Only two of the 10 techniques examined turned out to be really effective - testing yourself and spreading out your revision over time. "Students who can test themselves or try to retrieve material from their memory are going to learn that material better in the long run", says Prof Dunlovsky. "Start by reading the text book then make flash cards of the critical concepts and test yourself. "A century of research has shown that repeated testing works." This is because the student is more engaged and it is harder for the mind to wander.He adds: "Testing itself when you get the correct answers appears to produce a more elaborative memory trace connected with your prior knowledge, so you're building on what you know". Starting lateHowever the best strategy is to plan ahead and not do all your revision on one subject in a block before moving on to the next - a technique called "distributed practice".Prof Dunlovsky says it is the "most powerful" of all the strategies.
Ruth Clarke on 24 Jul 12This tutorial provides a basic overview of referencing. You will learn when and why you need to reference the material that you read for your assignments, and how to do it correctly. You will have a chance to test what you have learned. If you wish to develop your skills further, we'll point you towards more advanced training at the end of the tutorial. When you have completed the tutorial you will: *Know when you need to reference information *Understand why correct referencing is necessary *Know how to insert citations into your essay *Be able to format references correctly
