The Best Learning Tool in History - 400 years ahead of its time!

Summary

This video script explores the transformative power of essay writing as a learning technique, tracing its roots back to Michel de Montaigne and demonstrating its alignment with Bloom's revised taxonomy. It emphasizes the development of critical thinking, effective communication, and the integration of retrieval practice and self-questioning for deeper understanding. The script also recommends Jordan Peterson's essay guide and introduces brilliant.org for interactive learning, advocating for essay writing as a comprehensive strategy to enhance learning and problem-solving skills.

Takeaways

• 📚 Essays are a powerful learning technique that can improve thinking and communication skills.
• 🎓 The modern essay form was created by Michel de Montaigne in the 16th century, emphasizing the value of writing for personal understanding.
• 🤔 Writing essays helps form ideas, explore thoughts, and develop arguments, similar to the process used by renowned thinkers and writers.
• 🧠 The act of essay writing naturally incorporates elements of Bloom's revised taxonomy, engaging various levels of cognitive function.
• 📝 Critical thinking is enhanced through essay writing, as it requires identifying evidence, evaluating it, and drawing logical conclusions.
• 📈 Retrieval practice, a highly effective learning strategy, can be utilized while preparing for essay writing by recalling information without the source material.
• ❓ Asking 'how' and 'why' questions during the reading and writing process deepens understanding and links new information to existing knowledge.
• 📘 A good essay title should allow for reasoning, analysis, and evaluation, guiding the structure and argument of the essay.
• 📝 The process of writing an essay encompasses most effective learning strategies, making it an efficient way to learn and understand new topics.
• 👨‍🏫 Jordan Peterson's free essay guide provides a comprehensive step-by-step approach to writing essays, emphasizing structure and logical progression.
• 💡 Brilliance.org, the sponsor of the video, offers interactive lessons to develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills through hands-on learning.

Q & A

What is the main argument presented in the video about the effectiveness of essay writing as a learning technique?

The video argues that essay writing is a powerful learning technique because it enhances critical thinking, improves understanding and insight, and significantly boosts one's ability to communicate ideas both in writing and verbally.

Who is credited with the creation of the modern essay form?

The modern essay form is credited to the French writer and philosopher Michel de Montaigne, who started writing essays in the mid-6th Century in France.

What does the term 'essay' originate from and what does it mean?

The term 'essay' originates from the French word 'essai', which means an attempt or a trial.

How does essay writing align with Bloom's Taxonomy of cognitive functions?

Essay writing aligns with Bloom's Taxonomy as it involves remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating, which are the cognitive steps needed to develop expertise on a topic.

What is the connection between essay writing and critical thinking?

Essay writing encourages critical thinking by requiring the writer to identify evidence, evaluate it, probe, investigate, spot flaws in logic, reason, and draw conclusions.

What learning strategy does the video suggest using while reading before writing an essay?

The video suggests using retrieval practice as a learning strategy while reading before writing an essay, which involves reading a page, closing the book, and writing everything remembered about that page.

What is the 'learn it linked' approach mentioned in the video and how does it help with learning?

The 'learn it linked' approach involves asking how and why questions while learning and linking new information to what one already knows. This helps move information from working memory to long-term memory, deepening understanding and aiding retention.

What is the recommended structure for an essay according to Jordan Peterson's essay guide?

According to Jordan Peterson's essay guide, the recommended structure is 100 words split into 10 sentences per paragraph, with each paragraph covering one idea, and the paragraphs following a logical progression towards the conclusion of the argument.

What is the role of the title in an essay and what should it achieve?

The title of an essay should give the scope for reasoning, analyzing, and evaluating. It should state the writer's position and provide a reasoned argument on how that position was arrived at.

What is the benefit of using the platform 'brilliant.org' as mentioned in the video?

Brilliant.org is beneficial for learning by doing with interactive lessons in various subjects. It helps develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills through hands-on interaction with concepts, which is proven to be more effective than passive learning methods.

What is the significance of the Battle of Hastings in the context of critical analytical writing presented in the video?

The significance of the Battle of Hastings in the context of critical analytical writing is to demonstrate how to go beyond mere description and delve into the transformative impact of the event, such as how it changed the culture, language, and economy of England.