Time spent studying does not equal learning

I remember when I was studying for HS tests and the time I used to spent trying to memorize facts that I've never used after. Being a good student meant to get higher grades and getting high grades meant to recite everything exactly as the teacher said.

The question is: How to learn more and study less, because as the author states, the time spent studying not always means learning. The answer is what has been called Holistic Learning, much related with the Holistic Education. There are some tools that can help you shift your learning habits so they become more holistic, why not give it a try:

1. Visceralize, take all of your senses and connecting it to information.
2. Metaphor, these are literary devices that link two things that normally don’t go together.
3. Ten Year Old Rule, “dumb down” an idea enough so it seems obvious to yourself.
4. Trace Back, relate that idea to another concept in your subject.
5. Refresher Scan, quickly link that information back to existing ideas through viscerlization and metaphor.
6. Compress Information, find ways to group information into smaller chunks of memory through pictures or mnemonics.
7. Write, cribble and use abbreviations to link the ideas together.