The BEST way to learn anything: my Learning System for students!

Summary

In this educational video, June, a Dean's List biomed engineering student, introduces a four-stage learning system to enhance academic performance. The stages include priming to understand the topic's big picture, in-class note-taking to facilitate learning, immediate post-class review to solidify understanding, and revision using active recall techniques. June emphasizes the importance of creating meaningful connections with the material for efficient and effective learning, ultimately leading to better grades with less time spent studying.

Takeaways

• 📚 The Learning System is broken down into four stages: priming, in-class notes, post-class immediate review, and revision, aimed at maximizing understanding and retention of information.
• 🧠 Priming involves understanding the big picture of a topic before class to create relevant connections in the brain, improving deep understanding and memory retention.
• 🌟 An analogy for priming is preparing a Lego set by studying the box first, which helps in quickly assembling the pieces with understanding and purpose.
• 📈 The speaker uses the topic of fashion as a relatable example to demonstrate the priming process, emphasizing the importance of categorizing and relating concepts for better understanding.
• 📝 In-class notes should be a facilitation tool for learning, focusing on annotating a pre-made diagram, noting key observations, and formulating active recall questions rather than transcribing every detail.
• ❓ Active recall is a learning strategy that involves forcibly retrieving information without looking at the source material, which is crucial for deeper learning and understanding.
• 🛠 Post-class immediate review involves cleaning up notes and practicing active recall questions to identify strengths and weaknesses for further study.
• 🔍 Revision stage involves creating an optimized diagram for quick reference and understanding, and applying active recall through various techniques such as the blurting method, the Feynman technique, and practice tests.
• 🗓️ The script suggests that the Learning System should be implemented with a revision timetable that includes spaced repetition, optimal breaks, and active recall applications.
• 🎓 The ultimate goal of the Learning System is to achieve better grades while spending less time studying by effectively processing and understanding the material through the four stages.
• 🔑 The speaker hints at a future project that will serve as a tool to facilitate the Learning System, indicating a commitment to helping others implement these learning strategies.

Q & A

What are the four stages of the learning system introduced by June in the video?

The four stages of the learning system are priming, in-class notes, post-class immediate review, and revision.

Why is the priming stage important according to June?

The priming stage is important because it helps to understand the big picture of the topic before going into class, which improves the brain's ability to deeply understand and remember information by creating relevant connections.

What analogy does June use to explain the concept of priming?

June uses the analogy of building a Lego set, where studying the front of the box before starting helps to understand how each piece fits into the overall picture.

How does June suggest organizing information during the priming stage?

June suggests creating a list of key concepts, grouping similar concepts together, and then organizing these groups in a way that is personally relevant to understand how they relate to each other.

What is the purpose of creating a pre-test before class according to June's method?

The purpose of creating a pre-test is to analyze how different concepts come together to solve problems and to prepare for the types of inference-based questions that are common in higher education.

What should be the focus during the in-class notes stage according to June?

The focus during the in-class notes stage should be annotating the pre-created diagram with main points, noting key observations, and creating active recall questions to practice later.

Why is active recall an important part of the learning process as described by June?

Active recall is important because it involves forcibly retrieving information from the brain without looking at the source material, which strengthens memory and understanding of the material.

What is the significance of the post-class immediate review stage in June's learning system?

The post-class immediate review stage is significant for cleaning up active recall questions, refining the diagram, and practicing active recall questions to identify strengths and weaknesses in understanding the material.

How does June recommend organizing the final revision stage to make it more effective?

June recommends creating an optimized diagram (diagram number three) by reorganizing and simplifying previous diagrams, and then applying active recall through methods like the blurting method, the feigning technique, and practice tests.

What is the 'blurting method' that June mentions for active recall practice?

The 'blurting method' involves identifying a source of material, reading or watching it, and then without looking at the source, writing out everything that can be freely recalled on a blank sheet of paper.

What does June suggest about the frequency and duration of the priming stage for each class?

June suggests that the priming stage should be done once every two to three weeks for each class, based on topics rather than on a class basis, as course objectives are usually spread across several classes.