Home / Education / Highlighting Notes? You Might Be Studying Wrong!
Highlighting Notes? You Might Be Studying Wrong!
15 Oct
Summary
- Highlighting notes may offer little benefit for comprehension.
- Testing yourself and spreading revision over time are effective.
- Researchers caution against highlighting as a primary strategy.
As exam season approaches, students often employ techniques like highlighting notes, revision charts, and sticky notes to aid memory. However, research from the United States suggests these popular methods may not guarantee exam success. Psychologists have warned that simply highlighting text in bright colors can offer minimal benefits for comprehension and may even impede deeper understanding when used as a primary revision strategy.
According to Professor John Dunlovsky of Kent State University, who reviewed 1,000 studies on revision strategies, highlighting can cause students to focus on single concepts, potentially hindering their integration into a larger whole. While not advocating for the complete abandonment of highlighters, he notes they often serve as 'safety blankets.'
The most effective revision strategies identified by the research are self-testing and distributed practice, meaning spreading revision over time. Professor Dunlovsky recommends creating flashcards of critical concepts and actively testing oneself. This active recall method, backed by a century of research, leads to better long-term learning as it keeps the student more engaged.
