How to Learn: 7 Tips for Learning
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Sep 15, 2022 • 2 min read
Discovering how to learn is a process that can help you acquire new skills, increase retention, and strengthen your brainpower. Whether you are a student or a continuous learner, several learning techniques can help boost knowledge retention.
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Why Is Learning Important?
Learning processes are essential to keep an open mind, retain new knowledge, and hone problem-solving techniques. Learning is vital in both academic and personal settings: Education plays a critical role in memorization and articulating acquired knowledge. Beyond schools and online courses, learning new skills and information broadens horizons and can improve mental health.
Keeping yourself open to various learning methods can expand your mind and keep you curious. Listening to engaging podcasts, synthesizing new information, and encountering new people are ways to continue learning every day.
How to Learn: 7 Tips for Learning
People can employ learning strategies when studying for assessments in their academic life or looking to retain new information as adults. Consider the following learning techniques and tips:
- 1. Avoid cramming. Avoid cramming your studying, whether you are preparing for a high school exam or trying to learn a new language before an international trip. Practice spaced repetition and distribute your studying over a period to boost your memory.
- 2. Engage in study sessions. Study sessions can help you retain information. Getting peers together to share knowledge and discuss ideas can be a collaborative way to learn and find new ways to process information.
- 3. Plan ten-minute breaks. Taking short breaks is just as crucial as studying; tiring your brain and overworking will hinder your absorption of information. Step away from your notes, take walks, and eat healthy snacks to give your mind time to breathe and process ideas.
- 4. Practice interleaving. Interleaving is when learners work through multiple related concepts simultaneously. This approach to learning can help the brain identify patterns and make connections, improving retention.
- 5. Take notes. Note-taking during lessons can help new information stay in your long-term memory.
- 6. Try time-blocking. Setting aside a particular amount of time to learn something new can help ease the process and prevent procrastination. Try the Pomodoro Technique, a time management technique that breaks tasks into reasonable chunks and rewards you with regular breaks.
- 7. Use flashcards to study. Using flashcards in the days and weeks before a test can help strengthen memorization. In language learning, writing down the word on one side and the same word in the new language on the other side can be helpful.
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