How I Built an Evidence-Based Learning System in 312 Weeks
Summary
TLDRJustin shares his innovative 'PERO System' designed to boost learning efficiency by over 60%. The system, which stands for Priming, Encoding, Reference, and Overlearning, helps learners filter, process, and retain information more effectively. Justin highlights the importance of moving beyond mere repetition to structured processes that make learning relevant and easier to recall. He illustrates how effective techniques can significantly reduce study time and improve memory retention. The video also introduces a diagnostic quiz to help viewers evaluate and enhance their learning strategies. This approach promises to transform how learners approach their studies.
Takeaways
- 🧠 I developed a system called PERO that boosts learning efficiency by over 60% and saves 10 hours of studying per week.
- 📊 PERO stands for Priming, Encoding, Reference, Retrieval, and Overlearning.
- ❓ The question 'What is the best technique for studying?' indicates a lack of understanding of how learning truly works.
- 🔄 Learning is not just repetition; it's a series of processes that improve memory and understanding.
- 🔍 Filtering information based on relevance is crucial for effective learning.
- 📝 Priming prepares the brain for learning by making information seem relevant.
- 🔧 Encoding involves organizing and processing information to make it easier to understand and remember.
- 🗂️ Reference is about note-taking and setting aside detailed information to focus on processing and memory.
- 📖 Retrieval involves testing knowledge to strengthen memory and understanding.
- 🌐 Interleaving means approaching topics from multiple perspectives to enhance learning.
- 🔁 Overlearning involves repeated practice to ensure deep understanding and fast recall.
- 📈 Overlearning is optional and best used for competitive assessments or high standards of excellence.
- 📝 The PERO system quiz helps evaluate and improve personal learning processes.
- 📉 Ineffective encoding requires more repetition and leads to inefficient learning.
- 🚀 Implementing the PERO system can transform learning efficiency and effectiveness.
Q & A
What is the Pero system and what does it stand for?
-The Pero system is a learning system developed by the speaker to boost efficiency and save study time. It stands for Priming, Encoding, Reference, Retrieval, and Overlearning.
Why does the speaker emphasize systems over techniques in learning?
-The speaker emphasizes systems over techniques because learning is a series of processes, and the quality of these processes affects memory and understanding. Focusing on systems allows for more efficient learning and less repetition.
What is priming in the Pero system?
-Priming is a technique used before a main learning event, such as a class or study session, to prepare the brain to learn more effectively. It helps the brain filter information and recognize its relevance.
What role does encoding play in the learning process according to the Pero system?
-Encoding involves organizing and processing information so that it can be effectively stored in memory. It includes techniques like grouping, simplifying, finding analogies, and making connections.
How does the concept of reference help in the learning process?
-Reference involves taking detailed notes and storing specific information elsewhere, like in flashcards or apps, to avoid getting bogged down in details during the encoding process. It allows the brain to focus on organizing and processing information.
What is the purpose of retrieval in the Pero system?
-Retrieval involves testing oneself and challenging the ability to use and apply knowledge. It helps reprocess and repackage information, strengthening memory and deepening understanding.
Can you explain the concept of interleaving in learning?
-Interleaving involves hitting a topic from multiple perspectives and angles. It ensures knowledge is not narrow and helps learners handle curveball questions and combinations of concepts, which separates top learners from the rest.
What is overlearning and when is it necessary?
-Overlearning involves learning more than necessary, often through repetition, to achieve faster recall and enhanced fluency. It is mainly needed for competitive assessments or high standards of excellence and is optional for most day-to-day studying.
Why might someone score low on the speaker's learning system diagnostic quiz?
-Low scores on the diagnostic quiz often correlate with a lack of confidence in learning abilities and an understanding of weaknesses in their learning system. The quiz provides insights and recommendations to improve learning efficiency.
How did the speaker's perspective on learning change after optimizing their learning process?
-The speaker's perspective changed when they realized the importance of making information relevant and optimizing the learning process. This shift reduced the need for repetition and made their learning much more efficient.
Outlines
🚀 Boosting Learning Efficiency
Justin describes his 7-year journey in developing a learning system that increased his efficiency by over 60%, saving him 10 hours of studying per week. He emphasizes the uniqueness of each learner's brain and introduces the PERO system, which stands for Priming, Encoding, Reference, Retrieval, and Overlearning. Justin explains that most people misunderstand learning by focusing on techniques rather than systems. He details how information is filtered, processed, and organized in the brain to enhance memory and understanding. He uses his medical school experience to illustrate the inefficiencies in traditional learning methods and the importance of optimizing the learning process.
🔍 The PERO System Explained
Justin elaborates on the PERO system, starting with Priming, which involves preparing the brain to learn new information more effectively. He stresses the significance of this early stage in preventing overload and enhancing memory. Encoding is the next step, involving techniques to organize and process information efficiently, such as grouping, simplifying, and finding connections. He discusses the importance of active learning and the challenges it presents. Reference, the first R, involves note-taking to offload detailed information for later review, preventing overload during encoding. Retrieval, the second R, tests and reinforces knowledge, enhancing memory and understanding through repeated application.
📊 Assessing and Improving Learning Systems
Justin introduces a quiz designed to evaluate and improve individual learning systems based on the PERO framework. He shares insights from early users who found the quiz helpful in identifying weaknesses and areas for improvement. Justin emphasizes that people who are less confident in their learning abilities tend to score lower on the quiz, highlighting its diagnostic value. He includes testimonials from users who found the quiz beneficial in understanding and enhancing their learning approaches. Justin encourages viewers to take the quiz, promising significant time savings and improved learning efficiency.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡PERRO system
💡Priming
💡Encoding
💡Reference
💡Retrieval
💡Overlearning
💡Learning processes
💡Repetition
💡Filtering
💡Active learning
Highlights
Developed a learning system over 7 years that boosted efficiency by over 60% and saved at least 10 hours of studying per week.
Introduced the PERO system: Priming, Encoding, Reference, Retrieval, and Overlearning, designed to improve learning processes.
Emphasized the importance of understanding learning systems rather than just techniques for effective studying.
Highlighted that learning involves multiple processes, and the quality of these processes determines memory strength and depth of understanding.
Stressed that irrelevant information is filtered out by the brain, making it crucial to connect new information to existing knowledge.
Priming is a technique used before a learning event to prepare the brain for effective information processing.
Encoding is about organizing and processing information effectively, involving techniques like grouping, simplifying, and finding analogies.
Reference is about noting detailed information separately to avoid overload and focus on processing essential information.
Retrieval is the process of testing and applying knowledge, which strengthens memory and deepens understanding.
Interleaving involves hitting a topic from multiple perspectives to create a broader understanding and adaptability in applying knowledge.
Overlearning focuses on deepening knowledge beyond immediate needs through repetition and higher standards, beneficial in highly competitive contexts.
Many learners mistakenly rely on overlearning as their primary strategy, neglecting the importance of effective encoding and retrieval.
Understanding the PERO system helps identify weaknesses in one's learning approach and optimizes overall learning efficiency.
A quiz was created to evaluate and score one's learning system based on the PERO principles, providing recommendations for improvement.
People with low confidence in their learning abilities often scored lower in the quiz, highlighting areas for potential growth.
Transcripts
I spent 7 years building a learning
system that boosted my efficiency by
over 60% and saved me at least 10 hours
of studying per week and although every
learner's brain is different the best
thing about this system is that anyone
can use it and personalize it and I call
it the pero system it stands for priming
encoding reference retrieval and
overlearning I'll explain all of it in a
sec one of the most common questions
that people ask me is Justin what is the
best technique for studying and if
someone ask me this I immediately know
something crucial about this person's
studying ability it is that this person
does not know how learning truly works
because they thinking about techniques
rather than systems and unless that
changes you can never really be an
efficient learner most people think of
learning like this this is how I used to
look at it information comes in we then
do something that allows us to learn it
and we enter through this cycle of
repetition to strengthen our memory but
this is just not how Learning Works
learning is not just something that
happens it is an entire series of
processes and the quality of those
processes affects how good your memory
and your depth of understanding is going
to be if the processes involved in this
learning step are bad it means we have
to have more repetition to make up for
it on the other hand if our processes
here are good that means that we need
less repetition so instead the right way
to think about learning is a little bit
more like this information comes into
our brain and then that information is
filtered out it's filtered based on
whether we think it is relevant to what
we already know and that's based on what
we already have existing in our memory
so if it's related and if we can see how
it is something that we need to hold on
to we will then go and process it a
little bit more organizing the
information making sense of it and this
is really where the understanding and
the depth comes from once we do the
processing part of that also helps to
organ the information into our memory in
a structure and a model that makes sense
for us that is easy for our memory to
hold on to and is relevant for our brain
if it didn't meet that filtration
criteria we are just going to forget it
which means if information comes in and
we think it's not relevant we don't see
how it connects to anything else we
don't see how it connects to anything we
already know then no matter how many
times you try to put the information in
we are just going to forget it and
usually very quickly on the other hand
once the information is in our memory we
can retrieve that knowledge and the
retrieval process also helps to process
and organize it again in a way that
makes even more sense so this is
constantly refining our memory within
using our existing knowledge and our
existing memory to help us filter any
new information that comes in now
learning is a lot more complicated than
this by the way but if we use this model
then we can start seeing where our own
weaknesses might be so for example let's
take me back when I was trying to enter
into medical school studying 20 hours a
day because I sucked at learning uh what
I was doing I would just sit there and I
just read through my notes I'd go to
these lectures and sit there listening
trying to understand whatever I could
and then I'd spend all the rest of the
day just writing more notes studying
things again and then eventually doing
flash cards on past papers that was like
my entire life so for me if we look at
this information was definitely coming
in and very very quickly but I wasn't
aware that my brain was filtering it
based on relevance so I wasn't trying to
make it more relevant as a result a lot
of what I learned felt pretty random and
arbitrary and I would for get a lot of
it and so I'd have to shove it back in
again so I was trapped inside this Loop
and even though occasionally bits of it
did make its way in so I was able to
process it a little bit more eventually
again it would end up being forgotten
because of the fact that it still wasn't
that relevant for my brain and I just
wasn't aware that this is the process I
need to try to optimize and once I
nailed that that is what made the big
difference for me that is what flipped
my learning into a mode that was much
more efficient and so this is where the
Paro system comes in the p in pero
stands for priming priming is any
technique that you use before a main
learning event that could be a class it
could be a lecture it could just be a
single long study session but it's
talking about an activity that you do
before you encounter a topic for the
first time it is priming your brain to
learn that information more effectively
essentially what it's helping us do is
it's helping our brain filter the
information and say hey this new
information is relevant let's move it
along into the processing primming is
one of the most effective things that
you can Implement into a learning system
because it's so early on in this
learning flow and if you don't get this
part right everything after this starts
suffering you will get easily overloaded
and overwhelmed you will find that your
memory is very leaky you will find that
you're not able to use and retrieve that
knowledge very effectively because the
information was not primed you would
thrown a ball and you were not ready to
catch it the e stands for encoding and
in this diagram it stands for this
processing part here it's talking about
the part of learning that allows your
brain to make sense of the information
and then put it into your memory but
encoding in the learning system means
that you have to have techniques that
allow your brain to organize and process
the information effectively that means
grouping things together simplifying
things looking for analogies finding
connections and relationships uh looking
for ways to make the information more
intuitive simpler easier to understand
this is also the part that most people
struggle with because it requires a lot
of mental effort and thinking to do this
which actually puts some people off but
that is the active part of active
learning when you don't do the encoding
part correctly even though the
information came in through the door
it's not able to be moved into your
memory very effectively and so even
though you study a lot and a lot you
will still continuously forget a large
portion of what you spent your time
learning now encoding is not a binary
process it's not about whether you are
doing it or not it's more of a spectrum
and about creating efficiency in your
processes so that you're moving
information into your memory as quickly
as possible the first R Imperial stands
for reference and this is actually just
about note taking it's not really on
this pathway but it's about
understanding that if you're trying to
consume all the information all at once
and you're trying to do all of the
processing all at once you're going to
get overloaded very quickly if you let
yourself get bogged down in details that
don't help you to organize the
information in a way you want your brain
power to be focused on moving the
information
through here into your memory and there
are certain things that are going to be
so specific and so fine and so detailed
that it's not going to help do that it's
just a distraction and that's where
referencing comes in which is taking
those pieces of information and just
putting them somewhere else so that you
can come back to it later this could be
in the form of flash cards a sick and
brain app using something like obsidian
whatever you want to do it's a parking
lot a dump for all the very very fine
details that you don't want to B with
while you are encoding and processing
the second R is retrieval and retrieval
is the part where you're taking
information from your memory and then
you are testing yourself and challenging
your ability to use and apply that
knowledge retrieval is a necessary
component of every Learning System
number one because that's what actually
tests your ability to use your knowledge
but number two because the act of
retrieving knowledge actually helps you
to reprocess and repackage that
knowledge which strengthens your memory
and deepens your understanding which is
where I imperio comes in which stands
for interleaving interleaving is hitting
a topic from multiple perspectives and
multiple angles I've actually got
another video about interleaving here
cuz it's a big topic and actually one of
the most important things that you can
do to upgrade your Learning System but
in summary it's about making sure that
you are testing yourself in multiple
perspectives rather than just the one
way you learned it and just testing
yourself in that one way when you don't
do interleaving your knowledge becomes
very narrow which means yes you may be
able to answer questions if they are
asked in the same way that your flash
card has it written down but if there's
a curveball question if there's a
combination of Concepts that you never
really thought about before or it's just
something that feels a little bit out of
scope you're going to struggle usually
these are the questions that separate
the top Learners from the rest and the
final o imperio is for overlearning
overlearning is when you're learning
more than you need to a little bit more
out of scope and a little bit deeper
into a higher standard it often involves
a lot of repetition for example doing
lots of practice questions or lots of
flash cards or just going over things
again and again this is the part of
learning that is repetitive by Nature
it's what creates that faster recall and
that enhanced fluency with your
knowledge it is also optional a lot of
people don't need to do overlearning
because overlearning is really only
effective once you're sitting really
competitive assessments or where the
standard for excellence is very very
high most people and most day-to-day
studying don't need to have over
learning at all unfortunately most
people also use overlearning strategies
as their first strategy in the learning
process and that takes time and
attention away from doing the priming en
coding and retrieval Parts properly it's
basically this cycle that I talked about
before where you're basically just
compensating for ineffective encoding
through lots of repetition so to help
you evaluate your own Learning System
I've actually gone ahead and created a
quiz that you can go through and it will
score your learning system based on each
part of per
it's free to do I'll check a link in the
description below don't say I never do
anything for you so I'm going to go
ahead and answer these questions based
on how I used to study and I'll see what
the score
says and
35% uh that's about what I expected uh
it's pretty bad uh if you do this
yourself you can see um you can scroll
down and learn a little bit more about
it yeah it looks pretty tragic for me
they'll give you a bunch of
recommendations based on your scores in
terms of what you need to improve on and
what priority so feel free to go through
that yourself okay so I was going to end
the video right there but I wanted to
make sure that this quiz was helpful for
as many people as possible so I actually
went ahead and gave early access to a
bunch of people to see how they found it
and they had a diverse range of resorts
some of them scored pretty average and
some of them scored surprisingly well
and after seeing the results I learned
two things number one people who weren't
very confident in how they learn also
had lower scores and an explanation for
why they were not so confident and
number two everyone found the quiz
helpful hello my name is Julian Nisha Ed
and I've just taken I can studies
Learning System Diagnostic and results
were very helpful because previously
I've never had something that would
actually quantify and measure how
effective my learning system was I
definitely think that this is a tool
that I could use in the classroom
particularly for subjects where we're
teaching kids how to learn at a really
young age like your 9 year 10 I found
the test uh pretty easy to use it's sort
of good to pinpoint what exactly am I'm
doing wrong so I did find it insightful
in that regard and it's been so helpful
just with like not just learning the
content but actually understanding it
and seeing the significance of like a
learning approach I'm just super
grateful that like I could give this a
go I'm going to really try and
incorporate some of the suggestions
and see how they go so I'm super glad I
do the quiz and I highly recommend it
for you as well it's only a few minutes
but the insights that you'll get from
there will save you hours down the line
so I'm really excited for you to give
the quiz a go yourself the link is in
the description make sure to check it
out thank you so much for watching and
I'll see you in the next one and yes by
the way I am in a new office
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