What I Learned After 5000 Hours of Revision

Summary

In this educational video, Dr. Justin s, a former medical doctor and learning coach, introduces the powerful study technique of interleaving. He explains how interleaving, which involves mixing different concepts during study sessions, can enhance memory and test performance. Dr. s shares his four rules for effective interleaving, emphasizing the importance of comparing and contrasting concepts to build a more robust understanding. The video aims to help students learn more efficiently and tackle complex subjects with greater ease.

Takeaways

• 📚 Interleaving is a powerful learning technique that involves mixing different concepts, facts, and angles while studying to enhance understanding and retention.
• 🔄 The concept of interleaving is similar to varied practice in sports, where adjusting to different situations helps in mastering a skill in any scenario.
• 🎯 Interleaving contrasts with blocked practice, which focuses on one concept at a time until fully mastered before moving to the next.
• 🤓 Dr. Justin, a former medical doctor and learning coach, recommends interleaving as a method to improve memory, test performance, and grasp new concepts.
• 📈 Research shows that interleaving has a moderately strong effect size of 0.65 for memory improvement and transfer, which is significant in learning strategies.
• 📉 Interleaving should not be confused with random topic mixing; it requires concepts to be similar enough to find common ground but distinct enough to be differentiated.
• ⏱️ For effective interleaving, it's important to frequently compare and contrast concepts within short intervals, ideally every 10 to 15 minutes.
• 📉 Interleaving might initially feel slower in knowledge growth compared to other methods, as it builds understanding gradually like filling a bathtub.
• 🔍 To maximize interleaving's benefits, actively look for variations and differences between concepts rather than focusing on completely new ones.
• 📝 Dr. Justin emphasizes the importance of high-quality encoding in addition to interleaving and retrieval for an efficient learning system.
• 🔗 The video offers a free quiz to assess one's learning system and suggests additional strategies to integrate with interleaving for improved learning outcomes.

Q & A

What is the main topic discussed in the video script?

The main topic discussed in the video script is the learning technique called interleaving and how it can be used to improve revision and become a more efficient learner.

What is interleaving in the context of learning?

Interleaving is a learning technique where different concepts, facts, or angles are mixed together during study sessions, rather than focusing on one concept fully before moving on to the next, which is known as blocked practice.

How does interleaving help with learning according to the script?

Interleaving helps with learning by providing variations of a concept, which helps the brain form a better understanding of what the concept is and what it is not. It pushes the brain to pay attention to the distinctive parts of the information, making it more memorable.

What is an example of interleaving from the script?

An example of interleaving given in the script is learning about the effects of British colonialism on India by not focusing on one effect at a time but instead comparing and contrasting different effects to find similarities and differences.

What is the difference between interleaving and blocked practice?

Interleaving involves mixing different concepts and variations during study sessions, while blocked practice involves focusing on one concept fully before moving on to the next.

What does the script suggest about the effectiveness of interleaving?

The script suggests that interleaving is very effective for learning, with a Hedges G value of effect size at 0.65 for memory improvement and transfer, which is considered moderately strong in the field of learning techniques.

What are the four rules provided in the script for effective interleaving?

The four rules for effective interleaving are: 1) Make yourself compare and contrast, 2) Look for variations rather than totally new concepts, 3) Force these compare and contrast opportunities frequently, and 4) Build your knowledge over time.

Why is it important to compare and contrast when interleaving?

Comparing and contrasting is important when interleaving because it helps to identify the similarities and differences between concepts, which aids in understanding and remembering the material more effectively.

What is the recommended frequency for comparing and contrasting during interleaving?

The script recommends comparing and contrasting ideas every 10 to 15 minutes to avoid overwhelming confusion and to maintain the benefits of interleaving.

How does interleaving affect the perception of knowledge growth?

Interleaving may initially give the impression of slower knowledge growth because it builds knowledge like filling a bathtub, where the water level doesn't rise quickly, but the actual volume filled is more substantial and robust.

What is the role of high-quality encoding in the learning process mentioned in the script?

High-quality encoding is crucial in the learning process to ensure that information is properly encoded into memory from the start. It is one side of the coin, with interleaving and retrieval being the other side, to form an efficient learning system.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Interleaving Technique

The speaker, Dr. Justin, introduces the concept of interleaving as a powerful learning technique. He shares his background in medical school and his journey through various study methods, eventually discovering interleaving. The video promises to explain what interleaving is, how to apply it, and provides four rules for effective implementation. Interleaving is compared to his experience in Taekwondo, where varying practice conditions improved adaptability, drawing a parallel to studying different concepts in tandem to enhance understanding and retention.

05:01

🔄 The Benefits of Interleaving Over Blocked Practice

This paragraph delves into the effectiveness of interleaving compared to blocked practice. Blocked practice involves focusing on one concept until mastery before moving to the next, whereas interleaving involves switching between different concepts to foster a deeper understanding. The speaker contrasts his past study habits with the benefits of interleaving, which include improved memory, better test performance, and the ability to learn new concepts more efficiently. Research is cited to support the effectiveness of interleaving, with a significant effect size for memory improvement and transfer.

10:03

🤔 Optimal Strategies for Implementing Interleaving

The speaker outlines four rules for effective interleaving. Rule one emphasizes the importance of comparing and contrasting concepts to truly understand them, suggesting the use of various techniques to test knowledge from different angles. Rule two advises looking for variations of concepts rather than combining completely unrelated topics, to maintain relevance and clarity. The paragraph also discusses the importance of interleaving similar but distinguishable concepts for effective learning.

15:05

📈 Building Knowledge with Interleaving Over Time

The final paragraph discusses the long-term benefits of interleaving for building robust knowledge. It contrasts the immediate sense of progress from blocked practice with the slower, more substantial growth from interleaving. The speaker recommends frequent comparison and contrast within study sessions to maximize the benefits of interleaving and advises against overwhelming oneself with too much information before making these comparisons. The paragraph concludes with a reminder that interleaving is part of a comprehensive learning system that also requires quality encoding and retrieval strategies.

Keywords

💡Interleaving

Interleaving is a learning technique where different concepts, facts, or skills are mixed and learned in a single session rather than focusing on one topic until mastery before moving on to the next. In the video, it is presented as a powerful method to improve memory and test performance, as well as to learn new concepts more efficiently. The script uses the analogy of practicing taekwondo by varying the position of the kick pad to illustrate how interleaving trains adaptability and understanding in various situations.

💡Revision

Revision, in the context of the video, refers to the process of reviewing and going over material that has already been studied. It is a crucial part of the learning process that helps in consolidating knowledge. The video emphasizes the importance of revising using different techniques, such as interleaving, to enhance the efficiency of the learning process.

💡Active Recall

Active recall is a learning strategy where learners actively attempt to remember information without looking at the material. In the script, it is mentioned as one of the techniques used by the speaker for effective studying, alongside other methods like spaced repetition and flashcards, to reinforce memory and understanding.

💡Blocked Practice

Blocked practice is the traditional method of learning where a learner focuses on one concept or skill until fully mastered before moving on to the next. The video contrasts this with interleaving, explaining that blocked practice can lead to a false sense of mastery and may not prepare learners for diverse or unexpected situations as effectively as interleaving does.

💡Variations

Variations, in the context of interleaving, refer to the different angles, perspectives, or contexts in which a concept is learned. The video script illustrates the importance of learning with variations to build a more robust understanding and to prepare for a wider range of questions or situations.

💡Memory Improvement

Memory improvement is a key goal of the interleaving technique discussed in the video. It suggests that by mixing different concepts during study sessions, learners can strengthen their memory and recall abilities. The script mentions a systematic review and meta-analysis that found a significant effect size for memory improvement through interleaving.

💡Transfer

Transfer in learning refers to the ability to apply previously learned knowledge to new situations or concepts. The video emphasizes that interleaving not only improves memory but also enhances transfer, allowing learners to better understand and adapt to new information.

💡Effect Size

Effect size is a statistical measure that indicates the strength of the impact of a particular variable on an outcome. In the script, the Hedges G value of 0.65 for interleaving is mentioned, signifying a moderate to strong effect on memory improvement and transfer, which is substantial in the context of learning techniques.

💡Encoding

Encoding in learning is the process of converting information into a format that can be stored and retrieved from memory. The video script mentions that high-quality encoding is essential for effective learning, and interleaving should be complemented with good encoding practices to ensure information is properly retained.

💡Retrieving

Retrieving, or retrieval practice, is the act of recalling information from memory without the aid of study materials. The video suggests that interleaving is a form of retrieval practice that can be combined with other strategies to improve learning outcomes. It is part of the broader learning system that includes encoding and revision.

💡Learning System

A learning system, as discussed in the video, encompasses the strategies and techniques a learner uses to acquire, process, and retain information. The script suggests that an efficient learning system should include both high-quality encoding and retrieval practices, with interleaving being a key component of the retrieval process.

Highlights

The speaker has studied over 10,000 hours, utilizing various techniques such as spaced repetition and active recall.

Interleaving is introduced as a powerful learning technique for efficient revision and understanding.

Interleaving involves mixing different concepts and perspectives to enhance learning and memory.

The speaker's experience in Taekwondo is used as an analogy to explain the concept of interleaving.

Blocked practice is contrasted with interleaving, with the latter encouraging a broader understanding of concepts.

Interleaving is shown to be effective for improving memory and test performance, as well as learning new concepts.

Research indicates a Hedges G value of 0.65 for interleaving, suggesting a moderately strong effect on learning.

The speaker's personal study habits evolved from extensive summary pages to incorporating interleaving.

Interleaving helps to prepare for unexpected questions by considering multiple angles of a concept.

The importance of high-quality encoding in addition to interleaving for effective learning is emphasized.

A quiz is offered to assess the viewer's learning system, including strengths and weaknesses in study techniques.

The speaker provides four rules for effectively using interleaving in one's study routine.

Rule one suggests making comparisons and contrasts a central part of the interleaving process.

Rule two advises looking for variations within concepts rather than combining entirely new topics.

Rule three recommends frequent interleaving opportunities to maintain the benefits of the technique.

Rule four encourages building knowledge gradually over time with interleaving cycles.

The video concludes with a reminder of the importance of both encoding and retrieval in the learning process.

Transcripts

I went to medical school when I was 18

and since then I have studied easily

over 10,000 hours yes that is a lot of

studying and the majority of that time

was spent on revision and review I used

everything from space repetition and

active recall with flash cards to

practice questions summary Pages brain

dumps but I finally discovered one of

the most powerful techniques of all and

it's called interleaving in this video

I'm going to tell you exactly how you

can use interleaving to upgrade your

revision and become a more efficient

learner by the way when I say the word

revision I'm talking about going over

material and reviewing stuff that you've

already studied before I know some other

countries use different words I'll start

off by telling you what interleaving is

and how to do it and at the end of the

video I'll give you my four rules that

you can follow to make sure you're doing

into leaving the right way if you're new

to the channel welcome I'm Dr Justin s

I'm a full-time learning coach and the

head of learning at iin study I'm also a

former medical doctor and I've worked

with tens of thousands of students from

around the world to help them learn more

efficiently now imagine if there was a

single technique that was so effective

Ive that it could help you improve your

memory improve your test performance

even help you to learn new Concepts that

you have never encountered before well

that is what interleaving is so let me

explain how it works back in high school

I used to be really involved in

techwondo it was actually like the first

sport that I was ever really good at

very stereotypical Korean I know but we

used to do these drills where we kick

the paddle you know someone's holding a

pad and you aim for it and then you kick

it and instead of just practicing

kicking the same paddle how at the same

distance the same every single time what

we' do is sometimes we' Bring It Forward

sometimes we' bring it closer and so we

would have to adjust on the Fly where to

aim our kick and by doing this it would

train my ability to use that kick in any

situation the reason I'm telling you

this is because that is actually a form

of interleaving and the concept is very

similar for studying interleaving is

when you learn something by mixing

different concepts and different facts

different angles and variations while

you learn something instead of of doing

what's called blocked practice which is

where you would just start with one

concept and you learn it fully before

moving on to the next one blocked

practice for practicing a kick would be

holding it in the exact same place every

single time until I've mastered it and

then moving it higher moving it lower

forward back for something like

basketball it would be standing on the

free throw line practicing shooting it

from that exact same spot every single

time until you've mastered it but with

interleaving that's when we are changing

things up we're moving it Forward we're

moving it back we're standing in front

of the line we're standing a little bit

behind the line left of the line right

of the line and we're giving ourselves

variations of the same concept and so

for studying it's about looking at a

concept from multiple different

perspectives to help understand it

rather than trying to understand it

through just one perspective first for

example let's say that I'm learning

about the effect of British colonialism

on India the blocked method of learning

which by the way is the most common way

that people use would be to learn about

each Effect one by one an inter leave

method would be to take all of the

different effects try and generally

understand one of them then move on to

another effect and compare and contrast

them to find similarities and

differences and then we do the same

thing for another effect and we look for

similarities and differences and then

after we've done three different effects

we might move back to the first one and

learn that one a little bit more deeply

and then again compare and contrast that

with the second one and the third one

and that cycle continues until we have

learned everything if I'm learning

something more technical like the

physiology of how a muscle contracts a

blocked method would be to learn the

physiology and just learn that process

until I feel like I've completely

understood it and then maybe a week

later during a revision session I'm

going to test myself with some practice

questions and flash cards in that method

we're looking at one concept from one

perspective until we feel like we're

fully mastered it using inter leaving

would mean that I learn how the muscle

contracts in a normal situation and then

I compare that with how it is in a

disease situation and then maybe how I

would treat that diseased muscle later

when I go to test myself and review it

I'm going to be focusing on comparing

and contrasting the differences between

those situations see now it's the same

process but we're looking at that

process from multiple angles the process

of normal versus disease versus treating

that disease and trying to get it back

to normal and that comparing and

contrasting is where the value seems to

be into leaving as helpful because by

giving yourself very variations of a

concept it helps your brain form a

better picture of what the concept is

versus what it is not it pushes your

brain to pay attention to the parts of

the information that make it

characteristic and sticky I sort of

think of it like trying to understand

what a place looks like by looking at a

photo of it for a really long time

versus being able to visit the actual

place and explore and look around seeing

something from multiple angles helps you

understand each of those angles much

more easily and more quickly and more

memorably and speaking of which if you

found that this is an angle on learning

that you found helpful then I'd

appreciate if you give this video a like

every like helps with the algorithm

which helps me make more content for

free now this inter leave method is

really different to how I used to study

when I was in my early years of uni I

used to have these really big revision

days where I'd sit down once a week for

like 6 or 7 hours and try to get through

as much of one paper as possible and is

to create these huge huge summary pages

and brain dumps on like the whole week

or fortn night's worth of lectures and

the end of the session I'd have this

beautiful summary page like perfectly

you know all the headings and completely

organized and the nice tables and

everything sometimes I'd even print them

out and like create my own little like

mini textbook but fast forward a few

weeks and I'm looking at these Pages

wondering where all the knowledge went

and even though I knew I had a good

basic understanding of all the facts I

had good fact recall I was confident in

that knowledge I knew knew that when I

walked into the exam there would still

be some questions that I'm going to get

wrong that I cannot answer there's an

angle that I have not considered and I

have not looked at and I don't know what

it is but it's like a fact of the

universe there's going to be something

that I get wrong now the reason

interleaving is relevant here is because

interleaving actually directly helps to

protect you against those tricky

curveball questions by helping you see

more of those angles that you otherwise

may have missed and it isn't incredibly

effective there's a lot of ongoing

research on interleaving researchers

still don't exactly know what inter

leing is and exactly how it works based

on the pace of the research it's

probably going to be at least another 10

years before we know that a recent

systematic review and met analysis on

inter leaving found a Hedges G value of

effect size at

0.65 for memory improvement and transfer

transfer is what we call your ability to

take what you've already learned and use

that to learn new things that you

haven't encountered before and a value

of

0.65 is considered moderately strong and

you might be thinking moderately strong

doesn't sound that impressive but you

would be wrong learning is really

complicated and there are a lot of

things that influence your learning

there are very very few techniques where

a single technique is able to have that

level of impact for reference some

Studies have found that just writing

notes the general idea of writing notes

only has an effect size of around

0.5 and simply rereading and rewriting

notes has an effect size of around 0.2

to

0.3 even spacing combined with free

active recoil which is where you review

something and then you wait a little

while and then you review it again from

memory which is considered one of the

most effective strategies that's ever

been found it is like the only strategy

that people swear by on YouTube and it

is the underlying concept that basically

all flashcard apps are built around has

an effect size hovering at around 0.8

which is not that much greater than

interleaving so if you were to combined

spaced active recoil with interleaving

you are going to have a noticeable and

probably significant Improvement in your

ability to learn new information now

unfortunately unlike spacing active

recall where there's a lot of research

and we generally know when it works and

when it doesn't work interent leaving is

something that we are still not really

sure about we don't know exactly what

you need to do to make it perfectly

effective and we do know that in some

situations when you do it wrong there is

literally no effect and in some cases

just because it's wasting time it's more

harmful but I've been using this method

for several years now and I've also been

teaching this to tens of thousands of

students so I've had the chance to see

what works and what doesn't and so here

are my rules for using interleaving to

make it as effective as it can be number

one make yourself compare and contrast

if the way you're doing inter leaving is

not actually helping you compare and

contrast variations of different

concepts and figure out exactly what a

concept is versus what a concept is not

then it's probably not going to help you

and to do this you're going to want to

test yourself in different ways use a

multitude of different techniques to

test your knowledge you do want to test

your memory repeatedly but you do not

want to repeatedly use the same method

to test your memory every time you have

a revision session use a different

technique that helps you explore the

concept from a different angle to

explore New Perspectives I have many

other videos talking about different

methods of revision that all can be

plugged into this and I will continue to

upload more videos talking about

different methods moving into the future

so if you haven't already that's a

reason that maybe you should subscribe

number two look for variations rather

than totally new Concepts you can't just

take two random topics and mash them

together and call that into leaving the

different concepts or facts or angles

that you are cycling between have to be

similar enough that there is

similarities between them but different

enough that you can actually distinguish

them apart for example in biology

mitosis and meiosis are two different

types of cell division and those two

would be good Concepts that you can

inter leave between because there is a

lot of similarities but there are also

very distinct differences between the

two to tell them apart however if you

were to compare mitosis with

photosynthesis that probably is not

going to be very useful because they're

very very different and the similarities

are very general and Abstract on the

other hand let's say that you were

studying some kind of uh legal policy

and you're interleaving between policy a

and policy B and the two of them are so

so similar that even when you're

comparing them side by side it's hard to

know which is which in this situation

it's very hard to actually spot the

differences and tell them apart and that

can actually just add confusion so that

would be a situation that is too similar

for there to be effective inter leaving

you're not always going to be able to

find a way to inter leave literally

every single concept that you learn but

what I found is that for most topics

every concept can be looked at at least

from another angle or is related to

another concept within that same topic

very closely and I think by virtue of it

being within the same topic there are

not many situations where you've got a

concept that you literally cannot

compare in contrast with anything else

because it is just so isolated and

removed from every other concept rule

number three try to force these compare

and contrast into leaving opportunities

frequently don't spend one day studying

a concept and then another day studying

the variation and try to compare in

contrast the research says that the

benefit of interleaving seems to fade

when the gap between interleaving

sessions grows further apart it's also

much more confusing and overwhelming

because now you have to compare and

contrast and look for similarities and

differences between a whole day's worth

of studying and another whole day's

worth of studying it is much easier

practical less overwhelming and actually

just more beneficial to compare and

contrast ideas every 10 to 15 15 minutes

you should take a single example single

variation single concept that is fresh

in your memory and immediately compare

and contrast that to its variation or

other related concept again you want to

avoid learning too much before you

compare and contrast because that's

going to create a lot of overwhelm and

confusion and that ties in directly with

number four which is to build your

knowledge over time interleaving is very

effective but when you study with a lot

of interleaving you you will find that

you're not feeling your knowledge

growing as quickly as you may have felt

with your previous technique this is

because when we're inter leaving we're

building our knowledge like filling a

bathtub rather than filling a test tube

when we learn one thing very narrow very

deep and completely understand it before

moving on we can feel like our knowledge

is growing very quickly because we can

see our knowledge level rising very

quickly but this is actually an illusion

of confidence it's because that

knowledge is very fragile and not well

supported by anything around it so it's

more likely to fade we're more likely to

have errors and we're more likely to get

back to a week later and realize we're

forgotten half of it but when we learn

with interleaving and most of the other

strategies also that I talk about in my

other videos it creates knowledge like

filling a bathtub even if you've got the

water on full blast you don't really see

the water level rising very quickly even

though the actual volume that is being

filled is much much more substantial

when you apply these cycles of

interleaving where each cycle is more in

depth and more detailed you will feel

that your knowledge improves every cycle

rather than every individual concept and

I promise trust me by the end of the day

when you've done three or four Cycles

you will feel that your knowledge is

much more stable and much more robustly

understood than you would have felt with

your previous method of studying now

just as a disclaimer even if you do all

this and then you follow all these rules

and you're perfect with interleaving

interleaving and retrieval are still

just one side of the coin you still need

high quality encoding to make sure that

You' have encoded the information into

your memory properly in the first place

and that is actually probably the

biggest bottleneck for most students The

Learning System of an efficient learner

should have both high quality encoding

and high quality retrieval with

interleaving now if you would like to

know how good your Learning System is

then I've actually created a quiz that

you can do for free there's a link in

the description you answer a bunch of

questions it tells you what your

strengths and weaknesses are and also

leave a few links in the description

about videos to do with different

retrieval and revision strategies that

you might want to plug into your into

leaving straight away let me know how

you get along thanks for watching and

I'll see you next

[Music]

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