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Effective learning is science.
I won't tell you you can learn anything in days like magic. Here, I want to give you something better than a magical recipe: science. Effective learning is about linking information from short-term to long-term memory. Luckily, educational and cognitive psychology found which study methods work best to achieve this.
Weinstein et al. (2018) summarize these methods and why they work in a tutorial review published in Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications.
The good news? You can apply these techniques to any topic.
Before Learning
Before jumping to these strategies, I think there's one step many underestimate:
Organization and meta-learning.
Before studying, you should know how to learn that topic. In other words, you should apply meta-learning (understanding how knowledge is structured) and create a plan to master it.
If you're studying at University, this is easy: use your program.
If you're not, you can use other programs from several universities or online courses as a template. Next, you must organize your study sessions based on that roadmap.
Keep them simple, short, and actionable.
25-minute study sessions equal almost 3 hours of study weekly!
1. Retrieval
This is one of the simplest yet most effective study strategies.
Think about retrieval as a glue that links information from short-term to long-term memory (effective learning's definition). Basically, it consists of bringing learned information. These are some examples:
- Using flashcards.
- Doing free-recall.
- Testing yourself.
- Applying what you're learning.
Retrieval is powerful because it allows you to spot knowledge gaps.
Only when you test yourself, for example, you realize how well you learned for your exam. So, don't simply read a sentence and immediately recite it out loud because that will not work.
Instead, force yourself to bring back the information.
If you can't, don't worry! You can study again.
But don't wait until it happens days before or during your exam.
How To Use It
- Always test yourself.
- Use Anki to create flashcards.
- Close your notes or summaries and try to recall what you learned so far.
- Create tests with Chat GPT to understand what you know and don't know.
2. Spaced Practice
Another powerful technique.
This is about spreading out your study sessions over time.
So, instead of cramming all the information at once, spaced practice consists of revisiting the material multiple times with breaks in between. This helps your brain retain the information and improve your understanding.
The authors say that the benefits of spaced practice are one of the strongest contributions that cognitive psychology has made to education.
But why is it too good?
I will let them explain:
"The effect is simple: the same amount of repeated studying of the same information spaced out over time will lead to greater retention of that information in the long run, compared with repeated studying of the same information for the same amount of time in one study session." (Weinstein et al., 2018)
How To Use It
- Break your study sessions into smaller chunks.
- Schedule those smaller sessions.
- Go back to the information you learned every new session.
3. Interleaving
Do you learn topics better when you study a similar one?
Well, Weinstein et al. (2018) show that studying different topics in a sequence is effective. For example, instead of studying the central nervous system in one study session, you can study this for 20 minutes and then switch to studying the sympathetic nervous system.
The key idea is to make new connections between the topics.
This is why you understand topics better at lectures when you revisit them while making new connections with the current topic. For example, you could understand synapses better after learning about memory, and so on.
How To Use It
- Study topic A for 20 minutes.
- Study similar topic B for 20 minutes.
- Study another similar topic C for 20 minutes.
- Study all in a different order. Connect insights.
4. Interrogative Elaboration
This is one of my favorite techniques.
Interrogative elaboration involves asking and explaining why and how things work based on prior knowledge. In other words, it involves connecting new information to preexisting knowledge while explaining the topic in easy words.
The process of figuring out the answers will help you learn effectively.
How To Use It
- Ask "how" questions about the topic you are studying.
- Ask "why" questions about the topic you studying.
5. Concrete Examples
Examples and analogies can enhance understanding.
For example, as a teaching assistant in Neurophysiology, I'm always seeking analogies to make things easier to understand. For example, think about the thalamus (brain region) as an airport, sending information (planes) to other brain regions (world).
Memes can also be powerful.
These relevant and in-context examples can help people learn effectively.
How To Use It
- Try to explain what you are studying with an analogy.
- Use Chat GPT to help you create analogies for your topic.
6. Dual Coding
We generally remember images better than words, right?
Well, dual coding is about combining words with visuals. So if you use relevant and helpful images in your notes, you may increase learning by remembering what you study with the help of these images.
For example, a student once told me he remembered the answer to a question about synapses thanks to a meme I used in my presentation.
How To Use It
- Draw mind maps about the concepts you are studying.
- Draw images for hard concepts to learn.
- Use memes to study hard concepts.
Did you enjoy this article?
- Consider joining 3K super learners in The Super Learning Lab.
- And get my free eBook "Rocket Learning: 7 Hacks To Survive University, Ace Exams, And Learn Anything."
Thanks for reading!
See you,
Axel
References:
Weinstein, Y., Madan, C. R., & Sumeracki, M. A. (2018). Teaching the science of learning. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 3(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-017-0087-y