How We Learn

Learning is about self-discipline.

Was a phrase like this drilled into you from an early age?

Were you told that to achieve your best in a final exam you needed to confine yourself to a quiet study area, turn off the music and maintain a strict ritual?!

Final exam preparation is topical this month. For example, next week 76,679 students in my home state of NSW, Australia will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their academic achievements in the NSW Higher School Certificate - an internationally recognised credential that can lead to further studies, both here in Australia and overseas. For many, completing their HSC exams also signals the culmination of a 13-year learning journey.

This week I’ve been reading Benedict Carey’s book How We Learn (Random House, 2014). It is a worthy read for anyone interested in learning – whether that be aspiring to learn a new language, trying to remember your next client’s name – or even preparing for a final exam!

So, do we really need to confine ourselves to a quiet study area and maintain a strict ritual in order to learn?

Not at all. As Carey reminds, most people do better over time by varying their study or practice locations. The more environments in which we rehearse, the sharper and more lasting the memory of that material becomes – and less strongly linked to one “comfort zone” only. That is, knowledge becomes increasingly independent of surroundings the more changes we make – whether that might include taking your iPad onto the porch, out to a café, on the bus etc. The goal, after all, is to be adaptable and able to perform well in any conditions.

Carey also reminds that changing locations is not the only way to take advantage of the so-called context effect on learning. Altering the time of day you study also helps, as does how you engage the material i.e., by reading or discussing, typing into a computer or writing by hand, reciting in front of a mirror or studying while listening to music. Each counts as a different learning “environment” in which we store the material in a different way.

Another topical question at this time of the year is whether cramming is a bad idea? Not always. Cramming works fine as a last resort. Of course, the downside, as Carey reminds, is that after the exam, you’re unlikely to remember a whole lot of what you “learned”. This is based on the brain being able to sharpen a memory only after some forgetting has occurred. In this way Carey likens memory to a muscle – a little “breakdown” allows it to subsequently build greater strength. Cramming, by definition, prevents this from happening. Of course there are better ways to prepare that do not involve cramming. Carey highlights studies that have found people remember up to twice as much of material that they have rehearsed in spaced or tested sessions than during cramming.

I found Carey’s book to be a very readable collage of truths about learning. I am sure you will also enjoy reading why Carey argues teachers should give final exams on the first day of class, why the brain responds well to distraction and why it’s smarter to stay up late prepping for that exam than to rise early for one last cram session.

Best wishes in your learning journey - particularly to those preparing for final exams this month too!