Author : Mark A. McDaniel and Peter C. Brown
To learn retrieve
Practice at retrieving new knowledge or skill from memory is a potent tool for learning and for durable retention.
Effortful retrieval makes for stronger learning. Delaying subsequent retrieval practice is better. Repeated retrieval improves availability of the information applied to a wider variety of problems.
Mix up your practice : Spacing between repetitions is important, beware of familiarity trap
Interleaving two or more subjects during practice also provides a form of spacing. Permits as well to discriminate (select right tool for right problem). Switch before each practice is complete.
Like interleaving, varied practice helps learners build a broad schema and ability to assess changing conditions and adjust responses to fit.
Reflection is a form of retrieval practice
Embrace difficulties
Learning is a three stop process : Encoding -> Consolidation -> Retrieval
Learning always builds on a store of prior knowledge by building connections to what we already know. Long term memory capacity is virtually limitless.
Capacity for calling up what you know depends on the repeated use of the information and on powerful retrieval clues.
Periodic retrieval, a difficult one, grants great benefits.
Effortful retireval makes the learning pliable, leading to reconsolidastion.
Repeated effortful recall or practice helps integrate learning into mental models (set of interrelated ideas or sequence of motor skills fused into a meaningful whole).
When practice conditions are varied or retrieval is interleaved with the practice of other material, we increase our abilities of discrimination and induction, it builds new connections in the brain.
Trying to come up with an answer rather than having it presented to you, or trying to solve a problem before being shown the solutions, leads to better learning and longer retention of the correct answer.
Get beyong learning styles
Be the one in charge: Get out of the door and find what you are after, it’s a quest.
Embrace the notion of successful intelligence : don’t stay in your comfort zone / preferred learning style. Go wild.
Describe what you want to know, list the competencies required, what you need to learn and where can you find the knowledge, then get it.
Expertise : continue development, practice dynamic testing as a learning strategy. Focus on improving your weaknesses.
Adopt the active learning strategies : retrieval practice, spacing and interleaving. Be agressive, develop workaround.
Don’t rely on what feels best : use quizzing, peer review and other tools to make sure your judgment of what you know is accurate.
Distill the underlying principles; build the structure. If you are an example learner use 2 at the same time.
Break your idea or desired competency into component parts. Pause periodically and reflect. Which are the big ideas ? concept nuances ?
Imagine a framework that holds these central ideas. By abstracting the underlying rules and piecing them into a structure, you go for more than knowledge.
Increase your abilities
Effortful learning changes the brain (building new connections and capabilities).
The more we do, the more we can do : growth mindset
Self discipline + grit + persistence
Conscious mnemonic devices can help to organize and use the learning.
Reflection + Spacing + Elaboration + Retrieval practice + Generation + Interleaving + Mental Models + Quizz + Feedback + Memory palace
Inner gate Acupuncture example in the book where the company did very good using the following new strategies :
- Track clinic metric
- Ensure partners interactions and bills tracking
- Uniform protocol : template to follow when seeing a new patient
- Role played conversation to improve client interactions
- Job descriptions
- Financial gets set
