Cramtations Cramming: A procrastinators’ blunder or study technique?

High school students
won’t be in class after
the 16th; unfortunately
Tuesday is not the start of
their summer vacation. In
fact, it’s the beginning of
Regents week; a stressful
week of #2 pencils, practice
tests, Baron’s Books
and the smell of newly
printed, never opened, test
packets.
Those days when
high school students don’t
need to come are designed
to give everyone time to
prepare for the tests. So
how should they allocate
that time? Is it best to relax
in your hammock with an
iced tea and then bail yourself
out with an all night
cram session? Or should
you study a little each day?
Those who
choose the latter, maybe
for sake of sounding
studied with intervals were
at the same level as they
were before.
If you’re looking
to retain the knowledge for
the future, cramming is not
the answer. But if you’re
looking only to pass the
test, this study says, “Hey,
relax, grab a book and
pour yourself some more
tea.”
Study Groups by Jolijt Tamanaha
Another study
technique: try studying in
a group with supportive
people taking the same
test. When you work with
a group of students it can
motivate you to study for
longer. If you don’t know
the answer to a question,
chances are one of your
study buddies does.
Set goals and
put someone in charge of
making sure they happen.
Keep up a positive
attitude. If everyone in the
group keeps a “can-do”
and “will-do” attitude, the
group sessions will be very
productive.
Just remember,
a study session shouldn’t
be for socializing. Make
sure all members come
prepared and ready to
study. Everyone should
participate equally and
have respect for the other
people.
Most importantly:
study in a quiet place with
no distractions. Good luck.
responsible, might actually
end up with a lower score
than those cramming.
A study conducted
at the University of
California, titled, “Increasing
Retention Without
Increasing Study Time,”
found that the better technique
actually depends on
your motives.
Apparently crammers
scored much higher
on tests taken immediately
after studying than those
taken by people who studied
at a slower pace with
intervals but re-read the
material only half as many
times as the crammers.
All of the crammers got
perfect scores while the 1
out of 3 of other group had
perfect scores. However,
after a period of 6 months
the crammers had lost
most of the information
and the people who had