Effective Learning

Working With Your Brain

Your brain is an amazingly efficient learning machine. If you find it difficult to learn then it isn't your brain that is the problem, it is the way that you are trying to use it.

Diagram showing the correct way to eat with a spoon and the incorrect way

I learn things but just forget them again.

A fundamental part of learning is forgetting things. Your brain remembers things it judges to be important and forgets things it judges unimportant.

You need to work with your brain not against it - show it what you want to learn, use the tools it has, respect its limitations.

The core technique is spaced repetition. Essentially the more times you do something the more likely you are to remember it. Go to the Test Preparation section to find out more.

To get the most from your learning time you need to plan how to use it properly. Go to the Study Skills section to find out more.

I look at the answer and still don't know how to do the question.

Write down clear feedback beside the question. If you nearly understand the method then simply writing down your feedback or asking someone about the problem can be enough.

That is because by putting it into words you are thinking about it and organising it in your head. The brain is not a filing cabinet of facts it is a network of paths between ideas. By thinking about the problem you spark connections. You may already have the ideas you need and now they will connect up.

Use your feedback yourself. When you come back to the question later do you now see whatever it was you didn't understand before? If not and you are still confused then that is what your teacher is for.

What do I say in my feedback?

Your feedback should be specific. What in particular is confusing you? Do you understand the question? Do you know what the answer will look like? Do you know what technique to use? Do you understand why that technique works?

In your feedback you should also say what you will do to improve. Come to a clinic? Do similar questions? Work with a friend? ...and don't just say it - do it.

You should also give feedback to your teacher in homework if you used help to answer a question. This helps them to know what to work on with you in the lessons.

Here is an example of good written feedback from one of my students:

Why is this good feedback?

• It says what help was used (they used an example and the actual answer)
• It explains how the help was used
• It says (at the beginning) what they will do now

It would have been even better if the student had said which steps were the hardest to remember.

Test Preparation

Test preparation isn't about shoving more knowledge into your memory, it is about training your brain to draw knowledge and skills out of your memory.

To achieve this you need a carefully planned programme of effortful work. If the work is easy then you are not learning much.

Do and Check

Always check your answer as soon as you have done a question - don't do another similar question until after you have checked.

Why is this best? Practice Makes Permanent, so make sure you are practising the correct method.

Method:

• Do a question from your book, a worksheet, a website or Century. Just make sure you can look up the correct answer or that your answer is marked automatically.
• Check your answer.
• If it is wrong...
• go to your book or your notes or an example or a website or another person to work out how to do it correctly;
• try the question again;
• and keep trying until you are getting it correct.
• At the end of your preparation session note down all the questions you got wrong.
• Do these again a few days later (see Spaced Practice below).

Retrieval Practice

Don't just look at information, practise retrieving information and using methods and skills.

Why is this best? This is what you have to do in the test, so practise doing it. You will also learn faster and remember for longer. See the chart at the end of this document.

Method: Generative tasks are the best form of retrieval practice, tasks where you have to produce something.

• Brain dump: Write, draw, make a mind map with everything you know about a topic;
• Quizzes: Create practice questions on a topic, then swap your questions with a partner and get quizzing;
• Flashcards: Create your own flashcards with a question on one side and the answer on the other - as you start to learn answers drop those cards from the pack;

Spaced Practice

Plan and spread out your preparation.

Why is this best? If you ask your memory to retrieve something often over time then it will store it ready for easy access. You will be relaxed and confident going into the test since you know that you can retrieve what you will need.

Method: When memorizing something or practising a method, start at least a week before the test (using retrieval practice), then repeat the next day – note the parts you don’t remember, then 2 days later, then 3 days later, each time focusing on retrieving the parts you couldn’t recall last time.

But do these really work?

We did a survey after a test to see how effective these methods are compared to just reading your notes or the textbook - this graph shows the results.