Good study habits: Learn, don't just perform

Pssst. Want to know some secrets to learning?

Most of what people think helps learning does not. No, studying in the same place all the time is not needed for optimal learning. No, highlighting a lot of text is not a very useful strategy. No, spending time re-reading your material is not good use of time (instead test yourself on the material). A lot of good strategies are not what you would expect. It’s not all common sense and although they might not be real secrets (they are often buried in scientific journals), not enough people know of them or use them. There are some surefire practices that can really help the many returning to school in these next few weeks do well. And yes, effort is required.

Cognitive science boils it down to this: You need to know what you NEED to know (look at your syllabus), what you DO know (test yourself), and what you DO NOT know (look at your results). Sounds simple but this is perhaps the most important set of skills you can have: metacognitive skills.

When you have a lot to learn (say you are taking four or five classes), the content builds up. All that content needs to be organized. Ascertain all that you have to learn. PLAN out when you are going to work on which class. Put something in place — reminders in your phone, a list-making app (try Wunderlist), a diary or calendar — to help you APPLY your plan and MONITOR your progress. Take time to REFLECT on how well you are learning and TEST yourself. EVALUATE your learning and adjust your PLAN accordingly.  This is the critical metacognitive cycle. Put it into place. Make it work. You will learn.

That's not all folks. Here are the top three ways to study culled from more than 40 years of extensive research: Space out your studying. Practice retrieving what you know. Mix up what you study when.

The first is perhaps the toughest to do. With a test two weeks away, why study now? (say too many college students). The fact is, starting at least two weeks before a test and then studying the material multiple times before the test yields better results.  When you study, mix one topic or subject with another. Study some biology, then some psychology, then go back to biology. This interleaving (as it is called technically) actually helps you solidify the memories.

Testing, often a bad word, is actually a learning tool. Now often called “practice retrieval” instead, testing actually helps your brain learn material. The more you practice, the longer you remember the material.

It also pays to use deep processing. Instead of reading material to memorize facts (called surface processing), instead translate the material into your own words. Take your time. Find the themes and connections with other material you are studying. Make up examples with the material. Think of how you could apply the material to your own life. All these ways of deep processing help you learn better.

Make sure you have the right mindset too. The fact is that knowledge in not fixed. Intelligence can be developed and grows. You can get smarter and are not "stuck" with the intelligence you were born with (and other folks were just not born knowing more). Having a fixed mindset can hurt. People who think knowledge is fixed actually work less after scoring poorly on a test. People with a growth mindset and understand that we can get smarter, automatically work harder. Carol Dweck at Stanford who explored this distinction showed that just changing your mindset (to growth) can help you learn better.

All in all, there are a number of strategies you can practice to learn well. Aim to LEARN and not just perform: The former, defined by UCLA scientist Bob Bjork is the relatively permanent change in your understanding and skills, the latter is just a score on a one time immediate test. Cramming might help performance but does not help learning.

Do the right stuff.  The effort and these cognitive tricks will pay off for years to come. Start strong with the right techniques and you will just build from there.  All the best for a super new school year.

Regan Gurung is a professor of human development and psychology at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.