Secrets To Effective Studying & Learning

"Current performance, which is something we can observe, is an unreliable index of learning"
Dr. R. Bjork

Inaccurate Intuitions

Professor Robert Bjork (UCLA) is  a leading authority on the subject of learning. Dr. Bjork feels that learners should get rid of theinaccurate intuitions surrounding common learning practices (for example: fast learning leads to long-term retention of information). Alternatively, learners should start relying on proven learning strategies. 

Desirable Difficulties

When we feel uncomfortable during the learning process (undesirable difficulties)...it in fact is a necessary condition for effective learning (a desirable difficulty). For effective learning to occur, the most important goal is to create conditions that foster storage and enhance later retrieval (not just at a delay, but also in multiple contexts). Therefore, to effectively learn, we need to create durable and flexible access to to-be-learned information and procedures. 

To achieve that, the conditions of learning need to induce encoding and retrieval processes that are substantial and varied. By incorporating these desirable difficulties (encoding and retrieval) we induce the ideal conditions for learning. Master learners understand that desirable difficulties, and the challenges they create (encoding and/or retrieval activities) support more effective learning.  

Slow Down Learning

It is also beneficial to create study conditions where learning is slowed down, as this allows for better memory of information in the long-term. However this counter intuitive slowing-down method creates a conflict between the desire to see quick improvements on the side, and the ultimate goal of long-term learning.

Interleaving
 
People often try to learn in blocks by mastering one thing before moving on to the next. The counter intuitive process recommended by Bjork is interleaving. Bjork uses the metaphor of tennis to describe this concept. Interleaving is a strategy during which, instead of spending an hour working on your tennis serve, you mix-in a range of skills like backhands, volleys, overhead smashes, and footwork. 

Interleaving creates a sense of difficulty, and as a result you don't notice the immediate effects of learning. Instead of making appreciable leaps forward with your serving ability after a session of focused practice, interleaving forces the student to make imperceptible steps forward for many skills. Over time, the sum of these small steps is much greater than the sum of the leaps you would have taken if you spent the same amount of time mastering each skill in its turn. Successful interleaving allows you to “seat” each skill among the others. When information is studied so that it can be interpreted in relation to other things in memory, learning is much more powerful.

Some Poweful Tips ::::::

1) Learn and practise proven efficient and effective study tools like SQ5R and Cornell Notes.

Go to the net and download information onSQ5R and Cornell Notes:

i) SQ5R reading/studying strategy;

It's   a structured system [SQ5R is an acronym for SURVEY, QUESTIONS, READ, RECORD, RECITE, REVIEW, REFLECT],   but it equips you with efficient and effective ways to navigate   academic materials, especially the         intellectually-intense ones,   with ease and expediency.

ii) Cornell Notes;

It's  a  far more superior system that the conventional outline   method,  known  to most students in schools, college and   universities.

It's latent power comes from its simple and yet elegant three-column spatial configuration for taking notes and making notes.

The   "cue" column is the most powerful system I have ever known, as it        facilitates - and expedites - your  memory retention/recall via   self-testing.

2) Before you proceed to study/revise each academic subject, learn to categorise them into: 

(i) concept-based/memory-dependent; 
(ii) problem-solving; 
(iii) interpretation/prediction based; 

so     that you can do a mix-up during lesson revision at home, and also to    allow you to be more energy-efficient, particularly in using 25-minute   revising/5-minute break over a 2-hour stretch, thus attaining more   'Primacy' and 'Recency Effects'.

3) Preview your new lesson the night before class, by preparing preliminary notes.

This     is because, when you are  learning something new in class,  your        prior   knowledge will always come into play  to make connections  and   create   linkages.  More schema, more  understanding!

4)   Make   sure that   you thoroughly understand  the content of all your      class    lectures; if   not, you have to ask for  clarification or   elucidation from your   lecturers or professors. 

To  me, the     acid  test for   understanding something new is your ability to      explain the new concept  to someone else, like your kid brother or     even  your   grandma. No puns  intended;

5)  At the end of  a     class lecture, always do  a  quick  Recap, Review and Reinforce,      preferably with mnemonics - I  call  this  the 3R's  strategy. 

Science says 80% of your information intake is lost if you do not execute this initiative within 24 hours;

6)   At least for every semester quarter, or a couple of weeks prior to   your   final test/exam time, spend time and effort to prepare global   consolidated and summarised study notes, as part of your  final test/exam  prep, by incorporating:

- preliminary notes from your textbook reading, the night before class;
- notes taken and made during the lecture;
- notes taken and made from lecture handouts, f any;
- notes taken and made from class discussions or groupwork, if any;
- notes from lab reports and/or field work;
- other notes, e.g. from research at the library, or from the Internet search; 

7)    Also, with the aid of your subject syllabus  as well as exam   syllabus,   learn to identify and segregate "core  material" from   "elaborative   material".

- "core   material" = important   concepts, principles,  theories, definitions,   terminologies,   nomenclatures, important  diagrams or graphs,  etc.;

- "elaborative material" = illustrations, examples, anecdotes, etc.;

Drawing   on Pareto's Law:  About 80% of your exam questions are likely to         come from your "core  material", and so you know what and where  to   focus   first. 

This  is not to say "elaborative material" is   not   important, but once you have   the      intellectual grasp of "core    material"  in the first  instance,       "elaborative material" will    naturally falls  into  place - in your     memory   banks;

Transcribe "core material"   into 4x3 index    cards for their pocket  portability,     using the  proven  Index Card    Strategy, for  "learning-on-the-go": commuting  and/or  waiting in    queue, as this  facilitates random self-quizzing; 

8)    Review   your learned  class lesson within 24   hours,  and then  prepare  a    systematic spaced  and distributed   practice   of     revision/rehearsal,  next  30 days/next  60 days/ next 90 days     till     test/exam time; this   initiative helps  you to circumvent   the   deadly impact of the  infamous  Ebbinghaus  Effect, or better   known  as  the Forgetting  Curve;

9) Master the 100+ Test Verbs, often used by examiners in test/exam questions;

10) Always remember [I hate to say this, but it's a harsh reality],  tests/exams are a form of  game, and you got to learn to be an excellent game player. 

First of all, a test/exam is always a game of PRECISION and  SPEED. 

No   matter how you look at it, examiners are only interested in your   ability to answer questions PRECISELY and EXPEDIENTLY, all   within the   prescribed time limits. 

So, to beat them  in  the   game,    you  got  to learn to master the  technique of    doing a "surgical   cut" of  the  exam questions at first  glance,  no matter   how they  are    phrased. 

That's why (9) is critical here.

For  your  strategy to win the game, learn and practice the Question  Dissection     Protocol (*), a powerful technique  for  dissecting     test/exam  questions, developed by award-winning  educator  Doug    Buehl  from  Madison, Wisconsin;

I have already written extensively about this technique on Quora. You can search their archives.

11) Spend time and make concerted effort  to tackle the past exam series, under simulated test/exam conditions; 

12)   If you are familiar with the graphical methods of note-taking   and        note-making,   like idea-mapping, cluster diagramming  and/or  graphic       organising,  apply what I call a 'Divide and  Conquer'   strategy by creating a  global idea map for each of your  subject   matter, using   the   tapestry  of contents of your textbook  as   branching  ideas; alternatively,  you can also use the core ideas    captured in  (7)