The psychology of effective learning— 3 techniques to improve learning instantly

Being able to effectively learn is a one of the most valuable skills you can attain. Yet, few of us our familiar with techniques psychologically proven to be effective. Employing these techniques will help you learn faster and better, whether it be self-learning or for an upcoming exam.

But before I delve into the specific techniques, I want you to be wary of the biggest detriment to effective learning — the familiarity effect.

Familiarity Effect

In preparing for exams, most students resort to reviewing or rereading the material. Little to they know this method tricks them into an ‘illusion of learning’. Repetitively reading a text makes it easier to read. Confusing this easiness with actual learning is known as the familiarity effect. Just because you become familiar with the text, it doesn’t mean it is going to stick to your head. It is no surprise students often complain going blank on a test question over something they were so sure they knew. Most of time we convince ourselves we have learnt something without realizing we merely became familiar with it.

So how do you learn in a way that it sticks to your head? Well, before I answer that, I would like to acquaint you with two processes.

Encoding: Transferring material from short-term memory to long-term memory. (Learning something new and committing it to memory).

Retrieval: Retrieving material from long-term memory to short-term memory. (Remembering something you learnt in the past).

Without going into the mechanics of these processes, I want you to understand whatever method you choose to learn, it should optimize these two processes.

Methods proven to optimize these processes share a certain similarity: They incorporate active learning which removes the comfort of rereading, forcing you to exert effort in learning — effort that strengthens the synaptic connections in your brain and improve your learning performance drastically.

Look away from the screen. Try to think of what you read from the start of this article. If you can do this, go on to relate it with preexisting information regarding this subject.

If you had trouble with this short exercise, you should not worry. The trouble was meant to aid your learning.

And, congratulations, you just attempted the first tip of active learning — elaboration.

1. Elaboration

The above exercise was quite simple, but when it comes to complex concepts, you’ll find yourself going back and forth over them. The next time you read something important in a book, don’t just read ahead. Take a moment and think about what you’ve read. Try to think about it in the language of your inner voice rather than recalling the text. If you find yourself struggling, you are on the right track, you have caught yourself falling under the illusion of learning.

Relating new concepts to preexisting ones not only helps you remember them but allows you better understand them. When I first encountered the philosophical strand of Taoism, I initially found the concept of Tao difficult to grasp. However, after discovering its similarity with a preexisting concept — the force in Star Wars — it became strikingly straightforward.

2. Testing and Note taking

Testing is extremely effective because not only does allow you to practice the process of retrieval but also rectify errors in encoding.

Numerous psychological studies have proven its effectiveness.

The testing effect experiment by Roediger and Karpicke split participants into the two groups. Both groups read a 7-minute passage and after doing an irrelevant task for 2 minutes, one group reread the passage and the other took a recall test.

Then at delay times of 5 minutes, 2 days, and one week, both groups took recall tests.

The results show that subjects who reread the passage recalled significantly less at delay time of 2 days and one week compared to the ones who took a recall test.

Self-generated material is much easier to recall since it builds upon preexisting knowledge. Hence, making notes in your own words is considerably more effective than rewriting what you read.

It is important to note that these methods induce considerable difficulty. Overcoming that difficulty is pivotal to successful learning.

3. Spacing effect

Research has shown memory is more efficient when learning sessions are broken down into smaller sessions with breaks in between than longer concentrated ones (Reder & Anderson 1982).

Dividing your learning session into smaller chunks of 30–40 minutes of undisturbed work does wonders for your productivity. However, during these chunks all distractions must be eliminated and the task at hand should be your sole focus. Each sessions should follow a break of around 5–10 minutes. Cramming information into your brain over a short period is inimical to learning. It might help you pass an exam, but it won’t add anything to your understanding of the subject.Starting preparation early and utilizing the spacing effect will boost your understanding significantly.

Although I did not include it in the three tips, would be remiss not to mention this method of learning — explaining what you’re trying to learn to a layman. When you remove all jargon from your explanations, you can confront the learning gaps your mind conveniently covers. Then you can go back to what you thought you knew and fill that gap.

The great scientist, Richard Feynman, was famous for simplifying abstruse concepts. Some laud him as the greatest teacher ever. (Check out the Feynman technique here.)

It is fitting to end this article with his quote.

“The first principle of learning is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool”. Richard Feynman.