bmadisonw 's review for:

Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning by Henry L. Roediger, Mark A. McDaniel, Peter C. Brown

4.0

informative inspiring slow-paced

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If you want a good overview of strategies to make your learning--of anything at all--more effective, this is the book for you. The strategies outlined here are not groundbreakingly original (if you’re at all familiar with learning studies), but the material is conveyed very effectively, applying the techniques outlined to the book itself to help you actually learn them.

Each chapter focuses on one method of improving learning--critically differentiated from fluency and memorization--while continuously reiterating earlier strategies, all backed with experimental evidence cited from leading researchers in the field. These strategies include: spaced repetition and recall, variable and deliberate practice, elaboration, and interval testing. Perhaps the most important lesson covered is that learning isn’t easy and trying to make it so would be counterproductive. We learn more successfully when we have to put in more effort, so struggling through an attempt to solve a problem before you learn how (generation) is great a way to improve your understanding and retention when the lesson comes. The authors also stress the positive impact of knowing learning is primarily within our control, not reliant on some genetic gift of intelligence, if we’re willing to expend the time and effort in applying these methods.

An inspiring and motivating read!