Advice about Learning for MBA/MPA/MPP Students

Note: This is primarily intended for students in my courses, but hopefully it will be a helpful guide for others.

In this blog post, I’ll share some of the most effective, research-backed strategies for learning that will help you master your studies and retain knowledge effectively, enabling you to apply these insights far beyond the classroom.

Key Learning Strategies

1. Collaborate with a Study Partner

• This is a case study course. I strongly recommend that, if your schedule permits, you form groups (it can literally be just 2 people) to debate the cases and discussion questions. Any work you submit should, of course, be your own.
• Working with a study partner allows for mutual quizzing, enhancing understanding through discussion and explanation.
• Teaching concepts to others, and being quizzed by a peer, can reinforce your own learning and identify areas needing improvement. For this reason, in most of my classes, I do breakout groups. By explaining things to each other — you will learn more.

2. Practice Retrieving Information

• Instead of simply re-reading notes or texts, test yourself regularly on the material.
• After reading a section, pause and ask yourself: “What were the key ideas? How would I explain this to someone else?” Particularly with cases, think about the question as you read the case, and decide what is most relevant.
• Create practice questions for yourself based on the readings and lectures.
• More relevant for the non-case readings: Think about using/creating flashcards. Don’t stop practicing when you get something right once — keep reviewing until it’s truly mastered.

3. Space Out Your Study Sessions

• Avoid cramming — spread out your studying over multiple sessions.
• Review material from previous weeks alongside current topics. When doing a case, think about how it relates to prior cases and material discussed in class. The sessions build on each other, and you will remember material better to the extent you can link it to prior material.
• The more difficult it feels to recall something, the more you’re strengthening your learning.

4. Avoid the “Illusion of Knowing”

• Be cautious of feeling overly familiar with material just because you’ve read it several times. This “illusion of knowing” can trick you into thinking you’ve mastered content — when you haven’t.
• Having read something multiple times doesn’t mean you understand it!
• The best way to check your actual understanding is to test yourself — without looking at your notes or textbook.

4. Embrace Challenges

• When learning feels challenging, you’re often learning more deeply.
• Setbacks and mistakes aren’t failures — they’re opportunities to identify gaps in your understanding and strengthen your knowledge.
• Getting something wrong in a prep session, in class, or when submitting a discussion question is fine — the point is to learn from it. If you get something wrong, make sure you understand what the correct answer is.
• Also, for many cases, there isn’t a single correct answer — so make sure to embrace the ambiguity.

5. Elaborate on New Material

• Connect new concepts to things you already know or have experienced. In class, I often ask students to connect the case or reading to their past experiences — because that helps them to learn.
• Try to explain ideas in your own words. In class and in the discussion questions, I ask students to explain things in their own words — because that deepens their learning.
• Create examples or analogies that illustrate key concepts.

6. Check Your Understanding

• Don’t assume that familiarity with the material means you’ve mastered it.
• Test yourself without looking at your notes.
• Try to solve problems before looking at solutions. Important — don’t just ask ChatGPT to answer questions for you, and assume that by reading the answer you’ll understand the material. If you do sometimes use an AI to get a draft answer — critique the AI-generated answer to at least get some learning from it.
• Focus extra practice on concepts you find challenging.

Additional Strategies

• Utilize Worked Examples
• If you can’t solve a problem yourself (and, always try to solve it first), studying worked examples can be especially helpful when learning new material. By worked example, I mean — not just getting the answer but seeing the steps that resulted in the answer.
• Analyze each step to understand the underlying principles and procedures.
• Engage in Active Learning
• Participate actively in class discussions and group work.
• Teaching others or discussing concepts with peers can reinforce your understanding.
• We are all individuals
• If you feel you’re uniquely the one person who doesn’t ever suffer from the “illusion of knowing”, and that none of this advice (based on peer-reviewed research) is relevant to you, perhaps you’re deluding yourself. (Look at research re: Cognitive Biases: Illusion of Superiority, Dunning-Kruger effect, and related topics.)
• But, with the caveat listed above, try to objectively assess which strategies are effective for you and adjust your study habits accordingly.

Remember, when learning feels challenging or uncomfortable, it often signals that you’re making meaningful progress. Trust the process, even when it feels less comfortable than simply re-reading your notes. These strategies may require more effort initially, but they’ll lead to better understanding and longer-lasting learning.

I encourage you to apply these techniques throughout the semester. If you have any questions about implementing these strategies, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Best regards,

Professor Steven Strauss, Ph.D.
School of Public and International Affairs
Princeton University
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Primary Source: Brown, P. C., Roediger III, H. L., & McDaniel, M. A. (2014). Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning. Harvard University Press