In the past two weeks, I spent my free time taking a course called Learning How to Learn: Powerful Mental Tools to Help You Master Tough Subjects on Coursera. I found it to be very interesting and helpful, so I decided to share the knowledge. Hope you find it insightful!
Understanding the brain’s two thinking modes
When we think, do we ‘just’ think? Apparently not. Researchers have found that we have two fundamental modes of thinking: The focused mode and diffuse mode.
Focused mode is active when we are trying to understand or learn something, and it utilizes our prefrontal cortex located at the very front of our brain. As you can see in the illustration, in focused mode, the blue bumpers are placed close to each other, allowing our thought bumps around the same area, resulting in concentration. However, what if we need to use another area, such as the black line pattern located on the bottom left? The closely-placed bumpers block our path.
This is when the diffuse mode comes into use. Diffuse mode activates when we are in a more relaxed state. In the diffuse mode of thinking, we can look at things broadly from a very different, big-picture perspective. It allows us to approach problems from different angles since our thought can bump to more areas in our brain due to the wide spaces between the bumpers.
So which one should we use while learning? Both of them. To learn effectively, we need to be able to go back an forth between the two, because neuroscientifically speaking, we can’t use both modes at the same time.
If we keep on using the focused mode, we might face something called the Einstellung (German for ‘mindset’) effect. It is when an idea we already have in mind prevents a better idea or solution from being found.
So while learning, make sure to take a break every once in a while to allow your mind changes its mode. One useful technique to help us better juggle between our two thinking modes is the Pomodoro technique that was invented by Francesco Cirillo in the early 1980s. He got the name Pomodoro (Italian for ‘tomato’) after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer that he used as a university student. In this method, all you need to do is set a timer to 25 minutes, turn off all interruptions, and then focus. Then take a break or at least change your focus to something different for a while. During this time of seeming relaxation, your brain’s diffuse mode has a chance to work away in the background and help you out with your conceptual understanding.
Knowing Your House of Memories
In general, our memories are divided into two types: Working memory and long-term memory. Working memory is centered out of the prefrontal cortex, and it has to do with what we’re immediately and consciously processing in your mind. This is also where focused mode works.
Long-term memory is a wide storage warehouse where we store our thoughts, and we can easily revisit it later to find a piece of information that we might need in the future. However, memories are not fixed but living, breathing parts of our brain that are changing all of the time. As we consume new information every day, our older memories can also fade. It is important to revisit our long-term memory every once in a while.
When we encounter something new, we often use our working memory to handle it. To move that information into our long-term memory, it takes time and practice. The most common technique to help with this process is called spaced repetition. This technique involves repeating what we’re trying to retain, but what we want to do is space this repetition out. It is more effective to learn something for an hour every day than learning for 6 hours straight in one go. This also explains why when force ourselves to study everything just a day prior to a test, we might be able to do the test well, but we’ll forget it soon after. It’s because the knowledge we studied did not go into our long-term memory.
Now you know why you seem to forget everything you learned in school or college.
The science behind learning is interesting, and it shows how much our brain is capable of. I personally hope that what I am sharing could help you understand more about learning and learn better.
Happy learning!
Interested in discussing more of this topic or the course? Feel free to hit me up. I’d really love to have a conversation about this!
