Tips for Learning and Memory Retention

We're all consuming information, but very little actually sticks: Here is a 4 step process to help you better understand concepts . . . Most of us know the importance of self-development and its benefits on our lives, relationships, and careers. We take courses, read books, listen to podcasts, etc. But, once we're done, 90% of it is either forgotten or certainly never implemented. I cringe when I think about the books I've read and how much information was left on the table. Once I realized I wasn't retaining the material as I should have, I thought about how I could develop better learning systems. I'm still not where I want to be, but after researching ways to retain information, I use a system to get the most out of my learning and development. The Feynman Technique: How to better understand concepts 1). Study, take notes, and revise. (Most people won't take the time to do this) This step handles the memory & learning portion. Take out a piece of paper (yes paper) and jot down notes, study it, revise. There is something to be said about writing things down on good ole paper. Try it out. It's a game-changer. 2). Teach it. Grab a friend, sibling, or yourself. The idea is to be able to teach the material to a five-year-old. - Simple words - Draw pictures - Create examples If a five-year-old couldn't understand it, YOU don't understand it. 3). Reflect & Review - What weren't you able to teach clearly? - What areas was your knowledge shaky? - Where did you go blank? - What didn't you understand? Take note, and go back and fill in the gaps. 4). Refine You've reflected and have a fresh outlook. Now, kill your darlings. - Is there a simpler term? Write it. - Better picture? Draw it. - Better layout? Organize it. Keep refining until it's so simple and clean that, you guessed it, a five-year-old could understand. There are millions of things to learn out there. What will you do with it? Happy Selling! -- Enjoyed this? Consider resharing ♻️ for others. Don't forget to ring the 🔔 for more content like this. #sales #productivity #mindset

When we actively recall/retrieve information our brains put a little hashtag on it: #useful. And those tags compound with more retrievals. In addition, memories are best strengthened if they are retrieved just before we forget them. This means that the time between retrievals should increase with each one. Furthermore, the fewer cues we are given for recall increases the likelihood of making more associations between new information and prior knowledge. As such, learners can think analogously & apply concepts across contexts. Strategy 1: Use low stakes formative assessments as retrieval practice to enhance memory retention. Strategy 2: Incrementally increase the space between retrieval practice to maximize the effect. Strategy 3: Gradually increase the complexity of retrieval practice using the three types of recall to enhance depth of understanding. 3-4 of these retrieval events will suffice at about 15 minutes per. 🧠 Go for recall over recognition:  Don’t use multiple choice questions as a summative assessment because in the real world they won’t be given a set of options where one is the correct answer. Learners being forced to generate the information is more effective. Free recall is more effective than cued recall and recognition, though it’s prudent for learners to work their way up from recognition to recall. 🔠 Make sure the context and mode of retrieval is varied:  Mix it up. One day they post a video. Next, have them write something. The Later, have them create a diagram or map, etc. Generating information in multiple modes is even more powerful than being presented information in multiple representations. What’s more, this also goes for practicing related information in varying combinations. See Interleaving. 🌉 Make sure retrieval practice is properly scaffolded and elaborative:  Go from concrete to abstract, simple to complex, easy to difficult; from questions to answer to problems to solve. Each retrieval event along the curve should be increasingly more involved to create a Desirable Difficulty. See also Bruner's Spiraling Curriculum & Reigeluth’s Elaboration Theory. 💡 Push creation of concrete examples, metaphors, and analogies:  Concrete examples and analogous thinking have a high positive impact on memory. Especially if it is learner-generated. This provides students with the opportunity to put new, abstract concepts in terms of what they already know. It updates their existing schemas. 🔁 Give feedback, and time it right:  If you’re not giving feedback that is corrective and often, your learners might suffer from confusion or even start to develop bad habits. But don’t wait too long to do it. Check out PREP feedback and Quality Matters helpful recommendations. Be sure to fade feedback as student develop mastery. #instructionaldesign #teachingandlearning #retrievalpractice

Medical school was hard. Here's how I was able to remember everything: Feeling overwhelmed by information overload? Drowning in a sea of facts and figures? Fear not 👇🏼 Here's your secret weapon: ✅ Spaced Repetition: Don't review them every day, but revisit them gradually at increasing intervals. ✅ Active Recall: Quiz yourself without peeking at notes or texts. Challenge yourself - the struggle is where memory strengthens. ✅ Mnemonic Devices: Craft creative acronyms, rhymes, or vivid mental images to lock info in your brain's vault. ✅ Interleaved Practice: Mix different subjects or topics in your study sessions. The brain thrives on novelty, making concepts stick better. ✅ Teach It Forward: Explain it to someone else, even if it's your imaginary classmate. By teaching, you'll organize your thoughts and truly understand the material. ✅ Mind Mapping: Connect ideas with lines, branches, and colors. This bird's-eye view will help you see the bigger picture and remember details. ️ ✅ Chunking: Break down large chunks of information into smaller, bite-sized pieces. Your brain will thank you for making things more digestible and easier to recall. 📌 PS... Remember, memory is a muscle. The more you exercise these techniques, the stronger it will become. *** 📌 Want a high-res PDF of this cheat sheet? Try The Extra Mile Newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gaewRGyj You'll get this cheat sheet + more for free

Everyone reaches a point with certain topics or concepts in the CPA exam where you are just flat out stuck. No matter what you try, you can’t seem to fully grasp it and apply it. When this happens, a great way to shift into new thinking is to map out how you would try to teach the concept to someone else. When you start to teach a concept to someone else you have to break it down to its most basic principles, which forces you to thoroughly understand the material. You can't rely on memorization alone. Instead, you must truly grasp the subject matter to convey it in a clear and coherent manner. This deepens your understanding and allows you to see connections and nuances that you might have missed when simply studying on your own. Teaching is also an excellent way to pinpoint your own knowledge gaps. As you explain a topic to someone else, you may encounter questions or areas where you struggle to provide a clear explanation. These stumbling blocks are valuable because they highlight the areas you need to revisit and reinforce in your own studies. Identifying these gaps early can help you allocate your study time more efficiently. The act of teaching involves active recall, which reinforces your memory and retention of the material. When you teach someone, you're essentially revisiting and reviewing the content, making it more likely to stick in your long-term memory. This is especially crucial for the CPA exam, where you'll need to recall information across multiple concepts. The CPA exam can be intimidating, and self-doubt can hinder your performance. Teaching others can boost your confidence. When you successfully explain a challenging topic to someone else, you'll gain a sense of accomplishment and mastery. This newfound confidence can be a powerful motivator to keep pushing forward! If you’ve ever tried this before I’d be interested to hear more about your experience! #cpa #cpaexam #cpalife #mindset #visualization #accountant #accounting #publicaccounting #coaching #mindset #growth #personaldevelopment #perspective #cpacoach #exams #motivation #studyhacks #studytips #learning #CPAprep

In Chapter 11 of my book "Make Your Safety Training Stick: Improve Retention and Get Better Results," I talk about free recall as an extremely effective way of learning new information and retaining it for the long term. When trainees are asked after watching a safety video or attending a safety training presentation to try to write down everything they can remember on a blank piece of paper, they will likely find this very difficult. This difficulty is good, and by forcing the trainees to recall the main points, they'll be able to remember the safety training information better later. This post from the Farnham Street Blog on The Blank Sheet Method is very similar. This can be especially helpful if you are studying for a certification exam. It's more work than simply reading a study guide, but it will help you remember the information when you need to recall it because it will actually help you to learn the material instead of just memorizing it.