What NOT to do ▶
- Repetition based learning preached in colleges might not be the best approach
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This is where you focus on a topic and drill down by re-reading
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Apparently the brain hardly retains stuff this way (its the same as reading it once)
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It creates a sense of illusion of fake fluency in our brains rather than mastery due to the phrases being in our heads (its too easy to fool ourselves)
What to do ⏩
Drawn from pilot training experience
- Spaced, interleaved and varied practice + self testing & elaboration
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Spaced : give each topic a few days or hours to come back to
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Interleaved : learn multiple subjects in between and try to connect things learnt in one to another
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Varied : go wide - try different ways to learn. For e.g. calculating volume of sphere -> try calculating area of all other shapes
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Self testing : Once learned try to test yourself by asking questions- E.g. Converting main points in questions and answering them later or low stakes quizzing
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Elaboration : Re-phrase things in your own words and relate them to things you know or outside (putting into a larger context) E.g. A concept - Warm air hold more moisture than cold air can be understood through drip of water on the outside of coolers
The GOAL ▶
Extract key ideas from new material -> organize them into mental models and connect them to prior knowledge -> Then keep stacking them up to solve complex problems
For e.g. Messi is said to be a very complete player
- The moment he receives the ball to his next action he has less than a few seconds but he’s already using his knowledge on player positions + the way ball travels + the speed of the pass + his first touch + the defenders stance to make the most out of the situation!!