Make It Stick

By Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III, Mark A. MacDaniel

04 January 2024 - 4 mins read time
Tags: Books L2L Self-Improvement

“Make It Stick” by Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III, and Mark A. McDaniel explores the science behind effective learning and offers practical strategies for improving memory and retention.

Key Learning Principles

Spaced Repetition

• Concept: Distribute your learning sessions over time instead of cramming.
• Benefits: Enhances long-term memory and retention.

Reading Notes:

• Space practice works better since you forget the material a little bit and force your brain to re-synthesize the information.

Retrieval Practice

• Concept: Actively recall information from memory, even if it’s challenging.
• Benefits: Strengthens memory trace and promotes better learning.

Reading Notes:

• Repetition is not a good method for learning.
• Giving yourself a simple test after a study session is much more effective than reviewing the material
• Dynamic testing changes based on the level of familiarity with the content. In dynamic testing you identify you areas of weakness and refocus your learning to address the weaknesses.

Interleaving

• Concept: Mix different topics or subjects during study sessions.
• Benefits: Forces brain to differentiate and apply various concepts, leading to deeper learning.

Reading Notes:

• Interleaved practice makes learning harder but more effective.
• You cannot follow the heuristic through a single unit.
• Varied practice is changing the type of your practice.
• Interleaved and varied practice both work to increase your discriminating abilities as they remove the other cues or hints that make it easier to answer questions without deeper under standing them.

Elaboration

• Concept: Connect new information to existing knowledge or explain it in your own words.
• Benefits: Deepens understanding and improves retention.

Reading Notes:

Generation

• Concept: Engage in active thinking and problem-solving when learning.
• Benefits: Encourages critical thinking and aids memory.

Reading Notes:

• Generative learning is learning that occurs through trial and error. This type of learning produces more nuanced and robust memory and understanding. Generative learning is when the answer is generated rather than recalled.
• Staring a project without knowing exactly how to do it triggers generative learning which yields benefits

Difficulty and Effort

• Concept: More difficult or effortful forms of learning produce more robust learning.
• Benefits: Struggling with the material forces you to understand it more deeply.

Reading Notes:

• Desirable difficulty where through exerted effort, the difficulty can be overcome through effort.
• Multiple choice tests are not as effective as short answer tests where you have to pull the information from your brain
• The more effortful or difficult learning is the more likely it is to stick with us long term How does repetition relate to learning?
• Undesirable difficult is a difficulty that cannot be overcome through increased effort.
• Structure building is the construction of mental models that connect the things we learn with the things we already know to form deeper and more robust memories.
  • Having questions embedded in the text will make poor structure builders as good a good as good structure builders at incorporating the information.

Reflection

• Concept: Review and contemplate what you’ve learned.
• Benefits: Consolidates knowledge and enhances memory.

Reading Notes:

• Reflection is another form of practice

Mnemonics

• Concept: Use memory aids like acronyms, rhymes, or visual imagery.
• Benefits: Facilitates the memorization of complex information.

Reading Notes:

Dual Coding

• Concept: Combine verbal and visual information during learning.
• Benefits: Enhances memory and comprehension.

Reading Notes:

Meta-Cognition

• Concept: Be aware of your learning process and strategies.
• Benefits: Helps adapt and improve learning methods.

Reading Notes:

Testing Effect

• Concept: Frequent testing or quizzing strengthens memory and retention.
• Benefits: Improves long-term recall.

Reading Notes:

Book’s Emphasis

The book emphasizes the importance of moving away from passive learning methods and adopting active, scientifically-backed strategies to enhance learning. By understanding how our brains work and applying these techniques, learners can:

• Improve memory and retention over the long term.
• Develop critical thinking skills.
• Apply acquired knowledge effectively in various contexts.

Reading Notes:

“Make It Stick” provides numerous real-life examples and case studies that illustrate these principles in action, making it a valuable resource for anyone seeking to optimize their learning strategies and maximize the effectiveness of their educational endeavors.

Reading Notes: