Make It Stick: How to use this book to improve learning?

by yaobin.wen

Key takeaways

I’ll be straightforward: The key takeaways of the book Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning about effective learning are as follows.

• 1). Active retrieval improves knowledge and retention. Do not simply re-read the notes.
• 2). Study repeatedly to reinforce memories. Also refer to Hermann Ebbinghaus’s forgetting curve for why spaced repetition is helpful.
• 3). Mix different topics or problem types during study sessions. For example, in one study session:
  • If the learner is studying history, he/she can mix the multiple historical periods such as Renaissance and Industrial Revolution.
  • If the learner is studying math, he/she can mix algebra, geometry, and trigonometry.
• 4). Learning with an effort improves the effectiveness.
  • For example, when discussing a mathematical theorem, instead of showing the proof directly, let the learner prove the theorem by him-/herself. The learner may have to think hard and make a few failing attempts until he/she succeeds (or not). The point is the learner is fully engaged into the question. The mistakes that are made provide the learner a fuller view of the problem.
• 5). Use “generative” methods to improve learning. For example:
  • Elaboration: Describing a key idea in one’s own words. Explain an idea to the people outside the domain (e.g., grandma) and let them understand the idea.
  • Generation: Generate examples, analogies or metaphors for an idea. For example, if one says he/she is familiar with design patterns, what are the real-life examples of the patterns?
• 6). Reflect on what have been learned and the reasons that the mistakes have been made.
• 7). Use tests to evaluate the abilities (i.e., the learning results) more objectively.

Actions to take on future learning

When planning a study session, try to find different topics/subjects to work on. This activity is based on 3) “mix different topics”.

When taking notes, instead of simply copying the textbook contents to the notebook in the same order as the textbook, summarize the learning material and re-organize the key points in the way that shows the internal linkage among the key points. The activity is based on 4) “learning with an effort” and 5) “elaboration”.

When taking notes, also generate review questions that help the learner to use as a “pop quiz” next time he/she comes back to the learning material. The learner can try to answer these review questions before reviewing the notes to test how much he/she has matered the material. This activity is based on 1) “active retrieval”, 4) “learning with an effort”, 5) “generation”, and 6) “use tests”.

When generating the review questions, try to use “fill-in-the-blank” type of questions instead of multiple-choice type, because “fill-in-the-blank” provides the minimum amount of information in the question description and forces the learner to maximize the active retrieval in order to answer the questions. This activity is based on 1) “active retrieval”.

After finishing one study session, schedule future study sessions of the same topic in order to reinforce memories because studying the material only once is not necessary to make it stick. This activity is based on 2) “study repeatedly”. For example: