Your Brain: The Missing Manual

Better Learning

Remembering is just one part of learning. And while remembering is a clearly defined challenge, learning is a lot more subtle. It depends on intangible things like personal experience, sadomasochistic instructors, field trips, and knowing when to listen and when to ask annoying questions.

That said, the information you've gleaned in this chapter and the previous ones provides a few useful insights into what learning strategies might work (and what ones are obviously doomed to fail). Here's a brief list that consolidates a few decades of educational research:

• Use multiple modalities. Most people have a preferred way to learn. Some master new facts by hearing them and copying them down, others rely on visual aids and imagery, while still others need to put the information into practice. If you're a student, determine how you learn best and try to devise practice sessions accordingly (rather than emulating other people's study habits). If you're a teacher, try to include a rich range of materials and exercises that invite students to engage with the materials in a variety of ways.

• Attention needs engagement. Studies show that so-called sleep learning—a dubious practice whereby you listen to recorded lectures while snoozing—is a wash out. The only way to really assimilate information is to pay attention. One of the best ways of encouraging attention is through questions. If you're an instructor, use the infamous double-questioning tactic. Ask students open-ended questions ...