![\"best](\"http:\/\/www.treatedmind.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/best-learning-strategies.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nLearning can be broken down into four stages<\/a>…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Attention is the filter through which we experience the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every moment you’re bombarded with inputs…dogs barking, cars revving, babies screaming, doors closing…<\/p>\n\n\n\n But your brain filters out much of this background noise to all you to concentrate only on what’s important during each moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take a moment to close your eyes and listen to the noises around you. I bet there are things you didn’t hear until you started concentrating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Important inputs are amplified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And it’s these amplified signals that sit in our memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Try improving your attention with meditation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As information passes through your filter, it’s matched (encoded) with previously stored knowledge…<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s probably why when you hear a baby crying on a plane, you convulsively foam at the mouth in anger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You know what a baby is. You know what a plane is and you damn well know it’s going to be a long journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you don’t have knowledge of that input, you write new knowledge to encode on your hard drive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Imagine you’ve never heard a noise before, which is easy if you go back to the baby analogy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Watch them trying to make sense of the world, attempting to encode all of the weird sights and noises with wide-eyed excitement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s almost too much to compute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is where the brain assesses the new information it’s absorbed, rehearsing it and discarding the irrelevant material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Much of this process happens during sleep, which is vital for learning and information retention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The information retained versus that which is discarded depends on the impression made during the experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Consider any unusual event you see during an average day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you meet a dog smoking a cigar, you’re more likely to remember it, because the encoding will be stronger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Retrieval closes the learning loop, but also opens it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whenever you need to access a memory, you retrieve the file…<\/p>\n\n\n\n It reactivates your attention before it’s re-coded again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Therefore memory’s strengthened further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hallelujah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is where some of the techniques explained below are most important…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because the acquisition of new skills relies heavily on strengthening the information you absorb and encoding it for future use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let’s consider a couple of points before you become a learning legend…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let’s face it…many of us are last minute, fly by the seat of our pants learners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, science says this is not wise or efficient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Plan your learning beforehand and produce a timetable, along with key areas to tackle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A timetable means you know what you’re working on and when.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It reduces stress and frees up your working memory so you can concentrate on absorbing information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An example of this would be creating a checklist the night before, outlining the learning points for the next day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This liberates your brain to work on memory retention through the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, break the subject down into its key components to ensure you cover the main areas of a subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Break the topic down into:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This will provide a clear roadmap for your learning, so you can focus on nailing the techniques below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you’re fidgety like me, you’ll look for any viable distraction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So close messenger and step away from the cat videos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trying to multi task will make you less productive<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Organise your space and make that your study area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Or if you want to name it something better, the learning lab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every time you sit down there, your brain will know it’s game time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Figure out the time of day you work best, and well, work then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Getting the basics figured out will improve your efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why work harder, when you can work smarter?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now it’s time to understand how your thinking shapes your learning…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Focused<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s where you spend the majority of time when learning a new skill or developing a memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And it’s probably where learners have the most difficulty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you’re anything like me, your mind is similar to an ADHD riddled child when you try to concentrate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But to solve a problem, you must laser in on the problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Use the focused mode of mind to practice and memorise the material initially.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you notice mental fatigue kicking in, stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You need to do something else…have a shower, cook or read about melons on Wikipedia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In other words, engage the diffuse mode of thought…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Diffuse<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is thought that goes on behind the scenes. You’re probably not aware of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you can’t solve a problem with focused thinking and take a break, Eureka moments can happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like when you get a brilliant business idea in the shower (and generally never act on it).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Newton got his under a tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The diffuse mode of thinking acts to absorb, interpret and encode the information learned during your study session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s said that Edison used to go to sleep in a chair with two ball bearings in his hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When he fell asleep, the balls woke him by dropping to the floor and he got back to work<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because he was in a relaxed, diffuse mode of thinking, he was better able to problem solve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s the mode of mind that mimics intuition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a meta analysis of various studies<\/a> which examine the effectiveness of various learning methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are the results, from the most to the least effective…<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you’re anything like me, you hated practice testing in school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It only induced more nausea at the thought there’d be an exam at the end of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It turns out however, that practice testing is very effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s thought to improve your organisation and retrieval of information and strengthen the encoding process, thereby committing facts to memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Multiple choice testing works well, as do self-made tests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Research does show that it’s more effective to aim for longer answers, however, for a comprehensive memory workout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And instead of performing consecutive tests, make sure you leave a little time between each one in order to process the information more effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of last-minute cramming, it’s much better to your spread out your learning a month before a test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It might seem like repeated memorisation just prior to testing would be more effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, by starting earlier, you can move more information from your short-term to your long-term memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And this is done when you’re sleeping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cramming and sleep deprivation only hinder your performance on the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spacing provides time to switch between focused and diffuse thinking, which encourages information absorption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The optimum time for distribution of sessions is 10-20% of the time you want to remember the material (i.e. the time before the test).<\/p>\n\n\n\n That means if you want to remember something for a year, you should study every month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, in most testing scenarios, you won’t have that long…<\/p>\n\n\n\n So try to space each study session at least 24 hours apart for maximum effectiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a method of asking yourself ‘why’ questions as you study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It helps you cement your understanding of the material as you go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s a quick, simple method that anyone can employ and makes the learning process more interactive as you actively explore the material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, it must be performed frequently during your reading sessions for maximum results (ideally every page of material).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, it works better for some topics than others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Factual snippets of information lend themselves well to this process while big subjects with complex relationships are hard to contextualise in a simple ‘why’ statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Therefore you’ll be more successful if you have some prior knowledge or expertise in the topic and are able to identify pre-existing relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you’ve ever been singled out by a teacher at school to explain a particular problem, you’re no doubt familiar with this technique…<\/p>\n\n\n\n And shudder at the memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Self-explanation expands on the elaborative interrogation technique and includes a more general explanation of the problem-solving process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It includes how an answer is reached and the reasons behind the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As opposed to elaborative interrogation it can also be used for early-stage learners, having been shown to work both for kindergarten children and students solving complex mathematical problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It can be widely applied over many subjects and is useful for abstract learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The only downside is the time necessary for implementation, doubling the length of study sessions in comparison to a reading control group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some types of learning work best when topics build on one other to form a complete picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Much like constructing the foundations of a house before progressing to the walls and roof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interleaved practice is one such technique, and seems to have the most potential in the sciences and maths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Languages also lend themselves to this method…<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you learn a set of nouns in week one, followed by a set of verbs in week two…<\/p>\n\n\n\n In week three you can practice conjugations while mixing in the elements you learned in the previous two weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This helps strengthen the encoding process and commit the knowledge to memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although research is lacking in its broader application, this technique could prove useful for a variety of subjects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like me, you’re probably liberal with highlighter application during your studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After all, it’s easy to do, takes very little time, and makes you feel productive when you peruse your multicoloured notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Look at all the pretty colours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, results from the meta-analysis show that, as a stand-alone learning method, it doesn’t perform well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, highlight and underlining weren’t any more effective than reading alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But fear not brave highlighter; don’t throw away your pens just yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can still highlight to identify important information to include in your practice testing, making it a useful application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Summarisation forces you to demonstrate a deeper understanding of the material you’re learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, it’s only effective in certain testing environments which focus on production rather than recognition…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Such as written exams, as opposed to closed, multiple choice style questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Summarising has been shown to work better than highlighting, underlining or rereading alone…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although you have to include detailed information to make it effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, summarising with prior knowledge of the subject improves your chances of performing well on testing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you’re already skilled using the technique, it works much better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For maximum effect, combine your summaries with the more effective methods identified in this article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You’d think that rereading would enable you to absorb more information than on the first sitting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although it’s partly true, it doesn’t give you the same bang for your buck as other techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After all, it’s easy to go into zombie mode and glaze over if the material’s especially boring…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Which, let’s face it, a lot of learning can be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When rereading, you’ve got two options:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Massed rereading: <\/strong>This is rereading the material straight after the first sitting. It’s shown to be more effective than outlining and summarising for the same time outlay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spaced rereading: <\/strong>Leave the material to sit for a few days before reading it again. This seems more effective than massed rereading. Try to leave a few days between sessions, during which time you can study different material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a technique which associates mental images and labels with the study material and has been used very effectively in some learning situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, it’s not widely applicable and is best utilised with specific topics, such as…<\/p>\n\n\n\n It does require practice and the mental imagery needs to be vivid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Evidence shows the technique assists short-term recall but isn’t as effective as rote learning over the longer term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For best results, revisit the mnemonics at specific intervals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This method differs from the mnemonic in that you visualise a sentence and not just a word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Associating your sentences with clear images has demonstrated advantages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, it’s less effective when memorising longer passages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sorry, Shakespeare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s been shown to work better when students listen to the material instead of reading it themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That’s multi-tasking for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The technique is easy to try, and I suggest experimenting with it, although it might take practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chunking is the process where you break large pieces of information into smaller, bitesized portions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unsurprisingly, this helps with learning and recall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take a language for example. You break it down into verbs, nouns and tenses, which makes it more manageable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you combine these chunks in various ways, you learn how to use the language in different situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It becomes malleable as you learn the relationship between each component…<\/p>\n\n\n\n And you can begin to form complex sentences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Polygots often find it easier to start learning a new language because they possess existing chunks of knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most subjects use similar chunking strategies, whereby larger pieces of knowledge are broken into smaller pieces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We all use chunking strategies on a daily basis…Just think of how telephone numbers are listed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of one long number, they’re grouped for easy recognition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In my opinion, this is the real key to learning faster and remembering more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the west, changes in education have recently placed more emphasis on understanding than rote learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Teachers discuss topics with students until they feel they have understood the components of the problem…<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, this understanding can be misleading unless it’s followed up with repetition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Indeed western students are falling behind their far eastern counterparts in some subjects…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mainly because in Asia, rote learning techniques to provide students with a thorough grasp of the material…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before they progress to more complicated subject relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To consolidate that understanding, it’s imperative to use memorisation and repetition to assist memory recall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take a golf swing for example. It’s not just a matter of deconstructing the swing into its components and analysing each one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s also a matter of practising the components over and over again to learn how they fit together as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Only this way, when the swing has been practised hundreds of thousands of times, can it become instinctive.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAttention<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Encoding<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Storage<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Retrieval<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How to Learn Faster and Remember More<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"learn](\"http:\/\/www.treatedmind.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/learn-fast.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nStructure your learning before starting<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Work on a Study Routine<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Focused and Diffuse Thinking<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Improving Students Learning with Effective Learning Techniques<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"students](\"http:\/\/www.treatedmind.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/teaching.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nPractice testing (Highly Effective)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Spaced Repetition\/Distributed Practice (Highly Effective)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"old](\"http:\/\/www.treatedmind.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/man-reading.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nElaborate Interrogation (Moderately Effective)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Self Explanation (Moderately Effective)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"woman](\"http:\/\/www.treatedmind.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/woman-and-book.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nInterleaved Practice (Moderately Effective)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Highlighting (Low Effectiveness)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"highlighting](\"http:\/\/www.treatedmind.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/highlighter.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nSummarisation (Low Effectiveness)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Rereading (Low Effectiveness)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"three](\"http:\/\/www.treatedmind.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/rereading.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nKeyword Mnemonics (Low Effectiveness)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Imagery for Text Learning (Low Effectiveness)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"girl](\"http:\/\/www.treatedmind.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/visualisation.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nTwo More learning Strategies<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Chunking<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Simple Practice and Repetition<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"golf](\"http:\/\/www.treatedmind.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/golfer.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
![\"student](\"http:\/\/www.treatedmind.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/boy-studying.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Practicing](\"http:\/\/www.treatedmind.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/karate-kick-practice.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n