How To Study Smarter, Not Harder - From How We Learn by Benedict Carey
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- Опубликовано: 13 окт 2014
- Benedict Carey shares how changing your environment can help you retain more information. From his new book, HOW WE LEARN.
In the tradition of The Power of Habit and Thinking, Fast and Slow comes a practical, playful, and endlessly fascinating guide to what we really know about learning and memory today-and how we can apply it to our own lives.
From an early age, it is drilled into our heads: Restlessness, distraction, and ignorance are the enemies of success. We’re told that learning is all self-discipline, that we must confine ourselves to designated study areas, turn off the music, and maintain a strict ritual if we want to ace that test, memorize that presentation, or nail that piano recital.
But what if almost everything we were told about learning is wrong? And what if there was a way to achieve more with less effort?
In How We Learn, award-winning science reporter Benedict Carey sifts through decades of education research and landmark studies to uncover the truth about how our brains absorb and retain information. What he discovers is that, from the moment we are born, we are all learning quickly, efficiently, and automatically; but in our zeal to systematize the process we have ignored valuable, naturally enjoyable learning tools like forgetting, sleeping, and daydreaming. Is a dedicated desk in a quiet room really the best way to study? Can altering your routine improve your recall? Are there times when distraction is good? Is repetition necessary? Carey’s search for answers to these questions yields a wealth of strategies that make learning more a part of our everyday lives-and less of a chore.
By road testing many of the counterintuitive techniques described in this book, Carey shows how we can flex the neural muscles that make deep learning possible. Along the way he reveals why teachers should give final exams on the first day of class, why it’s wise to interleave subjects and concepts when learning any new skill, and when it’s smarter to stay up late prepping for that presentation than to rise early for one last cram session. And if this requires some suspension of disbelief, that’s because the research defies what we’ve been told, throughout our lives, about how best to learn.
The brain is not like a muscle, at least not in any straightforward sense. It is something else altogether, sensitive to mood, to timing, to circadian rhythms, as well as to location and environment. It doesn’t take orders well, to put it mildly. If the brain is a learning machine, then it is an eccentric one. In How We Learn, Benedict Carey shows us how to exploit its quirks to our advantage.
Praise for How We Learn
“How We Learn makes for a welcome rejoinder to the faddish notion that learning is all about the hours put in. Learners, [Benedict] Carey reminds us, are not automatons.”-The New York Times Book Review
“The insights of How We Learn apply to far more than just academic situations. Anyone looking to learn a musical instrument would benefit from understanding what frequency and type of practice is most effective. Even readers with little practical use for Carey’s information will likely find much of it fascinating, such as how intuition can be a teachable skill, or that giving practice exams at the very beginning of a semester improves grades. How We Learn is a valuable, entertaining tool for educators, students and parents.”-Shelf Awareness
“This book is a revelation. I feel as if I’ve owned a brain for fifty-four years and only now discovered the operating manual.”-Mary Roach, bestselling author of Stiff and Gulp 
Развлечения
whenever i studied, i used to stare at the book and that book stared back at me...
Then drift in the sea of daydreams.
haha true
yeah same.... sadly i got ADHD i can barely notice a cat ate a dog...wait what?
lol, dido!!!
lol
I watch this, instead of studying
Belinda S ha ha ha! true that!
me too
Yeah, same.
Hahaha same here.
meee
yay watched this after studying for 16 hours this weekend and about to take an exam tomorrow...
Troix Hey me too. Wish you luck
DO it JUST DO IT
Me 2 lol .
good luck!!
Just remember this, no pressure no diamond ...
I'm procrastinating, watching youtube and end up in this video
Stella Amabel go study!!! :^
same
Stella Amabel Same, but it's a better procrastination than play CoD or this kind of shit
Stella Amabel same
Stella Amabel same
I learn by understanding it. If it fits into the framework in my head, I understand it.
I need to know the why of it.
I relate to that
reivven Same, but I forget about it in about one day.
By that logic im find because I have a fat head so that means im smart right?
Understanding is so much better than simply memorizing.
Shawk if it fits I sits
And who the hell will explain that to my mom?
AhmadBinTahir , you can show the video to her.
Yeah right :"D Like it was that easy...
AhmadBinTahir Your principal?
I already wrote this in the comments, but this is what you should be telling your mom (and this is actually backed by a lot of easy-to-find research you could show her):
a possible reason for the benefits of variation of environments is because of the addition of associative subjects that comes with each new environment.
a very beneficial key to studying something that is foreign to you is the ability to associate the details of what you are learning to something familiar. learning historical facts for a test, for example, may be hard and boring to memorize, instead you'll have an easier time remembering that funny looking bird you happened to notice at the park while reading about the initiation of world war 2 in 1939 when Germany invaded Poland.
David Poss
Well, what a nice day to have a parent that speaks a language you can barely use.
They shouldve had a control group that only studied in the bright room WITHOUT changing venue
I noticed this as well. Seems like the study was flawed and too many conclusions were being based off of it.
hey as long as it sells the book it's fine to use obviously flawed studies
Well, in fact there was a third "control group" that studied both times in the same bright room. The video doesn't mention it because in this research you can't have a "control group". Either you have "same context studying", or "different context studying". So, people who studied in the same conditions both times are part of the same group. The final test was taken in a third room different from any of the previous and the results were those cited in the video.
Yup
then he shouldn't only have mentioned they studied in the same cluttered dimly lit room, just in the same room.
bullshit, just 10 redbulls and study like a beast
hahahaha my nigga
+Sohail Mohamed Aslam awesome
really????????
I used this technique and started having health issues.
+dupa blada lol
True learning occurs through personal desire and not obligation. None of us had to stress about walking and talking exams as babies!
Wow! I just realized I've been doing this unconsciously throughout med school (varying my environment when studying) and I guess this is really effective! :)
the environment study is inconclusive because the better results in the different environment condition could be due to the brightness itself
first thought I had about this... haha
Kelsey Adler good thinking ;)
ye, it would have been good if they made the same room one in the bright room..
***** people are randomly assigned to different conditions so individual differences (including intelligence) should be filtered out
***** No, if people are randomly assigned to conditions their intelligence shouldn't affect the results anymore (at least in theory, the larger the groups per condition, the closer to average the individual differences like intelligence are)
The researcher's reaction at 1:08 is priceless.
Maybe they had poorer results because they were in a dim cluttered room. Have a 3rd set who studied two sessions in the brightly lit room
na, sounds totally cool to have 10.000 different variables changing and just looking at one of them, seein a correlation and then saying that the one caused the other. not that the walk across the campus could have just delivered some fresh air, what would mean "hey, open more windows while studying"...
problem of all psychology experiments - no wonder psychology is in a crisis right now when it comes to doing experiments a second or third time with another team, in another lab or country, based on the conclusion the first team saw. :|
(basicly im totally with you)
Yeah, this video is fucking garbage. And 16 to 24 is a 50% improvement, not 40% 😂
HalfTimesTwo I thought it was 33%?! I need to go to sleep.
Petronald Green I too thought the same
How to study smarter: don't waste time on watching RUclips & actually sit down and start learning. Best advice ever.
"Improvment" 👌
My teacher always told me to study before I go to bed and the result of that will put what I've learned in my "permanent memory" part of the brain while asleep. Either that's or she tricked us into studying and told us a cheeky technique to boost our confidence on the following day. Most who claimed they studied over night got an average 95% on the test, others ranged from 50-75. Who knows try it out 😋
Now Combing that with a lucid dream, and you'll have the greatest time in Life. I speak from experience
+Killer Zj
I have done a lot of searches about that, I do it sometimes, but I found that thinking of changing what you're dreaming of is hard, really hard!
You just have to keep thinking that you want to be awake in a dream!
But the problem is that you don't know when you are actually dreaming in a dream!! Maybe you're dreaming of dreaming!
And living an endless dream, and that dream never comes to an end of awakening and exiting the original dream and you still don't realize it is a dream because your dreaming of thinking about dreaming and the dream doesn't looks very identical to real life but is actually a dream, then you get cancer and die and never wake up of that dream.
Hope this helps :3
*****
I did ...
The dream in it was ...
okay I'll stop xD
I always study late, because it really works!
CaptainTwinkie Who?
I tried listening to music while reading, it just made my dyslexia 10x worse
Try instrumental music. Look for: Dark music, concentration music, horror music, classical music. Helps a lot.
Try ambient, it helps me a lot
yeah i cant read and listen to music with lyrics because im trying to comprehemd two different things at the same time. try listening to something like classical, baroque etc. or any other instrumental
Try Epic Music.
Change Is Stable well don't play music while reading just go out side more near to nature it will work better
it's about how you understand the concept and how u connect to real life
if u knw that the concept ur studying is useless ur gonna consider it boring .So it's not just about grades or marks it's about knowledge .So giving importance to score marks doesn't make sense.
Yep!
THEGAME BEAST yup!u r totally right.
yup but i guess we still need score marks to prove a persons knowledge
Except math and English
and science
The real key is to start long before your exam. I raised my physics/chemistry mark by like 12% by starting to study 2 weeks before and only 1 or 2 hours a day. And alternating what subject I'm studying for every hour (with a break inbetween as well, If you start early you have time for that)
Who needs studying when you know you're a genius?
Nahh
😂
why study at all when you know all the information is already readily available? you can just access it with a few mouse clicks it's not even funny. so knowing this, you could put off learning and studying until forever.
lullemans72 we may have all the information on our fingertips, but the internet can't teach us skills we need or want to learn unless we practice on them. Even so, an experienced teacher/trainer is more reliable in that aspect
+Ehh Hi, i guess Get an internet coach, or a program with step by step instructions. The advantage over schooling is that with internet programs you can immediately put to work what you've learned, and get more skills and experience by just doing.
One study is not enough for something to be certain about.
Agreed. Lowkey I was thinking maybe people study better in a tidier environment too, or a brighter environment.
dinkbink We don't even know how many people attended the study. It might just be a coincidence like those people who memorized more were just smarter.
Yeah. Then he added a bunch of stuff at the end like "Study with and without music"
without showing us evidence. I feel like it would take more brainpower to change everything all the time. I heard having a set time as a habit is best.
Viktor6665 Not to mention that the subjects in the different venues probably remembered better because one room didn't have clutter, which makes one's mind feel less cluttered and more open to new information
get back to your studying mate
dont scroll the comments.
Ursula Cheryl ok
Ursula Cheryl i was doing just that.. sorry will get back to study.. hahahah
Ok :(
Ursula Cheryl lol how u know I was slacking
Ursula Cheryl
got ya
I have an exam tomorrow, this better work
lol
Sooo...
I need to study for my physics exam and I haven't done shit yet.
Can I just go out and play some BBall and then come home to learn? Or learn while playing BBall?
yeah.. I was thinking the same thing too
tried everything still got an F- anf F+
Ball is LIfe same here , but tomorrow is my exam 🙂🔫
Ball is LIfe holy shit I have a physics exam upcoming too LOL
holy fuck do all of us have phy exam tomorrow.Me tooooo lol
People are different. I have trouble focusing. But fast and busy environment help me focus. Silent and empty room doesnt help.
I agree with this. In knowing where you are comfortable in learning, you can go beyond that into new environments and see what results you get.
Is it changing environment or just the fact that being in a bright organized room promotes more productive thinking?
Exactly my thought, should have had another test group who study in just the bright organised room for both study sessions.
jt2506productions it's the environment not the fact that one room was lit and the other wasn't. Just changing rooms i.e. from your bedroom to living room is good enough and should do the job
Baidddy Lio
Baidddy Lion I think what he means is that the experiment shown in the video might be imperfect.
Restorationchrist Or maybe the video doesn't want to go into too much details of how the experiment was conducted or else be an 1 hour video.
This explains a lot. I used to play basketball on an outside court, and I would get frustrated and not get better. But when I got into an inside court, I played a lot more consistently.
I know u guys are supposed to study right at the moment u are watching this
I've got a test that can change my future in 4 hours and I don't know anything and I will probably go unprepared to it because of youtube
Răzvan Cirț So... how was it?
I do this type of studying were I take controlled breaks like playing video games or eating or watching videos between study sessions and i have to say, it definitely works. Maybe because after a certain period my mind will reach its capacity to retain and would want to move on to a different activity, so when i do something else like video games for a couple of minutes, my brain is ready to learn again and im not bored studying
1:09 his reaction is so cute 💔😹😹😹😹😹😹😹😹😹😹😹😹😹😹😹😹😹😹😹😹
Ikr!
hahahahah
I would eat him.
Silent Angel It's like an egg, or something else, but it has one extra hole, but there are people with three holes though right
This experiment proves a fact that I have been living all of my life. I study better in libraries and bookstores than at home. My understanding of study materials is shaper away from home. So, this is a real thing!
yeeeaaa i failed the test badly.... thanks
Just read the book, couldn't put it down. It is an incredibly fast paced read with well thought out explanations. This will definitely affect how I study and how I teach things.
just study right after the lesson. the best way to memorize and have motivation
shifting once place to another really did a lot of help to me
The theory that studying in a different location helps studying is flawed. We don't know that the test subjects were able to memorize more words because of the change in location. It could have been because of the cleaner room. A more accurate test would be to have a group of subject study for 20 min in the clean room, the other group in the darker/mess room for 20 min, and another group that switches locations after 10 mins. That way, we can be sure that the catalyst for more efficient studying really was a change in location.
Actually you cant. Cause now you have 2 variables. The time the oarticipants study (which u made 10 instead of 20 AND the location. You should either also make the rest 10 min long OR do "two sets of 20 min" every occation.
+Soukaina El Bakkali +The Loner I actually agree to the loner. I think what he meant is that you have three groups: the first group is studying in the clean room for 10 min twice
the 2nd group is studying in the messy room for 10 min twice
and the 3rd group is studying for 10 min in the clean and for 10 min in the messy room
so everybody studyed for the same amount of time.
I am sorry for any Language mistakes e.g. grammar and spelling
Herr Kürbis no I do agree with what you're saying. I just though he was implying that the total duration of the study time wasnt equal
Could be that rather than remembering words, they remember the environment that help them remember the words they were studying, picture's always easier to remember than words XD
This isn't serious, basing your whole premise on one study. This is wrong and NOT EVIDENCE BASED!
thanks, finally someone.. I like this idea but it occurred to me too that it's only based on one study which by the way had a small sample size. Typical P-hacking.
DocHemulin I think the study itself might have been flawed as well. Perhaps it was time spent in a /better/ environment that increased their memory, not a /different/ one.
I already do this and it works. I've learned that in my first year of college that if I stay in one area for too long I lose attention and focus very easily
Actually, the experiment you talked about demonstrates that you study better in brighter rooms!
For me these things work best
1) understanding a topic...if it's difficult to remember do a research on it by reading various sites about it
2)after reading a topic teaching it to myself.....and every time with that topic aropt new study method
3) creating my own short notes...just containing the headings and imp things given in textbooks
4) recalling them frequently
5) test my self ......and don't afraid to make mistakes...more mistakes you make in the prep time more marks you will get in the finals
......Hope this helps😊...
Yeah!! Really helped me!!
If you enjoy it, you will eventually practice enough to be good at it.
I find the best way to Really Learn Better is to Have a really good night sleep, and really pay attention during lecture. Aim at waking up on your own before your Alarm goes off, this way your brain is at its maximum alertness.
This was recommended for me when I was in the exam period
not all students had the same mentality level keep that in mind as well
So the ones that were able to study in a BRIGHTER, NEATER room with a better atmosphere were better off than those who where studying in dimmed light in a basement. The conclusion might as well be that more light and a comfortable place makes you learn better.
I studyed while listening to power metal because how motivated I got from it, paced around my room and took 3 minute breaks to do exercises every 15 minutes to raise my heart rate so I would be more focused, it worked for what I did study but I should have studied more , good thing I'll never need irish, french, physics or maths again. Art collage! 😃
Absolutely chronicle in the aspectual department of why the library can stagnate.
Your video has aspirated much joy in my traversal of knowledgeable capability.
here is how I studied..
I record my voice ( u know while reading my notes) then I listen to it in a loop..♥♥♥
I do that too.:)
I do see the reasoning behind this, but was this experiment simply summarized for the sake of the video? What were the names of the three people responsible for the study? I find it odd that there wasn't a group tested where students studied in the brightly lit room for both sessions. How do we know that the better result isn't because the other students studied inthe brightly lit, uncluttered room?
The whole thing is one long advert it turns out. Factually and scientifically, it's very questionable.
Because, just as many psychological studies, it was arranged to guarantee expected results.
This is one of the most educational vidoes iv ever seen....i have exams comming up and through these tips im gonna ace that stuff
I'm gonna start studying while I sleep, change things up
Wouldn't the brighter, less cluttered room obviously be a better environment to study in, anyway, though? I don't see how that proves that switching up locations helps, except for finding a less distracting, more well-lit environment.
Pretty much almost some of the comments are "how they watched this video instead of studying". Pffffftttt I studied and did my homework before watching this video. Well I just watched this video for fun cuz it was on recommendation.
So did I.
wow youre really cool eh
So after you did your homework you went to watch a video on studying? That would make you a huge fucking geek.
Right. Time to test out if it actually makes a difference.
Thank you, I'll try to implement this the next time I need to study for something (hopefully in a long time).
This video is somewhat inaccurate. Simply varying your environment will be beneficial because there will be more context associated with the information, however the more similar the environment is to the test environment, the better ability you will have to retrieve the information when needed. This is of course if you are tested on the info rather than just trying to learn it for yourself.
It is possible that the group that scored higher scored higher because they had the opportunity to study in a tidy well lit area at least once. It is possible that the variation had nothing to do with it at all and the increased scores were do to having a clean well lit area to study.
+madashell2 Exactly what I was thinking
+madashell2
From reading the book it looks like Studying twice in the neat room also led to worse results.
You can look up the study: Smith, Glenberg, and Bjork, "Environmental Context and Human Memory," Memory & Cognition, Vol. 6, No. 4, 1978, 342-53
In fact there were lots of studies sited in the book where, long story short, increased variation = better memory. The caveat being that there are also a lot of studies that show that if you can study in the same environment, mood, background as what you are testing under you will get higher scores when you test, but only in that room, and your brain's ability to recall that information or perform the task when not in that room/situation, will be limited.
Thought the same.
-
I already did this before watching this video, one thing I must say that this will certainly improve you learning in many way
thank you very much for this video!
but what most matters is"if you learn"
Really informative!!
Wonderful Illustration about studying the right way and misspelled "improvement" at 1:19.
This is true ... U sometimes study in your room with no problem. At time u just cnt concentrate in your study space, walk to the kitchen & just stand there & the words just into your head with much ease.
why am I watching this instead of studying?
The results were too inconclusive to draw a conclusion from
there should have been three groups; one in bright room only, one in dim room only, one in both rooms
this only tests short term memory. it doesn't include critical thinking or creativity
this is based only on one study. i want to see more references
Kenneth Paul Saman exactly
a possible reason for the benefits of variation of environments is because of the addition of associative subjects that comes with each new environment.
a very beneficial key to studying something that is foreign to you is the ability to associate the details of what you are learning to something familiar. learning historical facts for a test, for example, may be hard and boring to memorize, instead you'll have an easier time remembering that funny looking bird you happened to notice at the park while reading about the initiation of world war 2 in 1939 when Germany invaded Poland.
association is a very beneficial key to studying, learn to use it and you won't regret it!
There is one mental practice called neurobics. Its explained that by changing few of your routine works (e.g brushing your teeth using left hand instead of right hand) will produce significant good impacts on your brain. Kindly have a look on a book called Keep Your Brain Alive by Lawrence C. Katz & Manning Rubin.
I literally slept and eat for two days and got the 4th highest score at my school. My mama told me good.
It was the finals BTW
alizar zikri so u just slept and ate for 2 days? wow wish it was easy
alizar zikri this says alot about education in india
How to Study Smarter, Not Harder (Transcrição)
1 - Consistency has been a hallmark of good study habits since the 1900s. It’s drilled into our heads from an early age - have a dedicated desk, have a dedicated time, eliminate distractions. But what if almost everything we’re told about how we learn is wrong? What if being inconsistent can work in our favor?
2 - For instance, could something as simple as a change in venue make a difference? Could interrupting work on a large project facilitate more inventive thinking? In the mid 1970s a trio of psychologists performed an experiment to answer just that. They wondered what would happen if people studied the same material twice, only in two different places.
3 - To test this, they presented a group of students with a list of 40 four-lettered words like ‘ball’ and ‘fork’. All of the students were given two ten-minute study sessions, but half of them studied in the same dimly lighted cluttered room for both sessions, while the other half studied in two different rooms - the cluttered one and a neater, brighter one across campus.
4 - In the last phase of the experiment, researchers had the students write down as many of the study words as they could in ten minutes. The difference in scores were striking. The one room group recalled an average of 16 of the 40 study words. The two-rooms group recalled 24. A simple change in venue had improved the student’s memory by 40%.
5 - But it isn’t just where you study or practice, how you do so is also part of the environment. Think about it - writing notes by hand is one kind of activity, typing them is another. The same goes for studying while standing up, versus sitting down, versus running on a treadmill. In the end, it doesn’t matter which aspects of the environment you vary, so long as you vary what you can.
6 - Despite what traditional advice tells us, when it comes to learning, it’s consistency, not change, that is limited. So, next time you need to study, to practice or prepare for that big project, mix it up. Try another room, another time of day. Take your guitar to the park, change coffee shops, switch practice courts, read in silence and with music on.
7 - Why? Because each alteration of your routine further enriches the skills being rehearsed, making them more accessible to you for a longer period of time. That’s the soul of real learning after all - to carry the skills and the knowledge with you, available when needed, no matter the environment. How We Learn, by Benedict Carey on sale September 9th.
thats a thing i discovered on my own this year , studying in 2 different places and two different times made my performance much better and my memory has improved.:D
Thank you very much.. You changed my idea about how to study..
I love while walking, so i started studying while doing it and i lost 11kg in 3 months walking 3 hours a day without even noticing it
bullshit
+ToP kEk exactly
I study by stopping and thinking about what I've read before continuing
I'm totally trying this!
I need to watch this for upcoming online class
I'm trying to study. and this video is distracting 😂
Kousei Arima I think everybody in the comment section is 😂😂
isn't it 50% improvement, not 40%? if the scores went from 16 to 24?
they are saying the scored changed from 16 to 24
what percentage increase is that? I make it 50% not 40%
+Main RUclips Acc
I thought the same !
na, he refers directly to the scenario he just described
Surely if there was some other info that showed 50% he would have given that example as he was making the point that it is effective to change venue etc. so why go for 40% if there is a 50% example !
you are correct. The improvement (24-16=8) is indeed a half of the original number of words (16).
improvement is missing an e also
People with good memory are good at school naturally while others suffer... great system
Thank you! I'll try it
Any tips for How to not sleep when Studying?
yes - don't sleep.
coffee and sitting upright?
Sleep, don't stop it, get at least 8 hours of sleep.
Clorox Bleach here is my advice....sleep for 30-45 min and than take the book
Please provide the link to the research papers.
Althaf K Backer honestly if the experimental design is as they have shown here, it has a big problem. is it the chance of the surrounding that causes that effect? or is it the light vs dark room. why didn't they do another control with people studying twice in a nicer lighter room. also they have not shown how the group's preformed under the same conditions. what if all the "smart" ones were in the experimental group.
This has to be the best video about learning
Thank you!
Well i am watching this instead of learing for my biology exam tomorrow :D
kdd sdd did it go well?
kdd sdd bio is easy
1:19
You also need to make one.
Look what it says there.
I used to think why sitting in the same comfortable place never helped me much. actually changing study spots helps me concentrate. I'm happy that is is not only me
Totally agree... And I do that often.
It all varies from person to person. I used to practice maths and listen metal at the same time..
i do this now. studying number theory at uni. :D
hitlar rajbhandari Still doing that, especially for Physics.
This movie is based on that one study which seems very biased. Of course you will study better in a better well lit room. It would have been interesting if they had a group which studied twice in the lit room, and then compare results with the other groups described in the video, but i think that those numbers where left out of on purpose.
Thank u I will do these things you told us in the video...I will try is tomorrow and if it works I will try it for ever..
Awesome thanks learning every day..
I was busy reading comments can't hear what they were saying . lo
It remembers me the game dumbs way to die😂😂
same here...
i haven't tried this yet but thank you so much for the information :)
Will Try It..!
Who in here like me , when you want to study but always play music 😂😂
G
sophiesticated its not a problem unless you let it distract you. taking it away may make you wosre.
Ajie Maulana Putra notbad
step one : don't watch youtube videos about how to study and actually go study
First you go
Thanks I needed this.
Thats because we grow new brain cells for every new thing & environment we experience. Thats why kids are so intelligent, because their brains are rapidly learning every day