Hello everyone! Welcome to my blog, and here is my first post! As a Psychology major, I am always interested in reading research articles related to my field (either clinical or organizational psychology). Also, with good use of Twitter, I can easily find information by search #edtechchat and #psychology. The article below is one that caught my eyes the most recently.
How To Make Learning Stick: Top Tips From Learning Psychology
The article “How To Make Learning Stick: Top Tips From Learning Psychology” is written by Steve Penfold and published on the eLearning Industry webpage. Penfold was inspired by Stella Collins, a Learning Psychologist, on how to learn better. Penfold introduced 7 ways to make learning more effective as a long term memory. Below is an outline of the article:
- Encourage active engagement – try to be an active learner. Beyond only listening to your educators’ explanations on different topics, learners should actively show their responses. For example, learners can give feedback, join discussions, and participate in related activities.
- Use what people already know – make connections with past knowledge. You can imagine it as adding a new thing to an existing network which you are accustomed to. Linking new information to what you have already known and familiar with makes it easier to be part of your long term memory, which is then easier to retrieve.
- Make deliberate links – try to make as many connections to the things you know as possible. Similar to the previous point, connections are hints in learning and memorizing. The more hints you have, the easier you can recall when needed.
- Tap into emotions – strong feelings help memorize. Both positive and negative emotions help to learn because those feelings also represent your own experiences and reactions to the situations.
- Repeat – regular practices keep brain neurons and muscles active. Repeating the same materials help move the information from short term memory to long term memory, as well as, leading to the faster recall.
- Keep it fresh – excitement catches attention. Even you are learning the same things, learn from new perspectives and different methods can make you feel more passionate to learn and review.
- Use storytelling – remember and share materials like you are telling others an impressive story. When you gather all the details and relevant points of a topic you want to learn, try to make them an easy remembering story. You are learning, recalling, and teaching when you are telling the story to others.
Have you ever tried any of these ways? Are they useful?
Or any other learning methods you wan to share with me?
I was firstly attracted by the keywords “Tips” and “Learning Psychology.” I took Psychology of Learning class before, and I understand that everyone can learn as diverse as they want and as efficient as possible. They just need the appropriate strategies!
I agree with the tips shared in this article that I use most of them for my years of school life. Learning and teaching are lifetime activities that people should find ways to keep themselves passionate. Together with other reinforcement strategies, I believe that learners can boost their learning capability in a stress-free environment.
Thanks for reading my first blog and sharing your ideas with me!
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Twitter: @PoYeeWong4