Learning new things is necessary to continue personal development. Without obtaining new skills and forming new connections in your brain is a place where mental decline begins. But how to be more successful in learning? Here are a couple of my thoughts combined with the things I listened from „Ultralearning“ book. Or is it the other way around?
First of all, there are no magic tricks that will give you new skills or knowledge without your own input. When I was a kid, I wished above all that I would know an answer to all questions in the world. Unfortunately, there is no such device or possibility that could help me or anyone else with this. There is no good way of knowing new things without putting time and effort in. So, you have to want to learn and you would have to take time for it yourself.
Metalearning
If you want to learn a new skill, the first thing is to start structuring the skillset needed. Want to learn Chinese? Try to understand the system of how the Chinese hieroglyphs are built from different blocks, instead of starting to memorize them 1 by 1.
Focus and arousal in learning
Have you ever read a couple of pages of a book and noticed at one point that your mind was actually somewhere else and you do not remember anything from the last couple of pages? Well, I have. Trying to focus on your task is a key component in learning new skills. It is best to figure out your current mood and arousal as well to decide which tasks are optimal to perform at that point. High arousal is good for a task where you need to do a lot of repetitions and work in high intensity. Lower arousal is much better for tasks that require creativity and retrieving things from memory.
Try to emulate real life while learning
In case you have studied French at school for several years and still find yourself in a difficult position when you need to ask a way from a stranger in Paris, you most probably have wondered what went wrong back then? The thing is that the context of learning is also important. When you studied the textbook and have a vocabulary of 5000 words does not mean that you can quickly retrieve them when needed. When learning a new language or coding, practising IRL from day 1 is what actually teaches you the best. Always try to get to practice as fast as possible. Maybe if you want to become a pilot, do not start flying the plane on your first day, but
Drills
From time to time you need drilling to become better. For instance, practicing a tennis serve or golf opening strike you need to do a lot of repetitions to get better. When you have mastered a certain level you will need to advance your understanding to the next level and then come back to drills again. And then the cycle repeats all over again.
How to better memorize
There are two major memorizing techniques. Reviewing and recalling. Recalling is a much better and efficient technique. Yet a lot of people rely more on reviewing the material. But instead of reading over second or third time what ligand types are the main ones in the science of pharmacology, try recalling them. It is harder but more rewarding in the long term. So test yourself to get better.
Writing this essay about learning techniques is a recalling technique for me as well, to better memorize the learning ;)
When you are trying to memorize new things, do not cram too much on top of each other. Better try keeping the memorizing sessions brief but reasonably frequent. Your brain needs some time and space to save new information.
What type of feedback helps
Feedback is a really valuable part of
Another example from the PE lesson and 60 m running. If everyone who ran 60 m will get a remark “thumbs up” from a teacher, then that is outcome feedback. If a student running 9,0 would get a 5 and the one who ran 10,0 would get a 3, then that is informational feedback. If a student also gets information on how to correct the running technique to be faster next time, then the teacher was giving correctional feedback.
Always try to get correctional feedback, that will help you the most.
How to become an expert?
Experiment with your new knowledge helps to become a master. The first time you cook bread, try to stick to the recipe. Then start experimenting with different flavours and additions to become an even greater expert. Trying to get a deeper understanding of the topic is key for mastering a skill. The deeper the level of understanding the easier you can explain it to others, is the rule of thumb.
Now I am not sure how easily readable my essay was. Quite sure that I am not an expert in teaching you to learn, but writing this down for my own sake definitely helps me, so the mission of this essay is 80% accomplished already at this point. If one of you read it this far, then even more.
Have a nice and valueable time learning new skills in your life.