How can I make learning more efficient at school and cram school?
In order to improve grades, not only the content of study is important, but also the method of study. Students who say, "I am studying hard, but my grades are not improving," may not question their study methods and continue to study without much efficiency.
Therefore, this article will explain study methods and how to create an environment that facilitates concentration in order to make learning more efficient. We will also introduce a study management system that enables efficient study, so please read to the end.
Study methods that reduce learning efficiency.
If you are at your desk for long periods of time and your grades are not improving, it is likely that you are wasting a lot of time while studying. It is important to understand the causes of inefficient study in order to input study content efficiently.
Please read the following information while thinking about whether any students have been practicing inefficient study methods.
Studying with less sleep
In their efforts to raise their grades and pass the school of their choice, many students cut back on sleep to study. However, lack of sleep causes chronic inability to concentrate and reduces study efficiency.
Poor concentration will have a negative impact not only on studying, but also on the day of the test. You will not be able to exert your true potential, and your previous efforts may be undone, so you need to make sure that you get enough sleep.
Even if you get a good night's sleep, your blood sugar level may fluctuate after lunch, and you may feel sleepy and have trouble concentrating on your classes or studies. In such cases, it is recommended to take a nap for 15 minutes or close your eyes and listen to music to rest your brain.
Doing simple tasks such as summarizing notes, making vocabulary books, etc.
Many students who spend a lot of time studying but are unable to get results are often satisfied with simple tasks instead of input. While it is important to draw lines in textbooks and summarize important points in notebooks, it is not uncommon for students to mistakenly believe that they have "studied" when in fact they have not learned the content in their heads. If you spend all your time doing these simple tasks, it is difficult to say that you are learning efficiently.
Rather than focusing on the amount of time spent studying or the amount of work done, it is important to determine whether the content studied has been retained and whether it is being studied efficiently.
Trying to remember everything at once
Trying to memorize the entire content of a unit in one go is also not recommended. If you try to memorize everything at once, you will spend too much time on the same page, which will make it difficult to move forward and make learning more efficient.
According to the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve, which graphically represents the relationship between human memory and time, a person forgets 42% after 20 minutes and 56% after one hour of learning once. Since the human brain is capable of memorizing things by repeating them many times, it is important to review them repeatedly on different days. Kanji characters, English vocabulary, grammar, and history subjects that require memorization should be studied especially repeatedly to consolidate your memory.
Use multiple reference books together.
It is important to focus on a single reference book and solve problems repeatedly. If you use several reference books at the same time, it will be difficult to finish one book, making it difficult to see the results of your study, which will also lead to a decrease in motivation.
Some reference books provide different explanations of how to solve puzzles and focus on different points, which often leads to confusion in the study process. If you use multiple reference books, you need to work on one at a time to lower the learning hurdle; if you master the contents of one book before moving on to the next, you will be able to study without waste.
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You can do it at your cram school or school! How to create an environment where it is easy to concentrate on studying
When studying, the environment around you is another key to efficient learning. What you place around your study space can make a difference in your ability to concentrate, and continually studying in the same place can lead to boredom and loss of motivation.
Below are some simple steps you can take to create an environment that makes it easier to concentrate.
Do not place anything in the classroom that is not related to studying.
When it comes to studying, we tend to focus only on the act of studying, but the environment around us is also important. If there are things nearby that are not related to studying, students will be distracted and have a hard time concentrating. Comic books and other items that might be entertaining for students should not be placed in the study area, as they might tempt them to look at them.
On the contrary, if you arrange the area around your study space, it will be easier for students to concentrate on their studies. Since greenery (plants) in your field of vision can help you relax and work more easily and improve your concentration, try placing small houseplants at desks, lockers, near windows, and other places where you can see them.
Change the learning environment from time to time.
It is recommended that you do not fix your study environment in one place, but have several options to choose from depending on the situation. It is a good change of pace when you get stuck in your studies and makes it easier to continue studying without losing motivation.
You can change the learning environment by simply switching the classroom you use with the one next to it, moving to a study room, or ventilating the room. Since it can be moderately easier to concentrate in a place where people are watching you, it is a good idea to try different places, such as a café or library, to find several study areas that suit your personal needs.
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Study Methods Effective in Increasing Learning Efficiency
One of the causes of inefficient learning may be a problem with self-study methods. If you spend a lot of time studying and the results do not come, your motivation to study will decrease.
Below, we will introduce an efficient study method that is likely to lead to results. You can start using them right away if you are creative, so please take a look at them.
Study using a stopwatch/timer
Continuing to study without breaks until you lose concentration is physically and mentally taxing and inefficient. Since the human brain has a fixed amount of time to continue and concentrate, it is recommended to adopt a study method using a timer or stopwatch.
By separating the time for concentration and relaxation, such as studying for 25 to 45 minutes followed by a moderate break of 5 minutes, you can study while maintaining a longer total concentration time. It is also a good idea to measure your study time for each subject in order to keep track of which subjects you are not studying enough. By using a timer to measure and record your time, you will have a clear idea of how much time you spend studying each day. If you can visualize the track of your efforts, it will help increase your motivation.
Solving problems while using a timer or stopwatch is also a good way to practice time allocation. Since time management is also an important point in periodic tests and entrance examinations with time limits, a study method using a timer can be effective as a test-taking strategy.
Distributed study
Distributed learning is a good way to consolidate what you have studied. What you learn in class is stored in your brain, but if you let it go, you will soon forget it. Review is still important to consolidate the memory. Distributed learning is not to review what you have learned immediately after learning it, but to review it after a few days to consolidate the memory for a long period of time.
You may think that reviewing must be done immediately after learning to be effective, but it is more efficient to leave a few days. Even if you forget something once, don't be in a hurry to review it and recall it again, thereby ensuring that you will have more knowledge that you can retrieve at any time.
Adopt a study method that uses skimming time.
Studying is not limited to sitting at a desk with a pen in front of you for a set amount of time. Even a short period of time, such as on the way to and from school or before meals, is sufficient for memorizing vocabulary, formulas, and important phrases.
Even if each spare moment seems short, if you use it effectively every day and accumulate it, it will become a huge amount of time in a month or a year. It is a good idea to carry around pocket-sized study materials or download a vocabulary book application to your smartphone so that you can study anytime, anywhere, at any time.
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Introducing an e-Learning System for Greater Efficiency
In order to promote learning efficiently, it is also important to consider implementing a learning management system. Recently, e-learning, an Internet-based learning method, has been attracting attention, and is being introduced not only in the educational field but also in companies in a variety of occupations.
In addition to an explanation of e-learning systems, the following introduces the advantages of implementing an e-learning system, so if you are interested in an efficient learning management system, please refer to this page.
What is an e-Learning System?
An e-learning system is a form of learning that uses the Internet, also known as online learning. It is characterized by the ability to study from any computer or smartphone, regardless of time or location, as long as there is an Internet connection.
The e-learning system allows students to deepen their understanding by using not only text and drawings, but also video, animation, CG, and virtual reality (VR). By viewing videos, information that cannot be fully understood with still images from reference books and textbooks can be easily understood, and motivation for learning will be increased.
Advantages of e-Learning System
Implementing an e-Learning system offers benefits to both learners and educators.
Learners can study at any time and any place, and can easily deepen their understanding by using video and audio explanations in addition to text and drawings. The e-learning system also allows users to set the order of materials to be reviewed. This will help you learn more efficiently, since you will be able to check the learning progress of each material, eliminating the problem of not knowing which material to start with or forgetting how far you have progressed.
For educators, the advantages are not only the reduction of labor and costs, but also the ability to monitor the progress of each individual student and to accumulate clear data on past educational know-how. This is also an attractive feature of the e-Learning system, as it allows for quick checking and tallying of results.
Depending on the system you choose, you can even use smartphones for learning.
Depending on the e-learning system you choose, you may be able to study on your smartphone. Smartphones can be used to study regardless of time and location, making it an effective way to use your spare time.
After the class is over, a test can be given to see how much of the content the student has understood, allowing the student to efficiently consolidate what he or she has learned. Some questions can be automatically graded on the spot, so you can quickly review the questions you got wrong.
Use the e-learning system for efficient learning!
In order to promote efficient learning, it is important to check whether there are any problems with the learning methods students are using and to advise students on efficient learning methods that are suited to their individual needs. In addition to learning methods, it is important to know that the environment and schedule management may also affect concentration.
If you are considering an e-learning system as an aid to learning efficiency, we recommend our learningBOX. Not only does it allow for efficient learning regardless of time or location, but it also has a full range of features that make it easy to manage student performance and progress. We can also customize the system to meet your learning needs and ensure a smooth implementation. Please try our free plan first.
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