforce the incredible way the brain works,

这些技巧补充、强化了 大脑神奇的工作方式，

sorting through and storing the abundance of information

整理并存储

大脑日复一日收集的大量信息。

it’s fed day after day.