In my previous post, I outlined the three core skills for success in work and life. One of these is Meta-learning, which essentially means understanding how to learn best. Having the drive to be a lifelong learner alone isn’t enough - we need to constantly adapt our techniques, understand our own strengths and limitations and be open to doing things differently.
The infographic below is from information by The Learning Scientists and are based on sound educational research. I want to outline some more about this from Scott Young, an ‘Ultralearner’ who has developed skills to learn four languages in a year and complete MIT’s four-year computer science curriculum in 12 months. He knows what he’s talking about and much of it fits with the evidence below. Links to both these references at the end.
Focus
We need to be able to switch on our focus quickly and to be able to focus intensely. There are three important areas here: avoiding procrastination, failing to sustain focus (distraction) and optimal arousal state for learning.
We procrastinate because we have another task that craves our attention, or because we have an aversion to doing the actual task at hand. If you're struggling, the key to starting to set yourself a '5-minute rule'. Commit to starting one manageable task and devote five minutes to it. The fear of starting or urge not to work is temporary, and once you start, will likely disappear. From there, use the Pomodoro technique of alternating 25 minutes work with 5 minutes rest or reward.
We all know what distracts us. Our environment includes phones/internet, noises and background multitasking. Our mind is often the culprit presenting us with negative emotions, restlessness, daydreaming or rumination. Mindfulness, including mindful meditation, can help with the latter, and we need to be aware of and manage aggressively the former. Sometimes the task itself can enhance distraction - some people find reading or watching videos makes distraction more likely. Active use of the mind and notetaking can help avoid this.
Optimal arousal state for learning is a bell-shaped curve. If you are sleepy, then you'll not likely be able to learn effectively. If you are overly anxious or stressed then similarly. Recognise where you are in terms of arousal and find out what level works best for you.
When you are training for focus, be intentional. Recognise where you are with the above three considerations. Increase your time for focused study gradually, and you will come to see your frustrations as challenges.
Directness
The Learning Scientists talk about ‘concrete examples’ but Scott goes one further. Directness is about doing all you can to tie the learning to the situation or context that you will be using the material. If you want to be a great doctor, then you won't become one by reading books in a library. It would be best if you saw patients, challenge yourself and learn in real-life contexts - on the ward, in clinic or the operating theatre. If you are studying specifically for an oral exam or OSCE - then practice under the same conditions and, if possible, physical environment that you'll be taking the exam. If that's going to be virtual, then get on Zoom or Teams with your colleagues and mentors. Weld your learning through directness as much as possible—real-life situations or immersive learning through simulation.
Drill
It's super important that you know your areas of weakness through a combination of self-awareness, experimentation and rigorous feedback. What is your rate-limiting step in performing at the top of your game? After you have identified this, you need to use drill to bring that area up to speed. Then re-integrate into the bigger picture:
Direct attempt
Identify the rate-limiters
Drill
Bring back to direct practice
This is what athletes do for complicated manoeuvres and what musicians do for challenging parts of a score. What drill can you do?
Time slice - break down the task, practice complex bits and then bring it back together
Cognitive components - break down the skill into parts, for example, if communication skills challenge you under pressure, then practice without the stress first, and then up the ante.
Copy - try using someone else's examples or words, and concentrate on the delivery. It will be easier to make it your own once you've practised for a while.
It's important to remember that mentally strenuous exercises provide a more significant benefit to learning than doing something easy.
Retrieval: Test to learn
"It pays better to wait and recollect by an effort from within than to look at the book again" -William James, psychologist.
Research has shown that free recall leads to almost 50% more retention compared to repeat text review (reading through your notes) or concept mapping. BUT, the repeat review group predicted they would do best, and the free recall group expected they would do worse.
The judgment of learning theory indicates that if the learning task feels effortless and smooth, we believe that we learned it. Repeat review is simply about recognition - not learning. Difficult retrieval unequivocally leads to better learning, and delayed testing is better than immediate. Another identified benefit is that regular testing of previously studied information makes it easier to learn new information.
So what do you practice retrieve? The answer is anything that you will need to actually do when undertaking the task at hand. Retrieval tactics include:
Flashcards - best for cue-response paired learning, less good for concepts.
Free recall - write down all you know about the lecture on a piece of paper. This one is difficult!
Question book method - when taking notes, rephrase what is recorded as questions to ask yourself later. It's most useful to restate the 'big idea' of a chapter as a question, not the minute detail.
Self-generated challenges - for skill practice, not just factual recall.
Closed book concept-mapping.
Feedback
Feedback is one of the most consistent aspects of the strategy used by people who need to learn a lot and learn it fast. It features prominently in research about the use of deliberate practice to acquire expertise. It's an essential ingredient to reaching expert levels of performance.
Research tells us that feedback needs to contain information to guide future learning. Ego-directed feedback, on the other hand - also called praise - has been found to harm learning. Also, feedback that is a personal evaluation ('you're so smart' or 'you're lazy') negatively impacts on learning. The types of feedback you need are:
Outcome feedback
Informational feedback
Corrective feedback
Outcome feedback is the least useful - you either pass, or you don't. You know that you did something right or wrong, but not really how to fix it. It can give you a motivational benchmark against your goal or guide you on the relative merits of different methods you might be trying.
Informational feedback tells you what you're doing wrong, but not necessarily how to fix it. Practice exams can sit in this domain unless the marker provides detailed feedback. Also, non-experts or peers testing each other can land here, unless you have thorough background notes.
The best kind of feedback is corrective feedback. You generally need access to a tutor, coach or mentor, although you can get this with high-quality flashcards for example.
Because this type of feedback is so important, it's advantageous to consider what resources are available to you. Can you organise a meeting with an expert in an area where you are struggling? Make sure that you utilise fully the face-to-face sessions you get with your tutors. Use this time to clear up conceptual issues identified through other types of feedback and retrieval testing.
Feedback timing
When is the best time to get feedback? Research is in favour of immediate feedback - although you still need to try your best to answer your questions first; otherwise, it will turn retrieval practice into passive review, which is not helpful! When you're working on feedback to improve your skillset, don't forget about meta-learning - the core of what we are discussing here. Can you assess how quickly you are learning, what learning techniques and at what intensity are giving you the best return on your effort?
Receiving feedback isn't always easy, especially if you process it as a message about your ego rather than your skills. It gets easier with practice, and once you get into the habit of receiving it, it becomes easier to process without overreacting emotionally.
Retention
Losing access to previously learned knowledge has been a problem for educators, students and psychologists since the beginning of time.. The skill of retention depends on using strategies and there are four main mechanisms for this.
Memory mechanism 1: repeat to remember. One of the best tips about studying, supported by research, is that if you care about long-term retention, don't cram. Spreading learning sessions over more intervals, over more extended periods leads to better performance in the long run. Another strategy for applying spacing is to schedule refresher retrieval self-tests.
Memory mechanism 2: proceduralisation. When you practice something intensively, it will become proceduralised. Examples of this include riding a bike or touch-typing. A strategy for playing this might be to ensure that a certain amount of knowledge is wholly proceduralised before practice concludes. Another approach might be to spend extra effort to proceduralise some skills which will service cues for other knowledge.
Memory mechanism 3: overlearning - practice beyond perfect. Where overlearning has been studied, the duration of learning is extended, refining the core elements of the skill. A second strategy is an advanced practice, going one level above a specific set of skills so that the core parts of the lower-level skills are overlearned, as one applies to them in the more difficult domain.
There’s quite a bit of information here and you will have to experiment to discover what works best for you. Some of the strategies are hard and some run counter to what you may have been doing to date. But that’s part of self-development. We’re all a constant work in progress.
Danny Tucker
More:
Learning Scientists FAQ about the 6 strategies
Learning Scientists blog
Scott Young’s blog