Make It Stick

In Chinese, there is an idiom "活到老，学到老". Translated, it means keep on learning as long as you keep on living. I am a strong advocate of learning, but there is a problem: I forget most of my new knowledge after 1 week, 1 month, 1 year... Hence this audio book Make It Stick, The Science of Successful Learning by Peter C Brown, Mark A. McDaniel, and Henry L. Roediger caught my ears, as I hope to get some tips on how to retain the learning, so that my time and efforts are not wasted. 

This book consists of 8 chapters for a total of 8 listening hours. Below is a collection of my notes by chapter:

Learning is Misunderstood

We always hear about making learning easier, but in fact learning is deeper and more durable if it takes effort.

To Learn, Retrieve

I guess most of us dislike taking tests/exams (the closed book kind). However, testing can be used as a tool to help active retention and improve memory during learning. As a matter of fact, research in the lab and in the field show that testing, for example in the form of quizzes, helps students remember better and score higher in exams. 

• Stop thinking testing as a dip-stick to measure learning, but rather as a way to practise retrieval of learning from memory.
• Retrieval with effort results in stronger learning and retention. When the mind has to work, learning sticks better. 
• Tests do not need to be applied by the teacher, students can do self testing, this is better than re-reading the entire material.

Mix Up Your Practice

Mass practise/learning is not effective; most people forget 70% of the materials after learning this way. Learning that is spaced out counteracts this problem of forgetting. The optimal gap is when there is some forgetfulness creeping in, so that the mind needs to work effortfully to retrieve the material. If the gap is too long and the learning is totally forgotten, resulting in the necessity to re-learn the entire material, then it beats the purpose.  

For our learning to have practical value, we must know how to apply it as an appropriate solution to a given problem. Interleaving (mix things up, as opposed to block study) and variety contribute to long term memory, even though it seems frustrating at the time. Cultivating the habit of reflection also helps learning to stick as the brain needs the time to consolidate materials.  

So what does reflection achieve? Reflection involves the following cognitive activities that lead to stronger learning:

• Retrieval - recalling recently learnt knowledge to mind.
• Elaboration - connecting new knowledge to what you already know.
• Generation - rephrasing key ideas in your own words or visualizing/mentally rehearsing what to do in a difficult situation next time.

Embracing Difficulties

Compared to mass (bulk) learning, learning that is spaced-out, interleaved, and varied is far more difficult. Students also don’t see the immediate results of learning and sometimes can get discouraged. However, retrieval difficulties posed by spacing, interleaving and variation are more closely related to the real situation and become more long-lasting and effective when it comes to transfer of learning (in other words, apply what you learn in new settings). 

Making Errors

Making errors is an important part of the learning process. Errors are good when there is corrective feedback afterwards. The authors put it this way: Better to solve the problem than memorize the situation, better to attempt the solution and give an incorrect answer than not to make the attempt at all! In France, there is a Festival or Errors and in the US, there is FailCon in Silicon Valley. Both events celebrate the making of mistakes as a constructive part of learning, and see failures as a route to success. Here is a memorable quote from the authors criticizing the lack of freedom to make errors:

the modern culture of learning to seek results actually produces intellectually timorous, limited discoveries!

Avoid the Illusion of Knowing

Our memory plays games on us, but it is crucial for learning as well. Every time we call up a memory, we make the mind’s roots to the memory stronger, and this capacity is central to how we deepen and broaden our learning by making connections to what we know and what we can do. However our memory can be distorted in the following ways, so be aware of being over-confident in what we think we know.

Remembering Details

We cannot remember every fine detail. Interestingly, what we remember are details which of greatest emotional significance to us. Then we fill in the gaps with our own narrative, which sometimes may not reflect what truly happened. Here the authors draw on the true story of the unfortunate Donald Thompson, who was mistaken as a rape suspect because the woman saw his face on TV before her traumatic attack.

Curse of knowledge

Teachers and professors suffer from this illusion. The better you know something, the more difficult it becomes to teach it. As we become extremely familiar with a subject, we become unaware of the struggles faced by the students. The reason is because as we master a subject, the complex components of the topic fade into the background as memory, and so we don’t talk about them as we teach, thinking the students should know them as a matter of fact when it is not. 

Faulty self observation

We build mental libraries of useful solutions. However, we sometimes fail to recognize that a familiar looking problem can actually be a new problem with a different root cause. It is worthwhile to cultivate the ability to recognize a familiar situation which is actually different and calls for different solutions. 

Unskilled and Unaware of it

I have to say this one is my favorite. Have you every wondered why incompetent people lack the skills to improve? J. Kruger, and D. Dunning, two psychologists at Cornell University, actually did a study on this here. They concluded that incompetent people often overestimate their own competence and fail to recognize the gap of what is expected of them and what they performed, hence they overestimate their abilities, fail to recognize their competency and therefore do not see a need to improve. Fortunately this can be rescued through feedback (that is if they are willing to heed it)!  

Learning Styles

Myth: People learn better when they learn using their innate learning styles (visual, audio, kinesiological). 

On the other hand, this book suggests that successful learners learn with the goal in mind. However some learning differences matter more than others. The authors list the following:

How we see ourselves and our abilities 

The narrative about oneself shapes the routes to success. The authors provided examples of famous people with dyslexia (e.g. Richard Branson). These folks may have problems reading, but interesting enough, research shows that their brains are wired to allow them interpret the big picture and enable them to thrive.

Learning styles

Research showed that the mode of instruction should match the nature of the subject being taught: e.g. visual for geography/geometry; verbal for poetry. Used correctly, all students learn better regardless of their different learning preferences on how these materials are being taught. 

Intelligence

We hear often about IQ, but apparently in this field, there are Gardner's multiple intelligence theory with 8 elements and Sternberg's 3 intelligence theory (analytical, creative and practical), just to name a couple. Standard IQ testing missed critical competencies that are dependent on environment and culture, so don't put too much emphasis on IQ scores.  

Structure Builders and Rule Learners

High structural builders cultivate the habit of reflecting on past experiences: what went right, what went wrong, what can be done to improve next time. Then they build structure, isolate key ideas and organize them into mental models. Similarly rule learners (rather than example learners) learn by extracting the underlying principles among different topics and build structure. For example learners to learn better, they can studying multiple/different examples at one time, rather than one at a time. 

The take home lesson:  Don’t be restricted by learning styles. Be assertive, know your goal and mix up your learning styles. 

Increase Your Abilities

This chapter talks about neuroplasticity, that is to say, our brain is not hardwired, but can be re-wired. Therefore the authors embrace a growth mindset and gives this advice:

More than IQ, it’s the discipline, grit and a growth mindset that endows a person with the creativity, sense of possibility and persistence that enables high learning and success.

What I find really interesting in this chapter is the use of various mnemonic devices to retrieve what is stored in our memory. One special mention is the creation of memory palaces by visiting string of cafes, a technique taught by an Oxford professor to help his students ace their A levels psychology exams. What a good reason to visit your favorite barista!

Make It Stick

This final chapter summarizes and reiterates the key points laid out in previous chapters. It provides tips for students/life long learners on how to learn as well as for teachers/educators on how to teach their students how to learn. This is also one of my favorite chapters as there are many interesting stories curated from a wide range of individuals and industries on how they have successfully applied the various learning tools and techniques mentioned before to make learning stick.

Learning is a form of engagement, there is no point of reading a slide passively; rather take and apply the learning through the process of generation, reflection, and elaboration.

Before reading this book, I wonder in this day and age of Google and Bing when we can find anything at our finger tips as long as we don’t lose our smartphone, does it still matter if learning sticks or not? Well, after reading this book, from the examples of medical students learning how to repair blood vessels and USMC officers jumping out of airplanes, I come to the conclusion that yes, there are situations when Make It (learning) Stick does matter, especially when it is a matter of life and death.