Tips for good Learning

George Ferrao

Illusions of Competence

Learning How to Learn

Illusions of Competence

What makes some students “good learners”, while others who often spend more time studying the matter do not fare as well? Very often we find students saying that they know a topic thoroughly but do not fare well at the time of their examinations.

Those involved in the field of Education, term these as “Illusions of Competence”. Asher Koriat from the University of Haifa and Robert A. Bjork from the University of California, Los Angeles published a paper in the year 2005 in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, titled “Illusions of Competence in Monitoring One’s Knowledge During Study”. In this study the authors identified the main cause for Errors in Judgments on Learning was caused by the differences that are present between conditions that exist when the person is learning and when he is being tested. The most obvious difference is that during study the answer is also present before the student while during testing the answer is not.

Another reason for students having an incorrect idea about their preparedness for their tests is that during study students are in familiar surroundings from which they pick up cues that aid their ability to accurately reproduce the matter they are trying to study. During the tests however they are in an examination hall; unfamiliar surroundings which hamper their ability to recall what they have studied.

Text books and other study material are often organized by topic. This means that at the time of learning a student tackles problems that are similar and require a consistent approach to solve them. During testing however, these problems could be in random order, with no cues in the test paper as to how they should be handled.

How can a student overcome these Illusions of Competency? It is of the utmost importance that a student can accurately assess his level of competence so that he can face examinations while being fully prepared.

Links to other articles:

Illusions of Competence

George Ferrao

Overcoming Illusions of Competence

Learning How to Learn

Overcoming Illusions of Competence

How does one counter Illusions of Competence?

Active Recall is one technique that a student can use to improve his learning capabilities and eliminate false Judgments of Learning. Instead of reading and rereading the material to be studied, the student is encouraged to practice recalling what he has just read.

For this to be effective, the recall sessions should be spaced out over several days.

Recall as a study tool also works better when it is practiced in diverse and unfamiliar surroundings. Instead of sitting in the same room and recalling the matter that one has learned, it would be better if the student tried it while taking a shower, jogging or even while waiting for the bus. This will reduce the problem associated with being tested in the unfamiliar setting of the examination hall.

To counter the difficulty of solving a series of problems using the same technique it is recommended that the student mixes up the problems and tackle them from different sections in a single study session. This is exactly what the student would face at an examination.

Links to other articles:

George Ferrao

Managing time and the Pomodoro Technique

Learning How to Learn

Managing time and the Pomodoro technique

Another question faced by students especially those doing higher studies is “How many hours should I study at a stretch?” Very often students getting less than average grades feel they should increase the amount of time they study in order to do better.

However scientists have found out that the Law of Diminishing Returns as applied to Learning kicks in here. Increasing the number of hours studied does not produce a proportionate increase in the amount of learning. Instead it has been found that students doing short periods of intense study followed by a short break do better at learning.

One method that uses this is the famous Pomodoro Technique which was developed by Francesco Cirillo during the 1980s. Although Pomodoro in Italian means “Tomato”, this technique has nothing to do with tomatoes but more to do with the tomato-shaped kitchen timer that Francesco Cirillo used when he was a student.

A Kitchen Timer

The Pomodoro Technique consists of breaking up your tasks into 25 minutes intervals. Each 25 minutes of focused study should be followed by a 5 minute break. Another period of intense study can then be started. After 4 periods of such intense study followed by short breaks, it is time for a longer break of 20 to 30 minutes.

In order to successfully use the Pomodoro Technique, a few things need to be kept in mind.

• While 25 minute study periods worked very well for Cirillo, studies on our daily biological cycles which are also called ultradian rhythms, showed that most people can stay focused for about 90 – 120 minutes. Dr. Elin Ekblom-Bak the renowned Swedish sports scientist however recommends that we should take breaks every 45 minutes. Work out a time period that is suitable for you.

• Whatever time period you may choose for your focused study, you should ensure that there are no distractions during this period. Turn off the phone, Television, Music, Chat, Email and shut the door of your room so that no one will disturb you.

• When your time period is completed take a break even if you are in the flow of things and even if the task is not completed. This may seem to be a waste of time but over a long period it helps in maintaining higher energy levels.

• Don’t use Social Networking during your breaks. Instead move away from your desk, take a walk, have a cup of coffee or just meditate.

• You may sometimes feel tired even before your focused study period is completed. In such a situation it is okay to take a break. This will help in getting your concentration levels up again.

Links to other articles:

George Ferrao

Importance of Sleep in Learning

Learning How to Learn

Importance of Sleep in Learning

Just as some students mistakenly spend hours and hours together studying in the hope that this will help them in their studies, so also some students think that cutting down on their sleeping hours will give them more time to study.

This however is wrong. While it has been known for some time now that insufficient sleep will cause various health problems like high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes and increase the risk of Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease it has now been shown that sleep is of utmost importance even when it comes to improving the ability to learn.

Dr. Maiken Nedergaard, Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Rochester conducted a study on mice and discovered that when the mice slept their brain cells shrank and there was an increase in the flow of cerebrospinal fluid. This increase flow of cerebrospinal fluid caused the harmful proteins that build up in the brains when the mice were awake to be washed away.

Sleep is important for Cats too!

This according to Nedergaard could be the reason that we don’t think clearly if we have not slept properly the previous night.

Other studies have shown that sleep plays a very important role in Learning both before learning and after learning. Dr. Ines Wilhelm of the University of Tübingen's Institute for Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology studied the importance of sleep and found that it was very important for children to sleep well. This allowed children to absorb properly even things that were learned subconsciously.

Links to other articles: