Effective study strategies: Helping students learn smarter, not harder

Setting the stage: Helping students study smarter

Learning how to study isn’t something all students come into school knowing. Many just wing it by copying notes without much thought or trying to memorise everything at the last minute. But what if there were simple ways to help students learn smarter and not harder?

This article shares practical and easy-to-try study tips that teachers can use to guide students toward better habits. These methods are not about memorizing long lists or doing boring drills. Instead, they focus on making study time more meaningful, engaging, and effective so students can feel confident and ready for whatever comes next.

No one method works perfectly for everyone, but by exploring a few different approaches, students can find what clicks for them.

Bonus tip before you start

If you want a simple and quick way to get to know your students’ current study habits and preferences, try using a short survey. This can give you useful insights into which study methods might work best for them.

We’ve created a ready-to-use My Manifesto Check-In Survey that you can easily add to your course in itslearning. If your school or administration has enabled the itslearning library, just search for “My Manifesto” and add it directly to your course. You can use the survey as it is or customise it to better fit your students’ needs.

If you’re not sure how to add a resource to your course, or want to learn more, click here for a step-by-step guide.

1. Teach to learn: Turn students into the experts

One of the most powerful ways to study is to teach. When students are asked to explain something to someone else, without reading from a script, they’re forced to organise their thoughts, check their understanding, and express ideas clearly. This kind of explaining helps many students remember more than just rereading their notes.

This approach is based on the Feynman Technique, but it doesn’t need to be formal.
Think of it as “learning by doing the explaining".

How to implement this in class:

• Peer teach-backs: After a lesson, have students turn to a partner and explain the concept without notes. Students are encouraged to ask questions or speak up if anything isn’t clear.

• "Mini lessons" on camera: Students record 1–2 minute videos teaching a topic (like how photosynthesis works or how to solve a type of math problem). They can use paper, whiteboards, props, or even slides.

• Take it beyond the classroom: Invite students to explain what they’ve learned to a family member, guardian, or friend outside of the class. Afterwards, have them reflect on how the conversation went and what questions they encountered.

• Expert rotations: In small groups, assign each student a sub-topic. They study it, then rotate around the room teaching it to peers.

💡Tip: Let students use props or visuals. It makes teaching more fun and helps the information stick in different ways.

2. Study like a quiz-maker: Question-based learning

Instead of copying what’s on the board or passively writing what they hear, encourage students to create questions about the material. When they try to think like a quiz-maker or test designer, they process the content more deeply and start to anticipate what really matters.

This idea ties into active recall and retrieval practice.
The act of trying to remember something, without looking, can strengthen memory over time.

How to implement this in class:

• Question builder challenge: After a lesson or reading, each student writes three questions. One factual, one conceptual (how or why), and one tricky or “trap” question. This mix helps students review from different angles and gives you a quick way to check how well they’ve grasped the material.

• Make your own quiz Friday: Students create a short quiz for a partner or group using material from the week. Make sure they also make an answer key.

• Question notetaking: Instead of writing “Causes of the French revolution,” they’d write, “What were the causes of the French revolution?” with the answers below.

• Team Trivia Game: Groups compete using questions they’ve written throughout the unit.

💡Bonus variation: Try “Wrong answers only”. Students include silly or clearly wrong answers next to the real one. It’s fun and makes the real answer stand out more.

3. Mix it up: Study strategies that stick over time

Many students believe that the best way to study is to focus on one topic and repeat it until they’ve got it memorised. That can feel productive in the short term, but the knowledge often fades quickly after the test. A better approach is to mix things up by reviewing old topics regularly and switching between different types of problems or content.

This idea is based on spaced practice and interleaving. It’s about reviewing over time, not cramming, and mixing subjects or problem types instead of studying one thing all at once.

This helps students get better at recognising what kind of problem they’re looking at, choosing the right approach, and making connections between topics. Even though it might feel trickier than repeating the same thing, that challenge is actually what strengthens learning.

How to implement this in class:

• Throwback questions: Start class with a quick question that brings back something they’ve already learned. For example, if today’s lesson is about continents, you might ask, “What’s the name of the country we live in?” or “Can you name a place that’s north of us?” This helps students reconnect with earlier knowledge and sets the stage for new learning.

• Spiral practice: When assigning classwork or homework, include a few questions from past lessons alongside current material. This can be as simple as a “review box” at the bottom of the page.

• Memory Monday / Flashback Friday: Pick a day of the week for short, low-pressure review. It could be a mini quiz, a quick-write, a drawing, or a class game that brings back an older topic.

• Mix-it-up sets: Give students a handful of mixed problems or tasks and have them first identify what type of problem it is before solving. For example, if they’re working on math, include fractions, decimals, and percentages all together. In writing, mix up sentences with different grammar errors and have students identify the type of mistake first. This helps them practice recognising patterns and applying the right strategy, not just solving on autopilot.

• Topic shuffle: Make cards with different topics or question types from your course. Have students pick a card at random and explain or solve it, solo or in pairs.

💡Tip: You can let students know that if it feels a little harder, that’s actually a good thing. Learning that sticks often feels harder because the brain is working to make stronger connections.

4. Map it out: Learning visually

Not all students love traditional notes. Some think better with pictures, colors, or diagrams. Visual study methods help students organise what they’re learning in a way that makes sense to them.

This idea is connected to dual coding. That means combining visuals and words to help with understanding and recall.

How to implement this in class:

• Concept mapping: Students create maps that connect terms, ideas, or processes. It could be a web, timeline, or layered flowchart. For example, students could create a timeline showing key events in the life of a famous historical figure — like “Young Napoleon → Military School → First Battle → Became Emperor → Exiled to Elba.” It turns big events into a simple story they can see at a glance.

• Memory mansion: Students choose a place they know well like their home or classroom and “store” facts in different rooms. For example, if they’re learning about animal groups, mammals might go in the kitchen, reptiles in the hallway, and birds in the living room. Later, they imagine walking through the space to help recall the information.

  • This is based on the method of loci, a memory strategy that links facts to familiar places.

• Quick sketch summaries: After a lesson, students draw a small doodle or diagram to represent the main idea.

💡Tip: Let students use colored pencils or highlighters if they want. Visual contrast can support memory without much extra effort.

5. Study like a detective: Get curious, ask why

Sometimes students memorise facts without really understanding how they fit together. Encouraging them to ask "why?" and "how?" can turn passive studying into something more like solving a puzzle.

This is based on elaborative interrogation, a method that encourages students to explain why a fact is true, which helps deepen understanding.

How to implement this in class:

• Mystery cases: Turn lessons into small mysteries. Give students a scenario and have them figure out what happened and why, using clues from notes or readings. For example, in a science lesson, they might solve why a plant in the classroom isn’t growing and learn about photosynthesis or the importance of soil nutrients.

• Clue wall: Put key words or ideas on a table or board. Students connect the ones they think go together and explain their reasoning. For instance, in history, terms like “Revolution,” “Taxes,” and “Protest” might be grouped to show causes.

• Why chains: This one might remind you of the classic “Why? Why? Why?” questions that kids tend to ask non-stop, only now it’s helping them think more deeply!
  Start with one fact and ask “Why is this true?” Students answer and keep asking “Why?” two or three times to dig deeper. For example, “Plants need water” → “Why?” → “Because it helps nutrients move” → “Why?” → “Because cells need nutrients to survive.”

• Case closed presentations: Students present a topic like they’re solving a mystery, sharing facts, questions, and connections. For example, in literature, they might explain a character’s choices by piecing together clues from the story.

💡Bonus: Let students invent their own “mystery” and challenge their classmates to solve it using clues.

6. Learn in layers: Build understanding step by step

Some students try to study everything all at once. But learning often works better when it’s built up gradually. This strategy is about breaking things into manageable parts and understanding each layer before moving on.

This is inspired by strategies like scaffolding and self-explanation. It helps students slow down and focus on understanding one step at a time.

How to implement this in class:

• Step-by-step stations: Break a big task into parts. For example, if students are learning math, set up stations for different parts of solving an equation. One for identifying variables, one for isolating terms, and one for checking the answer.

• “What’s my next move?” Check-ins: After solving a problem or working through a task, students explain their thinking and describe what comes next. For example, after conducting an experiment, a student says, “I collected the data, now I’m going to look for patterns and write my conclusion.”

• Layered notes: Have students use one colour to write what they already know, then add new knowledge in another colour as they learn more. In science, students can write what they know about the water cycle in blue, then add new details they learn in green, like evaporation or condensation. This can help students see their progress and organise information clearly. Using colours makes it easier to connect new ideas with what they already know and supports better memory and review.

• Build-a-process posters: Students create flowcharts or instruction guides for how something works, step by step. For example, for a history lesson, students can map out the steps leading up to a key event, like the stages before a revolution, creating a timeline flowchart. By breaking down complex ideas into clear, simple steps it makes understanding processes easier and supports remembering the sequence of events or actions.

💡Let them rebuild it differently: After students finish a task in steps, ask them to remix or reorganise it. Can they explain it in a new way, like turning a flowchart into a comic strip or a written guide into a skit? This helps them truly own the knowledge and makes learning more flexible and fun.

Small shifts, big impact

Helping students study smarter doesn’t mean changing everything you do. Often, it’s the small changes that make the biggest difference.

A quick station, a colour-coded note, or a curious “why?” question can spark new thinking and help students feel more in control of their learning.

These strategies aren’t a checklist to follow perfectly. They’re ideas you can mix, match, and make your own. Try one or two that fit your classroom, see how students respond, and build from there.

Because in the end, studying well isn’t just about passing tests. It’s about helping students understand how they learn, so they can feel confident tackling whatever comes next.