Here’s some additional notes on the fundamentals on being an effective learner:
Encoding and Retrieval (What it take to learn)
Working memory is the memory that we use. However, if it is not encoded properly or at all, we will forget it.
Encode well first (from working memory to long-term memory), then frequently and efficiently retrieve from long-term memory.
If studying feels easy, means that you aren’t learning or holding on to the information. It means that you are not encoding and retrieving effectively.
You want it to be difficult when you are studying because this is how it will encode properly.
Spacing, Interleaving, and Retrieval (SIR)
These are three rules that apply to every study technique in the course (unless told otherwise). You can apply SIR to all techniques.
Spacing: space your learning out.
Pre-study before class, then learn in class, and then a week later revise it with a different technique.
A rule of thumb you can follow is to wait long enough until you feel like you are just starting to forget the material.
As you get better at encoding the material effectively as soon as you are exposed to it, you will notice that you will need to do less repetition.
How to space reviews:
Beginner Schedule (less reviews need as you get better at encoding)
Same day
Next day
End of week
End of month
After learning something for the first time, review it later on the same day.
Review everything from the last 2-3 days mid-week.
Do an end of week revision on the week’s worth of content.
End of month revision on entire month’s worth of content.
Review of what’s necessary as time goes on.
(If you’re trying to do well on an exam or a coding interview, you can do the review 1 or 2 weeks before the assessment.)
Reviewing time duration:
For beginners
No less than 30 minutes per subject for end-of-week
No less than 1.5 hours per subject for end-of-month.
Schedule the reviews in your Calendar and add a reminder!
Interleaving: hitting a topic or concept from multiple different angles (mindmaps, teaching).
The idea is that there is the concept you want to learn, but also there is a surrounding range that you also want to learn (not just the isolated concept).
Could be taking a concept and asking a question about it. Then, asking a question from another angle. Then, asking how it relates to another concept.
Try to use a multitude of these techniques in your studying, never studying or revising anything the same way more than once.
Math, it could be thinking about the real-world application of it.
Examples of interleaving:
Teach an imaginary student
Draw a mindmap
Draw an image instead of using words to find a visual way of expressing information
Answer practice questions
Create your own challenging test questions
Create a test question that puts what you’ve learned into a real-world context
Take a difficult question that you found in a practice test and modify it so that the variables are different, or an extra step is added
Form a study group and quiz each other—for some subjects you can even debate the topic, with one side trying to prove that the other person is missing a point or understanding it incorrectly
For languages, you can try to speak or write a piece of dialogue or speech, as well as some variations. How might someone respond? How would you respond back? Are there any other responses that would be appropriate?
Retrieval: taking info from your long-term memory and bringing it into your working memory to recall, solve problems and answer questions.
Taking a concept and retrieving it from your long-term memory.
Don’t just retrieve right away, you can look at your notes, take a few minutes and retrieve.
Or it also happens when you are learning something. Let’s say you are listening to a lecture. Are you just writing everything down or are you taking some time to think and process what is being said and then writing down notes? The second one is better.
Syntopical Learning
When you are learning something, you want to apply interleaving by learning from different sources and mediums. So, practice become great at learning while listening, while watching, while reading. These are all individual modes of learning you can get better at and they will all help you better retain the material if you use them all while learning.
Here’s some additional notes on the fundamentals on being an effective learner:
Encoding and Retrieval (What it take to learn)
Working memory is the memory that we use. However, if it is not encoded properly or at all, we will forget it.
Encode well first (from working memory to long-term memory), then frequently and efficiently retrieve from long-term memory.
If studying feels easy, means that you aren’t learning or holding on to the information. It means that you are not encoding and retrieving effectively.
You want it to be difficult when you are studying because this is how it will encode properly.
Spacing, Interleaving, and Retrieval (SIR)
These are three rules that apply to every study technique in the course (unless told otherwise). You can apply SIR to all techniques.
Spacing: space your learning out.
Pre-study before class, then learn in class, and then a week later revise it with a different technique.
A rule of thumb you can follow is to wait long enough until you feel like you are just starting to forget the material.
As you get better at encoding the material effectively as soon as you are exposed to it, you will notice that you will need to do less repetition.
How to space reviews:
Beginner Schedule (less reviews need as you get better at encoding)
Same day
Next day
End of week
End of month
After learning something for the first time, review it later on the same day.
Review everything from the last 2-3 days mid-week.
Do an end of week revision on the week’s worth of content.
End of month revision on entire month’s worth of content.
Review of what’s necessary as time goes on.
(If you’re trying to do well on an exam or a coding interview, you can do the review 1 or 2 weeks before the assessment.)
Reviewing time duration:
For beginners
No less than 30 minutes per subject for end-of-week
No less than 1.5 hours per subject for end-of-month.
Schedule the reviews in your Calendar and add a reminder!
Interleaving: hitting a topic or concept from multiple different angles (mindmaps, teaching).
The idea is that there is the concept you want to learn, but also there is a surrounding range that you also want to learn (not just the isolated concept).
Could be taking a concept and asking a question about it. Then, asking a question from another angle. Then, asking how it relates to another concept.
Try to use a multitude of these techniques in your studying, never studying or revising anything the same way more than once.
Math, it could be thinking about the real-world application of it.
Examples of interleaving:
Teach an imaginary student
Draw a mindmap
Draw an image instead of using words to find a visual way of expressing information
Answer practice questions
Create your own challenging test questions
Create a test question that puts what you’ve learned into a real-world context
Take a difficult question that you found in a practice test and modify it so that the variables are different, or an extra step is added
Form a study group and quiz each other—for some subjects you can even debate the topic, with one side trying to prove that the other person is missing a point or understanding it incorrectly
For languages, you can try to speak or write a piece of dialogue or speech, as well as some variations. How might someone respond? How would you respond back? Are there any other responses that would be appropriate?
Retrieval: taking info from your long-term memory and bringing it into your working memory to recall, solve problems and answer questions.
Taking a concept and retrieving it from your long-term memory.
Don’t just retrieve right away, you can look at your notes, take a few minutes and retrieve.
Or it also happens when you are learning something. Let’s say you are listening to a lecture. Are you just writing everything down or are you taking some time to think and process what is being said and then writing down notes? The second one is better.
Syntopical Learning
When you are learning something, you want to apply interleaving by learning from different sources and mediums. So, practice become great at learning while listening, while watching, while reading. These are all individual modes of learning you can get better at and they will all help you better retain the material if you use them all while learning.