The 7 Best Study Techniques in 2026 (Backed by Research)

There are dozens of study techniques. Most are either ineffective or only effective for specific tasks. Here are the seven that consistently outperform the rest in peer-reviewed research — ordered roughly by impact per hour spent.

1. Spaced repetition

Reviewing material at expanding intervals. The single most effective technique for long-term retention. Pair it with flashcards for best results.

2. Active recall

Closing the book and retrieving information from memory. Doubles retention compared to rereading in controlled studies.

3. Practice testing

Doing past papers and quizzes under realistic conditions. Builds stamina, exposes weak spots, and rehearses the exact retrieval skill you'll need on the day.

4. Interleaving

Mixing related topics in a single session instead of blocking them. Feels harder, produces stronger discrimination between concepts. Especially powerful for math and science.

5. Elaboration

Asking "why" and "how" questions about new material and connecting it to what you already know. Forces deeper processing.

6. Dual coding

Pairing verbal information with visual representations — diagrams, mind maps, sketches. Encodes the same idea in two memory systems.

7. Self-explanation

Talking through a solved problem in your own words. Reveals gaps you didn't know existed.

Techniques that don't work as well as you think

• Highlighting
• Rereading
• Summarising (unless done from memory)
• Watching lecture videos at 2x speed (looks productive, isn't)

How to combine them

A good study session uses three or four of these techniques together. For example: read a chapter once (elaboration), generate flashcards (active recall), review them on a spaced schedule (spaced repetition), and do a practice quiz mixing today's topic with last week's (interleaving + practice testing).

Notecram automates the flashcards, summary and quiz parts so you can focus on the techniques that actually require your brain.