The process of learning is the process of gaining new understandings, knowledge, behaviours, skills, values, attitudes, and preferences. Humans, animals, and also some machines are able to learn. There is some evidence that plants are also able to learn. Learning can happen instantly. For example, if you burn yourself, you won’t make the same mistake again. Some learning will take a lot of time, and it has to be done repeatedly. Learning-induced changes often last a lifetime, and it is difficult to distinguish between material that seems to be ‘lost’ and material that cannot be restored.
Learning starts when we are born. It actually starts already when we are inside the womb. Learning ends when our lives also end. There are many well-established fields of research that are trying to understand the nature of learning. For example, educational psychology, neuropsychology, experimental psychology, cognitive sciences, and pedagogy.
Learning at school is the acquisition of knowledge, subjects, information, understanding, and skills through teaching. Nowadays, learning concepts originate from ancient Greece and Rome. To make learning easier, teachers and researchers have studied how students learn, remember, and use knowledge. The way that Plato used to teach is similar to teaching nowadays in schools. He focused on constructivist learning, which highlights the importance of students constructing meaning by associating new concepts with familiar ideas, called schemas, or memories of experiences, called scripts. Aristoteles said that students are learning new information by forming connections or associations between existing information, which is stored in memory as representations. Aristoteles believed that materials and other abstract information are logically organised in memory into hierarchies of classes, or general concepts, which are divided into types, or smaller groups. His ideas about hierarchically organised abstract verbal information are similar to the modern conception of the organisation of semantic memory. Studies also show that students should learn ‘how to learn’ (learning strategies) and have learn to control and monitor their own learning.
Learning involves an interactive procedure with six different components. They are memory, attention, language, organisation, processing, writing, and thinking. All these components need to interact for learning to take place. To understand algebra, for example, a learner needs to understand the language used to teach it. The student should then pay attention to the teacher and be able to process and organise the formulas effectively in their minds. Finally, the learner should be able to solve them and later think at a higher level that can solve another equation.
Knowing how to study effectively can help you save a lot of time. It also helps to maximise the effort if you are trying to learn new ideas, concepts, and skills. Other than these aspects, it is also important that you know how to remember the information you studied, recall it at any time, and also how to use it in different situations. Becoming a good learner doesn’t happen overnight, but applying some of the learning techniques on a daily basis can help you get more out of learning.
To start learning, you must know how the study cycle works. It starts with previewing. You have to attend classes, review, and study, and it ends with a test to check your understanding.
One good practice when it comes to studying is spacing. It means that you study one thing over several short periods of time. The most effective way is to study a little every day. It seems like a lot, but in the end, you’ll probably spend less time on the subject if you do the ‘marathon studies’. The important thing is how you use your time, not how long you spend studying. If you study for a long time, you are more likely to lose focus. For this kind of studying, it is good to make a daily schedule.
It is good to do intense studying. This kind of study session is short, and you’ll likely accomplish more. An intense study doesn’t last more than 30 to 45 minutes. They also include active studying strategies, for example, self-testing.
You have to know what kind of study environment suits you the best. When it comes to studying, the saying ‘silence is golden’ doesn’t work all the time. You might be able to concentrate better when you have music in the background. Silence can also be distracting. Also, the space where you study can improve or disimprove your studying. For example, in bed, you might fall asleep, and a coffee shop works a lot better for you.
Multitasking isn’t your best friend. To study smarter, not harder, you need to eliminate things like phones from your study sessions. Studies show that if you multitask while studying, it will increase the time spent on studying and also lower the quality. You can reward your intensive study session with a social media breaks.
Become a teacher yourself. It means try to explain the material you studied with your own words to someone else. You can find yourself a study partner, or you can also explain the topic to yourself, then just do it out loud. That way, you’ll see the areas where you are more confused, and repeating the materials loudly also makes them easier to memorize. You can also create your own quiz. It helps you concentrate on the material.
Practice makes perfect, but you shouldn’t practice the same way every time. Otherwise, you’re not becoming a master on the subject. That also includes studying. Focus on the topic from different angles. Take notes, listen to what the teacher says, explain it to others, draw a mind map, and so on.
Making mistakes is also part of the study process, and it is necessary to make mistakes. There are several studies on this. For example, researchers have found that when the misitake is close to the correct answer, it improves the study process. An important thing is that after you make a mistake, you’ll also get feedback. You can either find yourself the correct answer or ask someone to explain it to you. This way of studying will improve your critical thinking and make you more open-minded.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning
https://www.encyclopedia.com/psychology/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/school-learning
https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-learning-understanding-effective-classroom-strategies.html
https://www.verywellmind.com/how-to-become-a-more-effective-learner-2795162
https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/studying-101-study-smarter-not-harder/