No Study Habit is One Size Fits All

Much research has been devoted to finding the "ideal" study habit. That is, a process of studying that is shown to be without a doubt effective at helping the learner memorize and understand materials presented in class as well as in textbooks and notes. However, just as there are many ways to solve a mathematical equation, there are also many different equally effective ways to study. So, instead of seeking to find one "ideal" study habit to teach students, educators should strive to teach their students many different studying habits so that students may find and utilize the ones that work best for them.

One reason why no one study habit will fit everyone is because many people are better at learning in certain ways than others. For example, some students are "visual" learners, meaning they understand materials better when it is presented in a visual form, such as figuring out how to use geometry by drawing shapes. On the other hand, some students are better at reading problems and solving them and find pictures and other visual elements distracting rather than useful. These students typically do well in puzzling out an equation with a long string of numbers. With such different learning habits, it is little wonder that some studying habits work for some students and not for others.

Popular studying habits that are promoted include recommending that students study in quiet, isolated places that are free from distractions. This is useful for most learners, but some actually focus better in a place where there is a general bit of noise going on. These learners may find the silence of a library more distracting than the background conversations of Starbucks patrons and therefore study better in public settings rather than private ones. In addition, some students also fare better studying on their own rather than participating in study groups. While research conducted by Harvard University has shown that many students benefit from group studies, there are undoubtedly those who would fare better studying independently at their own pace. This is why it is important that instructors do not force only one study option on their students, such as mandating that students participate in study groups or do the opposite by forbidding group studying altogether. Instead, instructors should encourage their students to explore different studying styles so that they may discover the study habits that work best for them.

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