Study Like at ETH: Techniques Our Tutors Actually Use

In short: Students who succeed at ETH or university rarely just study more; they study smarter. The most effective techniques are well researched: recall actively instead of rereading, spread learning over time, explain material in your own words, and work in real focus blocks without distraction. These methods work in school just as they do at university.

Many of our tutors study or teach at leading Zurich institutions. What they share is not superhuman talent but a better way of learning. The good news for pupils: these techniques can be learned early and work immediately.

Active recall instead of rereading

The most common study method is also one of the weakest: reading the text over and over. It feels familiar but leads to little lasting knowledge. Far more effective is active recall. Instead of looking at the material again, you try to retrieve it from memory: book closed, and write down or explain out loud what you know. This retrieval is effortful, and that is exactly the point. It fixes knowledge far more strongly than any rereading.

Spaced learning instead of all-nighters

Leaving everything for the last evening is the classic move, and it does not work. The brain retains material better when learning is spread across several days. Three sessions of twenty minutes on three days beat a single hour in one go. The reason is that each renewed retrieval after a break strengthens the memory. Active recall and spaced learning are regarded in the research as the two most effective study strategies there are.

The Feynman method: explain in order to understand

The physicist Richard Feynman was known for a simple idea: you only truly understand something when you can explain it to a child. The method is as plain as it is effective. You take a topic and explain it in simple words, as if someone with no prior knowledge were sitting across from you. Wherever you get stuck or fall back on jargon, there is a gap in understanding. That is exactly where you need to work.

Real focus blocks instead of constant distraction

Studying with a phone within reach is barely studying. Every interruption breaks concentration, and it takes minutes to find your way back in. More effective are short, clearly bounded focus blocks: around 25 minutes of full concentration without any distraction, followed by a short break. During that time the phone is out of reach. Working this way gets more done in less time and leaves you freer afterwards.

Understanding comes before repetition

A technique never replaces understanding. A child who has not understood something can recall it a hundred times and still fail to apply it to the first unfamiliar question. The order is therefore always: understand first, then reinforce with the techniques above. A good tutor helps above all with that first step.

Sleep and breaks as part of learning

Finally, a point that is often forgotten: sleep is not the opposite of learning but a part of it. During sleep the brain processes and consolidates what it has learned. Pulling an all-nighter sacrifices exactly the process that makes knowledge stick. Regular breaks and enough sleep therefore belong to any good study strategy.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most effective study method? Active recall, retrieving knowledge from memory, combined with learning spread over several days. Both are among the best-supported methods.

Why does rereading achieve so little? It feels familiar but barely challenges the brain. Only effortful retrieval fixes knowledge lastingly.

What is the Feynman method? You explain a topic in simple words, as if to someone with no prior knowledge. Where you get stuck, there is a gap in understanding.

How long should you study at a stretch? Short focus blocks of around 25 minutes without distraction, followed by a break, are more effective than hours of continuous study.

Based on well-supported findings from learning research.