![\"how-do-we-learn-gmat-study\"](\"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2019\/09\/how-do-we-learn-gmat.png\")
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This post was written by Manhattan Prep GMAT, GRE, and LSAT instructor Chris Gentry<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n As a standardized test teacher (I started teaching LSAT classes back in 2003, and now teach GMAT, GRE, and LSAT classes), I\u2019ve come to realize that one of the most impressively unfortunate aspects of test preparation is the simple fact that many people don\u2019t know how to study! This is especially true for those of us who have not entered a classroom environment for several years\u2014also known as most of my students preparing for the GMAT.<\/span><\/p>\n Let\u2019s start with learning itself: how does the brain learn?<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This is the first principle we need to embrace. The brain is a ruthless forgetting machine: it forgets really, really well! And when we begin studying, we will forget. A lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This is, ironically, one of the first steps to learning. To learn, we need to allow ourselves to forget. So we don\u2019t try to learn a topic entirely in one study session. And we don\u2019t try to learn a topic in sequential study sessions. We learn by spaced repetition: study an element of the test for a short period of time, then walk away.<\/span><\/p>\n And stay away. For at least a day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Then, after you\u2019ve started to forget, you return to that material.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n On the GMAT, the most elementary way to implement this learning principle is to alternate study sessions between <\/span>Quant<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>Verbal<\/span><\/a> topics. Don\u2019t study exponents on Wednesday, and then on Thursday come back to study exponents again. Study exponents on Wednesday, and then study parallelism on Thursday. Move things around! Embrace the forgetting! When we familiarize ourselves with material, we only <\/span>think<\/span><\/i> we\u2019ve learned\u2026 but sadly, we have not. We need to forget, then re-familiarize, then forget, then re-familiarize; now we are starting to learn!<\/span><\/p>\n Look up the \u201c<\/span>Leitner box schedule<\/span><\/a>\u201d online. You\u2019ll want something akin to this as you begin your studies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This second aspect is more about where we study than how we study. Don\u2019t study in the same place, at the same time, drinking the same ice water with lemon, all the time. Mix it up! Give the brain some variety!\u00a0 Study at a coffee shop, or a park, or at a library table that people walk by. Moderate levels of distraction are, oddly enough, contributions to your studies!<\/span><\/p>\n Or, as I put it to my classes, we learn best when we\u2019re a little bit angry. Don\u2019t start by reading a chapter. Start by attempting problems. Embrace that failure!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When we look at a curriculum, we should start with the problem sets. Attempt them, but don\u2019t check the answers: not yet. Let our comfort, or lack thereof, dictate how carefully we read the content explanations. After we\u2019ve read, we return to the problems we attempted, and we make any desired revisions to our work. Then we check our answers. But we don\u2019t read explanations…not yet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If we answered the problem correctly, can we write an explanation? And not just \u2018Answer C is correct because of this equation\u2019, but \u2018Because the problem begins with exponents and addition, consider whether there is a common term manipulation available\u2019. An explanation isn\u2019t what answer is correct: an explanation is how we knew to apply the process that led to that correct answer. And <\/span>especially<\/span><\/i> what aspect of the problem we will expect to see again in a future problem!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If we did not answer the problem correctly, now that we know which answer is correct, what process elements will we implement to arrive at that correct answer? And again, what in the problem should suggest those process elements?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n We try to craft our own explanations before we read someone else\u2019s. An explanation written by someone else tells us how that other person would solve the problem…but it might not be how we would solve the problem! Even as a GMAT instructor for Manhattan Prep, I read some of our explanations and think \u2018Huh. I can see why that works, but I would never have solved it that way.\u2019 And that\u2019s ok. That\u2019s<\/span> good.<\/span><\/i> The ultimate goal is to build our own processes to arrive at correct answers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Oh, and one other thing…without looking, do we remember what the last piece of advice was in the first bullet point? What was the name of that review schedule? Or have we forgotten it\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n Good luck, and happy testing!<\/span><\/p>\n Want more guidance from our GMAT gurus? You can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GRE courses absolutely free! We\u2019re not kidding.\u00a0<\/i><\/b>Check out our upcoming courses here<\/i><\/b><\/a>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n This post was written by Manhattan Prep GMAT, GRE, and LSAT instructor Chris Gentry. As a standardized test teacher (I started teaching LSAT classes back in 2003, and now teach GMAT, GRE, and LSAT classes), I\u2019ve come to realize that one of the most impressively unfortunate aspects of test preparation is the simple fact that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[928,880,929,52871,2],"tags":[233,353,53139,428,713],"yst_prominent_words":[55946,55940,55953,54040,55943,53635,55952,55950,55951,53785,55942,55932,53778,53704,55944,55945,54116,55941,55939,55390],"class_list":["post-18106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-mindset","category-gmat-101","category-gmat-prep","category-gmat-strategies","category-how-to-study","tag-gmat","tag-gmat-study-tips","tag-gmat-studying","tag-how-to-study-2","tag-study-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/87"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18106"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18106\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18112,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18106\/revisions\/18112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18106"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=18106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The brain learns by forgetting.\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n
The brain learns through association.<\/b><\/h3>\n
The brain learns through failure.<\/b><\/h3>\n
KEEP READING: <\/b>8 Essential GMAT Study Tips<\/b><\/a><\/h6>\n
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\n![](\"https:\/\/d27gmszdzgfpo3.cloudfront.net\/lsat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/01\/chris-gentry-2-150x150.png\")
<\/a>Chris Gentry<\/i><\/b><\/a> is a Manhattan Prep LSAT, GMAT, and GRE instructor who lives in Atlanta, Georgia.<\/i><\/b> Chris received his Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from Clemson and JD from Emory University School of Law before realizing that he genuinely enjoys the challenge of standardized tests, and his true passion is teaching. Chris\u2019 dual-pronged approach to understanding each test question has helped countless of his students to achieve their goal scores.<\/span><\/i>
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