It was the late fall or early winter of 2016 when I had discovered the Coursera course, "Learning how to learn". Now, I am revisiting the material and just finishing with the accompanying book, which I did not purchase initially.
Some of the most important concepts that I implemented into my daily habits over the past year are:
- using a pomodoro timer to overcome procrastination
- thinking more about putting concepts into simple terms
- using the focused and diffuse modes of thinking effectively
- making exercise a more consistent part of my weekly routine
Going into another semester at school, I realize it is especially important to brush up on learning how to learn skills. I do not want to waste time learning ineffectively or overlook simple principles that help deep learning happen. I am loosely formulating an action plan in my mind.
One of the most exciting techniques I had forgotten about is the 'Memory Palace'. In elementary school, I had brushed off memorization as being a mindless, boring and not very useful skill. In reality, memorization is important for learning and building 'chunks' of knowledge. The memory palace technique taps into humans' innate super viso-spacial memory. As hunter-gatherers, we needed to memorize complex journeys between habitats and hunting grounds, along with many guiding reference points. In essence, if we associate familiar space where we live and spend time in vibrantly with things that we need to remember, we can make deeper connections in our memory. To put the memory palace into practice, I plan to associate places and lankmarks around campus with concepts, principles, and formulas. I also plan to post key notes around the walls of my room.
There was an exceptionally smart girl in the same year as me in high school who I stumbled across with at the library around final exam time. She was making up her own test questions and quizzing her friends with them. At the time I was thoroughly impressed but it is only now that I realize just how brilliant her methods were. The habit of frequently testing oneself is one that I also plan to employ this semester.
There is much more to talk about, but I would highly recommend the book, A Mind For Numbers by Barbara Oakley.