Study Less, Study Smart(er) - Extending Marty Lobdell's Study Advice

Summary

In this educational video, the speaker builds upon Marty Lobdell's popular study techniques by addressing common questions about implementing his advice. The video emphasizes the importance of breaks for cognitive growth, suggesting active, outdoor, or social activities. It discusses study environment strategies, the balance between studying in the same place for consistency and varying locations for better memory. The speaker also touches on effective note-taking, the difference between shallow and deep processing, and the concept of transfer-appropriate processing. Additionally, the video provides insights on structuring study groups for maximum benefit, the pitfalls of highlighting, and the advantages of self-testing over passive re-reading.

Takeaways

• 🔄 Breaks are crucial for learning as they allow the brain to physically grow and integrate new information.
• 🏃‍♂️ Engaging in physical activity, spending time outdoors, or socializing during breaks can enhance learning outcomes.
• 🛌 Good sleep, facilitated by physical activity and outdoor time, plays a significant role in learning and memory consolidation.
• 🏡 Creating a dedicated study environment can help form positive study associations and improve focus.
• 📚 Studying in varied locations can enhance memory retention, but it's essential to balance this with creating a consistent study routine.
• 👥 Study groups can be beneficial if structured correctly, with members contributing equally and engaging in meaningful discussions.
• 📝 Taking notes should be purposeful, focusing on unexpected insights, conflicts, interesting examples, and open questions.
• 🧠 Deep processing, which involves understanding the meaning of information, is more effective than shallow processing that focuses on superficial details.
• 🔄 Transfer-appropriate processing suggests that how you initially learn information should match how you'll use it in the future.
• 📖 Reading textbooks is an active process of creating knowledge through interaction with the text, not just passively receiving information.

Q & A

Why are breaks important during study sessions according to the video?

Breaks are crucial as they allow neurons in the brain to physically grow, and research in neuroscience and psychology shows that breaks positively influence learning outcomes.

What type of activities are recommended during study breaks?

Physically active, outdoor activities, or social interactions are recommended as they benefit brain and body health, improve mood, and promote creative thinking.

Why should you avoid studying in environments where you usually engage in other activities?

Creating positive study associations is important for setting the right mindset for learning. Studying in environments associated with leisure can confuse the brain and reduce study effectiveness.

What is the benefit of studying in different locations?

Studying in a variety of locations can enhance memory for the material, although it's important to balance this with creating a consistent study environment to avoid distractions.

How can establishing a routine before studying help with learning?

A consistent pre-study routine can create a cue that signals the brain to enter study mode, enhancing focus and readiness to learn.

What is the recommended approach to note-taking during lectures?

Notes should be taken selectively on unexpected, surprising, or conflicting information, interesting analogies, open questions, or references for further exploration, rather than writing down everything said.

Why is deep processing of information more beneficial than shallow processing?

Deep processing focuses on the meaning of information, which is more effective for long-term retention and understanding, unlike shallow processing that only focuses on superficial details.

What is transfer-appropriate processing and how does it relate to studying?

Transfer-appropriate processing is the idea that how information is initially encoded should match how it will be used in the future, which helps in choosing the right study strategy for effective learning.

What are the key factors to consider when forming a study group?

A study group should ideally consist of 2 to 4 members, meet in a focused environment, and have members who have done individual work beforehand to ensure effective collaboration and learning.

How can self-testing strategies improve learning outcomes?

Self-testing forces the recall and application of information, which is more effective for long-term retention and understanding. It also provides feedback on what is known and unknown, guiding future study efforts.

What misconception does the video address about reading textbooks?

The video clarifies that reading textbooks is not about passively absorbing information but actively engaging with the text to create knowledge, which may involve non-linear reading and interactive learning strategies.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Enhancing Learning with Effective Breaks and Study Environments

Marty Lobdell's lecture, popular on YouTube, is expanded upon to address questions about implementing his study advice. The video emphasizes the importance of breaks for enhancing learning outcomes, suggesting physical activity, outdoor exposure, or social interaction. It also touches on the benefits of studying in varied locations to improve memory and the concept of creating positive study associations by studying in environments dedicated to learning. The video advises against studying in places associated with leisure activities to prevent confusion between study mode and relaxation.

05:02

🤔 Deep Processing and Study Group Dynamics

This section delves into the concept of deep versus shallow processing, advocating for a focus on deep processing to understand the meaning of information. It introduces transfer-appropriate processing, which suggests that the way information is initially encoded should align with how it will be used. The video also discusses the effectiveness of study groups, recommending a small group size and individual preparation before group meetings. It warns against the pitfalls of group dynamics, such as some members dominating or not contributing, and emphasizes the value of teaching and clarifying explanations within a group to solidify understanding.

10:04

📈 The Power of Self-Testing and Active Reading

The final paragraph addresses the common mistake of confusing recognition with recall, highlighting the importance of output-oriented study methods like self-testing. It argues against passive re-reading and for active engagement with the material through synthesis and organization. The video also challenges the notion of reading textbooks passively, encouraging active interaction with the text to create knowledge. It suggests that reading should be non-linear and focused on understanding, with actions like comparing examples, imagining scenarios, and generating explanations to enhance learning.

Keywords

💡Breaks

Breaks refer to the periods of rest or pause taken during study sessions. In the video, it is emphasized that breaks are crucial for enhancing learning outcomes. The script mentions that neurons in the brain need to grow as you learn, and breaks play a vital role in this process. The speaker recommends engaging in physical activity, spending time outdoors, or socializing during breaks, which can improve mood, creativity, and overall health, thereby positively influencing learning.

💡Memory Consolidation

Memory consolidation is the process by which short-term memories are transformed into long-term memories. The script suggests that taking breaks, including moments of doing nothing, can aid in memory consolidation. This is supported by recent research, which the speaker references to argue for the cognitive benefits of rest periods during study sessions.

💡Study Associations

Study associations refer to the mental connections made between study environments and the act of studying. The video discusses the importance of creating positive study associations by studying in environments that are conducive to learning and avoiding places typically associated with leisure or distractions. This helps in signaling to the brain that it's time to study, thus enhancing focus and retention.

💡Deep Processing

Deep processing is a cognitive strategy that involves engaging with the meaning and significance of information, as opposed to shallow processing, which focuses on superficial details. The video stresses the importance of deep processing for effective learning, suggesting that it leads to better retention and understanding. The speaker encourages students to focus on the meaning of concepts rather than just memorizing facts.

💡Transfer-Appropriate Processing

Transfer-appropriate processing is a concept that suggests how information is initially processed and encoded affects how well it can be recalled and applied in different contexts. The video uses the example of studying paired words to illustrate how focusing on the relationship between cues and targets can improve performance on cued recall tests, but not on free recall tests, highlighting the importance of aligning study strategies with the intended use of the learned material.

💡Study Groups

Study groups are collaborative learning sessions where students come together to discuss, explain, and work through material. The video provides guidelines for effective study groups, such as having a small number of participants, ensuring everyone has done individual work beforehand, and setting up norms for interaction. The speaker argues that study groups can be highly beneficial when structured properly, as they encourage active engagement with the material and provide opportunities for clarification and teaching.

💡Note-Taking

Note-taking is the act of recording key points during a lecture or while studying. The video script critiques the common practice of writing down everything said by a teacher and instead advocates for selective note-taking. The speaker suggests that notes should be taken on unexpected points, conflicts, interesting examples, open questions, or references for further exploration, which can aid in deeper understanding and retention.

💡Recognition vs. Recall

Recognition and recall are two different memory processes. Recognition is the ability to identify something when it is presented, while recall involves bringing information to mind without cues. The video points out that students often confuse these two processes, mistaking the ease of recognition for the ability to recall information, which is a more challenging and effective measure of learning.

💡Self-Testing

Self-testing is a study strategy where learners actively try to recall information without looking at the material. The video highlights self-testing as an effective study method because it requires effortful retrieval of information, which strengthens memory. It also serves as a diagnostic tool, helping learners identify areas of weakness that need further study.

💡Reading Textbooks

Reading textbooks is a specific skill that differs from reading for pleasure or general information. The video script explains that reading textbooks is not about passively absorbing information but actively engaging with the text to create knowledge. The speaker encourages interactive reading strategies such as comparing examples, generating explanations, and asking questions to enhance comprehension and learning.

Highlights

Breaks are crucial for learning outcomes and should be physically active, outdoors, or social.

Physical activity, being outdoors, and social interaction have positive effects on brain health and learning.

Studying in varied environments can improve memory, but avoid distractions.

Establishing a consistent pre-study routine can create positive study associations.

Note-taking should focus on unexpected, conflicting, or interesting points, not just copying everything.

Deep processing, focusing on meaning, is more effective than shallow processing.

Transfer-appropriate processing matches study strategies to how information will be used.

Study groups should have 2-4 members and everyone should prepare individually before meeting.

Creating a study environment that facilitates focus is essential for effective group study.

Study groups should establish norms for interaction to build trust and effective communication.

Highlighting is not an effective study strategy; consider alternative methods.

Recognition and recall are different; self-testing strategies help bridge this gap.

Balance input and output in studying, with a focus on applying knowledge.

Reading textbooks is an interactive process, not just a passive intake of information.

Engage with the text by asking questions, making predictions, and generating explanations.

Transcripts

Marty Lobdell's lecture is one of the most  popular studying videos on YouTube. In this video,  

I'm going to extend his advice by answering some  of the questions that come up when you start to  

implement the stuff he's talking about. Questions  like: what kinds of breaks should you take? How  

should a study group actually work? What should  you do with the fact that it's easy to confuse  

recognition and recall? Let's get started with  breaks. Breaks are really, really undervalued.  

It's not just that breaks can help you feel  good or they're generally a nice thing to have,  

it's that building breaks into your study schedule  will fundamentally improve your learning outcomes.  

Neurons in your brain have to physically grow  as you learn and there is an immense amount of  

research both in neuroscience and psychology that  suggest how breaks and rest positively influence  

learning outcomes over no resting comparison  groups. My recommendation is to do something  

that is either physically active, outdoors, or  social, or some combination of the three. Physical  

activity has loads of benefits both for brain  and body health. It also helps you sleep well,  

which positively influences learning. Being  outside, especially in a natural environment,  

is positively associated with better moods and  more flexible, creative thinking. Obviously, some  

outdoor environments are better than others. I  also recommend doing something that is completely  

different from what you were just doing, which is  why interacting with another human face-to-face  

can be a nice thing to do. Because a lot of  studying is solitary and isolating. If you're  

studying on a computer or screen of some sort, I  think taking a break from the the screen can be a  

good idea. Shoot some basketball, play some music.  Staring at screens for long periods of time does  

create eye strain, even if you're not entirely  conscious of it. You can even just sit down close  

your eyes and do nothing. Recent research suggests  that a lot of good memory consolidation comes from  

these moments. Professor Lobdell makes a great  point about creating positive study associations.  

So don't study in environments in which you are  used to doing other things. Don't study in your  

bedroom, if you can help it. Don't study where  you game. Don't study where you mindlessly scroll  

through your phone. But there is a trade-off  between always studying in the same location  

and studying in a variety of locations. Studying  in the same place all the time can help you create  

these positive study associations, so that when  you sit down your brain says, "Yes, I am ready  

to study!" But studying in different places has  advantages too. Generally speaking, studying the  

same material in a variety of locations creates  better memory for that material. This effect is  

pretty reliable - it's pretty easy to replicate  - but it's not that large and it'll be completely  

swamped if you're studying in an environment where  it's easy to get very distracted. What I suggest  

is building good study habits first and then, if  you want to kick things up a notch, incorporating  

some variety into the settings in which you study.  Maybe you don't have a specific room or a special  

place that you can dedicate to studying; you  can still leverage the idea of positive study  

associations by always doing the same thing  before you sit down to study. Maybe it's going  

for a short walk; maybe it's looking out a window;  maybe it's brewing a cup of tea. Whatever it is,  

you want to do it reliably before you sit down  to study and over time the link between the cue  

that you're creating (which is that thing that  you're doing before you're studying) and your  

brain moving into study mode will become closer  and closer. Now I disagree a little bit with  

Professor Lobdell's recommendation on note taking  and I have a longer video about why I think, in  

general, you should be taking relatively few notes  during class. But if you are going to take notes,  

you want there to be a reason to take a note. What  I mean by this is that your attitude going into  

the class should not be: "I'm just going to write  down every single thing my teacher says." This is  

a serious mistake that a lot of students who never  learned to take proper notes make. In most cases,  

I think this disrupts the sense-making  process that you should be engaging in  

when you are attending a lecture. What should  you be taking notes on? Well, something that  

you didn't expect. Something that was surprising  to you. Two things that seem in conflict with one  

another. An interesting analogy or an example.  An open question that you don't seem to know the  

answer to. A reference to something that you want  to look up later. These are the kinds of notes  

that I think you should be taking. This is not not  an exhaustive list! There are other things you can  

do to maximize how you learn from a lecture, like  prepare properly, but that is a topic for another  

video. Professor Lobdell makes an important  distinction between shallow and deep processing.  

Shallow processing involves paying attention  to the superficial details of something. So,  

for instance, how many vowels a word has  or whether a word has capital or lowercase  

letters. Deep processing is usually understood  in the psychological literature as being about  

the meaning of things - especially the meaning of  words. This is a good basic idea to keep in mind:  

you want to spend more time on the deep end than  the shallow end. Here is a slightly more advanced  

idea, which I think is also quite helpful which  is the notion of transfer-appropriate processing.  

So we talked about shallow processing,  we talked about deep processing, this is  

transfer-appropriate processing. The idea behind  transfer-appropriate processing is that how you  

initially encode information - how you initially  process information that you are reading about or  

learning from - depends on how you are going to  use that information in the future. To see how  

this works, let's look at how people remember  words in psychological experiments. So there's  

a bunch of experiments where psychologists have  people remember lists of paired words. On one side  

we have cues and on the other side we have targets  and the goal is to remember as many of the targets  

as possible. If we push people to pay attention to  the link between the cues and the targets - kind  

of like a flash card - then they will do better  on a cued recall test. If they see the cues,  

then they will be able to provide the targets.  But they won't do so well on a free recall test,  

where we just ask them to remember all of  the targets that they saw. On the other hand,  

if we get people to pay attention to the structure  of the targets - by grouping them into meaningful  

categories, for instance- they will do quite well  on a free recall test, but they won't be do nearly  

as well on a cued recall test. How you want to  encode information - how you want to organize  

all the stuff that you are learning in your brain  - depends on what you are going to do with that  

stuff in the future. This is part of the reason  why realistic, applied practice early on in the  

learning process (in the form of well-designed  practice tests or literal practice experiences)  

can improve learning. When you get a better idea  of what you are going to be doing with all the  

stuff you are learning, it helps you to choose  an appropriate encoding strategy - an appropriate  

study strategy - for that material. Study groups  can be extremely helpful to students - if they are  

structured properly. If they're not, they can be  a complete waste of time. First of all, I would  

aim to have two to four people in a study group.  Three to four is probably ideal. Five is possible,  

but pushing it a bit. My recommendation here just  comes from experience structuring student groups  

and observing the group dynamics. You want a group  where everyone feels like they can contribute  

and when you have some of these larger groups,  it's easy for people to attend but not really  

participate. Before meeting, everyone should do  their own individual work. If you're working on  

problem sets, for instance, everyone should  try solving the problems on their own first,  

before they come to the group with any questions  or problems that they had. And one of the reasons  

for this is that when everyone tries to solve  problems collaboratively, it's easy for a group  

member to think they understand something really  well when they actually don't. Now when you're  

working with someone who understands the material  really well, it can all seem like it makes sense  

to you, but then when you go to do the problem  individually by yourself, you might realize,  

"oh crap, I don't actually know how to do this!"  You want to figure out those "oh crap" moments  

much earlier, before you meet with your group.  Of course, you want to meet at a place and time  

when you can focus on the material. This is the  same idea of creating positive study associations  

that we talked about earlier. If they're friends,  you can go hang out with them at a different time  

and place, but don't try to mix the two together.  Setting up some basic norms for interaction can  

be really, really important. It's good to build  trust with your other members, so that you know  

that when they give you criticism or feedback or  when they say that you're wrong about something  

that they are doing it because they are trying to  help you and not just because they want to be a  

jerk. Sometimes, you end up in these situations  where one person is doing all the work and the  

other people are just sitting there watching  this other person do all the work. This can be  

a really dysfunctional situation, but I think it's  useful to distinguish two varieties of this. One,  

is where the people who are weaker in the subject  matter either can't meaningfully participate or  

won't meaningfully participate in the group.  In that case, I don't think there's any purpose  

in having a group in the first place and the  group should just disband. But, in some cases,  

the less knowledgeable people know enough to  ask interesting questions, even if they can't  

explain the answers to those questions. In that  case, the more knowledgeable person is probably  

still getting a fair amount of value out of  this study group because they have to answer  

these questions and they have to clarify their  explanations, which helps them to clarify their  

own understanding. A lot of times, teaching others  or preparing to teach others leads to beneficial  

learning outcomes for the teacher. Highlighting  is not a good strategy. I discuss a completely  

different approach in these two videos that I  have linked In the description below, but the  

badness of highlighting also relates to the thing  that we are about to discuss right now. One of  

the most important points that Professor Lobdell  makes is that students often confuse recognition  

for recollection. This is usually what happens  when you re-read a sentence that you highlighted.  

"Oh yeah, I remember this." Being able to recall  the meaning of a sentence without any reference  

material is a completely different cognitive  process. And a much harder thing to do. Naive  

study methods tend to be "input heavy". We read  a lot and we re-read a lot. More effective study  

methods have a balance between input and output,  especially output oriented towards synthesizing  

and organizing what you are learning. Applying  what you know in a test or in the real world is  

output. You have to recall information or skills  and apply them correctly. Self-testing study  

strategies, which force you to recall information  and apply it, offer a variety of benefits,  

but here are two. The extra effort that it takes  to recall information (rather than just re-read  

it) leads to large learning benefits in the long  run. This is an extremely reliable, robust effect.  

I have more references in the description, in case  you're interested. Self-testing study strategies  

are also informative - they tell you what you know  and what you don't know - so that you can make  

more informed decisions about what to study in  the future. Re-reading as a generic study strategy  

like, "I'm going to go re-read chapter five" does  not do that. I love that Professor Lobdell talks  

about the skill of reading textbooks, which is  a completely different skill than say reading  

novels or newspapers or something. But I think  a lot of people have a misunderstanding about  

what that skill entails. They think that  they should be sucking up information,  

like a vacuum. But that's not what reading  a textbook is about your brain is not just  

a receptacle for information. Learning from a  textbook is about creating knowledge through  

interaction with the text. That means that you  are not reading it linearly, necessarily. Making  

sense of the material is priority number one and  every single action flows from that. Sometimes,  

you'll be flipping back to an earlier example  to compare it with something that you're reading  

about right now. Sometimes, you'll be pausing  to imagine a hypothetical example. Sometimes,  

you'll be asking questions or making predictions  or generating explanations about what's going on.  

Whatever you do, don't just be a receptacle.  That's it. I hope this was helpful. You can  

let me know in the comments. Links to a lot of  related videos are down in the description below.  

Thanks for watching. I'll see you next time!