Education

How Students Learn: What Actually Helps Learning?

Although students can have different approaches to learning, certain practices can make understanding, practicing, and retaining new information easier to achieve.

Learning Goes Beyond Simply Reviewing Information

When people think of learning, they might think of a student reading a chapter, memorizing the important terms and points, and proving their mastery of the lesson on a test. While this can be a part of learning, the process is often more complicated than just trying to get information into memory.

A student might know a definition for an exam, but forget how to explain it a week later. Someone might understand a lesson when a teacher is guiding them, but struggle to solve a similar problem on their own. And one person might spend hours re-reading their notes without realizing they can’t retain the main points without the note page open in front of them.

This is why how students study matters. Research on learning techniques has found that certain practices are not as effective as they might seem to students, while others can be more effective by encouraging the learner to actively engage with the information. One large review of learning methods found particularly strong evidence for practice testing and distributed practice while highlighting and re-reading were less consistently effective (Dunlosky et al., 2013).

That doesn’t mean every student should study in the same way. It does mean that students can’t simply learn by spending more time with information. What learners do with the information they’re trying to retain matters just as much.

Reading Something Again Doesn’t Equal Having Learned It

One of the most simple and familiar study methods is also one of the most easily recognizable: re-reading.

Reading a paragraph over and over again can make the lesson easier to understand. Once students have seen the paragraph several times, it can start to look familiar. This might help them recognize the words later, but can be misleading if they confuse recognition with recall. In studies on learning methods, researchers have repeatedly found value in actively recalling information rather than just looking at the lesson. Instead of re-reading a note, students can put it away and try to recall what they’ve just studied. They can write out everything they remember about a topic, answer questions without reference material in front of them, explain a concept from memory, and solve a problem without looking at an example.

This is known as retrieval practice, or using retrieval. A systematic review of classroom research analyzing 50 experiments found that retrieval practice benefited learning at different education levels, subjects, types of tests, and delayed practice (Agarwal et al., 2021).

For me, that reframes the value of a practice quiz. Rather than just a tool for teachers to see how their learners are doing, a low-stakes question can also be used for instruction.

Spacing Beats Cramming

Another important aspect of learning is when students study. Most students are familiar with the following sleep schedule: there is an exam tomorrow, the notes are opened tonight, and several hours are spent trying to remember everything all at once. While cramming can sometimes help performance on a short-term basis, research has found that learning is often more effective when students space out their practice.

This is known as distributed, or spaced, practice. Instead of studying a topic in one long session, learners can review the material in multiple, smaller sessions. A student might practice today’s lesson tomorrow, again a few days later, and one final time before the exam the following week.

The point isn’t necessarily to study for longer, but to give the brain multiple opportunities to retrieve the information after a lag.

The point isn't necessarily to study for longer, but to give the brain multiple opportunities to retrieve the information after a lag.

Reviews of the research identify spacing and retrieval as two of the most important strategies for improving learning and retention (Carpenter et al., 2022).

This also makes learning seem different. A student who studies a lot the night before might feel productive because so much information was learned in a short period, but a learner who studies in smaller sessions will feel like they’re getting less information across. However, the second approach might give them more chances to see what they’ve forgotten.

Explaining an Idea Can Reveal What You Don’t Understand

Sometimes the easiest way to understand when someone is missing information is to try explaining it. A student can read a definition and believe they understand it, but be asked to explain the idea to a classmate or connect it to a similar example and realize that there are parts they can’t explain.

Strategies such as self-explanation and elaboration encourage students to go beyond simply repeating information and actively connect a new idea to what they already know. Instead of re-stating a solution, learners can practice explaining how the solution works, and ask themselves how a certain answer might make sense.

Learning_strategy research finds a clear divide between relatively passive strategies that simply reinforce what students already know, and deeper strategies that encourage learners to connect new information to what they already know, explain ideas, monitor understanding, and apply information. Examples of the latter include self-explanation, concept mapping, connecting concepts, and using examples rather than just re-reading the material (Dunlosky et al., 2013).

It also explains why simply getting an answer wrong isn’t always an indicator of a failed study session. If the student has attempted an answer, realized they got it wrong, and received an explanation or correction, the mistake can help them pinpoint exactly what they’re struggling on.

Good Learning Also Means Knowing How You Learn

Learning isn’t only about what students are doing with a lesson, but whether they recognize when something is or is not working. Understanding this is known as metacognition and self-regulated learning, and, at a basic level, means students know how to plan what they need to do, monitor whether they understand, and change their approach when necessary.

For example, a student might realize that simply highlighting a chapter is not helping them remember it, and switch to answering questions from memory. Another student might notice that they understand a concept, but can’t apply it to a new problem, and begin practicing with different examples rather than relying on the same solution.

This type of self-monitoring becomes particularly important as students become more independent.

A 2023 Philippine study of 2,302 students at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Pasig found a moderate level of self-regulated learning among respondents, and found a significant relationship between self-regulated learning and academic performance. They examined areas such as planning, monitoring, controlling or adjusting, and reflection (De Manuel, 2022).

This doesn’t mean students should simply be left to discover it for themselves. In fact, research on metacognition emphasizes that these skills can be taught and supported. Students can be guided to plan their work, think about the strategies they’re using, check their understanding, and reflect on what helped them learn (Muijs & Bokhove, 2020).

Feedback Turns Mistakes Into Information

Another often overlooked part of learning is what happens after the student answers a question. A wrong answer on its own cannot teach the student why the answer was wrong, but feedback can help them understand what needs to change and clarify misunderstandings. This is particularly relevant to retrieval.

Research suggests that retrieving information can be beneficial, but feedback can affect how much benefit it provides.

A 2025 systematic and meta-analytic review found that the advantage of retrieval practice over certain elaborative learning conditions, depended partly on whether corrective feedback was provided (Gonçalves et al., 2025).

This is why a practice test can be more valuable if the student does not only check whether their answer is right or wrong. A better question to ask might be, why was this answer the right or wrong one, why was mine different, and what should I remember or understand before trying again?

In a classroom, feedback does not always mean a long written comment on an assignment, but can also be a teacher explanation, worked example, a discussion of common errors, or a quick correction followed by another attempt.

Students Don’t Often Start From the Same Place

There is an urge to take learning-research and turn it into a list of universal study rules: use flashcards, study in short sessions, test yourself, and everything will work out.

In reality, students are much more complicated than that.

Students can come into a lesson with different prior knowledge, resources, confidence, responsibilities, learning difficulties and support. A strategy might be effective for one subject, but need to be adapted for another. Memorizing vocabulary, understanding a scientific process, writing an essay, and learning to solve an equation don’t have to involve the same type of practice.

Even research that supports particular strategies has important qualifications and context to consider. Reviewing the effects of learning techniques can vary based on the material being learned, the learner, the task, or whether students are being asked to remember or transfer knowledge (Dunlosky et al., 2013).

So the question of what is the best way to learn is not necessarily useful, but asking what does this student need to learn this particular thing, and what kind of practice will help them do it is a better place to start.

What Actually Helps Learning?

After examining all of this, the process of effective learning does not seem to be a singular perfect practice. It seems to be more about a collection of useful habits.

Students need opportunities to retrieve information rather than just re-read it. They benefit from reviewing material over time rather than cramming right before an exam. Explaining ideas, connecting concepts, solving problems, and applying knowledge can help students see whether information has been truly retained. Feedback helps students see mistakes, while metacognition helps learners recognize when their current practices are not working.

Teachers play an important role in creating these opportunities, as a classroom can include short retrieval questions, discussions, practice problems, reflection, feedback, and opportunities to apply information in new ways. Students can also become more involved in planning and monitoring their own learning.

None of this makes studying easy. In reality, some effective strategies can feel harder than simply re-reading a chapter. That is the point.

For students, the useful question to ask might not be the fastest way to finish studying, but what can make learning active enough to keep the information with them long-term.

Studying is not just spending time with information, but actively doing something with it.

I think that is the greater lesson to take from research on learning: studying is not just spending time with information, but actively doing something with it.