Learning how to learn | Ryan Shafin
Obviously, that was an honest statement. We know very little about how to learn something. And I think there is hardly a more important question to ask than that. It is important, it empowers you in a way that no other skill can ever do.
What makes it more fascinating is that if you just know how to learn something, you will be able to learn anything! That’s great, right? So we thought hard and did some research about this amazing skill. Learning how to learn.
It is so unbelievable that our school system is missing it completely. Rarely does someone talk about it. At that moment, we thought that we were going to make it happen in our project. A complete map of "Learning how to learn".
Without any doubt, the Internet is the greatest blessing. Most of us are learning new things from the web. Focusing on our priority, we found out some of the best ways to learn anything on the internet. Our plan was to create a fully-fledged course or book where every tips, tactics and hacks will be given. But for the sake of the project, we are going to give 2 ideas of how to learn. If you want us to write more on this topic, feel free to reach us here.
Idea no. 1: The Feynman Technique
Sir Richard Feynman is known for his work in particle physics. He is also considered one of the greatest teachers. The Feynman Technique is his unique invention which has four simple steps to learn any concept.
Here are the steps:
- Identify the Topic.
- Teach It to a Child.
- Review Your Explanation.
- Simplify & Refine.
The gist of Feynman technique is this,
"Teaching is the best way to learn anything."
In order to really understand something well, you must be able to explain this to a child, or simply explain it to anyone.
First, choose a topic you want to learn. Let's say you want to learn about marketing. Write down everything you know and your understanding on this topic.
Secondly, explain this to yourself as simply as you can. Imagine yourself as a sixth grader kid, who can not understand jargon and heavy words. Try to explain it as simply as you can.
Then, review your understanding. Is something missing? Is this too hard to explain? What are the gaps in understanding? Answer this question and get back to your resources to reread and learn again.
Finally, go back and explain it simply again to yourself. You'll see, your understanding on this topic will be much better than ever before.
Watch this 4 million plus viewed 2 min animation video on The Feynman Technique.
Click To see the Video
Another quality watch: Richard Feynman and His Technique
Idea no. 2: Active recall
This technique is very effective for students who are trying to understand and remember topics.
It is proven that, if you want to learn something well, test yourself as much as you can. That will force your brain to retrieve more information throughout the process. This single technique is considered one of the best ways to remember and understand things.
Basically what you do is after studying something, you test yourself on that topic. When you test and ask yourself questions, your brain is forced to work hard and remember information. And that makes learning and remembering stronger and better.
Additional reading:
How to use Active Recall to become a Problem-Solving Machine
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