Learning to learn

Learning to learn

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  Learning to Learn Org Psych 101 Amrinder Arora A once a semester lecture – not entirely about Computer Science – that the students occasionally enjoy, for some strange reasons, usually right after the midterm.
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  What is amaster’s degree? • An academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high- order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. • Within the area studied, graduates are posited to possess advanced knowledge of a specialized body of theoretical and applied topics; high order skills in analysis, critical evaluation or professional application; and the ability to solve complex problems and think rigorously and independently • Also called a magister or cognate GWU - CS 6212 - Arora Learning to Learn 2
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  How do weforget? • Hermann Ebbinghaus, 1885 • Subjects memorize a list of meaningless, three letter words • Tracked how quickly his subjects forgot the words • Became known as the Ebbinghaus or Forgetting Curve Graphic Source: www.york.ac.uk/depts/maths/histstat/people/ebbinghaus.gif GWU - CS 6212 - Arora Learning to Learn 3
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  Ebbinghaus Curve: www.psych.purdue.edu/~ben/285su2001/notes/figures/5-forgettingcurve.htm GWU - CS 6212 - Arora Learning to Learn 4
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  How do weforget? Forgetting you have the start However, curve would potential to forget less could remember more if here if we PLUS remember your review after a lecture everything immediately after class The Forgetting Curve 100 % Remembered Ebbinghaus 80 After Class 60 Beat the Curve 40 20 0 Class 10 min. 24 hours 1 week 1 month Ends Forgetting curve would actually start here as we remember only about 75% at the end of a lecture – so we have GWU - CS 6212 - Arora lessLearning to Learn to remember 5
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  Overcoming the Curve Immediately 24 hours 1 week later month later 1 after class later (or sooner) (or sooner) 100 90 80 Ebbinghaus Remembered % 70 Review 1 60 Review 2 50 Review 3 40 Review 4 30 20 Notice how less 10 is forgotten after each review!! 0 Class 10 min. 24 hrs. 1 wk. 1 mo. GWU - CS 6212 - Arora Learning to Learn 6
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  So Review • 10 min - After class by completing, organizing & comprehending (rewriting, typing) notes (e.g. Cornell right column) • 24 hr – Next day, before Ebbinghaus kicks in, reread notes, condense to main ideas & create questions (e.g. Cornell left column) • 1 week - Before class the following week or earlier, review and self-test your recall • Therefore, when you prepare to study for your midterms and finals, you have already reviewed the material a minimum of 3 times http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornell_Notes GWU - CS 6212 - Arora Learning to Learn 7
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  But its ComputerScience, not 3 lettered words! • Problem is with applying, not memorizing. • Its logic, and reasoning, not remembering or forgetting! GWU - CS 6212 - Arora Learning to Learn 8
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  GWU - CS6212 - Arora Learning to Learn 9
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  Sea Slugs • A more contemptibly basic animal is hard to imagine. • ..an enviable lack of neurosis. • It just exists. • ..its life is a cinch. • Yet, learn it can. From: Genome: The Autobiography of Species in 23 Chapters by Matt Ridley GWU - CS 6212 - Arora Learning to Learn 10
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  What can asea slug learn? • If a jet of water is blown upon its gill, it withdraws the gill. But if jet of water is repeatedly blown on the gill, with withdrawal gradually ceases. (It stops responding to the false alarm. It “habituates”.) • If given an electric shock once, before water is blown on the gill, the sea slug learns to withdraw its gill even further than usual (“sensitization”) • When it receives only a very gentle puff of water paired with an electric shock, it withdraws its gill. Thereafter, gentle puff alone, without any shock, results in a rapid gill withdrawal. (In other words, slug is capable of “associative learning”). • This is not the same as calculus, but it is learning just the same. • It learns using all 3 mechanisms by which dogs or people learn. GWU - CS 6212 - Arora Learning to Learn 11
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  Active vs. PassiveLearning Characteristics of Passive & Active Learners Passive Active Class lectures Write down what the Decide what is important to write down Instructor says Read, think, ask questions, try to connect Textbook Read ideas Assignments, Reread Make outlines and study sheets, look for Studying trends and patterns. Try to discover the significance of the Writing, Class Carefully follows the assignment; look for the principles and Assignments professor’s instructions concepts it illustrates Do what is expected to Try to expand your knowledge and Writing term get a good grade experience with a topic and connect it to papers the course objective or content Source: Study and Critical Thinking Skills in College, McWhorther, K.T., 1996. p. 14. GWU - CS 6212 - Arora Learning to Learn 12
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  Examples • Make upsome questions. Try to answer them. • Notice how subtle changes affect which algorithm technique works and which ones don’t work. GWU - CS 6212 - Arora Learning to Learn 13
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  We Learn... William Glasser • 10 % of what we read • 20 % of what we hear • 30 % of what we see • 50 % of what we both see and hear • 70 % of what is discussed with others • 80 % of what we experience personally • 95 % of what we teach someone else GWU - CS 6212 - Arora Learning to Learn 14
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  How to gofrom 50% to 95% learning? • Tap into 3 resources that you have – Fellow students – Study groups/forums – Instructor – Everything else – GWU, Starbucks, the Web GWU - CS 6212 - Arora Learning to Learn 15
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  HOW DOES THISAPPLY TO COMPUTER SCIENCE? GWU - CS 6212 - Arora Learning to Learn 16
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  What again isComputer Science? Science Art Engineering Process GWU - CS 6212 - Arora Learning to Learn 17
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  Process • We don’talways have time to develop all the intuition we need. • So, we stand on the shoulders of the giants. • How would you have approached the problems before you had the benefit of this class? • How do you approach those problems now? GWU - CS 6212 - Arora Learning to Learn 18
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  Problem Solving Process– Overview What is being What kind of How to asked to problem is it? represent it? return? How would Consider it you test it? done GWU - CS 6212 - Arora Learning to Learn 19
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  Problem Solving Process– Naming If you had a black What are the What are the box solution, what inputs? outputs? would you call it? Which algorithmic technique might Brute Force? Greedy? work? Dynamic Divide and Programming? Conquer? GWU - CS 6212 - Arora Learning to Learn 20
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  Engineering • Using thecontext to make choices that improve your solution. • For example: task scheduling, but there are only 3 kinds of tasks: root canal, cleaning, or filling. GWU - CS 6212 - Arora Learning to Learn 21
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  Take Away Points •We can always learn better • Computer science is not pure memorization, but it is learning, like other forms of learning. GWU - CS 6212 - Arora Learning to Learn 22
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  What is thesecret of success? “There's no secret about success. Did you ever know a successful man who didn't tell you all about it?” -- Kin Hubbard “Eighty percent of success is showing up.” -- Woody Allen GWU - CS 6212 - Arora Learning to Learn 23