Beyond Highlighting: Study Strategies That Actually Work for High School Learners
EduLetter 21
Many high school learners spend hours studying, yet still feel disappointed when test and exam results do not reflect the effort they put in. The problem is often not a lack of effort. It is the way they study.
In an excellent article for Edutopia, educator Ella Miesner explores learning strategies that help learners move beyond passive studying and develop habits that lead to deeper understanding and longer retention. Her message aligns with decades of educational research: effective learning is not about spending more time with your books. It is about using the right strategies.
Unfortunately, many learners rely on techniques that feel productive but have limited impact. Reading notes repeatedly, highlighting large sections of a textbook and cramming the night before a test may create the illusion of learning, but they do little to strengthen long-term memory.
Why Traditional Studying Often Fails
When learners reread information, the material becomes familiar. Familiarity, however, is not the same as mastery.
Psychologists Henry Roediger and Mark McDaniel, authors of Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning, explain that learning feels most effective when it requires effort. Struggling to recall information, solving problems independently and making mistakes during practice all strengthen learning.
In other words, if studying feels easy, it may not be producing meaningful learning.
This is why many learners spend hours reading notes but struggle to answer questions independently in an examination.
Retrieval Practice: The Most Powerful Learning Strategy
One of the key strategies highlighted by Miesner is retrieval practice.
Retrieval practice involves actively recalling information from memory instead of looking at notes. This could include:
Answering questions without notes
Writing down everything remembered about a topic
Using flashcards
Completing practice tests
Teaching concepts to someone else
Every time learners retrieve information from memory, they strengthen their ability to access that information in future.
Research by Roediger and Karpicke found that learners who regularly tested themselves remembered significantly more information than learners who simply reread material multiple times.
This is one reason why exam-style questions are so valuable. They force learners to retrieve information under conditions similar to those they will experience during assessments.
The Power of Spaced Learning
Another strategy discussed in both educational research and classroom practice is spaced repetition.
Many learners revise a topic intensely once and then never revisit it. Unfortunately, memory fades quickly.
German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus demonstrated this through his work on the “forgetting curve”, showing that we lose information rapidly unless we review it at strategic intervals.
Instead of studying a topic once for three hours, it is far more effective to study it for shorter periods over several weeks.
A simple approach is:
Learn the content today
Review after two days
Review again after seven days
Review again after thirty days
This 2-7-30 approach gives the brain repeated opportunities to strengthen and store information in long-term memory.
Interleaving: Mixing Topics to Improve Learning
Many learners study one topic for a long period before moving to the next.
Research suggests that mixing topics during a study session can improve learning.
This technique is called interleaving.
For example, a Mathematics learner might complete:
Algebra questions
Geometry questions
Trigonometry questions
Data handling questions
all within the same study session.
Although this approach feels more difficult, it helps learners learn when and how to apply different strategies.
Researchers at the University of California found that learners who used interleaving often performed better than learners who studied one topic at a time.
The Feynman Technique: If You Cannot Explain It, You Do Not Yet Understand It
One of the simplest and most effective learning techniques is explaining concepts to someone else.
Physicist Richard Feynman believed that true understanding could be demonstrated through simple explanation.
After learning a topic, learners should try to explain it to a parent, sibling, friend or even themselves.
The goal is to explain the concept as if speaking to a younger child.
Any gaps in understanding quickly become obvious.
This technique transforms passive knowledge into active understanding.
Taking Better Notes
Many learners believe note-taking means copying information.
Effective note-taking involves processing information and organising it in meaningful ways.
The Cornell Note-Taking Method remains one of the most widely recommended systems.
It divides the page into sections for:
Main notes
Key questions
Summary points
This structure encourages active engagement with the material and makes revision more effective.
Research from Princeton University also suggests that handwritten notes often encourage deeper processing of information than simply typing everything word for word.
Sleep: The Study Strategy Most Learners Ignore
High school learners often sacrifice sleep during examination periods.
Ironically, this can reduce performance.
According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, sleep plays a critical role in memory consolidation. During sleep, the brain strengthens and organises newly learned information.
A learner who studies until 1 a.m. may gain an extra hour of revision but lose far more through reduced concentration, memory and problem-solving ability the following day.
Consistent sleep is one of the most effective academic tools available.
Building a Growth Mindset
Psychologist Carol Dweck’s research on growth mindset has transformed how educators think about learning.
Learners with a fixed mindset often believe intelligence is something they either have or do not have.
Learners with a growth mindset understand that ability develops through effort, practice and persistence.
This does not mean effort alone guarantees success. Rather, it means that improvement is possible.
When learners view mistakes as opportunities to learn, they become more resilient and willing to tackle challenging tasks.
This mindset is particularly important during high school when academic demands increase significantly.
Why Practice Papers Matter
One of the best ways for learners to combine several of these strategies is through practice papers.
Practice papers:
Provide retrieval practice
Simulate examination conditions
Reveal knowledge gaps
Build confidence
Improve time management
Detailed memoranda are equally important because they help learners identify misconceptions and learn from mistakes.
Research consistently shows that feedback is one of the strongest influences on academic achievement.
Learners should therefore spend as much time reviewing mistakes as they spend answering questions.
Learning How to Learn
Perhaps the most important lesson from Ella Miesner’s article and the wider body of educational research is that learning itself is a skill.
Successful learners are not necessarily those who spend the most time studying. They are often the learners who use evidence-based strategies consistently.
Retrieval practice, spaced repetition, interleaving, effective note-taking, teaching others, managing distractions and maintaining healthy sleep habits all contribute to stronger learning outcomes.
These are not shortcuts. They require effort and consistency. However, they help learners develop something far more valuable than memorised facts: the ability to learn effectively.
That is a skill that will benefit them not only throughout high school, but throughout their lives.