Good evidence
An if-then plan
Decide when and where before the day comes ('Tuesday after lab, library, chapter 7'); that is what a planned block is, and it is why the blocks exist.
Study sources
Where the study advice comes from.
When Conductor lays out study sessions before an exam, or suggests a way to study, the advice comes from published research on learning, not from us. Here is what it follows and where each piece comes from, so you can read it yourself.
What works, what doesn't
Ten common study techniques, rated by the research.
In 2013 five psychologists reviewed more than 700 studies of ten techniques students use, for the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest. Two came out well supported, three showed promise, and five fell short on their own. Conductor's study plans are built on the first two and borrow the next three.
| Technique | Rating | What it is, and what Conductor does with it |
|---|---|---|
| Practice testing | Flashcards, practice questions, or closing the notes and writing what you remember, then checking the answer; short and often beats one long review, and relearning an item in later sessions until it comes right three times holds it for months. | |
| Spacing | Spread the work over several days instead of one long sitting: a day or two apart holds a week, wider gaps hold longer, and a planned block is the easiest way to do it. | |
| Elaborative interrogation | Ask 'why is this true?' and 'why does that make sense?' of each fact and answer it yourself; best for facts in a subject you already half know. | |
| Self-explanation | Explain each step or answer to yourself: what new thing it says and how it connects to what you already know; good for problems and proofs. | |
| Interleaving | Mix problem types and topics within one session instead of finishing one kind before the next, so you practise choosing the method; once the basics are in. | |
| Highlighting and underlining | Fine as a first pass only if the marked lines then become flashcards or questions; on its own it adds little and can hurt seeing how ideas connect. | |
| Rereading | A second read helps a little, more reads barely; the page looks familiar, which feels like knowing it and is not. | |
| Summarizing | Inconsistent unless taught; turn the summary into questions and it becomes practice testing. | |
| Keyword mnemonics | A sound-alike image per word helps vocabulary for a while and fades; the effort rarely pays past that. | |
| Imagery for text | Picturing each paragraph shows mixed results and does not last; a diagram you draw yourself is the better version (dual coding). |
Ratings from Dunlosky, Rawson, Marsh, Nathan and Willingham (2013). The plain-words version of the same review appeared in Scientific American Mind in September 2013 as "What works, what doesn't". Both are in the list below.
The wider tactics
What else the research supports.
The ten above have the most direct evidence. These have their own, sometimes weaker or indirect, and they fit most people. Conductor offers all of them, then leans on the ones that worked for you.
Good evidence
Starting early
People finish well past their own estimate and put off what feels unpleasant; a first short session the day it is assigned beats a long one at the end.
Strong evidence
Sleep after studying
A full night after a session consolidates it; a late cram the night before costs more than it gains.
Some evidence
Planned breaks
Work in fixed stretches with short breaks set in advance (25 on, 5 off is the usual recipe); the evidence is for mood and focus, not for the exact numbers.
Some evidence
Phone out of the room
A phone within reach pulls on attention even silent and face down; the studies are mixed, the cost of trying is nothing.
Some evidence
Teaching it
Explain the idea out loud to a friend, a wall or a voice note in your own words; it is self-explanation with the gaps made obvious.
One of the six strategies
Concrete examples
Collect real examples of each abstract idea and say what makes each one an example.
One of the six strategies
Dual coding
Pair the words with a diagram, a timeline or a sketch you draw yourself, then explain the picture without the words.
The principle behind the gold stars
Desirable difficulty
The methods that feel harder while studying (testing, spacing, mixing) are the ones that last; feeling fluent after a reread is the trap.
Sources
Every source, with a link.
The list Conductor's study agent draws on, in full. Links go to the publisher, the authors' own pages, or the video itself. Where a study is small or the evidence is mixed, the note says so, and so does Conductor.
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Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving students' learning with effective learning techniques: Promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4 to 58.
What Conductor takes from it: the ratings of the ten techniques, from a review of more than 700 studies: practice testing and distributed practice high utility; elaborative interrogation, self-explanation and interleaving moderate; summarization, highlighting, the keyword mnemonic, imagery for text and rereading low.
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Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013, September/October). What works, what doesn't. Scientific American Mind, 24(4), 46 to 53.
What Conductor takes from it: the same ratings in plain words, with the worked examples (word pairs tested once remembered at 35 percent a week later against 4 percent untested; spaced study at 47 percent against 37 massed across 254 studies).
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Weinstein, Y., Madan, C. R., & Sumeracki, M. A. (2018). Teaching the science of learning. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 3, 2. The six strategies are at learningscientists.org.
What Conductor takes from it: the six strategies taught to students: spaced practice, retrieval practice, elaboration, interleaving, concrete examples and dual coding.
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Memorize Academy with The Learning Scientists. How to study effectively for school or college: top 6 science-based study skills (video). YouTube.
What Conductor takes from it: the six strategies in eight animated minutes.
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Roediger, H. L., & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning: Taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17(3), 249 to 255.
What Conductor takes from it: a practice test beats rereading once a day or a week has passed, even though rereading feels better right after.
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Roediger, H. L., Putnam, A. L., & Smith, M. A. (2011). Ten benefits of testing and their applications to educational practice. Psychology of Learning and Motivation, 55, 1 to 36.
What Conductor takes from it: what testing does beyond memory: it shows the gaps, it organizes, it transfers.
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Rawson, K. A., & Dunlosky, J. (2012). When is practice testing most effective for improving the durability and efficiency of student learning? Educational Psychology Review, 24(3), 419 to 435.
What Conductor takes from it: practice testing works best spaced out, with the answer checked after each try.
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Rawson, K. A., & Dunlosky, J. (2011). Optimizing schedules of retrieval practice for durable and efficient learning: How much is enough? Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 140(3), 283 to 302.
What Conductor takes from it: successive relearning: recall each item correctly a few times in a session, then relearn it in later spaced sessions, which holds for months.
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Cepeda, N. J., Vul, E., Rohrer, D., Wixted, J. T., & Pashler, H. (2008). Spacing effects in learning: A temporal ridgeline of optimal retention. Psychological Science, 19(11), 1095 to 1102.
What Conductor takes from it: the gap between sessions should be about 10 to 20 percent of how long the material has to last: a day or two apart for an exam a week out, longer gaps for longer.
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Carpenter, S. K., Cepeda, N. J., Rohrer, D., Kang, S. H. K., & Pashler, H. (2012). Using spacing to enhance diverse forms of learning: Review of recent research and implications for instruction. Educational Psychology Review, 24(3), 369 to 378.
What Conductor takes from it: spacing helps facts, vocabulary, math and skills alike, in classrooms too.
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Rohrer, D., & Taylor, K. (2007). The shuffling of mathematics practice problems boosts learning. Instructional Science, 35, 481 to 498.
What Conductor takes from it: mixed practice problems beat blocked ones on a test a week later.
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Rohrer, D. (2012). Interleaving helps students distinguish among similar concepts. Educational Psychology Review, 24(3), 355 to 367.
What Conductor takes from it: why mixing helps: it makes you pick the method, not just run it.
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Rohrer, D., Dedrick, R. F., & Stershic, S. (2015). Interleaved practice improves mathematics learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 107(3), 900 to 908.
What Conductor takes from it: interleaved math practice over three months beat blocked practice on tests a day and a month later.
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Bjork, E. L., & Bjork, R. A. (2011). Making things hard on yourself, but in a good way: Creating desirable difficulties to enhance learning. In M. A. Gernsbacher et al. (Eds.), Psychology and the real world (pp. 56 to 64). Worth.
What Conductor takes from it: the methods that feel harder while studying (testing, spacing, mixing) are the ones that last; rereading feels fluent and misleads.
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Biwer, F., Wiradhany, W., oude Egbrink, M. G. A., & de Bruin, A. B. H. (2023). Understanding effort regulation: Comparing 'Pomodoro' breaks and self-regulated breaks. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(S2), 353 to 367.
What Conductor takes from it: breaks set in advance left students less tired and more focused for the same work; the exact numbers (25 on, 5 off) are a recipe, not a finding.
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Cirillo, F. The Pomodoro Technique (the method: 25 minutes of work, a 5-minute break, a longer break every four).
What Conductor takes from it: the break recipe itself, a popular method rather than a study.
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Rasch, B., & Born, J. (2013). About sleep's role in memory. Physiological Reviews, 93(2), 681 to 766.
What Conductor takes from it: sleep after learning consolidates it; a night lost before an exam costs more than the hours gain.
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Ward, A. F., Duke, K., Gneezy, A., & Bos, M. W. (2017). Brain drain: The mere presence of one's own smartphone reduces available cognitive capacity. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 2(2), 140 to 154.
What Conductor takes from it: a phone within reach, even silent and face down, took working memory away in two experiments; later studies are mixed, so the advice is cheap insurance.
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Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69 to 119.
What Conductor takes from it: deciding when and where in advance ('after lab on Tuesday, in the library') makes the thing happen far more often, across 94 tests; a planned block is exactly that.
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Buehler, R., Griffin, D., & Ross, M. (1994). Exploring the 'planning fallacy': Why people underestimate their task completion times. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(3), 366 to 381.
What Conductor takes from it: students finish well after their own estimate; the fix is to start earlier, not to estimate harder.
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Steel, P. (2007). The nature of procrastination: A meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure. Psychological Bulletin, 133(1), 65 to 94.
What Conductor takes from it: what feels unpleasant and far off gets put off; shorter, nearer, concrete steps are what cut it.
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Lobdell, M. Study less, study smart (lecture, Pierce College). YouTube.
What Conductor takes from it: a lecturer's practical version of the same ideas: short focused stretches with breaks, a place that is only for studying, explain it out loud, sleep.
Conductor is not affiliated with any of these authors or publishers, and it summarizes their work in its own words. If you think it has one wrong, tell us through the contact page and we will fix it.
Conductor schedules and nudges. It is not a tutor, it does not know your exam, and your course's own instructions always win over anything it suggests.