Effective Learning!

[pulasthi]

learning essentially has 3 steps. encoding, storing and decoding or retrieving.

 

Encoding - understanding information that you receive and transform them in to understandable format.

 

Storing - Most of the information we come across everyday doesn't get into our long term memory. But those information we use consciously for some time will leak into our long term memory. memory is a very broad topic. so it'll be not effective to talk about memory here. So I'll be submitting an article about memory and how you can effectively strengthen your memory soon.

 

Initially all information that we come across is stored in our short term memory. Then depending on the significance of the information, how long the information was used consciously and other factors, the information will be stored or will left over. Those factors will also decide how easy those memories can be retrieved.

 

Retrieve / Decode - Retrieving memory form where we stored.

 

I just wanted to give a brief overview of the processes involved in learning. Now we'll discuss, how you can use these theories practically to improve your learning.

 

You can use these easy to use methods. There are two methods that i recommend you to use.

 

1. SQ3R

2. MURDER

 

* SQ3R

 

Survey - Before you start studying a particular section, go through it on the surface and try to get a picture of what you are going to learn

 

Questions - Try to make some question that you expect to get answered by studying that particular section.

 

Read - Read the section carefully (This should be a very cognitive process) and try to understand the concepts.

 

Recite - Try to read out what you have read with out looking at the text. Even if the theory suggest this step, i don't recommend this for science and math students. But you can use this to test your memory on certain formulas and so on.

 

Review - Although all the steps are important, i find this step very very important. This is the step which require lot of concentration. In this step you have to re memorise and check your understanding of certain principals and concepts. Also you can apply what you just learnt to real world examples and check your understanding. Doing problems from the lesson will fall into this category.

 

MURDER is a very similar technique. It also use the same principals as SQ3R.

 

I'll add a new article on MURDER soon. check this blog for new updates.

 

Check out myblog for updates: www.pulasthi.info

[valy]

To me, one of the most sriking things about puplic education today is that, although students are required to remember ever increasing amounts of information, they are not actually thought the principles of memory and learning methods, especially with regard to textual information, wich makes up most of the curriculum, and where great improvements are actually achievable. It's like asking people to read books without teaching them how to read. To be able to efficiently commit textual information to memory, a skill needs to be developed in the same way we develop a skill to incode and decode the meaning of textuall information (reading and writing) in the first place. These are not things our brain evolved to do naturally. The paradox is that we have had the means to acopmlish this since the time of ancient Greeks and Romans, anchient scholars would use visual mnemonic systems (not the A,B,C,D,E,F,G type) to memorize entire books. And these where only primitive versions of what is available today. So I think any one who is interested in effective learning should seek out and learn these things for themselves. Here's what I use:

 

[[MOD NOTE: LINK REMOVED AS SPAM]]

Edited January 22, 2009 by mooeypoo

[nitric]

should'nt learning also include understanding valy, if all you do is have pupils memorize "stuff" then there not going to be able to use that information, say if you have a pupil memorize 1+1=2, then they get the problem 2+2=?, what do they do

[freero]

hey people check out this science startpage... has all the science sites in one.. pretty cool check it out ... http://www.seemyspam.com

Edited January 28, 2009 by Phi for All
links to external site changed

[magi13]

learning essentially has 3 steps. encoding, storing and decoding or retrieving.

 

Encoding - understanding information that you receive and transform them in to understandable format.

 

Storing - Most of the information we come across everyday doesn't get into our long term memory. But those information we use consciously for some time will leak into our long term memory. memory is a very broad topic. so it'll be not effective to talk about memory here. So I'll be submitting an article about memory and how you can effectively strengthen your memory soon.

 

Initially all information that we come across is stored in our short term memory. Then depending on the significance of the information, how long the information was used consciously and other factors, the information will be stored or will left over. Those factors will also decide how easy those memories can be retrieved.

 

Retrieve / Decode - Retrieving memory form where we stored.

 

I just wanted to give a brief overview of the processes involved in learning. Now we'll discuss, how you can use these theories practically to improve your learning.

 

You can use these easy to use methods. There are two methods that i recommend you to use.

 

1. SQ3R

2. MURDER

 

* SQ3R

 

Survey - Before you start studying a particular section, go through it on the surface and try to get a picture of what you are going to learn

 

Questions - Try to make some question that you expect to get answered by studying that particular section.

 

Read - Read the section carefully (This should be a very cognitive process) and try to understand the concepts.

 

Recite - Try to read out what you have read with out looking at the text. Even if the theory suggest this step, i don't recommend this for science and math students. But you can use this to test your memory on certain formulas and so on.

 

Review - Although all the steps are important, i find this step very very important. This is the step which require lot of concentration. In this step you have to re memorise and check your understanding of certain principals and concepts. Also you can apply what you just learnt to real world examples and check your understanding. Doing problems from the lesson will fall into this category.

 

MURDER is a very similar technique. It also use the same principals as SQ3R.

 

I'll add a new article on MURDER soon. check this blog for new updates.

 

Check out myblog for updates: www.**************

 

I like the SQR3 method. I have some questions though, do you think this method would complement mind mapping?

 

Mind map

1. Start from a central topic

2. Branch of to subtopics

3. Using key words/key images

 

To me, one of the most sriking things about puplic education today is that, although students are required to remember ever increasing amounts of information, they are not actually thought the principles of memory and learning methods, especially with regard to textual information, wich makes up most of the curriculum, and where great improvements are actually achievable. It's like asking people to read books without teaching them how to read. To be able to efficiently commit textual information to memory, a skill needs to be developed in the same way we develop a skill to incode and decode the meaning of textuall information (reading and writing) in the first place. These are not things our brain evolved to do naturally. The paradox is that we have had the means to acopmlish this since the time of ancient Greeks and Romans, anchient scholars would use visual mnemonic systems (not the A,B,C,D,E,F,G type) to memorize entire books. And these where only primitive versions of what is available today. So I think any one who is interested in effective learning should seek out and learn these things for themselves. Here's what I use:

 

[[MOD NOTE: LINK REMOVED AS SPAM]]

 

With respect to mnemonics, I do believe we have to understand first what we wish to remember before we rely on mnemonics or rote memory. I myself read the book two times before I memorize the important things.

 

1. To have an overview of the book.

2. Zero on the topics that I need to learn.

3. Memorize.

 

Which method do you utilize for memorizing information?

 

I use either rote memory or method of loci.

 

should'nt learning also include understanding valy, if all you do is have pupils memorize "stuff" then there not going to be able to use that information, say if you have a pupil memorize 1+1=2, then they get the problem 2+2=?, what do they do

 

True, learning is about understanding/comprehension/application.