LEARNING HOW TO LEARN

“LEARNING IS YOUR BIGGEST ASSEST”

A. WHAT IS LEARNING
1. DIFFUSE VS FOCUSED MODE

- diffused mode: looking at the problem with a broader, new view; new path of thinking, more
creative (reduce frustration); less focus, more relaxing (napping w the ball!!)

- Focused mode: focus intensively on understanding a concept and get familiar with that concept;
solve a problem in a familiar and smooth way that you have learned and trained

- 2 modes can’t happen at the same time

- With difficult problem, it takes time. You need to use 2 modes and do it a little bit every single
day.

2. PRACTICE MAKES PERMANENT

- spaced practice: Do a little bit everyday with a timer helps strengthen the knowledge, build
solid neural structure >< do all at once

- the earlier the better

- It will be hard at first, but it will become more familiar when you practice everyday

- Especially true to difficult subjects (math, science bc they’re abstract), the more you practice the
abstract concept, the more it becomes concrete and easier to apply in reality.

4. MEMORY

- Long term memory: fundamental concepts that apply in many areas, storage warehouse

- Working memory: connect ideas to understand new concept and use them to solve
problems; immediately and consciously processing in your mind; have 4 chunks

+ Sometimes, we use long term memory in working memory => related

- Working – long term: spaced repetition

5. SLEEP

- wash away toxins

- tidy memory; strengthen important memory, erase less important memory

- increase the understanding of the concept you learn right before you go to sleep
6. EXPERT VIEWPOINT

- learn sth new? Just get to the thick of it >< read a lot of books. Learning by doing.

- enriched environment (interact with supportive, creative ppl) + exercise = help produce new
neurons to learn better (+put you in a diffuse mode)

- PASSION + PERSISTENCE = SUCCESSFUL (not smart)

- learning with a “fresh new” eye

B. CHUNKING – THE ESSENTIALS

1. Chunk

- Chunk: unite information together through

meaning; a whole makes it easier to remember
and fits into a bigger picture while learning; a way
of compressing info more compactly

>< memorizing a fact, without

understanding and context: hard to
understand and relate to other concepts while learning

- “Chunk an idea”: don’t need to remember all the underlying details; got the main idea (“chunk”)
and that’s enough

+ smooth repetition create muscle memory => know what to do in 1 thought - chunk, no need to
recall all steps

- working memory and focused mode: helps connect information, creating chunks

- focused practice + repetition: strengthen memory trace

- stress makes it hard to connect information

2. How to form a chunk?

- listen/watch the general pattern - create mini chunks – connect mini chucks – bigger chunk with
smooth, solid connection

- when going through the pattern, it’s easy to pay too much focus on a single chunk, instead of the
connection btw each step.

+ go through solution of sample problem 1 st: understand the steps, see key features and
underlying principles

+ using roadmap: pay attention to what’s around you and you will get there and even find
a new way

3. STEPS ON FORMING A CHUNK

- undivided focus on the process, no distraction (fully use 4 slots)

- understand the basic idea (using focused and diffuse mode)

- practice (execution)

+ bottom up learning (chunking): practice and repetition to build and strengthen that
chunk

+ top down learning (big picture): when to use this chunk, see it in a broader picture,
where this chunk fits in
 => Chunk: learn how to use a technique, gain mastery; Context: sense the big picture,
when to use that technique instead of others

- Tips:
+ sense the big picture (read headline, picture,
outline…) before studying
sometimes it’s better to jump ahead and not too focus
on 1 detail
+ learn the main points first, fill in the details

3. RECALL

- Illusions on Competence: reading passively,

highlighting more than 1 or 2 sentences in a
paragraph

+ deliberate practice: practice on the toughest parts of

the material: gain mastery >< overlearning: keep
studying the easy material: waste of time, IOC that you’ve learned all of the material, in fact,
you’re just got the easy part.

+ einstellung: intuition of the answer may be misleading, block thoughts prevent better new idea
-> unlearn your older idea

+ interleaving: mix up your learning practice, create flexibility and creativity, strengthen “when to
use the technique”, hard but help learn more deeply

+ Mini test and making mistakes: valuable! so you won’t make mistakes on the real test

- recall: better to recall outside of the usual study location – better when do real test

4. How to approach difficult question

=> get off “focused mode”, don’t force and think abt it btw activity, while you’re relaxed.
C. PROCASTINATION
- procrastination (bad routine): happen when you start to do sth you’s rather not do => create
pain => your brain stops you by switching the attention to sth else that less pain.

+ focus on making the now and here better, temporarily (same with addition) => fool you
+ make irrational excuses
+in the long-term, super harmful to you
+ procs. is a keystone bad habit, affect many aspects of your life

- PROVED: If you actually start doing the thing you dislike, after a while, your brain stops creating
pain.

=> Helpful tool:

+ Do a little bit everyday, with a timer => strengthen the knowledge, build solid neural
structure >< do all at once
+ the earlier the better >< cramming
+ the more you put off, the more painful to start doing it

- will power requires a lot of neural resources, only need when necessary, which isn’t needed to
tackle procas.

1. ZOMBIES EVERYWHERE

- habit: block the info. Flood (usually happen when we 1 st learn to do sth), pick out what matters
the most, energy-saver, put us into a “zombie mode” instead of focused mode all the time

- 4 parts:

+ cue: the trigger of the routine, neither helpful or harmful – location, time, how you feel,
reaction (of s.o)

+ routine: “zombie mode” when receive the cue, your reaction, the most important thing;
will power; helpful, harmless or harmful

+ reward: feeling of pleasure

+ belief/faith: habits have power because of your belief in them

2. SURF IT UP: PROCESS VS PRODUCT

- mental tools and tricks to inspire and motivate, beat procrastination:

+ perfectly normal to 1st have negative feeling when starting to learn => think “stop
wasting time, just get on with it, when you’re doing, you’re feel better abt it”; sometimes
takes several Pomodoros or days to start “feel better”

+ re-frame: PROCESS >>> product: process makes you calmly put in the best effort in a
period of time, who cares if you get the concept, complete the task in 1 session!?; not
judging yourself (am I getting closer to finishing?); help get to the flow of work
@product triggers the pain (cause procras.)
 => solution: timer and block distraction that affects your flow of work, bc when the flow
stops, it takes time to get back to that flow

- the Law of Serendipity: Lady Luck favors the one who tries

3. CHANGE YOUR HABIT WITH MIN WILL POWER

+ block the controllable cue (of distraction to procras.): turn off phone, internet for a
period of time ; aware of uncontrollable cue: so’s feeling, hater, so’s negativity…; your
feeling/negativity

+ change the routine: use “will power”, to have a PLAN for a new routine
@know yourself: quite location, time of the day I study best, and plan to get and
put yourself in that
@5-second ritual or talk to yourself: for self-doubt, making excuses, my negativity
@be rational, experimental

+ reward that makes you “crave”

@feeling of accomplishment, becoming better
@an enjoyable mindless time without guilt
@movie, book
@small deadlines: lunch, stop working at 8pm

+ change the belief: very important!

@you can do it! You must change!
@in moment of stress, diff., weakness: community, like-minded ppl, help get
through the moment, to remind your belief

4. PLANNING – TIME MANAGEMENT

- REF: Straight A (study basic)

- Eat the frogs first

D. MEMORY
- visual enhances memory ability, easier to recall

- working -> long-term memory: make it memorable (visual, funny, shocking, smell, feel, taste) +
repetition + spacing

- writing + saying: enhance retention

- techniques:

+ create meaningful group to simplify the material

+ number with memorable events

+ memory palace technique: group unrelated things you want to remember

E. HOW TO BECOME A BETTER LEARNER

- physical exercise, more effective than any drug to help learn better (help new neurons survive –
new neurons help you learn new things but will die if you don’t use them)

- learning is too important to be left behind in the classroom

- zombie can’t learn, human can learn, plan, make decision and interact socially (thanks
to the prefrontal cortex, last cortex to develop, so until it develops, there is still a
zombie in you)
F. UNLOCK YOUR POTIENTIAL
- it’s normal to experience a step back in understanding, cause temporary frustration. After that,
your knowledge base will take a surprising lead forward.

1. CREATE A LIVELY VISUAL METAPHOR OR ANALOGY

=> Give a physical understanding of the big idea behind a process/concept.

Not perfect but give an idea of what’s going on => better to understand
and remember

2. NO NEED FOR GENIUS ENVY & THE IMPOSTER SYNDROME

Being smart Being creative

- larger working memory: 9 instead of 4 slot, - smaller WM: can’t hold a lot at once, lose
switch attention smoothly btw the slots -> focus, working memory maximum only when
easier to learn in quite location
- harder to be creative: einstellung – superb - easy to generate your learning into sth new,
working memory can hold thoughts so tightly don’t lock everything so tightly, get input from
– new thoughts hard to get in other input of your brain
- take longer to get a chunk, once get it will be
able to turn it inside out, be creative

- imposter syndrome: normal! Keep your chin up, keep your eye on the open door!

3. CHANGE YOUR THOUGHTS, CHANGE YOUR LIFE

- how practice can change your thoughts, then change your life?

+ practice strengthen and reinforce connections btw diff. brain regions, create highways btw the
brain’s control centers and the centers that store knowledge (piano practice) => ability to control
your behaviors (natural maturation + practice)

- enhance the development of the neural circuit by practicing thoughts that use those neurons

=> flexibility in changing/practicing how we think + admit errors => train your thought => change
our brain => change life

- Or: if you’re not naturally smart, use your perseverance as your strength!

- take responsibility to your own learning is the most important thing

+ approach material with a goal of learning for your own, give you a unique path of
learning; when you realize that 1 book/teacher just give 1 dimension of a subject and
there are the reality and other fascinating related topics that you can choose to dig deeper
in

+ when you learn by constructing a pattern of meaning(understand the big idea and
practice it) on your own, you have greater understanding than simply accepting what
someone told you
- take pride in who you are and what makes you different

- Why need check?

+ if you don’t go back and check your work after doing it, you refuse to use part of your brain
+ your mind can trick you that your answer’s correct, even though it’s not, especially when you’re
in focused mode
=> take a step back, see it in a bigger picture and ask yourself “does it really make sense?” – reality
check!

- study with friends give you a chance to see your errors that you can’t see it yourself

4. TEST TIPS

- test is good to retain knowledge and see your errors

HARD START – JUMP TO EASY: put your brain on focused mode -> diffuse mode for hard
questions, once you stuck 1-2 min, jump to the easy one

- change your thought abt stress: your body is prepared for you, it’s exciting; focus on your breath

- HAVE PLAN B: have plan for the worst scenario, your fear will gradually decrease

- good worry: motivation, bad worry: waste energy

HOW TO BE AN A+ STUDENT

1. BELIEF IN WORK

- niềm tin vào WORK càng mạnh thì sẽ càng CHĂM CHỈ

- WORK là cách duy nhất giúp mình

- môn khó:

2. 10 min -15 min

- trân trọng 10-min thời gian chết (chờ đợi, ngồi xe bus,…) => tạo thói quen trân trọng thời gian

- gộp những 10-min/ngày => LỚN

=> brainscape

3. DON’T ASK STUPID QUESTIONS

4. NO EXCUSES & COMPLAINS

- ko ai có quyền ảnh hưởng đến mình, luôn đứng vững trc complain, cố tránh xa vs chuyển chủ đề

- adapt bản thân vs hoàn cảnh

5. DON’T JOG LEISURELY

- push bản thân, dành 100% tâm trí hấp thụ thông tin

- hy sinh 1 chút mồ hôi, khô mắt, mất ngủ, mệt mỏi

5. DO EXERCISE

- lướt outline, câu hỏi cuối chap => định hình big picture vs biết phần quan trọng

- đọc để tìm câu trả lời: đọc 1 lần – trả lời – đọc lần 2 để trả lời những câu khó

- học bằng cách tra cứu => chủ động, tập trung vs đọc tất cả trong sách

6. YOU’RE AN A STUDENT

- tin tưởng Phương pháp học của bản thân.

- keep your mind open but ko để ai ảnh hưởng tới niềm tin của mình

7. VIẾT TẮT

- viết hoa 3 chữ đầu: revenue: REV, expense: EXP

- viết hoa chữ cái đầu: long-term: LT

- từ dài, viết các chữ quan trọng: marketing: mrt

8. READING SKILL

- đọc outline/lecture note

- lấy bài tập, câu hỏi là trung tâm, ko phải nội dung sách => read for argument not fact