How learning actually works

Short guides to what decades of research say about studying: what makes memory last, why some habits feel productive and aren’t, and how to study a lecture so it stays. Every claim is cited

• GuideSpaced repetition: what the research actually saysWhy spreading reviews out beats cramming, how long the gaps should be, whether expanding intervals matter, and what that means for a semester of lectures
• GuideRetrieval practice: why testing yourself beats rereadingThe testing effect, explained from the studies: how much recalling helps, why it feels worse than rereading, which kinds of questions work best, and how to practice it
• GuideHow to study a lecture so it staysWhat to do before, during and after a lecture, based on the evidence: questions first, notes that show how ideas connect, recall instead of rereading, and reviews spaced over the semester
• GuideThe forgetting curve: what Ebbinghaus actually foundWhat the forgetting curve really measures, why “70% forgotten in a day” is a misreading, and what slows forgetting: spaced review, recall and sleep
• GuideWhy rereading and highlighting feel productive, and mostly aren’tThe illusion of fluency, explained from the research: why rereading feels like learning, what highlighting does and doesn’t do, and what to do instead
• GuideDo concept maps help you learn?Concept maps, from the research: how much studying and building them helps, why retrieval can beat mapping, what makes a good map, and how to use one with a lecture
• GuideDoes the Feynman technique work?What the studies say about self-explanation and learning by teaching: when explaining an idea in your own words helps, when it doesn’t, and why speaking beats writing
• GuideInterleaving: why mixing problem types helps you learnWhat interleaved practice is, the classroom trials behind it, when mixing topics helps and when it doesn’t, and how to use it when you study
• GuideHow to study for exams without crammingWhy cramming works for a day and fails for a semester, how spacing, recall and sleep fit together, and a week-by-week plan for finals that follows the evidence
• GuideDoes studying with AI help you learn?Randomized trials of students learning with AI chatbots: when AI help raised practice scores and lowered exam scores, when an AI tutor doubled gains, and what separates the two