Intro

Everyone understands that to learn new concepts, you must study. In addition, we also know that practice allows us to retrieve information quickly when needed, such as on exams or solving complex assignments. For many people, to study means using strategies such as rereading chapters until it "feels like they know the material" or cramming the night before an exam. However, "rereading" fails more times than not, such as when attempting to explain concepts to someone else in your own words. At best, cramming helps you get through an exam the next day but results in wasted efforts when you realize the information never makes it to long-term memory.

Many research studies have been conducted to determine effective strategies to get the most out of study sessions and retain the material for long-term use. For example, in the book, Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning, authors Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III, and Mark A. McDaniel share research indicating that strategies such as rereading, cramming, or highlighting text are "illusions of learning" meaning, those strategies fool you into thinking you are learning and retaining information when in reality you are not.

Instead, the authors' research suggests that strategies such as retrieval practice, spaced practice, and generation support effective learning and leads to long-term memory retrieval. The following quote from the book expresses the importance of learning how to learn for success:

"No matter what you may set your sights on doing or becoming, mastering the ability to learn will get you in the game and keep you there."

In the next section, we will look at some of the strategies for effective learning elaborated throughout the book.

Effective Learning Strategies

Retrieval Practice

Retrieval practice is a strategy that involves testing yourself repeatedly on the information you want to commit to memory. According to the book, research indicates we forget about 70% of what we just learned. Therefore, after finishing a section, you should quiz yourself to strengthen retention before continuing to read. For example, ask: "What were the key ideas?" or "How does the information relate to what I already know?". Retrieval practice should be the primary learning strategy used to learn new material. The following quote from the book illustrates the benefits:

"The effort of retrieving knowledge strengthens its staying power."

Spaced Practice

Spaced Practice involves testing yourself repeatedly on the information in chunks spaced out over several days, weeks, and even months versus a massed practice session of many hours in one day. At first, the technique seems difficult and counterproductive because you may forget some of the information in between review sessions and thus feel "rusty." However, the act of forgetting strengthens your recall ability as you actively re-test yourself on the material. For example, suppose you first learn something new on a Monday. In that case, you might skip Tuesday and review the material again on Wednesday. Tools such as Anki, an intelligent flashcard program, can help by automating spaced out practice. Anki uses an algorithm to tell you when to review the material again based on how well you recalled the information during the previous review session.

Interleaved Practice

Interleaved Practice involves mixing up multiple skills or topics you wish to learn in the same study session versus focusing on only one skill or topic per session. Using interleaved practice forces your brain to use extra effort to spot similarities and differences between skills and strengthen your ability to retain the information and select the right solution for problems. For example, suppose you are practicing defense skills in basketball. You could spend an hour doing nothing but defending jump shots. However, for a more effective practice session, you might interleave practicing defending jump shots with driving to the basket and driving to shoot randomly in the same session.

Generation

Generation is a technique that involves making attempting to solve problems before receiving the solution. The benefit is that it forces your mind to be more receptive to learning. For example, if you are a student, you should read chapter content before going to class. By doing so, going to class feels more like a review session or environment for further clarification versus trying to make sense of the information you hear for the first time. For example, suppose you read the chapter content before going to class. In that case, you walk in armed with questions such as: "Is my understanding of the material consistent with the instructor's explanation?" to help solidify and deepen your learning.

Elaboration

Elaboration allows you to increase the probability of retaining new information by relating it to other information you already know. For example, according to Wikipedia, the definition of abstraction in computer science is: "the process of removing physical, spatial, or temporal details[2] or attributes in the study of objects or systems to focus attention on details of greater importance; Thus, you can explain abstraction in your own words by stating that "abstraction is the process of hiding unnecessary information." Elaboration is an excellent strategy to pair with the Retrieval practice strategy.

Mnemonics

Using mnemonics is an excellent strategy to use when you need to organize or structure related information in your mind to allow for quick retrieval. Note that mnemonics are not a learning strategy that promotes a deep understanding of the material in ways that tools such as Elaboration can but are helpful for specific content. For example, as a student, you need to memorize the five Great lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario. You can remember and recall the names easier using the mnemonic "HOMES," where each letter represents the first letter in each lake.

Summary

In summary, the mentioned strategies highlight many of the methods of learning demonstrated to be effective throughout the book based on scientific research. I encourage anyone looking to deepen their knowledge of effective learning to read the book to get more specifics and real-life examples provided by the authors.