How We Learn, by Benedict Carey (book review and guide)

REVIEW:  This is a fascinating book about learning.  It reinforces much of the information I share with my students but also adds some new thoughts on how to maximize your study time.  The author is a science reporter and has consulted massive amounts of scientific research and information to draw his conclusions.  I think it is important to understand that in this book he is concerned with learning/memorizing after comprehension and understanding have happened.  I like this book so much that I bought two additional copies to share with my colleagues at my university.

Reading Guide
Chapter	Important Points
1.	Introduction
2.	Forget to Learn – forgetting strengthens future learning, filters out distracting information not needed, allows future practice to deepen learning Storage Strength (how well the information is learned) vs. Retrieval Strength (how easily remembered) Desirable Difficulty – the harder your brain has to work to remember the material the stronger the learning will be
3.	Contextual Clues - Important to vary environment when studying – this includes your physical location as well as HOW you study.   (NOTE: This might be the most controversial chapter as he recommends distractions in the environment as well as studying in different locations.  He does also recommend using different strategies, not just the same type of studying all the time.)
4.	Spaced Study – Distributed Practice
5.	Fluency Illusion – misinterpreting how well you know something – the solution to this is recitation or self-testing.  (You feel you “know” the information after rereading your notes, but in fact do not when faced with the test.) Recitation – spend 1/3 of time memorizing and 2/3 reciting – best to do this soon after first learning the material
6.	Creative Problem Solving – Four stages of control: 1.) preparation, 2.) incubation, 3.) illumination, and 4.) verification
7.	Percolation – strategy for large projects.  He recommends starting early and leaving time for “percolation.”   Three stages: 1.) interruption (stop work in middle), 2.) tuned mind (you will subconsciously think about and find related material), and 3.) conscious reflection (pay attention to your thinking).
8.	Interweaving- mixing materials and study on different topics within a discipline, in math mixing new topics with previously learned topics in homework and practice
9.	Perceptual Learning – learning without thinking (currently limited to very specific circumstances and subjects such as reading airplane instrument panels or distinguishing between different periods of paintings.
10.	Sleep - improves retention and comprehension (no surprise here!)

 For discussion:

1. Think about your learning experiences. Which of these strategies did you use?   What information from the book do you wish you had known then?
2. Do you agree with everything the author wrote?  Why or why not?  Do you have any experiences that contradict his findings?
3. If you are currently a student, how could this information influence how you study?
4. If you are beyond formal education, what did you read in this book that is applicable to your life today?

*****

My book, First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, is available at amazon.com, wordassociation.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Click on the upper right link.