Hi Guys, I stumbled upon an article from Grockit that I thought I would share with the forum. I'm not sure where the percentages in the article came from but intuitively its seems to make sense. Here's the entire article and also the link. I think the one take away from the article that I think would be helpful for everyone is to engage in more through and lively discussion when discussing practice questions on the board. The more through your explanation the more you prove to yourself and others that you understand a topic or not. Cheers! https://grockit.com/blog/gmat/2013/10/01/build-gmat-score-maximizing-study-time-knowing-percentages/#more-3106Increase Your GMAT Score by Maximizing Your Study Time (and knowing the percentages!)
By: ethan posted October 1, 2013
We retain: 10% of what we read, 20% of what we hear, 50% of what we see and hear, 70% of what we talk about with others, and 95% of what we teach to others.
How can you use these statistics to improve your results from GMAT prep? Mix up your approach! Too many people concentrate solely on doing practice questions from books, and don’t see progress as quickly as they would like. If we retain 10% of what we read, then working alone out of a book is probably not the most efficient way to master GMAT materials.
20% of what we hear is retained; that’s one of the great advantages of taking a GMAT prep course that involves lecture and discussion, either in person or online. Just reading—for instance, doing practice questions or homework assignments—will get you 10% retention. Just attending class and listening, but not keeping up with the out-of-class readings, will allow you to retain 20%. If you combine the two, though, and learn through reading and listening, your retention increases to 50%.
What if you can’t afford a pricy preparation course, or don’t have access to one in your area?
Online options combining outlines and practice questions on your computer with audio lecture and discussion can be more affordable and easier to schedule if your location or time constraints make a traditional class impractical. If that doesn’t work for you, at least consider finding a study buddy with whom you can talk through practice questions, or look for some recorded lectures that you can listen to on your computer or phone.
We retain 70% of what we talk about with others, so becoming involved in an active dialogue about GMAT issues can be a huge boost to your study experience. If you’re one of the many people who read online GMAT forums but don’t get involved in the discussion, note that taking a more active approach can increase your retention. Your time commitment can remain the same while the benefits increase dramatically.And finally, we retain a phenomenal 95% of what we teach others. To teach well, you need to understand the material yourself, which is a major part of that retention statistic. But making it your goal to understand an issue or question thoroughly enough that you can explain it to someone else is a great target. Feel free to start small with this; maybe you just want to understand data sufficiency questions dealing with ratios, or the use of pronouns in sentence corrections. Tackling the issues one at a time may allow you to develop the depth of understanding that will make you a good teacher.Once you’ve developed knowledge, share it! Join an in-class or online discussion and add your new expertise to the mix. Your best bet is to share your knowledge in a forum where you can get expert feedback. That way, others can benefit from your understanding, and any misconceptions or holes in your learning can be discovered and corrected before test day.
So how, in a nutshell, can you apply these percentages to your study plan?
READ practice questions and explanations,
LISTEN to lectures or discussions,
DISCUSS issues or questions in a group, and
TEACH others what you’ve mastered!
Adding this multimedia approach to your usual study routine will increase your retention and maximize your study time, which can decrease your stress and anxiety—all factors that will make a big difference on test day.