Reflections: ● Are you wedded to the way you have always approached learning? ● Are you struggling to hit the heights to which you aspire? ● Have you assessed your working habits? ● Have your methods for learning become a comfort blanket? ● Do you waste time creating brand-new, complete sets of notes? ● Do you create desirable difficulties? If you’re someone who says ‘I don’t do past papers until I’ve produced my set of notes’, then you’re missing the point. 7. Quick start: 4 easy to implement Learning 2 Learn Techniques Now we have a better sense of the strategies behind successful learning, it’s time to look in detail at some of the ways these can be employed. 8. BRAIN DUMP: This is so simple and so effective. Spend, say, fifteen minutes with a blank piece of paper and write down e verything you know about a topic. Once finished, look at your class notes, textbook and/or revision guide and check that what you wrote is correct. Then look at what you forgot and focus on this. Date the sheet and store it away. At a later date, do the exercise again and compare the sheets – hopefully, you remember more the second (third, fourth etc.) time and will be able to see the improvement you've made visibly. Brain dump made easier Brain dumping can be a terrifying exercise. Below is a gentler version that you could try the first time you try to retrieve a topic. Remember, the more challenging you make a retrieval, the greater the benefit. So, this easier version won’t be as effective at the one above.
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