Why Cramming Is Not Effective for Your Learning…and What You Should Do Instead
Whether it's because of a full schedule or because of procrastination, you've probably had the experience of staying up all night trying to cram information into your brain before the exam. And even if you're lucky to have never needed to cram, you've at least seen someone around campus pulling an all-nighter before an exam. However, even when it seems as if everyone across your college campus is doing it, cramming isn't necessarily the best way to study. Not only is it stressful for your body and mind, the majority of the information crammed into the brain won’t last after the exam. If your only goal is to pass the exam, this isn't a big deal. But if your goal is to learn material for the long term and deeply understand the concepts, cramming is a terrible idea.
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When Cramming Does (and Doesn’t) Work
Nearly every professor you meet will tell you to never cram; and in a perfect world, you shouldn’t need to. Ideally, you’d take your time to study the material a bit at a time. Practically, however, there will be some classes you just don’t care about—e.g., “Gen Ed” classes. For such classes, cramming for the exam at the last minute is acceptable so long as you can still get the grade you want.
For classes that do interest you, such as your major-related ones, however, cramming does you a disservice. Sure, it might be enough to pass the exams, but you’re not going to learn much that will last. Just think back to the last exam you crammed for — how much of that information do you still remember? Beyond that, how much of the material did you truly understand? If you learned just enough to answer the questions on the test, probably not much.
So, instead of cramming, you can utilize the following tips to create a good study habit.
- Have a routine for where and when you study.
- Decide in advance what you'll study, choosing reasonable and specific goals that you can accomplish.
- Do things that are harder or require more intense thought earlier in the day.
- Take breaks so that you stay fresh and don't waste time looking at material but not absorbing it.
- Make use of "dead" time right before and after class and in breaks between other activities.
- Get to know students whom you respect and can study with or call and ask questions.
- Keep up with the workload and seek help at the time you need it. You don't want to become paralyzed by stress or get so far behind in the work that it is too late to begin studying the material you've skipped.
Spacing Effect
One specific method of studying, that is perhaps the exact opposite of cramming, is utilizing the spacing effect. This psychological phenomenon, first identified by German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus, shows us that learning is more effective when study sessions are spaced out that.
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Instead of compacting your study time into the day before, the goal here is to study a little bit over a long period of time. This method, Space Repetition, is especially useful when memorizing large amounts of factual information such as historical dates, or the anatomy of a human body.
Traditionally, students have used paper flashcards to put space repetition in practice. However, with flash card apps such as Quizlet, spaced repetition is now easier than ever. These apps allow you to study anywhere, like on a bus, and they also help you focus on the material you keep getting wrong(an added benefit over traditional flash cards). This means you can spend more time studying things you're struggling on, rather than things you already know.
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What are your tips on building a good study habit?
What are your study techniques that help you do well on exams AND retain information after the class is over?
Further Reading
Carrie Whitney, P. D. (2019, March 27). Why cramming is the worst way to study. HowStuffWorks. Retrieved March 13, 2022, from https://people.howstuffworks.com/why-cramming-is-worst-way-to-study.htm
Collegeboard.com. College Studying Tips - study habits - cramming. (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2022, from https://web.archive.org/web/20090422211155/http://www.collegeboard.com/student/plan/college-success/961.html
Sarma, S., & Yoquinto, L. (2020, November 30). Cramming may help for next-day exams. but for long-term memory, spacing out study is what works. The Washington Post. Retrieved March 13, 2022, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/memory-and-cramming-for-exams/2020/11/27/d395a838-29bd-11eb-8fa2-06e7cbb145c0_story.html
The spacing effect: How to improve learning and maximize retention. Farnam Street. (2022, January 25). Retrieved March 13, 2022, from https://fs.blog/spacing-effect/
Sukru Burc Eryilmaz. Sukru Burc Eryilmaz | Stanford University. (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2022, from https://web.stanford.edu/~eryilmaz/cramming_is_ineffective.html
Hi Shinwoo! I really enjoyed reading your blog, as I sometimes find it difficult to set up an effective study plan for myself. My main tip for studying is to have someone quiz me. I find this method of studying to be helpful because it shows me what I know without using my notes. Additionally, I try and prepare for an exam with a week to a few days before having to take it. I find that if wait to the last minute I will become easily overwhelmed and fail to be successful. I think that your suggestion to practice the spacing effect would be an effective method to try and would help me retain material. Thanks for the tips!
ReplyDeleteHi Maura,
DeleteI think having someone to quiz you is a really good way of studying because, as you say, it helps you gauge where you are in studying and shows you what you know of your head. And leaving a week of space to study for your exam, as I discuss, is also a good way not only to study for exams, but also to learn the material. Thanks for your two cents.
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ReplyDeleteHi Shinwoo, I found this information very helpful. I sometimes have had to cram for exams. The tip of yours that I implement most is making use of "dead time". I try to use my downtime to accomplish my studying goals. My tip for studying is to stay consistent. If you stick to your schedule and stay consistent success is very likely. I know when I stay consistent with my studying, I am the most successful. Some study techniques that I use to do well on exams are flashcards or Quizlet. I find that using these and repeating them over a two-week time period is most effective for retaining the information long term. This technique implements the spacing effect you mentioned, so it's backed by science! Thanks for the tips, I will definitely be implementing these strategies!
DeleteHey Amber, I'm glad you found the blog post to be helpful. You're right in that the study methods you discuss are proven to help you better learn not only by personal experiences, but also by science and psychology. I hope you can also use these tips to attain great results.
DeleteHi Shinwoo! I found your blog very helpful since I sometimes find myself cramming for big tests when I am feeling unmotivated to study. From my past experience, I definitely agree with you that cramming is stressful for the mind and is ineffective most of the time. Some of my favorite methods of studying for difficult classes are studying directly after that certain class ends and building study guides. After each one of my difficult classes, I take the time to review the last class’s information, add the important information to my study guide, and read over what I learned today. If I continue this routine, once it is time for a test, I already know most of the information because I have seen it at least twice before I have even begun my in depth studying. In my study guides, I make sure to have important terms and practice questions so I can review the material in multiple ways. Your tip to have a routine for when and where to study is extremely helpful for getting in the right mindset. Sometimes I have trouble getting into the information, but having a specified time and location helps me stay focused.
ReplyDeleteHi Shannon. I'm happy that you found the information to be helpful. I think your way of studying directly after class can be effective. Sometimes, I try reviewing later in the day, even a couple of hours later, and find myself to already have forgotten the material. But, as you say, you can commit the material to your memory while it's still fresh in your head. Also, I agree that having a routine to study(specific time, location) can also be beneficial. Once you get into the habit, you know it's time to study and are less likely to lose motivation. I hope you can use your tips alongside the ones I've discussed to help ful in your academic career!
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ReplyDeleteHi Shinwoo! I think your blog is really convincing and informative. It's so true that if I stay up late the night before the exam to review, I can't remember most of contents a week after the exam. I do cramming sometimes because my schedule was too full to leave more time for reviewing. Maybe your tip about using the "dead time" can help address this problem. To keep my grades in a good shape, I usually study the course materials in different ways for several times after the first lecture. For example, for my Biopsychology class, I take brief notes during the lectures and complete them by watching lecture recordings later that week. When the exam is coming, I will do some practice test questions and watch the tapes again to see if there is anything I missed. With this method, I found that more portions of information are encoded to my long-term memories.
ReplyDeleteHi Ge, your way of taking brief notes and re-watching the lecture recording is the perfect example of the spacing effect. If you combine this with the 'dead time' tip, I'm sure it will help you retain the material more.
DeleteHi Shinwoo! I found your blog very interesting and I totally agree with the idea that cramming isn't the best way to study. Because of procrastination, I always cram information before the exam, and as you mentioned, it works for passing the exam, but I almost forget all those information a week later. When it comes to the final exam which covers the content of the whole semester, I have to review them again and that's truly stressful. I think the first tip 'have a routine for where and when you study' is really helpful to me since, with an organized schedule, I can overcome procrastination so I don't have to cram all those information before the exam. I think Quizlet can also improve my study efficiency. Thanks for your suggestions!
ReplyDeleteHi Lehan, I'm glad you found my post to be very interesting. Getting in a routine is a very important, but also effective tip to help you better understand the material. Not only will it help you do better on the test, but continuous exposure to material can also help you retain the information longer(even after the course has ended).
DeleteHi Shinwoo, thank you for all of the helpful information. I do not remember any information from when I would cram for tests, this really puts into perspective the negative effects of cramming. The Spacing Effect has to be the best way to study, this is because the study style reflects the importance of taking breaks when studying. I think this technique can be very beneficial, but without good study habits it can be easy to slack off and take more time on the breaks. Therefore, being consistent and strict on your breaks can lead to building good study habits. Retaining information in class can get overwhelming if a lot of information is delivered. This is why it is important to understand the big idea of what you are learning; being able to put small amounts of information together to obtain a larger understanding is the key to obtaining the bigger picture. Once again I thank you for sharing this information with us, it was very informative!
ReplyDeleteHi Sean, You're totally right that breaks are super-imporatant to studying. In fact, psychology backs this as well. During your biggest break‚ while you are asleep, your brain re-organizes your memory to keep the important details and discard the unimportant ones. This is why staying up late to cram instead of sleeping, can sometimes be a detriment to your grades.
DeleteHi Shinwoo, where was this blog when I started college? I could have used each of your tips then. I found that I cram for almost every exam I take now. I’m in electrical engineering, and have forgotten much of the basic material, which leads to several problems in the more advanced courses I’m taking now. Falling behind in your classes is the absolute worse feeling. The stress from the belief that you can never catch up really kills the motivation to complete any assigned work. This only compounds the problem even more. I completely agree with your advice on working with others. When I explain material to other students, I find that I form a better understanding of it. I can’t wait to use the information from your blog to get my own college degree back on track.
ReplyDeleteHi Alan, you're absolutely right. If you cram for a course just to get through one exam, you're not going to be able to remember the materials when you need it in the future(either in the workplace or in future classes). Also, working with others(and especially as you mentioned teaching others) can really be a useful tool to not only help you study but also keep you motivated.
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