5 Levels of Learning all Students NEED to Master

Summary

This video by Maddie and Mike, former medical doctors turned learning experts, guides viewers on how to elevate their note-taking skills from basic to genius level. They use digital marketing as a case study, illustrating the progression from oversimplified notes at Level 1 to the validated frameworks of Level 5 innovators. The video emphasizes the importance of critical thinking, interweaving concepts, and seeking feedback to transform learning into actionable expertise and increase earning potential.

Takeaways

• 📝 Taking notes is a reflection of one's thinking, and ineffective note-taking can lead to poor learning outcomes.
• 🔝 The video outlines five levels of note-taking, each representing a different depth of understanding and learning strategy.
• 📚 Level 1 notes are basic and lack depth, often oversimplifying complex topics and indicating a beginner's understanding.
• 🔍 Level 2 notes show more depth by identifying specific facts but often lack clarity and fail to connect the dots between these facts.
• 🌐 Level 3 notes begin to structure information around central ideas, but the relationships between concepts are not yet clear.
• 🔗 Level 4 notes demonstrate an understanding of how different components of a topic work together, with a focus on the big picture and interconnections.
• 🎓 Level 5 notes represent a high level of mastery, where complex ideas are distilled into simple, validated frameworks that can be applied broadly.
• 🤖 The 'Learning Cycle' with three C's (Construct, Connect, Challenge) is introduced as a method to improve learning efficiency.
• 📈 The 'Solo Taxonomy' framework is mentioned, which categorizes the levels of understanding and learning from novice to innovator.
• 💡 The video emphasizes the importance of feedback in the learning process, suggesting that sharing and challenging one's understanding can accelerate learning.
• 🌟 The ultimate goal of moving from Level 1 to Level 5 is to transform from a learner to an industry expert capable of solving complex problems and leading in their field.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video?

The main focus of the video is to explain the five levels of note-taking and understanding, using digital marketing as an example, and how to progress from a basic understanding to becoming an industry expert.

Who are Maddie and Mike, and what do they do now?

Maddie and Mike are former medical doctors who now help people learn more effectively to increase their earning potential.

What does the video claim about the relationship between note-taking and learning quality?

The video claims that taking bad notes isn't just a waste of time but also leads to poor quality learning, emphasizing the importance of mastering the craft of note-taking.

What is the characteristic of notes at Level 1 according to the video?

At Level 1, notes are very basic, oversimplified, and lack depth and clear thought process, indicating a beginner's understanding of the topic.

How does the video describe the notes at Level 2?

At Level 2, notes start to have more depth and specificity but still lack clarity and tend to rely heavily on copying down facts and definitions without clear connections between them.

What is the key feature of Level 3 notes as mentioned in the video?

The key feature of Level 3 notes is the identification of important concepts related to the topic, but they lack clear connections between these concepts, indicating a 'Scholar' level of understanding.

What distinguishes Level 4 notes from the previous levels?

Level 4 notes show a clear understanding of the topic's big picture and how different components work together, with a focus on comparing and contrasting ideas to understand relationships and achieve goals, characteristic of an 'Expert' level of thinking.

What is the significance of Level 5 in the context of the video?

Level 5 represents the 'Genius Thinker' or 'Innovator' level, where individuals use validated frameworks to generalize and apply concepts to various situations, demonstrating mastery and the ability to solve complex problems.

What is the 'Learning Cycle' developed by Maddie and Mike, and what does it consist of?

The 'Learning Cycle' developed by Maddie and Mike consists of three C's: Construct, Connect, and Challenge. It is designed to help students learn any skill or subject more efficiently, based on years of studying neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and educational principles.

How does the video suggest one can speed up the process of moving up to Level 5?

The video suggests getting feedback on work, connecting new understandings with existing ideas, challenging one's understanding, and repeating the process. Additionally, sharing notes publicly for feedback or joining a program like 'Study Quests' can help accelerate the learning process.

What is the 'solo taxonomy' mentioned in the video, and how does it relate to the five levels of note-taking?

The 'solo taxonomy' is a framework developed by educational psychologists John Biggs and Kevin Collis. It is related to the five levels of note-taking as it describes the levels of understanding and learning, with Level 5 thinkers being 'Innovators' who demonstrate mastery and the ability to integrate knowledge across different fields.

Outlines

00:00

📚 The Art of Note-Taking Mastery

This paragraph introduces the concept that one's understanding of a subject can be gauged by the quality of their notes. It uses the example of two different levels of note-taking to illustrate the difference between a beginner and an advanced learner. The speaker, Maddie, along with her brother Mike, who are former medical doctors, now aim to help people learn more effectively to increase their earning potential. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of mastering note-taking as a reflection of one's thinking process and its impact on learning quality. It also introduces the topic of digital marketing as a case study throughout the video, using the iPad 2020 11-inch model with Apple Pencil 2 and GoodNotes 6 for sketching.

05:03

🔍 From Novice to Expert: The Evolution of Note-Taking

The second paragraph delves into the five levels of note-taking, each representing a different stage of understanding and learning. It starts with Level 1, characterized by oversimplified and inaccurate notes, indicating a superficial grasp of the subject. Level 2 notes are more detailed but lack clarity and critical thinking, focusing on isolated facts. Level 3 notes show an awareness of multiple concepts but lack interconnectedness. Level 4 notes demonstrate a clear understanding of the topic, with an emphasis on the relationship between different ideas, achieved through critical thinking strategies like interweaving. Finally, Level 5 represents the pinnacle of learning, where individuals have developed a validated framework that can be applied to various situations, transforming them into industry leaders and innovators. The paragraph also introduces the Learning Cycle, a three C's model developed by the speakers to enhance learning efficiency.

Keywords

💡Note-taking

Note-taking is the act of recording information during a lecture, meeting, or while studying. In the video's context, it is portrayed as a critical skill that reflects one's understanding of the subject matter. The script emphasizes the importance of mastering note-taking to enhance learning and demonstrates how different levels of note-taking correlate with varying degrees of comprehension.

💡Digital Marketing

Digital Marketing refers to the use of digital channels to promote products or services. It is the central theme of the video's example, illustrating the evolution of understanding from basic to advanced levels. The script uses digital marketing to show how note-taking can range from simplistic definitions to complex, interconnected strategies.

💡Learning Levels

Learning Levels are the stages of understanding depicted in the script, ranging from Level 1 (basic awareness) to Level 5 (genius thinking). The video uses these levels to explain the progression from superficial note-taking to sophisticated, strategic learning and understanding.

💡Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking is the ability to analyze and evaluate information objectively. The video script mentions it as a necessary skill for moving beyond Level 1 in note-taking, where oversimplified notes lack depth, to higher levels where notes reflect a deeper, more analytical understanding of the subject.

💡Interleaving

Interleaving is a learning strategy that involves mixing different types of information or skills in a single study session. The script describes it as a method to compare and contrast ideas, which is crucial for Level 4 thinkers to understand the relationships between different concepts in digital marketing.

💡Experts

In the context of the video, experts are individuals who have reached Level 4 of learning. They are capable of not only remembering facts but also applying their knowledge to real-world situations and solving problems. The script uses the term to illustrate the transition from passive learning to active application of knowledge.

💡Innovators

Innovators, as described in the script, are Level 5 thinkers who have reached the pinnacle of understanding. They can manipulate, adapt, and integrate their knowledge to solve complex problems and are often industry leaders. The term is used to highlight the highest level of learning and its application in creating and teaching new concepts.

💡Learning Cycle

The Learning Cycle is a framework developed by the video's creators to help students learn more efficiently. It consists of three C's: Construct, Connect, and Challenge. The script presents this cycle as a method to deepen understanding and move from one learning level to another.

💡Solo Taxonomy

Solo Taxonomy, as mentioned in the script, is a framework developed by educational psychologists to classify different levels of understanding. The video uses it to describe the five levels of genius thinking, emphasizing the progression from surface-level learning to deep, integrated understanding.

💡Feedback

Feedback in the video script refers to the process of receiving constructive criticism or comments on one's work or ideas. It is presented as a method to improve understanding and move up the learning levels, especially by sharing notes publicly and engaging with a community for critique.

💡Study Quests

Study Quests is a program mentioned in the script designed to help innovators build a learning system. It includes a team of mentors and a community focused on sharing notes and providing feedback. The term is used to illustrate a supportive environment for advancing learning and understanding.

Highlights

The video teaches how to improve note-taking to enhance learning and communication of expertise.

Notes reflect thinking, and poor note-taking can lead to low-quality learning.

A five-level framework is introduced to progress from basic to advanced note-taking.

Level 1 notes are oversimplified and lack depth, indicating a beginner's understanding.

Level 2 notes include more specifics but still lack clarity and connection between facts.

Level 3 notes show structure with central ideas but lack clear connections between concepts.

Level 4 notes demonstrate understanding of the big picture and interconnections of concepts.

Level 5 notes represent a validated framework that generalizes concepts for diverse applications.

The Learning Cycle, consisting of three C's - Construct, Connect, and Challenge, is introduced for efficient learning.

The video mentions solo taxonomy as a framework for understanding levels of thinking.

Level 5 thinkers are called innovators who can manipulate and integrate knowledge to solve complex problems.

The importance of feedback in the learning process to validate and improve understanding is emphasized.

Study Quest is a program aimed at helping innovators build a learning system for efficiency and earning potential.

Learning how to learn can change one's life beyond just academic success.

The video offers a link to a Study Quest program for those interested in building a learning system.

The video uses digital marketing as a running example to illustrate the progression through the five levels of note-taking.

The video features sketches and examples created using GoodNotes 6 on an iPad with Apple Pencil 2.

Interleaving is introduced as a strategy for critical thinking by comparing and contrasting ideas.

Transcripts

did you know that you can tell how well

someone understands something just by

looking at their notes take these two

for example this person is probably

learning for the first time but this one

is five levels above because it uses

science-based strategies to improve

learning and clearly communicates

expertise and by the end of this video

I'll show you how to go from Level 1 to

level five so that you can remember

everything you learn hey I'm Maddie

that's my brother Mike we former medical

doctors who now help people learn more

effectively to increase their earning

potential our notes reflect our thinking

so taking bad notes isn't just a waste

of time it leads to poor quality

learning so it's super important for

every learner to master the craft of

note taking but to get there we have to

go step by step so we can understand the

result of each level so I'll be using

digital marketing as a running example

for each step so that by the time we get

to level five I want to show you how

genius thinkers are using their notes to

earn more so at level one a note would

look like this digital marketing is

advertising online oh and in case you're

wondering I'm using the iPad 2020 11-in

model with Apple pencil 2 and all of the

sketches in this video are done using

good note 6 so at this stage our note

taking is very basic and it lacks depth

if you know anything at all about

digital marketing you can clearly tell

that this notaker is proudly standing on

Mount stupid they don't even know how

little they know about the topic yet

like you just saw the word digital and

you saw the word marketing and so the

first thing that came to mind was oh

online digital marketing advertising

must be online advertising and sure

advertising is a form of marketing that

can be done online F but there's so much

more that's involved this would be like

saying learning is about grades it

barely scratches the surface and kind of

misses the point and that's a dead

giveaway for someone at level one their

notes are oversimplified it lacks a

clear thought process or it might just

be completely inaccurate so level one

notes here are Noob status if your notes

are here you're probably just starting

to learn about the topic and planting

seeds of knowledge but there's

definitely a need for deeper critical

thinking the good news is we can only go

up from here so at level two someone's

notes might look like this okay so

there's a bit more depth here now

because it's getting more specific right

now we're starting to recognize that

social media is a form of digital

marketing and we're starting to identify

some facts right you know YouTube is a

video based platform and these are some

facts about YouTube having a red logo

and Mr Beast spending Millions on

YouTube videos but if we look closer

these notes lack Clarity right like how

does knowing that YouTube has a red logo

or it's the shape of a play button help

me understand digital marketing deeper

why does it matter to know those things

what's the point and that is a Telltale

sign of notes at level two they might

have taken a bunch of notes gotten some

hand cramps and stuff but they rely

heavily on copying down facts and

definitions and all of these are

isolated bits of info because a fact is

a single piece of information about an

idea right you can know a lot of facts

about something but doesn't necessarily

mean you understand it so at level two

we call these novice you might have

captured a lot of ideas but they're

isolated you might not know why they're

all important and it's definitely not

clear how they're useful until we move

up to level three so at level three our

notes might now look like this digital

marketing includes SEO it includes paid

ads it includes social media it includes

doing some phone calls okay so now we're

getting somewhere the genius cogs are

starting to turn right notice how

there's some structure now we have

digital marketing being the central idea

paid ads SEO phone calls and social

media these might be the important

Concepts that are related to digital

marketing and you know maybe they taken

a few notes about each of those Concepts

like this but there's a problem here and

it's what holds a lot of people back

from learning more efficiently imagine

being a spider and spinning a flimsy

little web like this you probably

wouldn't catch anything you might not

even be able to hold yourself up because

the structure is so weak right like why

does digital marketing include SEO or

phone calls or social media or paid ads

what's the relationship between these

two what's the relationship between

these two where do hashtags fit in and

to be honest I don't know how hashtags

fit in but this is a key feature of

level three we've identified what all

the most important Concepts and ideas

are but it's not 100% clear how

everything works together yet so at

level three we call them Scholars

there's an awareness of multiple

different concepts but nothing connects

them together yet most people don't get

past level three but it's in these last

two levels that learning becomes

something completely different a note at

level four looks something like this

digital marketing is used to engage our

audiences and increase the visibility of

our products and services it engages

Audi audiences by phone calls emails

using social media DMS and creating

content and increases visibility by

things like paid ads hashtags

copywriting SEO and design which also

feeds back into content now we're really

getting to the heart of digital

marketing right it's clear what the big

picture is here which is you know

letting people know about her stuff by

engaging them or increasing visibility

and it's also clear how all of these

different components work together

because there's arrows that connect them

all together the thing that

differentiates a level three thinker

from level four thinker is the focus on

comparing and contrasting ideas to

understand the relationship in order to

achieve a certain goal in this case the

goal of digital marketing because once

we start doing that our web gets

strengthened might even catch some

dinner tonight so a level four thinker

is thinking what are the similarities

and differences between something like

paid ads and content how is copywriting

and hashtags used together to increase

visibility or how does design and

content related to social media and

emailing right or why would I use use

phone calls over email or when would I

use DMS over content and email so asking

these types of critical thinking

questions while you take notes is a

strategy called inter leaving where

we're comparing similar ideas to

understand their use cases and their

differences so we know when to implement

which one and apply them to reach our

goals all that to say at level four we

become experts experts can demonstrate

that they have a very clear

understanding of the topic and that

they're capable of going Beyond just

remembering facts and stuff but they can

actually apply it the real world and

solve problems but there's actually one

level above experts to get to The

Cutting Edge and this is the level of

Mind where people start to use

their note taking to become industry

leaders to teach build products start

businesses and earn more with their mind

so at level five a note looks something

like this now hold up you're probably

thinking wait a minute this looks like

I'm just back on Mount stupid if you've

been learning about digital marketing

you'll probably recognize that this note

here comes from Alex hosi who is an

expert and has made hundreds of million

dollars from digital marketing and this

is his core for $100 million leads

framework and it might look simple but

Alex has found a way to distill

everything he knows about digital

marketing into a 2X two box and

underneath is a profound understanding

about how digital marketing works and

how it all interconnects the

distinguishing features of a level five

genius thinker is a validated framework

that has the ability to generalize and

apply the concepts to many different

situations in our program we developed

something called the Learning Cycle

which is three C's it goes

construct connect and Challenge and we

use this to help our students learn any

skill or subject more efficiently it

looks simple but we developed it from

years of studying Neuroscience cognitive

psychology and educational principles

James Clear author of atomic habits

Consolidated years of research and

science into a simple four-step process

for breaking and building habits the

five levels of Genius level thinking

described as notes is something called

solo taxonomy which is a framework

develop veloped by educational

psychologists uh John bigs and Kevin

Collis level five thinkers we call

innovators and it's this level of

Mastery that transforms a learner into

the top 1% industry expert right it's

someone who can manipulate adapt and

integrate to their knowledge to solve

complex problems across different fields

so going from level one to level five

isn't something that happens overnight

you have to be very intentional with the

content you consume the way you think

and of course the way you take notes and

one of the most effective ways to speed

up the process of moving up to level

five is to get feedback on your work so

whenever you learn something new and

you've constructed a new understanding

of it try to connect it with the other

ideas that you've been playing around

with and then challenge your

understanding to make sure you actually

know what you're talking about and then

just keep repeating that process over

and over or even better you can just do

this entire process publicly share your

notes on social media using SEO and

hashtags and content and that way more

people can give you feedback if your

ideas are good or not if that sounds too

scary then you can consider joining

study quests our program to help

innovators build a learning system to

save time and earn more we have a team

of mentors in a full community of people

constantly sharing their notes getting

feedback and helping each other grow

I'll leave a link in the description if

you're interested because learning how

to learn will change your life and it's

about so much more than just getting

better grades so if you're interested to

learn the other amazing benefits that

learning can do for your learning and

for your earning I would definitely

recommend checking out this video here