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Study Hero
Study Hero
1. Problems that are manageable (not too easy, not too hard)
This generates interest and curiosity. If a new big hairy topic (e.g. quantum physics) is too
intimidating and unfamiliar, our motivation to learn gets shut off immediately.
Hence my problem: ignoring the lecture with material I had no inkling of a grasp of, in favor of the
crossword puzzle - something that was somewhat challenging (for me at least), but that I could
work my way through and see some level of success with.
This is what I call The Goldilocks Principle of learning motivation, and it's super important.
Action Steps
Okay, so now that we've covered a little bit about some core elements of priming your "system" for
learning most effectively, your action step for Day 1 is to sketch out a routine.
Step 1: Use your calendar program of choice (I prefer Google Calendar), and put in
your weekly lecture schedule.
If you have you syllabus already, don't just block off time for your class (e.g. ENME201 Lecture)
but actually specify what topic you'll be covering according to the syllabus (e.g. ENME 201
Lecture: Newton-Raphson Method). This doesn't have to be perfect, but should be at least a basic
guiding framework for you as you move through the semester of what you'll be covering and when.
Work this into your schedule if you're up for it. (Check out Spark, by John Ratey for more on this if
you're interested.)
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(Photo: quickmeme)
Plus you're not present in the discussion, focused on the concepts being presented - instead
spending your hour in class as a transcription robot.
This is bad news for learning... and it's a waste of your time.
(Photo: collegeaffairs)
Each week (probably easiest to execute at the end of the week on Saturday or Sunday), block off 30
minutes for each subject and spend that time collecting all of your loose notes and problems
accumulated during the week.
Take those notes, spread them out on the floor or a table and start organizing them by concept
("chunking it down" as they say). There's no real science to this, but you want to try and organize
say, in Physics 1 for example, force-balance notes and examples in to one group, and acceleration
notes and problems into another group.
Once you have everything grouped in a way that makes most sense to you, then here comes the
tough part - consolidate it all onto 1 SHEET OF PAPER.
That's right.
Take everything you wrote out for the week and figure out how to represent that on 1 sheet of paper.
Use diagrams and short-hand, collect key equations and problem solving steps, and condense it all
down.
Why?
This forces you understand the information well enough that you connect and combine related
equations and concepts. I also forces you to chunk the information in ways that make the most sense
to you, creating your own "personal library" of sorts that provides quick access to complex topics.
Action Steps
Okay so now we're going to narrow the focus a little bit and test out a couple of these information
consumption techniques on one concept of your choice.
One you are currently working on, or want to learn (or better yet, had trouble learning last
semester). Whether that's definite integrals, or kinetic energy, or static equilibrium, doesn't matter.
Okay STOP! Before you do whatever you were about to go do, go to your calendar and set a
permanent time to do this each week.
Apply this methodology each week throughout the semester, and you'll never have to "study" in the
traditional sense (reading the textbook, trying to grasp a concept, etc.) again!
Congratulations, now you're one of those people your friends hate because you don't go to the
library with them anymore to gloomily sit around and highlight textbooks.
Now, this is of course only a small part of the "study" equation. Conceptual understanding is great.
But that's not where the bulk of your grade gets determined.
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A young engineer at work, taking apart a 1970s VCR. (Photo: Steve Jurvetson)
Reverse Learning works in much the same way. Its a technique for working backwards from the
solution to a complex homework problem or potential test question to a set of related core concepts.
Lecture and textbooks work precisely the opposite way.
The nice thing is though, this is how we learn outside the classroom in the real world anyway.
So, to demonstrate how this would work, let's look at the following example...
Suppose you work through an example problem with the TA in your discussion in which you need
to find the acceleration vector of the roller coaster cart when it has completed the first quarter of the
loop shown below.
This is a somewhat unfamiliar problem that you may not recognize requires a fairly deep
understanding of Centripetal Acceleration. Thankfully, youve diligently copied down the solution
and have it in front of you.
Question 1:
Lets start with the obvious one (if youve had basic physics), why is there an acceleration
Question 2:
Why is there an acceleration to the left of 43.20 m/s2?
This is a bit trickier, but lets look at our diagram and see whats happening to the cart at that point
in time.
Its halfway up the backside of that loop.
As you continue this process of questioning (see the full example here), without allowing yourself
to move forward without a practical answer to each of your questions, you'll probably end up
discovering that...
The Normal Force from the track must be causing the Centripetal Acceleration, which is
moving the cart up and to the left.
Centripetal Acceleration the concept we care about in this context can be produced by
one you already have familiarity with (Normal Force)
And you also know that both (1) acceleration due to Gravity and (2) Centripetal Acceleration
can interact at the same time on one object, independent of one another
Look at the ground weve covered with just a few of the most obvious questions we can ask
ourselves about this problem. And theres still 75% of the work involved in the problem that we
havent tried to explain yet.
These are the big insights you need to be able to solve tough problems in physics, math, and
engineering courses.
Action Steps
Okay, action steps for today...
Step 2: Spend 20 minutes working your way backwards through the problem using
the Reverse Learning Technique
Make sure that you answer each and every "why" question you come up with, and understand every
little nuance. Go slow! And work all the way back, from the final answer to the problem statement.
Bonus: Send me the problem you used and your analysis of why each problem
solving step was used and which concepts are at play
Accountability is a powerful motivator. So if you send your problem to me, I'll look at your process
and give you feedback.
This process is essential for developing a super-robust understanding of how to actually apply the
concepts you're learning about to real problems.
Work this into your schedule for each new problem type you come across in class, and you'll find
yourself surprisingly on-the-ball during discussion, quizzes, and eventually exams.
The Reverse Learning Technique
Were all familiar with reverse engineering peeling back the layers from a finished product to try
to gain insights into the structure, process, and technology that underlies it.
A young engineer at work, taking apart a 1970s VCR. (Photo: Steve Jurvetson)
Reverse Learning works in much the same way. Its a technique for working backwards from the
solution to a complex homework problem or potential test question to a set of related core concepts.
The nice thing is though, this is how we learn outside the classroom in the real world anyway.
So, to demonstrate how this would work, let's look at the following example...
Suppose you work through an example problem with the TA in your discussion in which you need
to find the acceleration vector of the roller coaster cart when it has completed the first quarter of the
loop shown below.
This is a somewhat unfamiliar problem that you may not recognize requires a fairly deep
understanding of Centripetal Acceleration. Thankfully, youve diligently copied down the solution
and have it in front of you.
Anyways, you have the solution in front of you: the acceleration is 43.20 m/s2 to the left, and 9.81
m/s2 downwards. And not only that, you have most of the math leading up to it.
Good. This is our Reverse Learning starting point. Now we start asking why.
Question 1:
Lets start with the obvious one (if youve had basic physics), why is there an acceleration
downwards of 9.81 m/s2?
Well thats gravity. As long as the Earth is down, which in this case we are assuming it is, there will
always be a downwards acceleration acting on the cart of 9.81 m/s2.
Question 2:
This is a bit trickier, but lets look at our diagram and see whats happening to the cart at that point
in time.
So to keep the cart from flying straight up in the air (like it was shooting off a ramp), there must be
something turning that cart to the left as it rises. Well, the only thing there is the track.
Ahh the track thats whats moving the cart to the left.
Okay, so how does the track accelerate something even though it doesnt itself move?
As you continue this process of questioning (see the full example here), without allowing yourself
to move forward without a practical answer to each of your questions, you'll probably end up
discovering that...
The Normal Force from the track must be causing the Centripetal Acceleration, which is moving
the cart up and to the left.
Centripetal Acceleration the concept we care about in this context can be produced by one
you already have familiarity with (Normal Force)
And you also know that both (1) acceleration due to Gravity and (2) Centripetal Acceleration can
interact at the same time on one object, independent of one another
Look at the ground weve covered with just a few of the most obvious questions we can ask
ourselves about this problem. And theres still 75% of the work involved in the problem that we
havent tried to explain yet.
These are the big insights you need to be able to solve tough problems in physics, math, and
engineering courses.
Action Steps
This can be from a course you're currently taking or took last semester, that you really didn't
understand all that well. Maybe you forced your way through, and were able to get answer, but
really didn't know why you were using the equations that you did, and were confused how it related
back to the concepts you were learning.
Step 2: Spend 20 minutes working your way backwards through the problem using the Reverse
Learning Technique
Make sure that you answer each and every "why" question you come up with, and understand every
little nuance. Go slow! And work all the way back, from the final answer to the problem statement.
Bonus: Send me the problem you used and your analysis of why each problem solving step was
used and which concepts are at play
Accountability is a powerful motivator. So if you send your problem to me, I'll look at your process
and give you feedback.
This process is essential for developing a super-robust understanding of how to actually apply the
concepts you're learning about to real problems.
Work this into your schedule for each new problem type you come across in class, and you'll find
yourself surprisingly on-the-ball during discussion, quizzes, and eventually exams.
They call this the Fluency Illusion by the way: thinking that just because you can understand
someone solving a problem, you can actually solve that problem yourself when left to your own
devices (not true - anyone who watches cooking shows knows this).
Or maybe we just think it's stupid to have to "drill" problems when we already "know how to do it."
And as a result, don't spend enough time really engraining the problem solving procedures into our
memory banks.
How do you get yourself to the point where I was in Statics: able to comfortably stare an exam
problem statement in the face, calmly dissect it, solve it, and get full credit for a perfect solution?
Now, yesterday we worked through some solved problems in reverse. This builds up your mental
flexibility around the new concepts you're working with, understanding how the different equations
and principles interplay when actually working through a problem.
But this is just the "aha" moment when it comes to practice problems - the baseline understanding
you need in order to actually be able to solve them. The real gains happen when you then take that
new mental framework you developed using Reverse Learning, and apply it to a diverse set of
problems.
Active Recall
This is what we call Active Recall: solving problems from scratch, all the way through, without
any supporting materials.
And it's the opposite of the passive review we constantly find ourselves doing (e.g. watching the TA
solve problems on the board, watching Youtube videos of problem solutions, doing homework with
the book open to the example problems, etc.).
Here's how you do it:
1. Once you feel comfortable that you understand the fundamentals of how to solve a particular
type of problem, find a set of of those problems you haven't solved before (and have the
full solution on hand for later).
2. Then, start your session with a problem statement only - NO SOLUTION. Don't peek,
and don't study right beforehand - we want to work on your ability to conjure this stuff up
off the top of your head.
3. As you work through the problem, try to come up with the solution method and steps off
the top of your head, without any supporting materials. Do the best you can and even
guess if you have to. It's important to push yourself to get as far as you can without any
support (this is what it's like on an exam). Write down what you can and take a stab at a final
answer.
4. Then, once you're finally done, go back and verify whether you were correct with the
provided solution. And we're not just checking here, you want to...
5. Actually dig in to each and every mistake you made and break it down. What did I do
wrong? What should I have done instead? How can I make it so that I do this every time?
Then simply rinse and repeat.
That's the process for deeply engraining different types of problem solving procedures into your
memory.
Action Steps
Okay, so your action step for today is:
That's it.
Once you get to this point, it's all about practice. And if you really focus, and make your Active
Recall sessions count, you'll find yourself having to spend less and less time going back, relearning
things, looking at your notes...
And you'll also feel your confidence building, feeling more and more prepared as the semester goes
on.
Tomorrow, for our 5th and final day, we'll talk about how to pull it all together when it counts on
test day.
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Exam Rehearsals
Step 1: Create practice exams
First, go back through the material covered for the exam and start pulling together practice
problems you might reasonably expect to see on the exam. You can also get super advanced and go
find old exams from your EXACT CLASS on a site like koofers.com.
You want to have a pretty diverse set of problems (with solutions provided for when you go back
and review your mistakes), and then put together AT LEAST 2 practice exams which you'll use in
your test prep.
Start the timer and work through the exam, pretending like you're doing it for realz. Don't stop at
any point. Work through the entire exam as best as you can, and then when time is up "turn it in" to
yourself.
This is super important because of...
If you've followed this methodology properly (i.e. the material we covered over the past 4 days),
there isn't really much more work to be done, and especially over the final 24 hours, you're going to
be best served by putting in some good R&R, at least with that particular subject.
Do all of the above, and compared to how you usually feel during big exams, it'll be like you have
ICE in your veins. The material will feel much more comfortable and more familiar than usual.
You might even find that "Hey! My exam grade ACTUALLY kind of reflects the work I put in."
Action Steps
Okay - final day's action steps...
Final Bonus: Send me your finished and graded exam along with answers to the
questions above.
I'll read and respond to every one I get.
intentioned shock to the system, hopefully pulling you out of a rut, or turning around a mediocre
semester, or even taking your "pretty good" skills to the next level.
Take this with you, and return to it as you continue to refine your process - you'll find new insights
each time you come back. And stay tuned, because this is just the beginning.