Studying, homework, memorizing and ‘busy work” explained
By Alana Pelletier
What is the real value of studying? Is there any point, or is it a waste of time?
These are not rhetorical questions. Many students believe that studying doesn’t help or wouldn’t help them in their classes if they did study. Teachers, naturally, believe that studying is important not only to help students learn and remember information, but also because it can help to improve habits outside of school.
First things first. How do we define study habits? Study habits are the way that a student chooses to study, such as taking notes in class, making flashcards, making diagrams, or even just reading more about the topic. These habits are important because they can help students to become more responsible and can also hold them accountable for things such as getting good or bad grades.
According to Duke University social psychologist Harris Cooper, “Homework can indeed produce academic benefits, such as increased understanding and retention of the material – but not all students benefit. " Nevertheless, in a review of studies published from 1987 to 2003, Cooper and his colleagues found that homework was linked to better test scores in high school.
Mr. Carter, a PRHS psychology teacher with three-plus decades of teaching experience, has a lot to say about this topic.
"Very little is of value if not taken seriously and a person does not do their best work,” Carter said. “ In some courses, the amount of information one needs to know to move to the next level can't all be covered in class (because of limited time). So doing work outside of class is necessary. This will be especially true in college.”
“If homework is given just for the sake of having homework, then it is of much less value,” Carter added. “Most homework isn't given just for the sake of giving homework. Many students, unfortunately, view homework this way with the demeaning phrase ‘busy work’. Even important work is busy work if it isn't done well and with focus and seriousness."
What qualifies as studying? Is homework a form of studying? I asked people this question and got a few different answers.
“Homework could be studying if the student already has a firm grasp on what’s being taught.” said senior Alex Picard. “It depends on the homework and depends on the learner.”
“If the homework is doing flashcards or trying to memorize, for someone who is an auditory learner, it probably wouldn’t be a good way to study, but if it's building a model of something, for someone who is a physical/kinesthetic learner, that would be a good way to study.” said Amanda Olmstead, a former RSU 16 teacher.
What is the best way to study? Most studies show that the most effective way to study is not to do too much of it all at once. For example, studying for bursts of time, and then taking a small break. If you study for too long or all at once, you could become overwhelmed and your brain wouldn’t have as much time to take in the information before new information gets piled on top. The opposite can also happen, where having breaks that are too long, or study sessions too far apart can also be detrimental.
Does studying actually help students to remember information? Sophomore Ayla Dyer said “I believe that certain studying strategies and doing it consistently could definitely help a person remember information and understand things.”
Studies also say that yes, studying does help to remember information. It can help to improve our cognitive function, memory retention, and focus. Overall, memorization is a longer process than you may think.
Memorization involves:
Step 1 – Attention, which is the conscious perception of the information.
Step 2 – Encoding, where the information goes into your short term memory (if it's something like a phone number you’re trying to remember for a few seconds), or long term “working” memory, where information is typically stored for around 10-20 minutes.
Step 3 – This is the most important part, the actual memorization of the information. There are many different ways to do this; not every method will work for everyone. Some examples are repetition, reading and writing, or making a concept map.
Step 4 – The last part of memorization is the retrieval of the information, where you use the information you studied and learned.
Sampling the plethora of options and methods for studying can’t hurt. It might become habit-forming.
By Alana Pelletier
What is the real value of studying? Is there any point, or is it a waste of time?
These are not rhetorical questions. Many students believe that studying doesn’t help or wouldn’t help them in their classes if they did study. Teachers, naturally, believe that studying is important not only to help students learn and remember information, but also because it can help to improve habits outside of school.
First things first. How do we define study habits? Study habits are the way that a student chooses to study, such as taking notes in class, making flashcards, making diagrams, or even just reading more about the topic. These habits are important because they can help students to become more responsible and can also hold them accountable for things such as getting good or bad grades.
According to Duke University social psychologist Harris Cooper, “Homework can indeed produce academic benefits, such as increased understanding and retention of the material – but not all students benefit. " Nevertheless, in a review of studies published from 1987 to 2003, Cooper and his colleagues found that homework was linked to better test scores in high school.
Mr. Carter, a PRHS psychology teacher with three-plus decades of teaching experience, has a lot to say about this topic.
"Very little is of value if not taken seriously and a person does not do their best work,” Carter said. “ In some courses, the amount of information one needs to know to move to the next level can't all be covered in class (because of limited time). So doing work outside of class is necessary. This will be especially true in college.”
“If homework is given just for the sake of having homework, then it is of much less value,” Carter added. “Most homework isn't given just for the sake of giving homework. Many students, unfortunately, view homework this way with the demeaning phrase ‘busy work’. Even important work is busy work if it isn't done well and with focus and seriousness."
What qualifies as studying? Is homework a form of studying? I asked people this question and got a few different answers.
“Homework could be studying if the student already has a firm grasp on what’s being taught.” said senior Alex Picard. “It depends on the homework and depends on the learner.”
“If the homework is doing flashcards or trying to memorize, for someone who is an auditory learner, it probably wouldn’t be a good way to study, but if it's building a model of something, for someone who is a physical/kinesthetic learner, that would be a good way to study.” said Amanda Olmstead, a former RSU 16 teacher.
What is the best way to study? Most studies show that the most effective way to study is not to do too much of it all at once. For example, studying for bursts of time, and then taking a small break. If you study for too long or all at once, you could become overwhelmed and your brain wouldn’t have as much time to take in the information before new information gets piled on top. The opposite can also happen, where having breaks that are too long, or study sessions too far apart can also be detrimental.
Does studying actually help students to remember information? Sophomore Ayla Dyer said “I believe that certain studying strategies and doing it consistently could definitely help a person remember information and understand things.”
Studies also say that yes, studying does help to remember information. It can help to improve our cognitive function, memory retention, and focus. Overall, memorization is a longer process than you may think.
Memorization involves:
Step 1 – Attention, which is the conscious perception of the information.
Step 2 – Encoding, where the information goes into your short term memory (if it's something like a phone number you’re trying to remember for a few seconds), or long term “working” memory, where information is typically stored for around 10-20 minutes.
Step 3 – This is the most important part, the actual memorization of the information. There are many different ways to do this; not every method will work for everyone. Some examples are repetition, reading and writing, or making a concept map.
Step 4 – The last part of memorization is the retrieval of the information, where you use the information you studied and learned.
Sampling the plethora of options and methods for studying can’t hurt. It might become habit-forming.