Learning Course
- Lesson One - Pre-readingThe Power of Prereading - Part One
- The Power of Prereading - Part Two
- The Power of Prereading - Part Three
- The Power of Prereading - Part Four
- The Power of Prereading - Part Five
- Lesson Two - Single TaskingSingle Tasking - Part One
- Single Tasking - Part Two
- Single Tasking - Part Three
- Single Tasking - Part Four
- Single Tasking - Part Five
- Lesson Three - Recognition and RecallRecognition and Recall - Part One
- Recognition and Recall - Part Two
- Recognition and Recall - Part Three
- Recognition and Recall - Part Four
- Recognition and Recall - Part Five
- Lesson Four - Question LoggingQuestion Logging - Part One
- Question Logging - Part Two
- Question Logging - Part Three
- Question Logging - Part Five
- Question Logging - Part Four
- Lesson Five - The Testing EffectThe Testing Effect - Part One
- The Testing Effect - Part Two
- The Testing Effect - Part Three
- The Testing Effect - Part Four
- The Testing Effect - Part Five
- Lesson Six - Taking NotesTaking Notes - Part One
- Taking Notes - Part Two
- Taking Notes - Part Three
- Lesson Seven - Foundational LearningFoundational Learning - Part One
- Foundational Learning - Part Two
- Foundational Learning - Part Three
- Foundational Learning - Part Four
- Foundational Learning - Part Five
- Lesson eight - Deep LearningDeep Learning - Part One
- Deep Learning - Part Two
- Deep Learning - Part Three
- Deep Learning - Part Four
- Deep Learning - Part Five
- Lesson nine - High Yield LearningHigh Yield Learning - Part One
- High Yield Learning - Part Two
- High Yield Learning - Part Three
- High Yield Learning - Part Four
- High Yield Learning - Part Five
- Lesson ten - The Testing EffectThe Testing Effect - Part One
- The Testing Effect - Part Two
- The Testing Effect - Part Three
- The Testing Effect - Part Four
- The Testing Effect - Part Five
- Lesson eleven - active and passive learningActive and Passive Learning - Part One
- Active and Passive Learning - Part Two
- Active and Passive Learning - Part Three
- Active and Passive Learning - Part Four
- Active and Passive Learning - Part Five
- Lesson twelve - Study BlockingStudy Blocking - Part One
- Study Blocking - Part Two
- Study Blocking - Part Three
- Study Blocking - Part Four
- Study Blocking - Part Five
- Lesson thirteen - LinkingLinking - Part One
- Linking - Part Two
- Linking - Part Three
- Linking - Part Four
- Linking - Part Five
- Lesson fourteen - InterleavingInterleaving - Part One
- Interleaving - Part Two
- Interleaving - Part Three
- Interleaving - Part Four
- Interleaving - Part Five
- Lessons fifteen - Application QuestioningApplication Questioning - Part One
- Application Questioning - Part Two
- Copy of Application Questioning - Part Three
- Application Questioning - Part Four
- Application Questioning - Part Five
- Lesson Sixteen - Using TablesTables - Part One
- Tables - Part Two
- Tables - Part Three
- Tables - Part Four
- Tables - Part Five
Recap
Tables
Wrote learning. If you find yourself needing to remember a large number of facts, tables are what you need.
The reason why has to do with the process of creating a table. You are required to combine all of the different facts into a structure. During this process, your brain isn’t just organising this information on the page, but in your mind as well. The end product isn’t just a table but a mental framework you can use to hold on to all of this information.
- How well we initially encode the information. The more time you spend creating a logical structure, the better you’re able to encode that learning into retrievable memories.
- How numerous your linking of new learning is.
- Whether or not you test yourself on the material
- How often do you test yourself on the material, which is spaced repetition. It’s important to note that excessive testing can also be a waste of time. The art of spaced repetition is to test yourself on the material when retrieval starts to become hard but not impossible – you haven’t forgotten it yet.
Your notes are too slow to revise.
If you’ve been taking notes all throughout the year, it’s going to take you days, even weeks, to revise it all. To complicate the situation further, the knowledge retention from reading notes is atrocious. Estimates are between 5 – 15%.
Your notes prevent your brain from being able to learn.
The term is information overload. There’s too much. What happens is your brain gets overwhelmed and begins to just skim everything. When this happens, learning and revision stop. Your study session becomes more of a therapy session. The only benefit you get is that you’re at least not procrastinating and actually doing work. Well, you may as well be watching TV or slacking off because it’s not much worse.
This is a recurring theme throughout our course – when there’s too much information around, you end up learning less, not more.
Your memory isn’t limited by how much information it can store, but instead how you store it. Information goes it pretty easily. The trouble is getting it back out again – retrieval.
If you read the lesson notes, you’ll remember Lu Chao, who memorised sixty-seven thousand, eight hundred and ninety digits of Pi. How can he do this? A lot of practice and an extremely effective method for storing the information so that he can retrieve it at will. What’s the old saying?
Lesson Cards
Tables
Card 1
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Key Idea
Tables make it possible for rapid revision of your most important – “high yield” – information.
Card 2
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Key Idea
A table primes your brain to find the links between your learning. This reinforces the learning in both directions.
Card 3
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Key Idea
Tables offer a quick method of finding the information you need without embarking on a journey through the never-ending land of notes.
Card 4
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Key Idea
When you create a table, you aren’t just structuring your learning on paper but also in your mind. You are creating a mental model that your brain can use to readily organise and access that information.