One of the keys to success in school is learning the art of studying with someone else. Here are 4 reasons to find a study partner:
- Motivation. Are you struggling to organize yourself and create time dedicated to studying? You’re not alone; someone else in your class is facing the same challenge! If you set a time with that person to meet and organize/study together, chances are far higher you will follow through. If it’s someone you enjoy hanging out with, all the better to get you motivated.
- Accountability. Why don’t we follow through on studying? Sometimes it’s because we don’t have an accountability partner calling us out for laziness or procrastination. Teammates help us feel we’re part of something bigger than ourselves, that not preparing for the test lets someone else down. Not wanting to disappoint a partner is a powerful tool to ensure we don’t drop the ball.
- Fun. A big reason people don’t retain what they’ve been studying is that they’re not yet excellent at a crucial study skill: faking enthusiasm. If you can convince your brain that what you’re studying is important, it will make room for the knowledge. One key way to “make room” is to use conversation, games, interactive puzzle-solving, and other social tools to make the process interesting.
- Effectiveness. As is well known in the education world, the best way to learn to is to teach someone else. Forcing ourselves to articulate the concepts in a comprehensible way to another person strengthens the brain’s neural pathways to that knowledge, making it more easily accessible when we need it on test day.
There is a time to study alone and a time to study with a valuable partner. Use both techniques to your advantage and you will STORM the test!!
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