複習考試拿高分的五個祕訣

Five secrets to revising that can boost your grades
複習考試：拿高分的五個祕訣

A huge new study of how people learn reveals the best techniques for exam success
一個關於學習方式的新的大型調查揭示了考試拿高分的最好的技巧

How do you get the most out of your revision time, and end up with the best grades you can? Or, if you're a different sort of student, how can you get the same grades you're getting now, but spend less time revising?
怎樣複習最有效，同時能讓你在考試時取得最好的成績？ 或者，如果你屬於另一類學生，怎樣用更短的複習時間拿到和現在一樣的成績？

Either way, you need to know how to learn better. And fortunately, decades of research carried out by psychologists about learning and memory has produced some clear advice on doing just that.
無論你屬於哪種情況，都需要知道怎樣能學得更好。幸運的是，心理學家關於學習和記憶的數十年的研究，爲我們在這方面提供了一些清晰的建議。

As an experimental psychologist, I am especially interested in learning. Most research on learning is done in a lab, with volunteers who come in once or twice to learn simple skills or lists of words.
作爲一名實驗心理學家，我對學習這一話題尤其感興趣。大多數關於學習機理的研究都是通過讓志願者來一次或者兩次實驗室，學習簡單的技能和單詞表的方式進行的。

Wouldn't it be better, I thought, if we could study learning by looking at a skill people are practising anyway? And could we draw links between how people practise and how good they eventually get?
我在想，如果可以通過觀察人們怎樣通過練習掌握一門技能或者找到聯繫練習和結果的規律，豈不是更好？

Computer games provide a great way to study learning: they are something people spend many hours practising, and they automatically record every action people take as they practise. Players even finish the game with a score that tells them how good they are.
電腦遊戲爲研究學習機理提供了一個極好的例子：人們花很多時間玩遊戲，而遊戲會同時自動記錄玩家練習時的每個動作。遊戲結束的時候，玩家甚至會得到反映自己水平的分數。

Using data from a simple online game, my colleague Mike Dewar and I could analyse how more than 850,000 people learned to play. The resulting scientific paper, which has just been published, shows in unprecedented detail the shape of the learning curve, allowing us to test existing theories of learning, as well as suggesting some new ideas on the best ways to learn.
通過一個簡單網絡遊戲的數據，我和我的同事邁克·杜瓦分析出八十五萬餘人是如何玩這個遊戲的，這一研究結果剛剛以科學論文的形式發表。在論文中我們以前所未有的細節展示了學習曲線形狀，由此我們得以測試現有學習理論，同時針對最好的學習方式提出一些新的想法。

So here are my five evidence-based tips on how to learn:
因而在此提出五條關於怎樣學習的基於事實依據的建議：1. Space your practice
1. 延長練習間隔時間

Our analysis showed that people who leave longer gaps between practice attempts go on to score higher. In fact, the longer the gaps, the higher the scores.
我們的分析表明，練習間隔時間越長的人，更傾向於得高分。實際上，間隔時間越長，得分會越高。

The difference is huge: people who leave more than 24 hours between their first five attempts at the game and their second five attempts score as highly, on average, as people who have practiced 50% more than them.
間隔時間不同導致的區別是巨大的：第一波五次嘗試和第二波間隔時間超過24小時的人羣平均得分高達那些比他們多練習了50%的人羣。

Our finding confirms lots of other research: if you want to study effectively, you should spread out your revision rather than cramming. This is easier said than done, but if you are organised enough, you can spend less time revising and remember more.
我們的發現證實了很多其他的研究：如果想要有效地學習，你應該擴展和分散你的複習時間而不是臨時抱佛腳。這說來容易做來難，但如果你足夠有條理，你可以花更少的時間複習同時記住更多內容。

2. Make sure you fail occasionally
2. 確保你偶爾會失誤

A new result from our analysis shows that people who are most inconsistent when they first start have better scores later on.
我們的分析得到一個新的結論：開始玩的時候分數不穩定的人會在後面的時候得到更高的比分。

Our theory is that these people are exploring how the game works, rather than trying to get the very highest score they can every time.
我們的理論是這些人開始的時候是在探索這個遊戲是怎樣運行的而不是每次都盡最大努力得到最高的分數。

The moral is clear: invest some time in trying things out, which may mean failing occasionally, if you want to maximise learning in the long run.
道理是明顯的：從長遠角度，如果你想要最大化地學習，首先投資些時間去嘗試，這也許意味着偶爾的失誤。

3. Practise the thing you'll be tested on
3.練習要被測試的內容

The big mistake many students make is not practising the thing they will be tested on. If your exam involves writing an essay, you need to practise essay-writing. Merely memorising the material is not enough.
很多學生犯的最大錯誤在於沒有練習他們要被測試的內容。如果你的考試涉及寫文章，你需要練習文章寫作。單純地記憶材料是不夠的。

Writing exam answers is a skill, just like playing an online game is a skill. You wouldn't try and improve at a game by trying to memorise moves, you'd practise making them.
考試作答是一項技能，就像玩網遊一樣。你不會通過嘗試記憶遊戲的每個操作去提高技能，你會練習這些操作。

Other research confirms that practising retrieving information is one of the best ways to ensure you remember it.
其他研究證實：練習提取信息是確保記憶的最好方式之一。

4. Structure information, don't try to remember it
4.將信息結構化，而不是嘗試去記憶

Trying to remember something has been shown to have almost no effect on whether you do remember it. The implication for revision is clear: just looking at your notes won't help you learn them.
嘗試記憶一些內容已經被證實對於你是否真的記住幾乎沒有任何效果。這一點對於複習的暗示是明確的：只是翻閱筆記不會有助於你的學習。

Instead, you need to reorganise the information in some way – whether by making notes of your notes, thinking about how what you're reading relates to other material, or practising writing answers. This approach, called "depth of processing", is the way to ensure material gets lodged in your memory.
相反，你需要以某種方式重組信息-無論是根據已有的筆記做筆記，思考你讀的東西怎樣關聯到其他材料，還是練習寫出答案。這種被稱爲“深度處理”的方法能確保這些材料紮根於你的記憶。

5. Rest and sleep
5. 休息和睡覺

New research shows that a brief rest after learning something can help you remember it a week later. Other experiments have shown that a full night's sleep helps you learn new skills or retain information.
新的研究表明學習新東西后短暫休息會幫助你在一個星期以後仍能記起。其他實驗表明一個晚上的充足睡眠有助於新技能的學習和大腦的信息儲存。

Even napping can help consolidate your memories, and maybe even make you more creative. This is great news for those of us who like to nap during the day, and is a signal to all of us that staying up all night to revise probably isn't a good idea.
甚至連打盹兒也可以幫你加固記憶，甚至讓你更具創造力。這對於喜歡白天打盹的人而言是個好消息，也是對所有人的一個警示：晚上熬夜複習恐怕不是個好主意。