Revising on the same day as an exam can be reassuring and can give the illusion of combating stress with the impression of being better prepared. However, is revising on exam day really effective?
Neuroscience has shown that it is better to learn gradually and regularly , by reserving periods of rest and favoring sleep time between revision phases. Indeed, forgetting occurs as soon as the knowledge learned is no longer repeated. This is called “distributed” learning.
We learn better when we space out review sessions over time rather than when we group them together. It is therefore better to space out the review sessions and return regularly to the same subject to reactivate it. It is precisely this spacing which leads to efforts (the memory “forces” to remobilize the information) and it is precisely these efforts which ensure long-term memorization. For example, 1/4 hour per day for 8 days is better than two hours in one day. Revising on the day of the exam appears ineffective because it means repeatingoften the information learned creates learning. However, there is no universal law to determine when to “refresh” the memory because it depends on many parameters. The most important thing is a regular frequency and a minimum number of 6 revisions for each concept.
Memorizing is never just rereading
Furthermore, rereading is ineffective for learning and memorizing. To memorize is to produce , reconstitute or reconstruct., rereading does not lead to retrieving the information in memory (when learners do not test themselves, they cannot the exam become aware of what they do not know. It is only in the updating They realize that they cannot remember key ideas or apply them in a new context. The only context in which rereading can be effective is in the case of rereading spaced out over time. and regularly reactivated… this therefore requires having practiced distributed learning over a long period of time before the exam.
Rereading the same day means exposing yourself to cognitive biases
Furthermore, simply rereading at the last moment can lead to an unconscious form of self-deception (the illusion of a certain mastery). This is especially the case when the brain is subject to primacy and recency effects. Information provided at the beginning and end is easier to remember. We speak of the primacy effect to account for the fact that information that arrives at the start of a series is more easily reproduced. We speak of the recency effect to account for the fact that information that reaches the brain last is better remembered. Rereading on the day of the exam means taking the risk that the central parts will be forgotten.
Finally, the brain quickly forgets isolated facts. Information without meaning or not linked to other information already present in the brain is difficult to memorize and, above all, difficult to recall in working memory when it is necessary.
Revising on the day of the exam also means taking the risk of memory being interfered with. Interference causes the forgetting or distortion of memories caused by experiences that occur either before or after the information to be remembered is encoded. Interference can be retroactive (ongoing memorization influenced by what was read /heard after, such as mix-ups in vocabulary lists) or proactive (ongoing memorization influenced by what was read/heard before).
When we understand the mechanism of the forgetting curve, we understand that we must convince the brain not to erase important information. this cannot be done only on the day of the exam. To convince him of this, it is up to us to play by capitalizing on the long term. If we review in the evening the concepts worked on in class that same day, the brain rewards us by retaining the information in memory for a week because it has understood that it is important. If we review these same concepts a week later, the brain then tells itself that they are really important and keeps them for 1 month. Finally, if we review them a fourth time after a month, the concepts are retained in memory for 6 months.