Theories, methods, practice.

LEARNING METHODS

How to Learn, by Simon Oxenham, 15th Feb. 2013

https://bigthink.com/assessing-the-evidence-for-the-one-thing-you-never-get-taught-in-school-how-
to-learn-2604445301.amp.html

Elaborative Interrogation (Rating = moderate)

A method involving creating explanations for why stated facts are true. The method involves
concentrating on why questions rather than what questions and creating questions for yourself as
you are working through a task. To do this yourself, after reading a few paragraphs of text ask
yourself to explain “why does x = y?” and use your answers to form your notes. This is a good
method because it is simple, so anyone can apply it easily. It does however require enough prior
knowledge to enable you to generate good questions for yourself, so this method may be best for
learners with experience in a subject. The technique is particularly efficient with regard to time, one
study found that elaborative learning took 32 mins as opposed to 28 mins simply reading.

An example of elaborative interrogation for the above paragraph could be:

Elaborative learning is useful for proficient learners because it allows them to apply their prior
knowledge effectively to process new information. It is rated as effective because it is time efficient
and relatively easy to perform.

“The current evidence base for elaborative learning is positive but lacking"gation (Rating =
moderate)

Self Explanation (Rating = moderate)

A technique that is useful for abstract learning. The technique involves explaining and recording how
one solves or understands problems as they work and giving reasons for choices that are made. This
was found to be more effective if done while learning as opposed to after learning. Self explanation
has been found to be effective with learners ranging from children in kindergarten to older students
working on algebraic formulas and geometric theorems. Like elaborative explanation, self
explanation benefits from its simplicity. Unlike elaborative learning, self explanation was found to
double the amount of time spent on a task in comparison to a reading control group.
“The core component of self-explanation involves having students explain some aspect of their
processing during learning”

Practice Testing (Rating = High)

This is where things get interesting; testing is often seen as a necessary evil of education.
Traditionally, testing consists of rare but massively important ‘high stakes’ assessments. There is
however, an extensive literature demonstrating the benefits of testing for learning – but
importantly, it does not seem necessary that testing is in the format of ‘high stakes’ assessments. All
testing including ‘low stakes’ practice testing seems to result in benefits. Unlike many of the other
techniques mentioned, the benefits of practice testing are not modest – studies have found that a
practice test can double free recall!

Research has found that though multiple choice testing is indeed effective, practice tests that
require more detailed answers to be generated are more effective. Importantly, practice testing is
effective when you create the questions yourself.

So how can you apply this research? Students can create flash cards (or even use free software to do
this). Alternatively students can use a system such as the Cornell note-taking system which involves
noting questions in a column next to their notes as they learn. This finding looks like wonderful news
for MOOCS which typically use intensive practice testing as a primary method of teaching. The
finding is also great news for students – as practice testing actually takes up much less time than
other methods such as rereading, which practice testing far outperforms! High)

Distributed Practice (Rating = High)

Have you ever wondered whether it is best to do your studying in large chunks or divide your
studying over a period of time? Research has found that the optimal level of distribution of sessions
for learning is 10-20% of the length of time that something needs to be remembered. So if you want
to remember something for a year you should study at least every month, if you want to remember
something for five years you should space your learning every six to twelve months. If you want to
remember something for a week you should space your learning 12-24 hours apart. It does seem
however that the distributed-practice effect may work best when processing information deeply – so
for best results you might want to try a distributed practice and self-testing combo.

There is however a major catch - do you ever find that the amount of studying you do massively
increases before an exam? Most students fall in to the “procrastination scallop” – we are all guilty at
one point of cramming all the knowledge in right before an exam, but the evidence is pretty
conclusive that this is the worst way to study, certainly when it comes to remembering for the long
term. What is unclear is whether cramming is so popular because students don’t understand the
benefits of distributed practice or whether testing practices are to blame - probably a combination
of both. One thing is for sure, if you take it upon yourself to space your learning over time you are
pretty much guaranteed to see improvements.
A Mind For Numbers by Barbara Oakley

Chapter 2.
Focused-mode thinking (highly attentive states) vs. diffuse thinking (resting state networks).
Focused-mode thinking involves a direct approach to solving problems using rational, sequential,
analytical approaches. Diffuse-mode thinking is what happens when you relax your attention and
just let your mind wander. Transitioning between diffuse and focused: focus initially then turn
attention away from specifics towards the overview or a different topic. Experiment with different
ways to enter diffuse thinking.

Chapter 4. – chunking and avoiding illusions of competence

Conceptual chunks are an important part of memory. They allow the creation of ideas or concepts.
Competence/expertise is achieved through creating conceptual chunks, or mental leaps that unite
separate bits of information though meaning. Chunking happens naturally when learning, but
knowing the framework of how this occurs can make the process easier.

Basic steps to forming chunks:

When learning new concepts, review worked out problems by figuring out why the steps are taken
the way they are. This will help you see the key features and underlying principles of a problem.
Figure out the connections between the steps, so why it is important one particular step follows
another.

1. The first step in chunking is to simply focus your attention on the information you want to
chunk
2. The second step is to understand the basic idea you are trying to chunk. What are the
important steps and how they connect.
3. The third step to chunking is gaining context so you see not just how but also when to use
this conceptual chunk. By repeating both related and unrelated problems you can see when,
and when not to use the conceptual chunk you’ve learnt.

Recall of concepts is more effective than rereading material. Re-reading will only create an illusion of
understanding. This can be free recall or via attempting practice papers.

If you don’t understand a method presented in a course you are taking, stop and work backwards.
Go to the internet and discover who first figured out the method or some of the earliest people to
use it. Try to understand how the creative inventor arrived at the idea and why the idea is used –
you can often find a simple explanation that gives a basic sense of why a method is being taught and
why you would want to use it.
“Mathematics is amazing compressible: you may struggle a long time, step by step, to work through
the same process or idea from several approaches. But once you really understand it and have the
mental perspective to see it as a whole, there is often a tremendous mental compression. You can
file it away, recall it quickly and completely when you need it, and use it as just one step in some
other mental process. The insight that goes with this compression is one of the real joys of
mathematics.” – William Thurston

Chapter 14. developing the mind’s eye through equation poems

Poetic methods and poetry can be used as an aid to visualize difficult to imagine concepts and ideas.
There are hidden meanings in equations, just as there are in poetry. If you are a novice looking at an
equation in physics, and you’re not taught how to see the life underlying the symbols, the lines will
look dead to you. It is when you begin to learn and supply the hidden text that the meaning leaps to
life.

More advanced students and physicists can see with their minds eye the meaning beneath the
equation, including how it fits into the big picture, and even a sense of how the parts of the equation
feel. When you see the letter a, for acceleration you might feel a sense of pressing on the
accelerator in a car. Metaphors or analogies can be used to grasp the essence of an idea or equation.

Transferring ideas: learning and thinking about concepts with concrete problems can make it harder
to think about how abstract concepts transfer into other topics/uses. So use multiple ways of
thinking about equations.

Take a mathematical concept you have learned and look at a concrete example of how it is applied.
Then step back and see if you can sense the abstract chunk of an idea underlying the application.
Can you think of a completely different way that concept might be used?

MEMORY
Single and dual n-back. Possibly helps improve working memory.

Memorization tool bulks up brains internal connections, by Bruce Goldman, March 8th 2017.
https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2017/03/memorization-tool-bulks-up-brains-internal-
connections.html
“The memorization skills of control participants trained in the method of loci improved dramatically.
They could recall almost as many words as the memory athletes could, and they achieved similar
results four months after completing training. Not only that, but their resting-state functional
connectivity patterns now more closely resembled those of the memory athletes than they had been
prior to training. No such memory gains and brain-connectivity changes were seen among
participants who received working-memory training or no training at all.”

Memory palace works in the same way as diffuse thinking, via the ‘resting state network’.
How to use memory palace/loci method:
1. Must be a building or route known thoroughly.
2. Place concepts/ideas at distinct points along the way, don’t confuse them.
PROBLEM SOLVING STATEGIES

Polya’s problem solving techniques.