Cramming is not learning

Commentary: Another exercise in the educational gymnasium

“…3 We know that cramming can improve scoring on short-term memory recall, which is the basis of the multiple-choice questions used for the qualifying examination, 4 but it also is not a substitute for learning. 5 In contrast, one might think it important that a surgeon be measured for technical skill quality; however, we do not measure technical skills, because we have not figured out a practical way to do this. 6 The multiple-choice examination for fund of knowledge recall and the oral qualifying exam for decision making and judgment are ingrained in our assessment culture, so they must be conquered by our successful trainees.…”

Study the Impact of Cramming in Medical Students

“…1. The clandestinely reason why students continue to cram is because of their or others previous success in preceding exam while cramming [2][3][4]. It is often that it seems to work [18].…”

“…There is several scientific evidence regarding cramming that essentially forbid the establishment of good long-term memory of the material [2,3,18]. Using brain activity sensor, different parts of the brain support different kinds of memory [33].…”

“…Conditioned and acclimatized cramming: This is the period of time the perpetrator of cramming actually spends studying. Caffeine [46], energy drinks [47], a startling lack of sleep [48], nicotine [49], junk food and even drugs with the possibility of a mixture of these various substances in their consumption [2,3]. "The adrenaline released by extreme stress might predispose this substance abuse.…”

“…On contrary, the extreme stress put on the mind and body to learn vast quantities of material with limited time allocation and with very low support can be deleterious [16,17]. There is simply not enough time to cover all the content effectively [2][3][4]16]. 6.…”