Our Learning Technologist Nick Daniels asked me how students should approach studying (or “revising”, if you’re British) so I explained Karpicke and Roediger’s (2008) crystal-clear testing effect results. The four other things I always remind my students:

1. Start early (ideally you already started, but if not, now)
2. Space out study sessions, taking breaks in between
3. Elaborate: don’t read over your texts repeatedly, think about relationships between concepts, talk about them with other students
4. Take care of yourself: Eat healthy food, exercise regularly, go to sleep every night

Below is the short video Nick produced in which I explain the testing effect in depth and mention these other important tips. Maybe you are looking for more advice or more detail about why we think these techniques work? Check out The Learning Scientists blog, an excellent source for links between basic cognitive psychology research and education practice. Good luck with your exams!