tags : learning,education,brain
source : I just finished the online Coursera course “Learning how to learn”
There’s this popular course on coursera about learning how to learn, i found this nice summary of the whole thing on reddit. This document is the summary of the summary.
working : - neurons are the fundamental unit, receives sensory input and sends motor commands to rest of the body - information form one neuron to another flows across a synapse - human brain has million billion synapses - when you learn something new, a new synapse is created - exercising is by far more effective than any drug to help you learn better. It helps new neurons survive. - Intelligence does matter. Being smart usually equate to having a large working memory (more than just four slots).
procrastinate : - because learning something new causes some kind of anxiety, it activates the area associated with pain in the brain, so your brain will try to resort to whatever seems more easy at that moment - trick is to just start, as soon as we start, this discomfort disappears from the brain - Procrastination is a habit that affects many areas of your life, if you improve in this area, many positive changes will unfold.
abstract things : - The more abstract something is, the more important it is to practice. Eg. one should practice a lot with the math vocabulary to understand it and recall it easier. - It is often helpful to pretend that you are the concept you’re trying to understand.
sleeping : - do not cram information in one day, understand a degree of information and let your brain rest at it for a sleep cycle and then go on the next set of information. I’ve found it very applicable on myself. - so in summary, i should not try to get deep into a topic in a day, understand one level, let the brain rest and then go on to the next level. Otherwise it’s like building a wall without letting it dry. - It clears the metabolic toxins from the brain after a day of “brain use”. It is best to sleep directly after learning new things.
dealing with complex info : - chunking: chunking is the act of grouping concepts into compact packages of information that are easier for the mind to access. - how i am using chunking: it’s essentially like a function but once it’s in a compact package, it should only take one slot of your working memory. - You learn complex concepts by trying to make sense out of the information you perceive. Not by having someone else telling it to you.
galaxy brain : - need to turn off distraction when brain is at work - solve the problem myself - things get easier as you learn, it’s called transfer - master the major idea and then start getting deeper
recalling : - when coming back to some info, try recalling it without looking at it(practice recalling), re-read only after you recall. - recall things when at different settings to be independent of location cues - don’t just recall the easy stuff, recall the hard stuff - Keep repeating what you want to learn so that the metabolic toxins won’t suck away the neural patterns related to that memory. Spaced repetition is the key.
DON’T : - highlight too much - creating maps without recalling them is ineffective. So if you make references make sure to recall them.
Habits : - Habit is an energy saver. You don’t need to focus when performing different habitual tasks. - can be good or bad, brief or long. - Habits are powerful because they create neurological cravings. - only once your brain starts expecting a reward will the important rewiring takes place that will allow you to create new habits.
memory : - Create meaningful groups and abbreviations.