Learn it for life

“Retrieval practice that you perform at different times and in different contexts and that interleaves different learning material has the benefit of linking new associations to the material. This process builds interconnected networks of knowledge that bolster and support mastery of your field. It also multiplies the cues of retrieving and knowledge, increasing the versatility with which you can later apply it.”

Brown, et al., 2014

In my last post, I talked about some of the common misconceptions about learning. In this post, we’re going to talk about strategies for making learning stick. After all, if you’re going to take the time to learn something, you want to have really learned it. So let’s jump right in, what makes learning stick?

Retrieval practice has two main parts. The first is the act of retrieving information and the second is when you retrieve that information.

Retrieving information requires effort. It’s different from staring at notes and repeating something 100x. Retrieval means being able to recall the thing you’ve learned when you need it. You can practice retrieval with self quizzing, but you can also practice it “for real.” I can quiz myself on all the different strategies for helping induce hypnotic trance in a client or I can practice actually inducing trance, forcing myself to pivot as needed with each client. Both approaches will help me learn the different induction methods. The real life strategy is likely going to be harder in the moment, but also more likely to help me learn appropriate strategies for the long-term. The more effort we put into retrieving information, the more likely it will stick. In effect, this effort is requiring my brain to create and reinforce “new networks of knowledge” that I can continue to use later.

The same logic applies for new habit creation. Every time we make ourselves do a new habit, we’re creating those new neural networks. We’re training our brains to make new associations. For example, our brain may currently be trained that the completion of a meal means we need a cigarette. When we skip that after dinner smoke, we may initially feel stressed, but with repetition, we’re helping build a new neural pathway that knows it is safe to skip this old habit. We already “knew” it was good, but by effortfully trying to go without it, we’re going from knowing to mastering.

When we attempt to retrieve information also influences how well we master something. If we try to retrieve a learning minutes after we’ve been introduced to it, the retrieval will be easy. If, however, we try to retrieve it a day or two later, we might find it more challenging to recall. This is because our brains go through a process of memory consolidation. Imagine taking all of your kids toys and trying to throw them into the toy box all at once. You probably won’t make them all fit because they’re not organized in an efficient manner. You have to take some toys out, arrange what’s left and then try again with the remaining toys. Our brains work in a similar manner. We have to give ourselves time to figure out how new information fits with existing information. This is why every time you come back to a topic and try to retrieve more detailed information, you’re able to remember a little bit more. So in order to master something, we need to practice retrieving multiple times over time.

Interleaving is the idea that when you learn multiple things at once, you will learn more of each than if you only studied one thing. This is true for academic and physical learnings. If you want to be an amazing football player, take ballet classes. Why? Both sports are going to teach you ways to move and control your body, but in very different ways. As you go back and forth from one to the other, your brain (and body) is able to draw connections between the two and even generate new learning as a result. Maybe that leap you learned in ballet gave you a new idea for how to avoid an opposing player on the field. Maybe the controlled movements at the barre will help you improve the dexterity of your footwork drills. The more we learn, even across unrelated topics, the more we become able to learn. We begin to make connections where we never realized they could exist.

Memory cues are shortcuts we give ourselves to help recall large amounts of information. These work through building associations and then practicing retrieving those associations. For example, we all learned that we could say “Please excuse my dear Aunt Sally” to help us remember that the mathematical order of operations is parentheses, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, and then subtraction. We can also use other types of memory cues to help retain information. I will never forget my Political Science professor who ran around the room clomping coconuts together like the actors in Monty Python when he was talking about circuit judges. Or perhaps rather than just trying to remember what I need from the grocery store, I list each one as I count them on my fingers. Now I know that I need five things from the store, so I can’t leave until I have remembered all five. Memory cues can take lots of different forms and can range from simple mnemonic devices to complex memory palaces. Practice with different strategies until you learn what works for you.

The takeaway here is the more you learn, the more variety of learning and the more effort you put into recalling and connecting new information, the better.

Brown, P. C., Roediger III, H. L., & McDaniel, M. A. (2014). Make it stick: The science of successful learning. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.