GED Study Help: How Wrong Answers Can Help You Learn
Studying for the GED exam can seem difficult. After all, most people who left school had some problems learning in traditional classrooms. But the ways that students have traditionally been expected to learn in school aren’t always the best. By understanding how your brain learns best, you can make your own studying more effective.
Learning for the GED is a self-driven activity, so GED learners need to take charge of their learning. Often, the only type of learning that a GED student is familiar with is classroom learning, involving a lot of memorization of facts and dates and run by a teacher who directs what everyone should do. Studying on your own is different and more effective.
The GED doesn’t depend on memorization. It depends on understanding, and learning for understanding doesn’t necessarily mean getting everything right. According to a recent study by Nate Kornell, Matthew Hays, and Robert Bjork at UCLA, making errors and mistakes as you learn can actually help you understand and remember. The results of this study showed that if students take hard tests or practice difficult questions and get the wrong answers, they learn better.
Trying and failing serves a purpose! Getting the wrong answer gets your attention, and gives you incentive to learn. It shows you where you need to go. Understanding that a wrong answer isn’t “bad” can help a lot. Many GED students get frustrated with wrong answers, but think of a wrong answer as a learning tool, another step toward your GED.
So, how can you use wrong answers as learning tools in your own GED studying? When you’re studying a topic, don’t be afraid to test yourself, and don’t be afraid of difficult questions. Give answering your best shot, and then, if you get the wrong answer, find out why. Getting the wrong answer will actually help you learn better.
Make sure your GED study materials include good answers to practice questions, answers that will help you learn after each wrong answer. That’s a key to success, taking your wrong answers and turning them into learning. It’s one of the cornerstones that GED Academy builds into its GED Prep Program. If you look at the explanation of a question you’ve gotten wrong and don’t really understand it, try going back and finding the answer in your study materials or online, or talking to a teacher, tutor, friend, or family member who can help you understand. The wrong answer is your motivation, so use it as your jumping-off point for learning.
The study “Unsuccessful retrieval attempts enhance subsequent learning.” can be found at: http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=buy.optionToBuy&id=2009-09620-017&CFID=24407194&CFTOKEN=49068829
