How to become a Super Learner

In this article I will outline 3 key approaches to learning which resonated with me on my journey to become a Super Learner.

Interleaved Practice

Interleaved Practice is a learning technique that involves alternating between multiple similar or related skills or concepts in order to incorporate new knowledge with existing knowledge.

This technique is much more effective than the default technique blocked practice (studying one topic at a time) because it forces the brain to continuously retrieve information which strengthens retention and exercises the ability to transfer knowledge laterally.

Example

In order to learn martial arts, learn two disciplines concurrently like Boxing and Tae Kwon Do (TKD). While developing each skill, the student will gain insights that will cross-pollinate and accelerate the development of the other skill. Since TKD largely focuses on strikes which use the leg (kicks) that are aimed at the opponent's upper body, practicing these leg movements will provide the student with the ability for more complex and advanced footwork while boxing. Likewise since the dynamics of Boxing involves rapid flow between offense and defense while continuously managing space from the opponent and distance from the corner, the student's Boxing experience facilitates the ability to perceive new openings and to create new approach vectors during TKD.

The Six Facets of Understanding

This is a framework designed to help teachers evaluate a student's understanding of a topic. However if the teacher and student are the same person, it can also be used as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for performance evaluation of the learning progress.

1. Explanation - the ability to provide a reasonable and justified account of the topic's main idea
2. Interpretation - the ability to identify and articulate meaning in what's being learned
3. Application - the ability to effectively gather knowledge of the topic in novel situations with diverse contexts
4. Perspective - the ability to identify and consider multiple points of view on the topic
5. Empathy - the ability to recognize and appreciate someone else's perspective on the topic
6. Self-Knowledge - the awareness of how one's background, including knowledge gaps and thought patterns, can affect their understand of the topic

Learning with the Intent to Teach

This approach is doubly beneficial in the way that simply having a goal for learning will force the student to pay closer attention while learning, and the fact that the act of teaching allows the student to relearn the material that they are teaching.

Bloom's Taxonomy refers to a framework for which one of the purposes is to illustrate a hierarchy of learning goals.

• Remember - the ability to recall and repeat key definitions of the topic at hand
• Understand - the ability to summarize and explain one's interpretation of the topic at hand
• Apply - the ability to implement, execute or demonstrate key ideas, concepts or abstractions of the topic at hand
• Analyze - the ability to decompose information from the topic at hand into smaller component parts and provide evidence
• Evaluate - the ability to present and justify judgments from information of the topic at hand
• Create - the ability to provide one's own insights on the topic at hand through generation of novel ideas or products

Conclusion

To combine these three approaches, start learning a topic by using Bloom's Taxonomy to set milestones. Then use the Six Facets of Understanding to measure and evaluate your progress. All while developing your skill through Interleaved Practice.

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