How to Learn Efficiently • Hacker News Board

Re: How to Learn Efficiently

#41

Post by relaytheurgency » Wed, Dec 31, 2014, 1:46 AM UTC

emptytheory wrote: post #37

relaytheurgency wrote: post #15

The Learning Style theory is junk with the flimsiest evidence, but tell that to any teaching institute in this arena so obsessed with constructivist ideals. The reason I did not continue on to teach physics was partially due to an insistence that it was teachers who needed to expend more effort to make classes "fit" a student's preferences so that their learning would be a gradual climb. You learn material by flailin…

"The reason I did not continue on to teach physics was partially due to an insistence that it was teachers who needed to expend more effort to make classes "fit" a student's preferences so that their learning would be a gradual climb." What's wrong with that? "You learn material by flailing, not by floating." Why do you believe that?

Because in practice it's impossible to do what is being asked. Maybe if your class size was six students, but that's the case basically nowhere. I believe that learning is best achieved when people struggle greatly. If someone is cautiously guided through every problem in life, or in education, they will possess a sense that they know how to do something because they have seen it done by others and they were guided through it a few times. However, when it comes time to actually do the thing they often do not recall it. It's what the article is about. Did you read it?

When I studied physics in college I learned at a much faster rate than I had in the past because I had to often teach myself. I have heard this from others as well. Coddling students and handing them information, letting them climb without falling, seems to yield pretty pathetic results.

Re: How to Learn Efficiently

#42

Post by sethammons » Wed, Dec 31, 2014, 2:05 AM UTC

gnuvince wrote: post #35

For people still in school, I have found that nothing beats flash cards for learning. It takes a bit of time, effort and discipline to write and use them, but in the long run, it's going to be easier and faster to study for exams.

I never found flash cards effective. The card became a visual trigger and the answer was tied to the appearance of the card, not the question on it. I found that, for me, regurgitating _all_ the card's questions (and subsequent answers with reasoning) in my head, with a reference sheet nearby to glance at to spur my recollection of all the questions, was most effective.

Re: How to Learn Efficiently

#43

Post by jfarmer » Wed, Dec 31, 2014, 2:29 AM UTC

relaytheurgency wrote: post #34

jfarmer wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Beep beep. Back the truck up. I am a dyed-in-the-wool constructivist and I think the theory of "Learning Styles" as it's used today is rubbish. It's a mistake to think they're attached at the hip. By "the theory of Learning Styles", I specifically mean the idea that some people are "auditory learners", "visual learners", "kinesthetic learners", etc. and that part of a teacher's job is to figure out which "learning st…

Perhaps I should clarify. I am not claiming that there is a superior educational philosophy. I am only claiming that in most modern educational institutions, constructivism is the practiced philosophy of education and is taught to all teachers. These institutes often also hold a belief in the idea of learning modalities and, contrary to the foundations of constructivism, preach these ideas quite blindly without regar…

I was agreeing with you while simultaneously pointing out that you, like the folks you're criticizing, are conflating a constructivist model of learning with a handful of specific approach to teaching derived (mistakenly, IMO) from that model.

Just don't throw the constructivist baby out with the bathwater. :)

As a counterpoint, the Logo programming language[1] is an example of a well-executed pedagogical approach informed by constructivist thinking.

    [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logo_%28programming_language%29

Re: How to Learn Efficiently

#44

Post by emptytheory » Wed, Dec 31, 2014, 2:29 AM UTC

relaytheurgency wrote: post #41

emptytheory wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"The reason I did not continue on to teach physics was partially due to an insistence that it was teachers who needed to expend more effort to make classes "fit" a student's preferences so that their learning would be a gradual climb." What's wrong with that? "You learn material by flailing, not by floating." Why do you believe that?

Because in practice it's impossible to do what is being asked. Maybe if your class size was six students, but that's the case basically nowhere. I believe that learning is best achieved when people struggle greatly. If someone is cautiously guided through every problem in life, or in education, they will possess a sense that they know how to do something because they have seen it done by others and they were guided t…

"It's what the article is about. Did you read it?"

Arranging a course so that your students never struggle with the material is one thing. Never bending to your students' needs, as a teacher, is another. A teacher can provide a lot of opportunities for the students to struggle with the material. But I think it's ridiculous (and lazy) to teach without any regard for pedagogy, especially with high school students.

I know exactly what the point of the article is. Thanks for asking.

By the way, "cautiously [guiding them] through every problem in life, or in education" communicates a very different thing from "[putting in] more effort to make classes "fit" a student's preferences".

Re: How to Learn Efficiently

#45

Post by Yadi » Wed, Dec 31, 2014, 2:36 AM UTC

Thanks for the awesome piece, I never knew about these stuff, but I have always realized that when I'm a little confused that means am almost learning about the topic.

Also! I can say I agree about the school part %100!

My professor who use to make us feel like we are failing the course every quiz, taught us the best of Web Protocols and advanced topics, however %3 passed the class. Literally me and 2 other students out of 10, so I guess it's just the matter of who really wants learn and whom just going in to get a degree.

Re: How to Learn Efficiently

#46

Post by hvass » Wed, Dec 31, 2014, 2:38 AM UTC

I would highly recommend looking into Cal Newport's blog (Study Hacks), he has published a significant number of posts on how to learn better.

www.calnewport.com/blog/

Re: How to Learn Efficiently

#47

Post by gnuvince » Wed, Dec 31, 2014, 3:01 AM UTC

sethammons wrote: post #42

gnuvince wrote: post #35

For people still in school, I have found that nothing beats flash cards for learning. It takes a bit of time, effort and discipline to write and use them, but in the long run, it's going to be easier and faster to study for exams.

I never found flash cards effective. The card became a visual trigger and the answer was tied to the appearance of the card, not the question on it. I found that, for me, regurgitating _all_ the card's questions (and subsequent answers with reasoning) in my head, with a reference sheet nearby to glance at to spur my recollection of all the questions, was most effective.

I should have mentioned: you have to say the questions out loud, and give out the answers out loud. And yes, your answers should be elaborate (e.g. explain how to do row elimination in a matrix).

Re: How to Learn Efficiently

#48

Post by ojbyrne » Wed, Dec 31, 2014, 3:03 AM UTC

ivansavz wrote: post #17

> As an undergraduate student, I found that writing a summary of everything I had learned in a class was one of the best ways to study for an exam. I would just sit down with a blank piece of paper and try to summarize everything as precisely as possible. Ultimately, writing your own textbook would be a very effective way to learn the material. Amen. Back when I was tutoring a lot, I used to ask the students to keep…

I was briefly a college professor. The thing I took away from the experience was - if you really want to learn something as well as possible, teach it to a class of 60.

Re: How to Learn Efficiently

#49

Post by jimmaswell » Wed, Dec 31, 2014, 3:42 AM UTC

ivansavz wrote: post #17

> As an undergraduate student, I found that writing a summary of everything I had learned in a class was one of the best ways to study for an exam. I would just sit down with a blank piece of paper and try to summarize everything as precisely as possible. Ultimately, writing your own textbook would be a very effective way to learn the material. Amen. Back when I was tutoring a lot, I used to ask the students to keep…

I seem to mostly remember them as strings orthogonally to the idea. One particular example was "x equals negative b plus or minus square root b squared minus four a c all over two a" set to "pop goes the weasel" in high school. After knowing that for a while I came across a visual diagram of what the quadratic formula and completing the square actually mean and it wasn't until then that I understood them. Some formula formats I recognize more by shape/appearance such as the g = G m1m2 / r^2 form that applies to some contactless forces.

Re: How to Learn Efficiently

#50

Post by dasil003 » Wed, Dec 31, 2014, 3:52 AM UTC

warbaker wrote: post #38

I like this article in large, but sometimes it really is appropriate to blame the instructor/textbook if you feel confused. Everyone wants to believe that the harder and more painful an experience is, the more you got out of it, but that's not the case. Imagine if you took a math textbook and then removed every fifth sentence. It'd be way more confusing, way harder, and require much more struggle, and that struggle w…

You're absolutely right, but I think it's wrong to say that most people think a harder and more painful experience is better. The sad truth is that school is no longer set up to be challenging in any way, and that is in fact a bigger problem than the more subtle issue you point out.