What I Learned After 5000 Hours of Revision
Summary
TLDRIn 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
- π Interleaving is a powerful learning technique that involves mixing different concepts, facts, and angles while studying to enhance understanding and retention.
- π The concept of interleaving is similar to varied practice in sports, where adjusting to different situations helps in mastering a skill in any scenario.
- π― Interleaving contrasts with blocked practice, which focuses on one concept at a time until fully mastered before moving to the next.
- π€ Dr. Justin, a former medical doctor and learning coach, recommends interleaving as a method to improve memory, test performance, and grasp new concepts.
- π Research shows that interleaving has a moderately strong effect size of 0.65 for memory improvement and transfer, which is significant in learning strategies.
- π 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.
- β±οΈ For effective interleaving, it's important to frequently compare and contrast concepts within short intervals, ideally every 10 to 15 minutes.
- π Interleaving might initially feel slower in knowledge growth compared to other methods, as it builds understanding gradually like filling a bathtub.
- π To maximize interleaving's benefits, actively look for variations and differences between concepts rather than focusing on completely new ones.
- π Dr. Justin emphasizes the importance of high-quality encoding in addition to interleaving and retrieval for an efficient learning system.
- π 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
π 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.
π 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.
π€ 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.
π 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.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Interleaving
π‘Revision
π‘Active Recall
π‘Blocked Practice
π‘Variations
π‘Memory Improvement
π‘Transfer
π‘Effect Size
π‘Encoding
π‘Retrieving
π‘Learning System
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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