As a student, you are likely to experience the same problem that many other students face: there is simply not enough time to do everything that you want or need to do. This can make it difficult to balance your time between the different activities that you need to do, such as studying and reviewing. Studying and reviewing are two of the main 'adversarial' learning activities that compete for your limited time. While both are important in your learning process, they have different effects on your ability to retain information and build knowledge.  Understanding the difference between these activities, as well as the impact that each has on your ability to retain information, can help you make better use of your limited time.

Studying

Studying is an active process that involves reading and interacting with the material that you're learning. This can involve reading the material in a textbook, working through problems, or engaging in discussions with classmates. While studying is important for helping you understand the material, it is not the most effective way to memorize information. In fact, memorizing information while you're studying can be challenging, as your brain is still trying to process the information and make sense of it.

Reviewing

Reviewing, on the other hand, involves going over the material that you've learned and already understood, to a certain extent at least. This can be done through activities like reading over your notes, re-reading sections of a textbook, or doing practice problems. Unlike studying, reviewing is specifically designed to help you memorize information. By reviewing information after you've learned it, you are giving your brain the opportunity to deepen understanding, consolidate the information, and store it in your long-term memory.

One of the most effective ways to review information is through spaced repetition. 

Spaced Repetition

Spaced repetition is a learning technique that involves reviewing information at intervals over a period of time. The idea is that by reviewing the information at regular intervals, you are giving your brain the opportunity to recall the information and strengthen the connections between the neurons in your brain that are responsible for storing that information. This results in improved retention of the information, and better overall memory.

The graph below shows the curve of memorization over time. The black line represents the retention of information without reviews, while the yellow, green and red lines represent the retention of information at subsequent reviews, intervalled according to the spaced repetition principle. 

How you can see the coloured lines are higher than the black one, because spaced repetition leads to improved retention of information over time.

Conclusions

In conclusion, studying and reviewing are both important activities for ensuring that you understand, remember and consolidate the material you're learning. 

However, it is important to understand that these activities have different effects on your ability to retain information. 

While studying is when you understand new material, and learn it, reviewing is the most effective way to memorize information. 

By using techniques like spaced repetition, you can improve your ability to retain information and make the most of your limited time.

What's next?

In our next article, we’ll explore the most effective study approaches and uncover common mistakes—such as ineffective underlining and highlighting. 

We’ll also discuss how electronic learning tools can help you optimize your study process. 

Stay tuned! If you found this article insightful, consider sharing it with your network.