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Unlock Your Learning Potential: Secrets Of Super Learning
Make learning: painless, exciting, habitual, and self-motivating. Absorb
info like a human sponge.We’ve never been taught how to learn, and
that’s a shame. This book is the key to reversing all your
misconceptions and making learning fun again.
Transcript
Super Learning:
Speaker:Advanced Strategies for Quicker Comprehension,
Speaker:Greater Retention,
Speaker:and Systematic Expertise
Speaker:Written by
Speaker:Peter Hollins, narrated by russell newton.
Speaker:Learning has never come easy for me,
Speaker:which explains my standing as a
Speaker:mediocre student from kindergarten to
Speaker:twelfth grade and through college.
Speaker:Even my parents seemed to intuitively
Speaker:know how learning challenged me,
Speaker:as they started to tell me about my
Speaker:“street smarts” and how good I was
Speaker:with my hands.
Speaker:I assumed this was just so they could
Speaker:find something to praise me about,
Speaker:because they didn’t have the
Speaker:opportunity to do so with my grades.
Speaker:It was never something I struggled with
Speaker:or felt bad about like other kids might.
Speaker:I suppose some might have seen other
Speaker:people at the top of the class and
Speaker:become frustrated and jealous.
Speaker:I just felt that everyone had something
Speaker:to contribute in their own way and that
Speaker:grades weren’t necessarily a measure
Speaker:of my worth.
Speaker:I know,
Speaker:that’s pretty insightful for a child.
Speaker:But in many ways,
Speaker:it was also incredibly misguided.
Speaker:It turns out I was right about grades
Speaker:not being important.
Speaker:Life is partially about whom you know,
Speaker:but once you get there,
Speaker:it starts becoming a meritocracy.
Speaker:The concept of learning—the ability
Speaker:to understand,
Speaker:recall,
Speaker:and use new knowledge—well,
Speaker:that’s something that truly begins to
Speaker:matter and can make all the difference
Speaker:in your career,
Speaker:relationships,
Speaker:and happiness.
Speaker:In fact,
Speaker:it becomes the backbone of where you
Speaker:end up,
Speaker:though you might get a leg up on where
Speaker:you start.
Speaker:If you can learn quickly,
Speaker:you can effectively walk the walk
Speaker:before anyone catches on that you were
Speaker:bluffing the entire time.
Speaker:You can discover opportunities you
Speaker:would never see if you were stuck
Speaker:unable to understand something.
Speaker:And you generally have the ability to
Speaker:steer your life in whatever direction
Speaker:you want because your ability to learn
Speaker:is your only barrier to entry!
Speaker:This was never more apparent to me than
Speaker:at my first job.
Speaker:I had a coworker named John,
Speaker:and I started a few weeks before he did.
Speaker:It soon become clear that he had lied
Speaker:on his resume and faked his way through
Speaker:his interview,
Speaker:because he had no idea what his duties
Speaker:were supposed to be or how to use the
Speaker:industry-standard software that we were
Speaker:all supposed to be proficient in.
Speaker:At first,
Speaker:I was angry and wanted to see justice
Speaker:done.
Speaker:But then a funny thing happened—he
Speaker:was an immensely fast learner.
Speaker:He had Post-it notes all over his desk,
Speaker:had notepads full of notes,
Speaker:and he always seemed to be writing sets
Speaker:of three-step instructions for himself.
Speaker:It was impressive to see his drive
Speaker:toward learning,
Speaker:and within months,
Speaker:he was performing at right about my own
Speaker:level of proficiency with everything he
Speaker:had lacked before.
Speaker:Sure,
Speaker:he may have faked his way in,
Speaker:but at this point,
Speaker:there was no practical difference
Speaker:between me and him.
Speaker:He had learned how to do our job in
Speaker:record time and stayed at the company
Speaker:for years afterward.
Speaker:You could call this a sobering epiphany
Speaker:for how I thought about the processes
Speaker:and value of learning.
Speaker:Processes .- It can’t be that hard,
Speaker:and there must be tried and true
Speaker:systems people use to learn better.
Speaker:After all,
Speaker:the kids that had better grades than I
Speaker:did definitely weren’t all smarter
Speaker:than me,
Speaker:right?
Speaker:Value .- Wow,
Speaker:learning can unlock so many doors.
Speaker:I had no idea.
Speaker:It applies to way more than work and
Speaker:probably to my hobbies and daily life,
Speaker:too.
Speaker:Learning will get me where I want to be.
Speaker:So what exactly is learning (not a
Speaker:technical definition)?
Speaker:Learning is how you create the life you
Speaker:want.
Speaker:Learning is the only way to create a
Speaker:better version of yourself.
Speaker:Learning is one of the most fundamental
Speaker:skills you can possess because if you
Speaker:don’t have it,
Speaker:how will your existence change or
Speaker:improve?
Speaker:Welcome to accelerated learning,
Speaker:where you can finally learn how to
Speaker:learn.
Speaker:Chapter 1.
Speaker:Fertile Conditions To Learning.
Speaker:How do we learn?
Speaker:It seems like such a simple question,
Speaker:but decades of scientific literature
Speaker:tend to disagree with that notion.
Speaker:We may simply consider learning an
Speaker:activity we just started engaging in as
Speaker:babies with no preparation.
Speaker:In our school years,
Speaker:we were the receptacles for a constant
Speaker:flow of information and experiences.
Speaker:And in most traditional settings,
Speaker:instructors measured how well we
Speaker:learned by how well we repeated the
Speaker:information back to them.
Speaker:We had no choice in the matter and
Speaker:simply went along with what was
Speaker:presented to us.
Speaker:This data accumulation and
Speaker:regurgitation almost suggest that
Speaker:learning is an automated process that
Speaker:we can only monitor,
Speaker:not control.
Speaker:In truth,
Speaker:there are factors,
Speaker:limitations,
Speaker:and conditions that affect our ability
Speaker:to learn.
Speaker:Understanding these elements can help
Speaker:you avoid mistakes and accelerate your
Speaker:learning.
Speaker:This book uses scientific principles
Speaker:and methods that will help you learn in
Speaker:a way that works best for you.
Speaker:All mental activities,
Speaker:including learning,
Speaker:are influenced by internal and external
Speaker:factors and conditions.
Speaker:Some factors we can control;
Speaker:others we have to overcome or work
Speaker:around.
Speaker:This first chapter discusses the
Speaker:scientific principles that drive our
Speaker:learning abilities and some of the best
Speaker:practices we can use to expand learning
Speaker:capacity.
Speaker:In other words,
Speaker:we must create fertile conditions for
Speaker:learning;
Speaker:otherwise,
Speaker:we are sabotaging ourselves.
Speaker:You wouldn’t try to learn to ski in a
Speaker:desert,
Speaker:would you?
Speaker:The Human Attention Span.
Speaker:One of the first conditions to learning
Speaker:you must take into account is your
Speaker:attention span.
Speaker:Since 2006,
Speaker:the nonprofit group Technology,
Speaker:Entertainment and Design—universally
Speaker:known as Ted—has produced a series of
Speaker:online videos featuring influential
Speaker:speakers and leaders from all walks of
Speaker:business and life.
Speaker:Ted Talks have become a viral source of
Speaker:sharing ideas and spreading inspiration.
Speaker:A big key to the success of Ted Talks
Speaker:is their brevity - all of them are
Speaker:capped at 18 minutes.
Speaker:Ted curator Chris Anderson explained,
Speaker:“It is long enough to be serious and
Speaker:short enough to hold people’s
Speaker:attention....
Speaker:By forcing speakers who are used to
Speaker:going on for 45 minutes to bring it
Speaker:down to 18,
Speaker:you get them to really think about what
Speaker:they want to say.
Speaker:What is the key point they want to
Speaker:communicate?"
Speaker:The overwhelming majority of Hollywood
Speaker:movies run no longer than 150 minutes;
Speaker:in 2016,
Speaker:half of them ran two hours or less.
Speaker:Movies are easier to sit through
Speaker:because they’re essentially passive -
Speaker:with the visuals taken care of,
Speaker:we don’t have to use extra brain
Speaker:energy to imagine them.
Speaker:Ted Talks,
Speaker:on the other hand,
Speaker:are more active,
Speaker:participatory,
Speaker:and dense,
Speaker:with few visual stimulants besides one
Speaker:person moving around on a stage.
Speaker:They have to be shorter.
Speaker:There are no accidents here;
Speaker:these stipulations are all intentional
Speaker:to cater to the human attention span
Speaker:and be as impactful as possible.
Speaker:But Ted Talks and movies both consume
Speaker:brainpower,
Speaker:though at different rates.
Speaker:At some point in the brain gets
Speaker:fatigued and has to take a break to
Speaker:recharge,
Speaker:whether it’s through distraction or
Speaker:relaxation.
Speaker:Whether it’s a one-hour lecture or a
Speaker:three-hour film,
Speaker:that mental weariness eventually sets
Speaker:in.
Speaker:Studies have suggested that the
Speaker:attention span of a healthy adult is,
Speaker:on average,
Speaker:15 minutes long.
Speaker:Other studies (Microsoft Corporation)
Speaker:assert that our immediate attention
Speaker:span—a single block of
Speaker:concentration—has fallen to an
Speaker:average of 8.25 seconds.
Speaker:That’s less than that of a goldfish,
Speaker:which have been shown to be able to
Speaker:maintain focus for a near-eternity of
Speaker:nine seconds.
Speaker:When we think about learning,
Speaker:we can’t help but think about
Speaker:attention,
Speaker:and memory.
Speaker:You can only learn as much as you can
Speaker:pay attention to;
Speaker:therefore,
Speaker:much research in the area of learning
Speaker:and retention focuses on the aspect of
Speaker:time.
Speaker:So,
Speaker:how long can you focus for?
Speaker:What’s the optimal time to structure
Speaker:a study session,
Speaker:for example?
Speaker:Ellen Dunn of Louisiana State
Speaker:University’s Center for Academic
Speaker:Success suggests between 30 and 50
Speaker:minutes is the ideal length for
Speaker:learning new material.
Speaker:“Anything less than 30 is just not
Speaker:enough,” Dunn said,
Speaker:“but anything more than 50 is too
Speaker:much information for your brain to take
Speaker:in at one time."
Speaker:After the completion of one session,
Speaker:you should take a five-to-ten-minute
Speaker:break before starting another.
Speaker:In the 1950s,
Speaker:researchers William Dement and
Speaker:Nathaniel Kleitman found that the human
Speaker:body generally operates in 90-minute
Speaker:cycles,
Speaker:whether awake or asleep.
Speaker:This pattern is called the “ultradian
Speaker:rhythm."
Speaker:The start of each cycle is defined as a
Speaker:period of “arousal,” ramping up to
Speaker:a mid-period of high performance before
Speaker:finally decelerating in a period of
Speaker:“stress."
Speaker:Understanding how the 90-minute rhythm
Speaker:cycle works in the context of the
Speaker:greater 24-hour rhythm—the
Speaker:“circadian rhythm”—can help us
Speaker:predict how we’ll function over the
Speaker:course of a day and how we can plan
Speaker:around it for peak performance.
Speaker:All these examples and studies point to
Speaker:one primary strategy for improving our
Speaker:learning - breaking it down into
Speaker:smaller chunks of time because a flood
Speaker:of information will simply not make it
Speaker:into our heads.
Speaker:When you learn to work with your own
Speaker:in-built abilities and limitations,
Speaker:you not only learn better,
Speaker:but you also save yourself a lot of
Speaker:wasted energy,
Speaker:time and effort that wouldn’t have
Speaker:brought you any closer to your goal.
Speaker:Learning Over Short Bursts Of Time.
Speaker:When you train your body’s muscles,
Speaker:you put then under a load and make them
Speaker:work;
Speaker:they undergo tiny,
Speaker:microscopic tears and damage at the
Speaker:cellular level,
Speaker:but then,
Speaker:once they repair,
Speaker:they are much stronger than they were
Speaker:before.
Speaker:The brain is not a muscle,
Speaker:but we can think of attention as a
Speaker:muscle that can be trained—we need to
Speaker:pace ourselves.
Speaker:Overtraining only exhausts us,
Speaker:but building in periods of rest
Speaker:actually makes us stronger.
Speaker:By segmenting our learning activities
Speaker:according to blocks of time,
Speaker:we give the brain enough time off to
Speaker:reset and reenergize and enable
Speaker:ourselves to retain more information
Speaker:over longer periods.
Speaker:It’s therefore a good idea to start a
Speaker:new learning routine by simply setting
Speaker:up a schedule.
Speaker:Long-term planning.
Speaker:At the beginning of a semester,
Speaker:online course,
Speaker:or research project,
Speaker:block out your schedule to set up a
Speaker:studying regimen.
Speaker:You can do this easily with a free
Speaker:online calendar program from virtually
Speaker:all Internet providers or with a paper
Speaker:calendar or whiteboard.
Speaker:Consider what times of day you tend to
Speaker:get the most accomplished—some of us
Speaker:start the day in high-performance mode,
Speaker:while others are classic night owls.
Speaker:Just make sure to leave ample time for
Speaker:sleep and eating.
Speaker:In fact,
Speaker:there is a scientific basis for whether
Speaker:you are more productive at night or in
Speaker:the morning,
Speaker:summed up by the terms “morning
Speaker:larks” and “night owls."
Speaker:If you’re really tuned in to your
Speaker:brain and body,
Speaker:you can get a bit more granular with
Speaker:your scheduling by applying the
Speaker:90-minute cycle to the calendar—for
Speaker:instance,
Speaker:90-minute blocks that account for
Speaker:breaks and fatigue.
Speaker:This requires a little more careful
Speaker:introspection and monitoring,
Speaker:but if you can narrow down an even more
Speaker:specific time when your performance
Speaker:abilities are higher,
Speaker:you can fine-tune your learning agenda
Speaker:even further.
Speaker:Learning blocks.
Speaker:You can adapt the 30–50-minute study
Speaker:session as dictated by the L. S. U.
Speaker:study for your own purposes.
Speaker:Remember that 30 minutes is enough to
Speaker:make the study session substantial and
Speaker:that going over 50 puts undue pressure
Speaker:on your brain.
Speaker:So within your weekly time block,
Speaker:make sure to schedule an attendant
Speaker:break after your core learning time.
Speaker:Again,
Speaker:adjust to what you know your system can
Speaker:handle - maybe it’s 50 minutes with a
Speaker:10-minute break or 45 minutes with a
Speaker:15-minute break.
Speaker:The study session can go down all the
Speaker:way to 30 minutes if absolutely
Speaker:necessary.
Speaker:You can use the renowned Pomodoro
Speaker:clock,
Speaker:which is commonly used for work
Speaker:productivity—25 minutes of activity
Speaker:followed by five minutes of total
Speaker:removal from that activity.
Speaker:The specific amount of time is not set
Speaker:hard and fast;
Speaker:whatever it is,
Speaker:it just needs to be a time frame easy
Speaker:enough for you to stick through on a
Speaker:regular basis.
Speaker:Just ask yourself how you might cater
Speaker:to the attention span of a goldfish or
Speaker:even a child.
Speaker:Our adult minds are not so different as
Speaker:we might like to think.
Speaker:Concepts Before Facts,
Speaker:Understanding Before Memory.
Speaker:Researcher Roger Säljö found in 1979
Speaker:that we tend to view the act of
Speaker:learning in several ways,
Speaker:but it can generally be boiled down
Speaker:into two rough categories - surface
Speaker:learning and deep learning.
Speaker:Surface learning relates to gaining
Speaker:knowledge,
Speaker:facts,
Speaker:and memorization;
Speaker:deep learning refers to abstracting
Speaker:meaning and understanding reality.
Speaker:We’ll be returning to this
Speaker:distinction throughout this book,
Speaker:as we explore different learning
Speaker:approaches and techniques.
Speaker:The use of the words “surface” and
Speaker:“deep” might imply that the latter
Speaker:is better in all situations than the
Speaker:former,
Speaker:but that’s not always true.
Speaker:Some subjects are best learned by
Speaker:memorization rather than additionally
Speaker:searching for some “meaning” to
Speaker:contextualize those concepts.
Speaker:In fact,
Speaker:your brain naturally uses both
Speaker:processes.
Speaker:If I gave you a list of 30 random items
Speaker:and asked you to remember them,
Speaker:it probably wouldn’t help to ransack
Speaker:your brain trying to find a pattern or
Speaker:relationship between each item.
Speaker:It would waste your time when the task
Speaker:at hand is simple information retention.
Speaker:But more often than not,
Speaker:rote memorization serves to isolate
Speaker:facts rather than connect them.
Speaker:It establishes facts as single pieces
Speaker:of information,
Speaker:and without a grounding context or
Speaker:relationship to a greater concept,
Speaker:it doesn’t anchor what you learn.
Speaker:Sometimes this is fine,
Speaker:but as a consequence,
Speaker:what you learn slips out of your
Speaker:short-term memory quite easily.
Speaker:The overwhelming majority of things
Speaker:that can be learned have some kind of
Speaker:pattern—hidden or obvious.
Speaker:These patterns,
Speaker:typically,
Speaker:are what you most care about learning.
Speaker:Without these patterns,
Speaker:frankly,
Speaker:what you learn wouldn’t be useful
Speaker:anyway.
Speaker:Patterns make concepts useful.
Speaker:Without them,
Speaker:facts have very limited or temporary
Speaker:relevance and would therefore not be
Speaker:important to study in the first place.
Speaker:After all,
Speaker:this is the exact way that the human
Speaker:brain has evolved over thousands of
Speaker:years—only data that is meaningful
Speaker:and relevant to survival is absorbed,
Speaker:retained and understood.
Speaker:A typical course of study contains a
Speaker:mix of big ideas with a few details.
Speaker:In that setting,
Speaker:it’s always the best idea to start
Speaker:with the big ideas—the overarching
Speaker:concepts that link the little details
Speaker:together.
Speaker:The primary reason is that many small
Speaker:details take on a random quality at
Speaker:first,
Speaker:but when seen through the lens of the
Speaker:larger concept,
Speaker:they fit together and form a context.
Speaker:That makes them easier for the brain to
Speaker:recognize and remember.
Speaker:What you are essentially doing is
Speaker:laying out a map of the entire
Speaker:conceptual area,
Speaker:so that you can better navigate a path
Speaker:though it without getting lost.
Speaker:In fact,
Speaker:you can often forgo a lot of
Speaker:memorization,
Speaker:because the concepts themselves
Speaker:frequently serve to explain the facts.
Speaker:Instead of attempting to memorize by
Speaker:rote means,
Speaker:following the concept through to its
Speaker:conclusion will reveal the facts as you
Speaker:go along.
Speaker:Like subheadings in an outline,
Speaker:they fall into place under the
Speaker:appropriate headings—it’s a logical
Speaker:progression.
Speaker:If you understand the governing
Speaker:principles around something,
Speaker:the facts follow organically.
Speaker:In this way,
Speaker:understanding and deep comprehension
Speaker:are always going to yield a better
Speaker:quality of learning than simply
Speaker:memorizing the superficial details
Speaker:without ever connecting them to one
Speaker:another.
Speaker:For example,
Speaker:if you were studying the history of
Speaker:Miranda rights in the United States,
Speaker:you could memorize all the key players
Speaker:- the Supreme Court Justices,
Speaker:the lawyers,
Speaker:and the names of the plaintiffs and
Speaker:defendants.
Speaker:You could memorize the dates in the
Speaker:case.
Speaker:You could memorize the vote counts from
Speaker:all the courts involved in the suit and
Speaker:the appeals.
Speaker:You could memorize the names of cases
Speaker:that came afterward.
Speaker:You could even write down the contents
Speaker:of the Miranda rights (“You have the
Speaker:right to remain silent,” etc.).
Speaker:Sounds a bit boring,
Speaker:right?
Speaker:None of those facts would have any
Speaker:relevance by themselves,
Speaker:and we’d have no reason to keep them
Speaker:in memory.
Speaker:(In fact,
Speaker:I’m sure you’ve already forgotten
Speaker:some of them,
Speaker:even though you’ve just read them!)
Speaker:Emphasizing the larger concepts
Speaker:surrounding the Miranda
Speaker:rule—defendants’ rights,
Speaker:police procedure,
Speaker:or landmark Supreme Court cases—help
Speaker:to funnel the facts as they come up.
Speaker:A bigger narrative helps contextualize
Speaker:these facts and makes them mean
Speaker:something.
Speaker:In this context,
Speaker:the brain is more likely to retain the
Speaker:information it actually needs to know
Speaker:about the subject.
Speaker:You would be able to essentially
Speaker:predict the facts with a reasonable
Speaker:degree of accuracy once you understand
Speaker:the underlying concepts and how they
Speaker:interact.
Speaker:True,
Speaker:you may not have “memorized”
Speaker:certain information,
Speaker:but when necessary,
Speaker:you can logically work your way through
Speaker:the question and arrive at the same
Speaker:answer as if you had memorized it.
Speaker:This is known as concept learning.
Speaker:It shows us how to categorize and
Speaker:discriminate items according to certain
Speaker:critical attributes.
Speaker:It entails pattern recall and
Speaker:integration of new examples and ideas.
Speaker:And rather than being a mechanical
Speaker:technique of grinding memorization,
Speaker:concept learning is something that must
Speaker:be constructed and cultivated.
Speaker:Using Concept Learning in Daily Life.
Speaker:Applying the concept method to learning
Speaker:and developing new skills,
Speaker:even outside of the classroom or study
Speaker:hall environment,
Speaker:can help derive new meaning and,
Speaker:by logical extension,
Speaker:even improve how we perform certain
Speaker:tasks or jobs.
Speaker:Cooking is an easy example.
Speaker:Standard practice is that learning a
Speaker:new recipe involves following a list of
Speaker:ingredients and a set of instructions.
Speaker:If you’re making a tomato sauce for
Speaker:pasta,
Speaker:you can look up a popular recipe on the
Speaker:Internet and have it nearby as you
Speaker:prepare it.
Speaker:You can repeat this exercise as often
Speaker:as you like,
Speaker:and eventually you’ll probably know
Speaker:the steps well enough to repeat it
Speaker:without a guide.
Speaker:But understanding the point of each
Speaker:step isn’t something that comes
Speaker:through in the instructions.
Speaker:They generally don’t say why you
Speaker:sweat onions and garlic first,
Speaker:why you bring the sauce to a boil,
Speaker:or why you let it simmer for a time.
Speaker:Understanding that sweating the onions
Speaker:and garlic builds a flavor base,
Speaker:that boiling the sauce distributes the
Speaker:ingredients,
Speaker:and that simmering them bonds the
Speaker:flavors together gives you a better
Speaker:handle on the process of your
Speaker:preparation.
Speaker:Most importantly,
Speaker:understanding those concepts makes it
Speaker:easier to recognize and use the
Speaker:techniques in other,
Speaker:completely different dishes - soups,
Speaker:chili,
Speaker:gravy,
Speaker:and even basic broth and stock.
Speaker:Going even further,
Speaker:learning the particulars of the exact
Speaker:scientific processes could open the
Speaker:door to cooking entirely different
Speaker:foods that aren’t liquid-based—in
Speaker:other words,
Speaker:any food you can think of.
Speaker:If you simply know which flavors tend
Speaker:to conflict and which tend to
Speaker:complement,
Speaker:you’ll be way ahead of the chef who
Speaker:memorizes recipes.
Speaker:You can also adapt and adjust if things
Speaker:don’t go according to plan;
Speaker:because you understand why a certain
Speaker:step exists,
Speaker:you can come up with an alternative if
Speaker:necessary,
Speaker:get creative,
Speaker:or troubleshoot a problem.
Speaker:You become one of those people that
Speaker:doesn’t need a recipe,
Speaker:because you know more than how to read
Speaker:a recipe—you understand what it means
Speaker:to make good food.
Speaker:This template is sneakily easy to
Speaker:replicate.
Speaker:A small business owner figuring a tax
Speaker:budget is better served knowing the
Speaker:concepts of taxation and how they’re
Speaker:distributed.
Speaker:A musician who understands how rhythm
Speaker:works in the context of a song better
Speaker:knows how to program a drum machine.
Speaker:A chess player gets more mileage from
Speaker:comprehending the differences between
Speaker:overall strategies rather than learning
Speaker:where each piece can move.
Speaker:Even a clothes launderer makes fewer
Speaker:mistakes and ruins less clothing by
Speaker:learning how cold and hot water affect
Speaker:colors in variant ways.
Speaker:You get the idea.
Speaker:In fact,
Speaker:certain kinds of education and ways of
Speaker:learning are so general and
Speaker:transferrable that you could be
Speaker:proficient in a skill you’ve never
Speaker:encountered before,
Speaker:simply because you know how to learn.
Speaker:You can learn the particulars of any
Speaker:task and even perform it suitably a few
Speaker:times.
Speaker:But knowing the principles and ideas
Speaker:that link them together is a more
Speaker:effective way to retain those facts or
Speaker:skills.
Speaker:When the time comes to learn something
Speaker:new,
Speaker:you may very well be able to frame that
Speaker:new knowledge with concepts you’ve
Speaker:already nailed down.
Speaker:Learning heuristics is very similar to
Speaker:the act of concept learning (Barsalou,
Speaker:1991,
Speaker:1992).
Speaker:Heuristics describes a pattern of
Speaker:thought or behavior that organizes
Speaker:categories of information and the
Speaker:relationships among them.
Speaker:It takes our preconceived notions or
Speaker:ideas of the world and uses them as a
Speaker:means for interpreting and classifying
Speaker:new information.
Speaker:For example,
Speaker:there are ways you might act at a
Speaker:birthday party that you wouldn’t at a
Speaker:funeral (and,
Speaker:we’d hope,
Speaker:the other way around).
Speaker:The “codes” you follow for how
Speaker:you’d handle and behave in each
Speaker:situation,
Speaker:and any other occasions,
Speaker:are ordered within a heuristic.
Speaker:Establishing and understanding the
Speaker:heuristic rules for whatever you’re
Speaker:about to learn is always helpful.
Speaker:Another great way to learn concepts is
Speaker:the Feynman technique,
Speaker:which we’ll discuss in a later
Speaker:chapter.
Speaker:Aim To Be Frustrated (Yes,
Speaker:Really).
Speaker:In competitive situations,
Speaker:we tie accomplishment with success -
Speaker:winning,
Speaker:positive outcomes,
Speaker:and finding solutions.
Speaker:But in learning,
Speaker:a key component in achievement is
Speaker:failing.
Speaker:It’s counterintuitive,
Speaker:but embracing the right kind of failure
Speaker:may be one of the key elements to
Speaker:taking your learning to the next level.
Speaker:“Productive failure” is an idea
Speaker:identified by Manu Kapur,
Speaker:a researcher at the National Institute
Speaker:of Education in Singapore.
Speaker:The philosophy builds on the learning
Speaker:paradox,
Speaker:wherein not arriving at the desired
Speaker:effect is as valuable as prevailing,
Speaker:if not more.
Speaker:Kapur said that the accepted model of
Speaker:instilling knowledge—giving students
Speaker:structure and guidance early and
Speaker:continuing support until the students
Speaker:can get it on their own—might not be
Speaker:the best way to actually promote
Speaker:learning.
Speaker:Although that model intuitively makes
Speaker:sense,
Speaker:according to Kapur it’s best to let
Speaker:students flounder by themselves without
Speaker:outside help.
Speaker:Kapur conducted a trial with two groups
Speaker:of students.
Speaker:In one group,
Speaker:students were given a set of problems
Speaker:with “scaffolding”—full
Speaker:instructional support from teachers
Speaker:on-site.
Speaker:The second group was given the same
Speaker:problems but received no teacher help
Speaker:whatsoever.
Speaker:Instead,
Speaker:the second group of students had to
Speaker:collaborate to find the solutions.
Speaker:The “scaffolded” group was able to
Speaker:solve the problems correctly,
Speaker:while the group left to itself was not.
Speaker:But without instructional support,
Speaker:this second group was forced to do
Speaker:deeper dives into the concepts by
Speaker:working together.
Speaker:They generated ideas about the nature
Speaker:of the problems and speculated on what
Speaker:potential solutions might look like.
Speaker:They tried to understand the root of
Speaker:the problems and what methods were
Speaker:available to solve them.
Speaker:The two groups were then tested on what
Speaker:they had just learned,
Speaker:and the results weren’t even close.
Speaker:The group without teacher assistance
Speaker:significantly outperformed the other
Speaker:group.
Speaker:The group that did not solve the
Speaker:problems discovered what Kapur deemed a
Speaker:“hidden efficacy” in failure - they
Speaker:nurtured a deeper understanding of the
Speaker:structure of the problems through group
Speaker:investigation and process.
Speaker:The second group may not have solved
Speaker:the problem itself,
Speaker:but it learned more about the aspects
Speaker:of the problem and the ideas behind it.
Speaker:Going forward,
Speaker:when those students encounter a new
Speaker:problem on another test,
Speaker:they’re able to use the knowledge
Speaker:they generated through their trial more
Speaker:effectively than the passive recipients
Speaker:of an instructor’s expertise.
Speaker:Consequently,
Speaker:Kapur asserted that the important parts
Speaker:of the second group’s process were
Speaker:their miscues,
Speaker:mistakes,
Speaker:and fumbling.
Speaker:When that group made the active effort
Speaker:to learn by itself,
Speaker:it retained more knowledge needed for
Speaker:future problems.
Speaker:Three conditions,
Speaker:Kapur said,
Speaker:make productive failure an effective
Speaker:process -
Speaker:•Choose problems that “challenge,
Speaker:but do not frustrate."
Speaker:•Give learners the chance to explain
Speaker:and elaborate their processes.
Speaker:•Allow learners to compare and
Speaker:contrast good and bad solutions.
Speaker:Struggling with something is a definite
Speaker:condition that leads to learning,
Speaker:though it requires discipline and a
Speaker:sense of delayed gratification.
Speaker:Helping Children to ...Fail?
Speaker:The notion of productive failure can
Speaker:also be seen in strategies for
Speaker:child-raising.
Speaker:Does intentionally letting our children
Speaker:fail actually make learning easier for
Speaker:them?
Speaker:Judith Locke of the Queensland
Speaker:University of Technology said that
Speaker:“over-parenting” might keep our
Speaker:children safe and supported but could
Speaker:impede their growing processes.
Speaker:Locke observed that children raised in
Speaker:a state of helplessness were destined
Speaker:to lead anxiety-ridden adulthoods.
Speaker:Parents who were overly responsive to
Speaker:their children’s needs restricted
Speaker:their children’s ability to solve
Speaker:problems on their own and hampered the
Speaker:development of emotions they need to
Speaker:cope with future setbacks and failures.
Speaker:In a way,
Speaker:we over-parent ourselves.
Speaker:We push ourselves not to fail,
Speaker:work too hard to achieve the desired
Speaker:outcome,
Speaker:and get frustrated when we get stuck or
Speaker:fall short.
Speaker:How can we,
Speaker:so to speak,
Speaker:let failing work for us?
Speaker:Get your brain into “growth” mode.
Speaker:When we believe that we have all we
Speaker:need to accomplish whatever we want,
Speaker:we’re setting ourselves up for
Speaker:disappointment when our process goes
Speaker:awry.
Speaker:This is because we think our abilities
Speaker:are fixed—if we can’t succeed based
Speaker:on what we already know or can do,
Speaker:we never will.
Speaker:That makes our disappointments more
Speaker:profound and corrosive.
Speaker:So at the beginning of a project that
Speaker:seems unfamiliar,
Speaker:we need to tell our brain that we’re
Speaker:in learning mode.
Speaker:We need to establish that one of our
Speaker:main takeaways will be new knowledge,
Speaker:not just an immediately successful
Speaker:outcome.
Speaker:Reframe your expectations to make the
Speaker:learning as important as the
Speaker:result—more important,
Speaker:if possible.
Speaker:Document your process.
Speaker:Companies use “paper trails”
Speaker:(literally or digitally)
Speaker:to determine points or events that
Speaker:altered an outcome.
Speaker:When you’re in the weeds of a new
Speaker:project,
Speaker:keeping your own trail will help you
Speaker:learn new knowledge and refine your
Speaker:processes for future efforts.
Speaker:In addition to whatever tools you’re
Speaker:using for a project,
Speaker:set up a diary or journal for what you
Speaker:discover on the way.
Speaker:Set this diary up any way you want,
Speaker:whether it’s a paper notepad,
Speaker:word processing or text software,
Speaker:the audio recorder on your smartphone,
Speaker:or whatever your preference.
Speaker:Document your process the way a chef
Speaker:would write down the steps of a recipe
Speaker:or a detective would remark upon
Speaker:evidence in an investigation.
Speaker:These notes can be the kernels of
Speaker:knowledge that will come in handy in
Speaker:future situations—even if what
Speaker:you’re using them for now ends in
Speaker:failure.
Speaker:The ideas they generate might seem
Speaker:small,
Speaker:especially if they end up not working.
Speaker:But when we use these kernels to solve
Speaker:future problems,
Speaker:their value increases.
Speaker:You may not notice any insight on a
Speaker:day-to-day basis,
Speaker:but when you compare weeks or months of
Speaker:progress,
Speaker:the difference may be startling.
Speaker:Use your failures to plan next steps.
Speaker:If you’ve documented your process and
Speaker:diagnosed where something went wrong,
Speaker:then turn those evaluations into plans
Speaker:apart from your project.
Speaker:For example,
Speaker:let’s say you’re planting a
Speaker:vegetable garden for the first time,
Speaker:noting the steps and techniques you use
Speaker:along the way,
Speaker:and when it’s time to harvest,
Speaker:some of your plants didn’t come out
Speaker:the way they were supposed to.
Speaker:Was it because you used the wrong soil?
Speaker:Use your resources to find out why that
Speaker:soil was wrong and what it needs to
Speaker:look like.
Speaker:Was the failed plant too close to
Speaker:another?
Speaker:Learn techniques for maximizing
Speaker:placement within a small space.
Speaker:Or in a slightly more common situation,
Speaker:let’s say your sales results fell
Speaker:short of projections.
Speaker:If you found a mistake that led to an
Speaker:over-estimate,
Speaker:locate online information on how to set
Speaker:up your spreadsheet to avoid those
Speaker:errors.
Speaker:If your sales “game” was off,
Speaker:seek out workshops that can help
Speaker:improve your pitch or increase your
Speaker:interpersonal skills with clients.
Speaker:If you just didn’t have enough
Speaker:clients,
Speaker:learn how to make your professional
Speaker:network broader and more potent.
Speaker:Expect,
Speaker:but don’t succumb to,
Speaker:frustration.
Speaker:Chances are you’ll come across a
Speaker:moment or two of defeat in your
Speaker:process,
Speaker:along with the temptation to give up.
Speaker:You may even sense this before you
Speaker:start,
Speaker:which can lead to crippling anxiety
Speaker:that can hover over your work.
Speaker:Anticipating frustration in advance is
Speaker:just good planning—but you also have
Speaker:to plan how to deal with it.
Speaker:Sketch out an idea on how to alleviate
Speaker:frustration when it happens—most
Speaker:often,
Speaker:this will be taking a break from the
Speaker:situation to recharge and getting some
Speaker:momentary distance from the problem.
Speaker:Quite often,
Speaker:the mere act of pausing allows for
Speaker:objectivity to seep in,
Speaker:letting you see the hang-up more
Speaker:clearly.
Speaker:But in any case,
Speaker:it will abate the most immediate
Speaker:anxieties you’re feeling and give you
Speaker:the chance to approach the issue from a
Speaker:more relaxed frame of mind.
Speaker:Why are we even bothering to tackle
Speaker:preconditions to effective learning?
Speaker:Because many people dive right into
Speaker:learning without understanding what
Speaker:works on a psychological and even
Speaker:physical level.
Speaker:Many others think that effective
Speaker:learning is measured by the number of
Speaker:hours spent on a task,
Speaker:but we all have our limitations,
Speaker:and working within those bounds will
Speaker:only accelerate your learning.
Speaker:You can’t outwork your attention span
Speaker:or commitment to rote memorization.
Speaker:Takeaways.
Speaker:•Accelerating learning means working
Speaker:with the pre-existing,
Speaker:inbuilt mechanisms we all already
Speaker:possess.
Speaker:When we work with rather than against
Speaker:the brain,
Speaker:we can get the most from our learning
Speaker:experiences,
Speaker:and enjoy learning more.
Speaker:•An unavoidable fact is that the
Speaker:human attention span is limited.
Speaker:We need to respect the limits of our
Speaker:attention and plan learning
Speaker:accordingly—i.e. by digesting new
Speaker:information is smaller,
Speaker:more manageable chunks.
Speaker:•A good length of time for any
Speaker:learning period is more than 30
Speaker:minutes,
Speaker:less than 50.
Speaker:Too short and you won’t be able to
Speaker:get into any depth,
Speaker:and too long and your cognitive powers
Speaker:will begin to fatigue.
Speaker:•To use your time wisely,
Speaker:plan ahead and designate times in your
Speaker:schedule for specific learning blocks.
Speaker:•Use concept learning to guide you -
Speaker:as you learn,
Speaker:prioritize understanding and
Speaker:comprehension over rote memorization,
Speaker:i.e. concepts before facts.
Speaker:When you have a deep rather than
Speaker:surface appreciation of information,
Speaker:you anchor new ideas in context and
Speaker:make it easier to remember and apply
Speaker:them.
Speaker:•Deliberately engage in productive
Speaker:failure.
Speaker:Know that failure can actually be a
Speaker:valuable source of information,
Speaker:if embraced correctly.
Speaker:•Challenge yourself without
Speaker:frustrating yourself,
Speaker:and make sure that when you work (and
Speaker:fail)
Speaker:you give yourself the chance to look
Speaker:closely at why things happened as they
Speaker:did.
Speaker:Ask yourself why you failed and think
Speaker:about how you could have done better.
Speaker:•Cultivate a growth mindset,
Speaker:where you set ego aside and assume that
Speaker:learning is uncomfortable sometimes.
Speaker:Failure is a part of learning,
Speaker:so embrace it when it happens.
Speaker:Use your failure to inspire you to make
Speaker:new plans for going forward,
Speaker:and shape your next steps.
Speaker:•“Expect frustration,
Speaker:but don’t succumb to it."
Speaker:With the right mindset,
Speaker:“failure” is something that brings
Speaker:you closer to success,
Speaker:not further from it.
Speaker:This has been
Speaker:Super Learning:
Speaker:Advanced Strategies for Quicker Comprehension,
Speaker:Greater Retention,
Speaker:and Systematic Expertise
Speaker:Written by
Speaker:Peter Hollins, narrated by russell newton.
