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455 reviews for:
Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning
Mark A. McDaniel, Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III
4.05 AVERAGE
455 reviews for:
Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning
Mark A. McDaniel, Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III
4.05 AVERAGE
informative
medium-paced
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
It has some enjoyable parts, but it also has a lot of rubbish.
Somehow it got learning styles right (it's bullshit), but then follow up with a glorification of Robert Sternberg's triarchic intelligence model (fringe theory with no notable empirical support). And then mention a learning style of its own (“rule learner” or “example learner,”). Weird!
Also goes full into Ericsson style 10k hours of dedicated practice, repeating typical anti-genetics claims. No mention of g factor of course.
Read the review upon this book is mostly based: https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100612453266
Curious omission is mastery learning. Seemingly does not fit with interleaved practice, but has decent evidence support. https://scholar.google.dk/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&as_ylo=2010&q=%22mastery+learning%22+%22randomized%22
Somewhat useful as a general introduction with some stories for entertainment, but check sources for stuff that sounds fishy.
Somehow it got learning styles right (it's bullshit), but then follow up with a glorification of Robert Sternberg's triarchic intelligence model (fringe theory with no notable empirical support). And then mention a learning style of its own (“rule learner” or “example learner,”). Weird!
Also goes full into Ericsson style 10k hours of dedicated practice, repeating typical anti-genetics claims. No mention of g factor of course.
Read the review upon this book is mostly based: https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100612453266
Curious omission is mastery learning. Seemingly does not fit with interleaved practice, but has decent evidence support. https://scholar.google.dk/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&as_ylo=2010&q=%22mastery+learning%22+%22randomized%22
Somewhat useful as a general introduction with some stories for entertainment, but check sources for stuff that sounds fishy.
Chapter 1: Learning is Misunderstood
- Many people believe that their intellectual ability is hard-wired from birth, and that failure to meet a learning challenge is an indictment of their native ability. But every time you learn something new, you change the brain - the residue of yoru experiences is stored.
- Many teachers believe that if they can make learning easier and faster, the learning will be better. Much research turns this belief on its head: when learning is harder, it's stronger and lasts longer.
....then the book came due at the library so I skipped ahead to chapter 8:
1. Retrieving - practice retrieving new (and old) learning (self-quizzing).
2. Spacing - space out your retrieval practice, leave time to forget in between practice sessions.
3. Interleaving - alternate working on different problems facilitates spacing and forgetting (making learning more difficult, which improves learning).
4. Elaboration - try to find additional layers of meaning in the new material.
5. Generation - attempt to answer a question or solve a problem before looking at the answer (experiential learning).
6. Reflection - a combination of retrieval practice and elaboration that adds layers to learning new material. Ask your self questions.
7. Calibration - to avoid various cognitive illusions, use an objective instrument to adjust your sense of what you know and don't know.
8. Mnemonic devices - build memory palaces to help yourself retrieve what you have learned.
I should go back and read the rest.
- Many people believe that their intellectual ability is hard-wired from birth, and that failure to meet a learning challenge is an indictment of their native ability. But every time you learn something new, you change the brain - the residue of yoru experiences is stored.
- Many teachers believe that if they can make learning easier and faster, the learning will be better. Much research turns this belief on its head: when learning is harder, it's stronger and lasts longer.
....then the book came due at the library so I skipped ahead to chapter 8:
1. Retrieving - practice retrieving new (and old) learning (self-quizzing).
2. Spacing - space out your retrieval practice, leave time to forget in between practice sessions.
3. Interleaving - alternate working on different problems facilitates spacing and forgetting (making learning more difficult, which improves learning).
4. Elaboration - try to find additional layers of meaning in the new material.
5. Generation - attempt to answer a question or solve a problem before looking at the answer (experiential learning).
6. Reflection - a combination of retrieval practice and elaboration that adds layers to learning new material. Ask your self questions.
7. Calibration - to avoid various cognitive illusions, use an objective instrument to adjust your sense of what you know and don't know.
8. Mnemonic devices - build memory palaces to help yourself retrieve what you have learned.
I should go back and read the rest.
This is a book with many ideas how to learn better. It's from 2014 and includes a lot of recent material.
The biggest surprise for me was to see that widely accepted methods are actually not efficient. I always thought that block drills are the best way to learn new material. The authors instead promote interleaved training with the idea that if you give your brain time to forget (!) something, in the process of trying to retrieve it you will remember it much better. And you will have to do it in spaced intervals or the knowledge will start to fade away.
This is a very comforting finding. Don't be hard to yourself because you have forgotten something. It's natural, just try to make it stick better. On the other hand you must force yourself to repeat what you have learnt, which requires discipline and work.
A very revealing book that also motivated me to create my own memory palace. Practice will show if the proposed methods work. When I talked with a friend about it he wasn't as excited as I was so the future results will have to proof if the new method is more efficient.
The biggest surprise for me was to see that widely accepted methods are actually not efficient. I always thought that block drills are the best way to learn new material. The authors instead promote interleaved training with the idea that if you give your brain time to forget (!) something, in the process of trying to retrieve it you will remember it much better. And you will have to do it in spaced intervals or the knowledge will start to fade away.
This is a very comforting finding. Don't be hard to yourself because you have forgotten something. It's natural, just try to make it stick better. On the other hand you must force yourself to repeat what you have learnt, which requires discipline and work.
A very revealing book that also motivated me to create my own memory palace. Practice will show if the proposed methods work. When I talked with a friend about it he wasn't as excited as I was so the future results will have to proof if the new method is more efficient.
informative
medium-paced
fast-paced
Great ideas surrounding how people learn that combat some common techniques that aren't serving us.