The Art of Learning: Part 2

In this 2nd part of the series about the arts and techniques of learning I am going to talk about a few more ideas on effective learning.

Chunking

We as humans have 4 slots of working memory in our prefrontal cortex. Chunking is the idea of using this 4 slots together to create mental leap in understanding a concept. Fragments of information are combined to understand something new. These fragments are known as chunks. These chunks individually without contextual information doesn’t always makes sense to help us understand something new. However in order to understand a concept it is essential that we break them into logical pieces which when unified together will help us visualize the big picture.

In order to create a chunk we have to use our focused mode of thinking. When learning an academic topic it is important that we create strong conceptual chunks on that topic. We have to use structured repetitive practice with chunking in focused mode to solidify our learning. Let me give an example, when learning a sports like table tennis we should practice our desired swing repetitively against the ideal pace and spin of a ball. In addition to this we also have to know the theory why a particular shot works against the spiny ball in a particular pace. This practical and theoretical chunk when working together will create a complete conceptual picture about this shot. With the theory and repetitive practice that particular shot will come to us instinctively as a strong neural pattern is drawn in our brains.

Steps of Chunking

In order to create a chunk there are 4 steps

1. Getting an initial sense of the material
2. Focusing and identifying the key points that forms the whole concept
3. Understanding and practicing each chunks to create mental bridge between mind and concept
4. Gaining Context to know when to apply a chunk to a problem

When first try to create a chunk its important to shutdown all distractions like phone, social media or any kinds of interruption as it tends to use up our limited working memory slots.

Once that is done we have to give our full concentration on the topic we are trying to understand in focused mode. Often times after a while we will understand the main ideas of the topic. Each of this main idea are a chunk which together will form one big chunk which represents the topic. Any complex concept, sport, physical activity or abstract academic theory is just like this- a series of small chunks that form one big idea.

Once we have the main chunks identified we have to create connection between these chunks try to understand why these chunks comes one after another. Only understanding the connection between chunks can create mastery over the topic. We can achieve that by switching between focused and diffused mode of thinking. To make what we learned last in our memory we have to constantly review/quiz and practice what we learned. Think of this like a software feature. Lets say, I have to create a User Authentication(User Registration/Login) module. First we have ideantify the main ideas like

i) User Creation/Registration

ii) Created User approval from admin

iii) Sending email to user once account activated

iv) Creating Login/Logout/Wrong Password page.

v) Implement Remember Me/Forgot Password.

vi) Allowing login by matching password with database.

There are a lot more details that goes into this feature but these are the main ideas or chunks on a authentication system. When I work and create each of them individually and place them in order they will together create the authentication system.

The last step to chunking is gaining context. Meaning understanding when to apply and which chunk to apply to solve a particular problem. If creating each chunk means how to do something, gaining context is like looking at a problem from a “big picture” point of view and knowing which chunk is applicable to solve a particular problem. The best way to gain context is to solve different kinds of problems and practice. When playing created if you understand the basic concept of a spin bowl(how to apply spin in a ball and how the ball will behave after spin applied) you can use the same chunk when playing table tennis or 8 Ball Pool and apply spin on the ball to see similar results. This is the reason why you will often see your friends of peers who play multiple sports will generally pickup a new sport easier and faster than the friend who only plays one sport.

Only with the experience of applying different chunks in different problems will we learn which puzzle piece fits where to solve the whole puzzle. Happy Chunking and happy learning.

If you like this article you might enjoy the first article that I wrote on this series. Feel free to comment on how to improve on this article.