What's the Best Way to Write Notes? @KoiAcademy

Summary

The video script delves into the art of note-taking, emphasizing its significance beyond mere information recording. It outlines the cognitive processes note-taking should facilitate, like higher-order thinking and intuitive information mapping. The speaker contrasts ineffective note-taking habits, such as excessive verbatim typing, with effective strategies that promote deep learning and retention. They advocate for freehand note-taking on an infinite canvas for its flexibility and ability to mirror complex knowledge structures, suggesting it enhances cognitive engagement and learning quality.

Takeaways

• 📝 Note-taking is a skill that reflects one's thought process and should align with how information is understood and processed.
• 🎯 The primary objectives of note-taking are to document information for future reference and to facilitate cognitive processes that aid in learning.
• 🧠 Effective note-taking should reduce cognitive load by offloading information from memory, allowing the brain to engage in deeper thinking and understanding.
• 🚫 Merely transcribing information without processing it (like writing too many notes or none at all) is ineffective for learning and can lead to cognitive overload.
• 🤔 Higher-order thinking involves comparing, contrasting, and relating concepts to build a network of interconnected information, which is crucial for effective learning.
• 🔄 The process of making connections between ideas should be intuitive and logical, balancing ease of understanding with meaningful relationships.
• 📚 Handwritten or freehand note-taking can be more beneficial than typed notes as it encourages selective writing, deeper processing, and better retention.
• 💾 Typed notes can be improved by focusing on the thought process and structuring information in a non-linear, relational manner, despite the limitations of current technology.
• 📈 To gauge the effectiveness of note-taking, assess confidence in recalling information, the ability to manipulate and integrate knowledge, and retention over time.
• 📉 Testing with challenging questions that require integration of multiple concepts can indicate mastery and highlight gaps in understanding or logical structuring.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the discussion in the transcript?

The main focus of the discussion is on note-taking strategies, particularly how to approach learning a new subject or class and the different stages of learning, with an emphasis on how note-taking can facilitate cognitive processes and higher-order thinking.

Why is note-taking considered an important skill according to the speaker?

Note-taking is considered important because it serves to document information for later reference and facilitates the right cognitive and thought processes, helping to offset unnecessary mental load and allowing the brain to focus on deeper learning.

What does the speaker mean by 'higher order thinking' in the context of note-taking?

The speaker refers to 'higher order thinking' as the process of engaging in deep thought, comparing ideas, looking for similarities and differences, grouping and categorizing information into a network, and creating a map that is clean, simple, and intuitive.

How does the speaker define 'intuitive' when discussing the organization of information?

The speaker defines 'intuitive' as a way of grouping information that makes sense without exerting effort, such as 'outer' versus 'inner' or 'up' versus 'down'. It's about making connections that are obvious and easy to remember, which aids in better learning and retrieval of information.

What are the potential issues with linear note-taking according to the transcript?

Linear note-taking is considered limited because knowledge is inherently non-linear and relational. Restricting notes to a linear format can hinder the ability to effectively represent complex relationships and connections between concepts.

What is the speaker's opinion on typing versus handwriting notes?

The speaker believes that while typing may be faster, it can lead to less cognitive processing as it often results in verbatim copying without deep thought. Handwriting notes, on the other hand, forces one to be more selective and thoughtful about the information being recorded, which can enhance learning.

Why does the speaker suggest that having an infinite canvas for note-taking is beneficial?

An infinite canvas for note-taking is beneficial because it allows for the reflection of the non-linear and relational nature of knowledge without being constrained by the limitations of physical or digital pages, thus better representing the mind's understanding and organization of information.

What advice does the speaker give for transitioning from typed notes to freehand notes?

The speaker suggests starting by being more aware of the goal of note-taking, which is to facilitate higher-order thinking. They recommend beginning with typed notes but also jotting down keywords and connections on a separate piece of paper to engage in the thought process, gradually increasing the use of freehand over time.

How can students determine if their note-taking method is effective?

Students can determine the effectiveness of their note-taking by assessing their retention, confidence in the material, and ability to manipulate and retrieve information fluidly. They should also consider their confidence levels when answering questions and the ability to integrate multiple concepts in their thinking.

What role does confidence play in assessing one's understanding and note-taking effectiveness?

Confidence plays a critical role as it serves as a compass for assessing understanding. If a student is not confident in their answer, it indicates a gap in their knowledge or thinking process. Confidence also helps in identifying whether the note-taking method is capturing the logical relationships and structures needed for deep learning.

Outlines

00:00

📝 The Art of Note-Taking

The speaker begins by addressing the importance of note-taking, especially with the resurgence of interest due to the start of school. They delve into the intricacies of learning a new subject and how note-taking can evolve at different stages of understanding. The speaker emphasizes that note-taking isn't a one-size-fits-all technique but a reflection of one's thought process. The goal of effective note-taking is to document information for future reference and to facilitate cognitive processes, ensuring the brain isn't overwhelmed with information retention, thus allowing for deeper thinking.

05:02

🧠 Cognitive Offloading and Higher Order Thinking

The speaker discusses the concept of cognitive offloading, where note-taking helps in reducing the mental load by recording information. However, merely transferring information without deeper engagement is ineffective. The speaker argues for 'higher order thinking,' which involves comparing, contrasting, and relating information to create a networked understanding. They introduce the idea of 'intuitive' groupings of information, which should be logical, straightforward, and require minimal cognitive effort to recall, differing from mere logical groupings that might not be as easily retrievable.

10:02

🖊️ The Debate Between Handwritten and Typed Notes

In this section, the speaker explores the debate over handwritten versus typed notes, including the use of digital tools like iPads. They mention various research findings but suggest that the effectiveness of note-taking is more about the alignment with one's cognitive process rather than the medium. The speaker favors freehand note-taking for its ability to create non-linear, relational maps of knowledge, which they argue is more reflective of how the brain organizes information. They also touch upon the limitations of linear note-taking and the importance of spatial arrangement in notes.

15:02

🔄 Transitioning from Typed to Freehand Notes

The speaker acknowledges the difficulty of transitioning from typed to freehand note-taking and suggests strategies for this shift. They recommend starting with typed notes while simultaneously practicing freehand note-taking on the side. Over time, one should feel the benefits of freehand notes and the limitations of typed notes, naturally gravitating towards the latter. The speaker also discusses the importance of confidence in one's notes and the ability to fluidly manipulate and retrieve information as indicators of effective note-taking.

20:04

📉 Assessing Note-Taking Effectiveness and Confidence in Learning

In the final paragraph, the speaker discusses how to assess the effectiveness of one's note-taking and learning. They emphasize the importance of confidence in answers and the ability to manipulate and integrate knowledge as key indicators of mastery. The speaker suggests using challenging questions and testing oneself at higher cognitive levels to identify gaps in understanding. They also touch upon the importance of logical and intuitive structuring of information, and how confidence can serve as a compass for identifying areas of weakness in one's learning process.

Keywords

💡Note-taking

Note-taking is the act of recording information during a lecture, meeting, or while studying. In the context of the video, it's emphasized as a critical skill for learning and understanding new subjects. The speaker discusses how effective note-taking should facilitate cognitive processes, aiding in the retention and recall of information, rather than just being a mechanical act of writing down everything.

💡Cognitive processes

Cognitive processes refer to the mental actions through which people sense, perceive, think, remember, and learn about the world. The video underscores the importance of note-taking in facilitating these processes by reducing cognitive load, allowing the brain to focus on deeper understanding and critical thinking rather than just memorization.

💡Higher order thinking

Higher order thinking involves complex cognitive skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The video stresses that effective note-taking should engage these higher order thinking skills, encouraging students to connect, compare, and critically evaluate information, which is essential for deep learning and understanding.

💡Intuitive

Intuitive, in the video, refers to the natural and instinctive understanding of information without the need for conscious reasoning. The speaker argues that notes should be organized in a way that makes the relationships between concepts intuitive, which aids in memory retention and the ability to quickly recall and apply knowledge.

💡Logical

Logical pertains to a clear, reasonable, and consistent arrangement of information. The video discusses the need for note-taking to be logical, ensuring that the information is structured in a way that makes sense and can be easily followed, which is crucial for effective learning and comprehension.

💡Linear note-taking

Linear note-taking is the traditional method of writing notes in a straight line from left to right, often in a sequential manner. The video critiques this approach, suggesting that it is limited because it does not reflect the non-linear, interconnected nature of knowledge and can hinder the development of complex understanding.

💡Freehand note-taking

Freehand note-taking implies creating notes by hand, which allows for more flexibility in organizing information spatially. The video suggests that freehand note-taking can be more effective than typed notes because it encourages selective writing, which can enhance thinking and understanding of the material.

💡Typed notes

Typed notes refer to notes created using a keyboard, which are often more organized and easier to edit. However, the video points out that typed notes can lead to verbatim recording without deep processing, potentially resulting in less effective learning compared to other methods like freehand note-taking.

💡Infinite canvas

The 'infinite canvas' concept mentioned in the video refers to a digital space with no physical boundaries, allowing for flexible and expansive note-taking. This concept is praised for its potential to better represent the complex, interconnected nature of knowledge compared to traditional linear and bounded note-taking methods.

💡Concept mapping

Concept mapping is a visual tool for organizing and representing knowledge as a network of interconnected concepts. The video touches on the idea of creating a 'map' of information, suggesting that this can help in understanding the relationships between different pieces of knowledge, which is key to higher order learning.

💡Cognitive load

Cognitive load refers to the amount of mental effort being used in working memory during learning. The video discusses how note-taking should aim to reduce cognitive load by offloading information from memory to paper, allowing the brain to focus on deeper comprehension and critical thinking.

Highlights

Note-taking is a popular trend, especially with the start of the school year.

Note-taking is not a one-size-fits-all technique but a reflection of one's thought process.

Effective note-taking should document information for later reference and facilitate cognitive processes.

Note-taking should help offset cognitive load, allowing the brain to focus on deeper learning.

Simply offloading information without deeper thought is not effective note-taking.

Higher order thinking involves comparing, contrasting, and relating information in a network.

Intuitive note-taking involves grouping information in a way that is both logical and requires minimal effort to understand.

The quality of note-taking is not about quantity but the depth of thought and understanding reflected.

Linear note-taking has limitations because knowledge is inherently non-linear.

Handwritten notes can be more effective than typed notes due to the slower pace allowing for deeper thought.

Using an infinite canvas for note-taking allows for better reflection of non-linear knowledge structures.

Typed notes can be improved by focusing on the thought process rather than just transcribing information.

Transitioning from typed to freehand note-taking can be challenging but is a valuable skill for deeper learning.

Confidence in retrieving information is a key indicator of the quality of learning and note-taking.

The ability to answer questions correctly with confidence is more important than simply getting the right answer.

Logical and intuitive structuring of information is crucial for effective learning and retrieval.

Transcripts

so today's topic I wanted to really

focus in on note-taking it's we've been

getting a lot of questions about that

and overall I think especially my

YouTube scene note-taking seems to be

like a very popular Trend right now

school starting up again and everything

so to start off I'd like to know if you

could kind of walk through how you would

approach learning a new subject or a new

class particularly in regards to taking

notes like what are the different stages

of learning that you go through and then

how does your note-taking differ at each

stage if that makes any sense the reason

this question is a little difficult to

answer is because note taking is um

it's not really like a like a boom like

here's the technique and you just sort

of use it it's not like a hammer that

that you you know like when you play

games and like every time you construct

something it's like the same like

animation like every every single time

and like it but the thing you build is

different like note taking is not like

that the skill is really about how

you're thinking about the information

and then how you're aligning what you're

putting down on paper with your thought

process it's a visual representation of

your thought process and I'm going to

speak a little bit abstractly and I know

that people don't like it when I do this

but it's just really hard to explain

without going into this first is that

when we think about it we we really want

to be thinking about what the function

of note taking is so when you do good

note taking it should achieve a couple

of objectives number one is obviously to

have information documented so that you

can refer to later in in your study

arguably more important than that it's

about facilitating the right cognitive

processes and thought processes and what

facilitating and cognitive processes

really mean is that it needs to be

making it easier and taking away

unnecessary Parts like your brain is a

vehicle with a fixed capacity there's

only so much it can handle note taking

should offset some of that unnecessary

load so that it can really focus on

doing the heavy lifting that's important

for creating good learning for example

like if you go through an entire lecture

without taking any notes at all that's

going to be really difficult to think

very deeply about because a lot of your

cognitive resources are spent on just

trying to hold on to everything that's

being said so therefore note taking

allows you to sort of offset that and so

that you can track what's being said and

then you can look at the paper and then

therefore you can then have more

thoughts coming to it that you

previously just didn't have the mental

capacity for and this is just like this

and saying genius you know so then the

next thing is well what are those deeper

processes that we really should be

engaging the problem is that most people

are in that very um very sort of in and

out mentality in terms of note-taking

the information is coming in straight

away just putting it down and they're

focusing so much on offloading it

they're freeing up mental resources but

those mental resources are not doing

anything right it's just sitting there

wasted so that's also not effective like

both cases are completely ineffective

not writing notes at all is not very

effective

arguably writing too many notes without

actually thinking about it deeply is

actually even less effective

it's actually less effective because

number one because you're not trying to

hold it all into in your mind your brain

is not doing any of the heavy lifting at

all if you're just writing everything

you know completely down without

thinking about it so now we're just

bypassing learning completely that's

like the worst case scenario and then

like the second stab in the back is that

now you have so many notes to go through

that's actually adding time for you

later to do that processing and it sort

of creates a sort of negative spiral so

when we have those additional resources

freed up what we really should be doing

is trying to engage in that thing called

higher order thinking right and higher

order learning so this is about looking

for if I were to just really really

simplify this and coincidentally I've

got a tedx talk in three days about this

very topic comparing ideas against each

other looking for the similarities and

differences between the concepts and

thinking about how we can group and

categorize and relate the information in

a network and create a map of it that is

as clean and as simple and as intuitive

as possible and I'm going on a bit of a

monologue here but I really need to

Define what the word intuitive means so

let me go through some examples of what

intuitive means I don't think I've

actually ever made a video about this

like in this specific details when we're

grouping different pieces of information

together there are some ways of grouping

it that are very very logical often the

way the textbook will give it to you is

very logical the way lecturers teach it

will be very logical but doesn't make it

intuitive so let me give you an example

here right pericardium

versus

what do you think I'll say next heart

so myocardium could be right so at that

point it's kind of like okay well first

of all if I didn't already have really

good domain knowledge about that will I

be able to figure that out

probably not and especially if that's

new information you're learning then

that's going to be additional cognitive

resources for you to try to remember

that grouping so now you have to not

only remember like what pericardium or

myocardium means but now you have to

then remember that's the way that you

grouped it right whereas if I were to

say for example outer versus

what do you think the next one's going

to be

enter it just makes sense right and you

don't have to even exert any effort to

think about if I say up versus down if I

say lift versus right

um if I say before versus after we could

add a during in there if we wanted to

this is intuitive you know um cause

versus effect and you can utilize domain

knowledge but it has to be domain

knowledge that's really it we want to

get it to the point where it is like

obvious it's just drop dead obvious so

so different things are obvious for

different levels of expertise if you are

an expert at something then if I say

pericardia versus mild cotton that's

like boom like you don't have to think

about that at all but that's not the

same level that everyone's going to be

at we always want to find ways of

grouping information in a way that makes

it as intuitive as possible as well as

it being logical so there are ways of

grouping things that are logical but are

not intuitive but then there are ways of

grouping things that are sometimes in

Twitter but it's not necessarily logical

as well for example I could say

everything in the alphabet before the

letter G versus

and then intuitively you'll be like

everything after the Liturgy but is that

actually meaningful or logical relative

to the context I mean unless you're

studying the alphabet probably not

so in that case it it would be intuitive

but it's not necessarily logical so

there's this balance it has to make

sense conceptually in the context of

what you're studying but at the same

time it has to be intuitive enough that

you're not exerting effort and trying to

remember the way that you've grouped and

categorized information and figuring out

how to do that for what you're learning

is a complicated skill there's a lot of

back and forth thinking there's a lot of

confusion and at times it feels

overwhelming I just want to say that

that is all normal that's actually a

very normal part of the process that's

your brain really trying to figure it

out that's your brain at the gym you

know pumping the weights feeling tired

exerting that energy and that's

producing higher quality learning and

that's a very simplified version of it

and there's lots of other things to talk

about that's kind of the big picture so

I kind of didn't talk about exactly how

to write the notes but the thing is that

as long as what you're writing is

helping with that process and reflects

what you were thinking about

it's all good generally speaking it's

all good one just blanket caveat is that

if you're writing notes linearly left to

right down the page sequentially that's

not going to work because knowledge is

inherently not linear and therefore any

form of linear note-taking is inherently

Limited

that makes sense right um on that note I

I realize that you keep saying writing

your notes and that

um the next question I want to ask is do

you always write your notes what are

your thoughts on handwritten versus

typed notes versus

writing on an iPad or something like

that I'll just preface by saying that

this is an area that there's been a lot

of research on and I think it's a little

overwhelming to go through all of that

research and to be totally Frank and

I've got some of the pertinent findings

written in my report on learning but to

be totally honest it's a little

purposeless to go through that for for

most students it's not really practical

to think about all the different

variations because like I said note

taking reflects the thinking process and

so there are so many variables that

affect whether the note-taking is more

or less effective so for example if I'm

typing my notes but the way I'm typing

it is helping me with that thought

process that's going to be much more

effective than someone that's

handwriting their notes but is not

engaging with that process and it's very

difficult to measure that as well so so

research struggles to really get ground

on it the latest research starts looking

at how note taking has a relationship

with your cognitive load and that's

becoming a lot more promising because

it's just more transferable across all

these other variables generally speaking

if I had to just give like tips I would

say try not to type notes because of the

fact that typing is at the moment with

the limitations of technology in most

cases linear and sequential and it's

very difficult to do non-linear notes

now there are apps that allow you to

create relationships relational

note-taking apps that are built around

something like zerocaster notion's a

great example of a tabulated way of

creating relational nodes but that's not

really good either because yes you

created the relationship but it isn't

really you that created the relationship

the relationship was actually created

for you by the software and it doesn't

allow you to have the higher level which

is to really discriminate and prioritize

relationships you don't actually want

every single thing that's related to

everything else to actually be

represented because then that's

overwhelming because again knowledge is

non-linear and it's relational

inherently so everything will end up

being related to everything and then it

becomes purposeless the key is actually

thinking about the relationships and

then creating a critical decision about

how important that relationship is and

whether you want to represent it and how

you want to represent it in the context

of everything else so if you think about

like the very simple example A B and C

on a page with arrows going from A to B

and an arrow going from A and B to C

together right so create some sort of

like a triangle if I put the C

underneath A and B versus if I put the C

way below A and B versus if I put the C

above A and B versus if I put it to the

right of A and B you can see how that in

a way almost makes it feel like even

where you place things on a page how

thick you make a certain Arrow whether

you choose to have an arrow there and

the direction that the arrow goes in

these are all things that actually force

you to think about that relationship to

a deeper level because there's a very

big difference between knowing A and B

are related and then that leads to C and

knowing exactly how important that is

the context and the purpose that it has

so as a result freehand tends to be

better at demonstrating that and it's

much faster than trying to get that

level of discrimination through software

at least for all the software that I

know and I've looked at a lot of

software the other thing is that

freehand is slower than typed notes and

that's actually a good thing because it

means that it forces you to write less

there are quite a few studies that have

been that have shown that higher word

count is associated with lower

performance and the theory here is that

if you're typing something verbatim

you're processing it in your head less

so slower actual ability to get

information on page with freehand ends

up being advantageous because it forces

you to be stricter with what you're

actually choosing to write down which

probably means that you think about a

little bit more but again there's a lot

of caveats there because the way you

think about it you know there's so many

different things that affect it but as a

rule of thumb I would say freehand if

possible with a stylus something digital

because you can get infinite canvas and

again because of the nature of knowledge

like knowledge does not exist mentally

in A4 pages right so you know

structuring something and spacing

something in a certain way because

that's how it fits on the page is going

to be not a good reason to limit your

learning quality so Infinite Canvas

where it can really truly reflect your

mind and then being able to move things

around as you're restructuring the

there's a lot of convenience with that

obviously it's just a raising thing so I

personally my go-to is I'm always using

Infinite Canvas I've personally got an

iPad but you could use any any device

that has got a Pen stylus that you can

use for it but again the focus is really

on what am I thinking about and how

aligned is that what I'm writing I go

into this in a little bit more depth in

my video on why most mind maps

uneffective as well

okay

um yeah I use an app called Concepts

yeah same yeah that's the app that I use

yeah yeah I've probably infinite cameras

yeah I've given them probably like 10

000 new customers because like I'm

constantly telling people to use it's

just a good app I mean it's a pretty

over it's good yeah yeah it's an

overfeatured app it's definitely more

than people need because it's made for

like artists and Architects and stuff

like that but it it does a job in a

great way

it sounds to me that free hand and

writing your notes gives you a lot more

return but also that it's more difficult

to do well and more difficult to do

correctly and I'm seeing a lot of

students are typing and the ultimate

goal is to get them to freehand and to

build that skill but in the meantime the

bridge to going from typing to freehand

is a huge gap that without a coach or

without anyone teaching them it's hard

to navigate

so kind of two questions here how would

you get them from from you know typing

to handwriting and while they're typing

let's say that you are restricted to

typing how would you improve

big notes that makes sense yeah no that

does make sense and I would actually say

that I personally believe that it's much

harder to do typed note-taking well than

to do freehand note taking well and it

depends on what you're considering as

doing it well if what you're thinking

about is just getting information down

then yes typing is easier without a

doubt but actually the easiest way is to

just download an audio recording Chuck

it through a transcription software and

then get it to just verbatim copy

everything that was said and you don't

have as automatic process so if it's

about information down typing is faster

but if we're thinking about it in terms

of high quality learning that improves

your retention and allows you to

retrieve that information in the way

that you probably need to for your tests

and exams especially for like curveball

questions it's much harder to get that

level of knowledge with any type of

linear note-taking including type nodes

because you'd have to have so many

workarounds to work with the software to

try to get it to do what you want it to

do I think if that's the standard in

terms of the type of thinking that you

know is required like in a simple way

it's like this if you want to be able to

use your knowledge in a fluid way that

allows you to bring multiple pieces of

information together and retrieve it and

with complexity and nuance and you're

able to adapt that information if the

situation and will question changes you

have to be thinking in that way as well

when you're studying it you can't be

thinking in a way that is isolated

fragmented low level memorization heavy

and expect to just be able like it's not

it's not inherent just because you know

each part in isolation doesn't mean you

can actually bring it all together when

you want to retrieve it at that level so

you have to match the way you're

studying with the level that you want to

retrieve it at so if we're thinking

about doing that type of thinking then

it's going to be very frustrating so I

actually personally think that is Step

number one is you can start with type

note taking but people should start

becoming more aware of where the goal

post really is don't think about notes

on the page because you know most people

they've spent 10 years to 20 years how

long they've been in you know education

for they've spent all of this time

they've been doing it this way they

already know that information on the

page is doesn't really mean anything in

terms of how they're going to perform

otherwise just the more notes you write

the better you do and then studying

would be very easy I wouldn't have a job

you know if we are aware of the fact

that actually it's about this type of

thinking that I'm engaging in and then

we continue with type note taking they

will naturally be a building frustration

with the method of note taking so that

would create a bit of fuel and

motivation The Next Step would be to

just at least start framing out some

ideas you could just have a piece of

paper next to you and you could still

use your type note-taking but when

you're trying to engage in this thought

process start just jotting down a few

keywords and a few ideas while you're

reading things be connecting things

together on the page be looking at that

page and be spending a lot of time

thinking about how it's all related to

each other how you can group things

together and use like a little kind of

just a scribble pad next to you to do

that and then over time you should start

feeling more and more benefit from there

and more and more frustration from the

type note taking there is still a leap

of faith though in my experience and it

is difficult to do without sort of

coaching or guidance but it's not

impossible to do by any means it's

difficult but there are more difficult

things in life but it does take a little

bit of a leap to be like okay you know

what let's just give it a go just for

today just for this one subject just for

this one hour let's just not type any

notes let's just go straight with

freehand and see what I can optimize

there probably after two or three hours

of tinkering and optimization you're

gonna get the same level of results that

you'd normally get with your type note

taking anyway but you have to have the

gopost set in the right place a lot of

people have like a sense of dependency

and insecurity about information on the

page so when they have notes on like a

WordPress or a notion or whatever other

app that they're using then they feel

really secure about it so when they go

to freehand and that huge massive dense

volume of information is no longer

stored in the way that they're used to

that can make them feel insecure but

again you have to think well what's

happening in my brain in terms of the

quality of knowledge that I've got in my

brain that I'm actually able to access

is that of a better quality in most

cases the answer will be yes how do you

know that you've reached that quality

how do you know like you're talking

about goal posts how do you know that

you're reaching that goal post that's a

that's another good question uh so the

first thing is that for a beginner it's

very hard to know because you don't know

whether you've done it right until

you've already done it right enough

times to real like to have seen the

results from it this is the reason why

it can be quite demotivating for

beginners so for example when we're when

we're coaching people through it we're

getting them to get feedback constantly

because we're the one that has to remind

them like yeah you're doing it right

like and we're saying hey aren't you

noticing this and this and this and this

and these benefits what you're learning

and they're like oh yeah now that you

mention it I am noticing that so the

things that we're often talking about is

well how much are you able to remember

like a week later if your attention is

better just general confidence with the

information how comfortable you feel

about it and how easy it is to actually

start thinking about it in a more fluid

way normally if you're in that lower

order of learning when you think about

the information it feels very isolated

to begin with whereas when you're in

that higher level it actually feels

different different it feels like the

knowledge is more known it does feel

more intuitive it feels more obvious and

it feels like you can really start

anywhere and go in any direction and

obviously there's different levels like

there's completely not being able to do

that at all and there's that you know

that level to the extreme and there's a

spectrum in the middle but it's about

saying well where were you before and

are you a little bit closer to that now

but the other thing is also sometimes I

think about it from sort of hitting it

from the other angle it's just go doing

good retrieval practice that tests you

at those higher levels so yes testing at

the lower levels is useful for testing

at the low levels however it's not very

useful to see how good you are at the

higher levels which could be exactly the

way your exam will test you on so this

could be like getting really really

tricky questions if you've got you know

past paper questions that you can use it

could be making your own or another

great thing is making really tricky and

challenging questions for your friends

and then swapping them

so you're trying to sort of challenge

your friends you're trying to hit those

higher levels those curveball questions

um you know taking you know multiple

Concepts that you know there is a

relationship there and thinking well if

I change these variables how does that

affect this other concept if a goes up

then B goes down then how does that

affect C and if that's still too easy

add more variables well if a goes up and

then B goes down but then D doesn't

exist then how would that affect C if D

is low how is that different to how that

affects C we're adding multiple of these

and this is the way that examiners think

when they're creating difficult exam

questions they're trying to catch people

out that don't have that higher level of

learning and so this is what's

separating out that kind of 85 percent

and Beyond Mark the types of questions

that are forcing you to integrate more

than just have it in isolation so

testing yourself in those ways is a good

way of also seeing whether you've got

that level of Mastery to

um okay so to summarize you know that

you're doing well with your notes you

know you're reaching that level quality

if you feel comfortable or confident if

you're able to manipulate it flow all in

any direction and then retention and

then you you start diving deep into that

feeling confident part because I do

remember you talking about

um was it using past papers

and how knowing the right answer or

checking your answers isn't always you

know the only thing to focus on you have

to actually be sure that you know the

answer with confidence

yeah so it's it's in a way a little bit

binary it's like this if you are asked a

question and you are not able to answer

it confidently there is a problem it's a

very kind of black and white thing there

so there's multiple like permutations

that they can take so you either answer

it right but you're not confident on it

and then you check the answer it's like

oh I got it right well what does that

tell you it doesn't really give that

much value because it's like well you

may have gotten lucky actually the issue

is that you didn't know that it was

right so there's a gap there so they

could test you on very similar set of

Concepts maybe in a slightly different

way and that might catch you out that's

the reason why a lot of people will set

an exam and then they'll think like I

can't believe I got that wrong like I

did a question that was just basically

the same thing before when I was

practicing however if you don't think

about it in terms of like whether you

were right or wrong but more about your

confidence with that that's going to be

more indicative of your true level of

knowledge and the other thing is also if

you you know answer it and you're not

feeling confident about it and therefore

you're kind of looking through your

notes to figure out you know what what

is the right answer here like you want

to get to the point where you're like

yeah I'm confident this is definitely

the answer and then you check the answer

and it's wrong

what does that mean so what that means

is that you develop confidence but you

were actually missing an entire

perspective on the topic So within the

perspective you are thinking about it

may have been correct but there was a

variable that you weren't thinking about

there was sort of another factor that

came into play that was completely

missed so again what does that actually

say again if we think about in a binary

way if you knew how to think about the

question in the right way you would have

gotten it correctly so therefore not

getting it correctly even with having

open book situation that means that

method of thinking that could catch you

out and often that's very powerful

because those methods of thinking are

very transferable there's probably lots

of other places and other Concepts and

other types of questions that will catch

you out in exactly the same way and

those are really difficult to catch if

you're not aware of your confidence with

answering it if you're not using that as

your compass if you're just using it as

an answer sheet it's sort of like a

mystery like sometimes I get it right

sometimes I get it wrong I don't really

know so I'm just gonna hope that it

doesn't come up in the test and if it

does come up you just get it wrong so

um and so if you are missing that

variable factor that method of thinking

that perspective in the first place then

that usually means that the way you've

structured the information was incorrect

so remember what I said before about how

you're grouping and looking for

relationships and trying to make it as

logical and as intuitive as possible

there was probably a gap there there was

an additional relationship that wasn't

thought about there was something that

you thought was intuitive but if you

think about it it's actually not very

logical or there was something that you

know you thought usually that's going to

be the case and this is going to be a

little bit technical but I'll just say

this because people will probably ask

this question

if you have that issue where you're

testing yourself and you feel like

there's that perspective that was

missing it's more likely going to be

that you thought of something in a way

that felt intuitive but it wasn't fully

logical and so therefore it didn't

really hold up in the context of it when

you go deep enough rather than the other

way around that it's uh logical but it's

not intuitive that is most likely going

to manifest and you being able to not

remember what that relationship or

structure was so making something

intuitive helps you think about it and

helps you hold on to the information but

making something logical is what allows

you to really navigate that relationship

with high accuracy

yeah so yeah pretty deep on that but um

yeah

Circle back to notes

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about productivity in relation to those

do you teach

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