5 practical ways to speed up learning

    bolgarka

    Have you ever studied something that was forgotten the very next day? So that the time and effort invested in training is literally put to the wind, and skills and knowledge have never been used again?

    The root of this problem often lies in the way in which this knowledge was obtained. Few of us know how to learn in the most effective and fastest way, so that new skills and knowledge are preserved for at least a long time.

    The answer to this problem might be the following intensification tips to speed up learning. The proposed methods will allow you to master any skill much harder and faster.

    Find a significant (emotionally colored) learning target


    Man is a strange creature. We are mostly illogical and extremely emotional. You can argue about the benefits of such our device, but this is just a natural mechanism that we inherited from distant ancestors to tightly remember the events associated with strong emotional experiences. Previously, this mechanism provided survival for our species, but now we can use it to intensify learning and memorization. For this, it is necessary to emotionally link the studied subject. When a strong passion is attached to learning, the knowledge and skills associated with this emotion are acquired instantly and almost tightly, regardless of the quality of the emotion (although negative emotions have a slightly higher coefficient of performance). I, for example, after the first disk that has flown to pieces,

    We need a serious incentive for learning. The big goal, tied to the emotional component, is visualized and activates the brain processes of collecting and remembering information.

    As all teachers know and many students guess, learning for the sake of learning is rarely a good idea. Here, situations come to mind when, after passing the session exams, students “format” the memory, freeing themselves from extra knowledge.

    Michael Jordan, under pain of relegation from a basketball team in high school, performed more than a thousand free throws every morning in order to become the best player in the world (everyone knows the result).

    Also an example is the situation in which a person who was previously considered completely uneducable in foreign languages, a kind of anti-polyglot, was able to motivate himself so that three months before a trip to Spain he learned to speak Spanish fluently.

    Such a shift of the target point into the emotional sphere significantly increases the motivation for learning at a subconscious level, which in turn leads to an increase in the level of effectiveness and speed of learning.

    Do you remember? Better write down!


    For a long time did not write by hand? Do you think this skill is no longer relevant? In vain! Old as the truth of the world, lies in the fact that the dumbest pencil is better than the sharpest memory.

    Studies were conducted in which the subjects were divided into two groups, in one of which the participants wrote by hand, and the second part of the group used various electronic devices. Exactly half an hour after the lecture, the survey showed the superiority of the group who recorded the material manually. A week later, another control slice was carried out, showing an even more pronounced superiority of the group taking notes by hand.

    What can be learned from the results of this study? Firstly, it is obvious that the capabilities of the human brain are extremely poorly studied, but the experiment shows the existence of effective mechanisms of indirect assimilation of information that are involved in the case of mechanical recording. Secondly, it is foolish to insist on the archaic nature of this method of recording information and not to use it for more effective training.

    Teach someone else


    Have you ever tried to explain a hard-to-formulate concept or problem to someone? When you try to teach someone, you are forced to simplify concepts in order to help another person understand them easily. Thus, the task of understanding is also made easier for you, which makes the material more clear and easily digestible.

    Studies show that people only remember:
    • 5% of what they learned from the lecture.
    • 10% of what you read.
    • 20% of what they learned through audio-visual exposure.
    • 30% of the visual demonstration (experience, experiment).
    • 50% of the group discussion material.
    • 75% of the practical development of the theory.
    • 90% of what they explain to someone else.

    In the learning process, you can use various supporting materials, such as mental maps. Having examined any concept “on the fingers”, you will no longer be able to forget it, no matter how much you would like to. From my personal experience I can recall a rather incidental case when an electronics teacher explained to us the principle of the transistor using the example of the toilet and the drain system.

    Use or hammer


    Many language learners know that even having reached a certain level of fluency and an impressive amount of vocabulary, the lack of practice will still lead to a deterioration of the skill and depletion of the dictionary.

    Lack of practice is detrimental to any skill. Sometimes, after long pauses, it’s difficult even to ride a bicycle, let alone finer objects. Therefore, in order to maintain the level of proficiency, it is imperative to devote time to practice.

    In the process of maintaining shape, make sure that your surroundings at least sometimes correspond to this task. In the case of language, try to set aside time to communicate with people who are just as interested. The common interest in the subject allows us to constantly be in a state of learning in the process of communication, while also receiving instant feedback.

    Do not forget about modern features. After all, you and thousands of kilometers could share you with like-minded people, but now you are just a click away. Themed groups on social networks and forums will give you the kind of social circle you want.

    Watch yourself


    When you are 20 years old, you can easily spend the whole night lecturing a course of lectures and be a cucumber in the morning, but every year the body’s resources only decrease and nightly vigils will lead to the fact that in the morning you don’t remember anything. Sleep is absolutely necessary, because it is one of the phases of processing and assimilation of information. Student night cramming involves short-term memory, which results in a situation in which, after passing the exams, students do not know anything. Thus, if we want to preserve skills in the long run, non-regime brain pressure is completely unacceptable.

    Dozens of studies have shown that the amount of sleep is directly proportional to the amount of information acquired. Without adequate sleep and rest, neurons plowing for wear may not function properly, as a result of which the ability to reproduce previously recorded information is lost.

    Sleep quality also matters. Poor quality of sleep negatively affects the emotional balance, which, as I mentioned above, is very important for the assimilation of information and has a strong impact on learning abilities. Changes in mood affect our ability to acquire and store information.

    Doctors recommend exercise to improve sleep quality. Good sleep and training optimizes thinking, improves alertness, attention and motivation, as well as stimulates the development of new nerve cells from stem cells in the hippocampus (the area of ​​the brain associated with memory and learning).

    Next time, when you are planning to learn something, remember these simple tips and use at least one, I guarantee a more effective and intensive process, and a better result. Thanks for attention!

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