Table 1 Six strategies for effective learning, each illustrated with an implementation example from the biological bases of behavior

Spaced practice

Creating a study schedule that spreads study activities out over time

Students can block off time to study and restudy key concepts such as action potentials and the nervous systems on multiple days before an exam, rather than repeatedly studying these concepts right before the exam

Interleaving

Switching between topics while studying

After studying the peripheral nervous system for a few minutes, students can switch to the sympathetic nervous system and then to the parasympathetic system; next time, students can study the three in a different order, noting what new connections they can make between them

Retrieval practice

Bringing learned information to mind from long-term memory

When learning about neural communication, students can practice writing out how neurons work together in the brain to send messages (from dendrites, to soma, to axon, to terminal buttons)

Elaboration

Asking and explaining why and how things work

Students can ask and explain why Botox prevents wrinkles: the nervous system cannot send messages to move certain muscles

Concrete examples

When studying abstract concepts, illustrating them with specific examples

Students can imagine the following example to explain the peripheral nervous system: a fire alarm goes off. The sympathetic nervous system allows people to move quickly out of the building; the parasympathetic system brings stress levels back down when the fire alarm turns off

Dual coding

Combining words with visuals

Students can draw two neurons and explain how one communicates with the other via the synaptic gap