Real Learning Requirements - Assignment Example

Learning is a valuable skill but, unlike common misconceptions, can be improved over time. Students and their teachers often believe that the harder and slower the process of learning, the easier it is to acquire information. On the contrary, the effortful- the harder, the slower, the more deliberate- the learning effort, the easier it is to acquire said information and retrieve it in the future. An additional misconception is that rapid-fire upfront repetition is most productive. In fact, spaced repetition is far more productive than the “practice makes perfect” call to action.

Another false belief is that learning a solution before trying to solve the associated problem is effective, whereas the opposite is true. This is in keeping with the position that effortful learning is often most beneficial. Additionally, contrary to popular belief in the “personal learning style”, the student learns better when s/he broadens the style and medium/form of learning. Moreover, a student is more likely to solve unmet solutions if their practice was varied- interleaving practice trumps massed and upfront practice, leading to better synthesis.

Testing should also be used not to celebrate success, but to identify weaknesses in the recall and synthesis process. Retrieving information strengthens the neural pathways responsible for memory. The “retrieval practice” strategy activates these pathways better than using rereading material as a recall tactic. Various ways of ensuring that one remembers information from memory instead of from written material include spacing out quizzes and exercises to gauge retention and sustained reflection on learned material by writing self-written essays.

This creates an effortful recall.Efficient learning involves not learning for the sake of performance but learning so as to achieve true expertise. Students whose goal is the former- performance, test scores, recognition- see failure and struggle as undesirable and often, to be avoided at any costs. Students whose goal is the latter- mastery, skill progression- see failure as a good thing, a proxy of effort, and a source of feedback on their learning process.