Learning - How To Maximize For Effectiveness

The Human Brain Wasn't Designed To Remember Everything

Memory is tricky, our brain pretty much works as if by putting information through a sieve when it comes to learning.

The reality is, our ability to learn is such a huge predictor of our successes on how much we want to improve with our knowledge and skills in life. It all requires mastering skill after skill.

Unless we were born with a photographic memory, our brains weren’t designed to remember every fact, information, or experience.

It has been determined that on average an individual can remain focused on a task for about 45 minutes if that attention is undivided.

Further studies have recently concluded that on average human capacity to focus attention under these circumstances are:

5% of what they learn when they’ve learned from a lecture (i.e. university/college lectures)
10% of what they learn when they’ve learned from reading (i.e. books, articles)
20% of what they learn from audio-visual (i.e. apps, videos)
30% of what they learn when they see a demonstration
50% of what they learn when engaged in a group discussion.
75% of what they learn when they practice what they learned.
90% of what they learn when they use immediately (or teach others)

The emphasis here is that instead of forcing our brains to only receive the information we have to learn in a “passive” state, we should be more focused on “participatory” techniques that involve our time, energy, and resources, which in the long run, has been proven to deliver faster favorable results.

By taking participatory action it allows the individual to inspect closely the processes or the details of the information of a task, permitting the brain to have a better grasp of what has been learnt.

Moreover, when you connect the information with what you already know, then your brain will remember the similarities within the processes.

To help reinforce the information you are learning it is necessary to remain focused on studying after one hour, and again after 24 hours.

Whether you realize it or not, cognitive learning has played an important role in our life ever since we were babies. So, you learn through experiences, emotions, friendships, and people, and you never stop learning.
Paul Bloom Professor of Psychology, Cognitive Science at Yale University, substantiated that the six major categories of cognitive processes are:

Knowledge
Comprehension
Application
Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation

These categories can be thought of as degrees of difficulties. This means that the first step must normally be mastered before the next step can follow.

The significance of this learning strategy is to better understand how we each learn, which involves knowing our strengths and weaknesses in the learning process.

You are more likely to remember faster what you have learned when you are interested in a subject, but the reality is that some will go faster, some will go slower, the point is to do it and do it correctly.

Another way to maximize effectiveness in learning was determined on the importance to incorporate taking down notes the old-fashioned way - by researchers at the cognitive neuroscience laboratory at Aix-Marseille University.

As you take notes on paper, it requires you to carry out a preliminary process of summarizing and grasping (by rephrasing information), what is known as “desirable difficulty”.

This learning process is a key step in cognitive development and because we really have a “body memory”, longhand helps with memorizing and comprehending information faster.

Another helpful tool is to use flashcards that forces you to give answers to the questions you want to be proficient with.

In conclusion, with the current day's distractions or information overload it is imperative to be aware to stop ourselves from mindlessly consuming content without thought to how we are learning, shoving more information that stands no chance to stick and not helping us long term.

Mastering what we learn takes effort and energy, but it's worth it!!!


Quote for us:

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”  
  ―      Benjamin Franklin