Blocked Practice vs. Interleaving Practice
Blocked practice is the learning method used by most students when studying. It involves learning tasks of the same task type or topic, repeatedly one after the other. This type of learning is taught at…
Thinking in focused and diffuse mode
Neuroscientists have found that the brain works in two different ways, focused mode and diffuse mode, and both modes are important. Focused and diffuse thinking describe two contrasting ways of approaching problems and learning, where…
What methods can be used to learn better with pictures?
There are different methods that can be used to improve learning and remembering images, although not all methods work equally well for everyone. Everyone has individual preferences and learning styles, so you should experiment with…
Motivation to learn: this is how it works
Talent without effort does not lead to success either. How many people have talent but no success? How many have success but no talent? Artists and athletes train hard for their success. But we don’t…
Why can’t children motivate themselves to learn?
Because we take all the difficulties out of their way! In their own eyes, they did well with what they delivered. If others don’t see it that way, there are difficulties and they don’t like…
How adults should learn
The learning process of adults differs in some aspects from that of children. Adults often have a clear motivation for their learning. They may want to acquire new professional skills, advance their career or pursue…
Learning breaks
The brain needs regular breaks to recover and recharge its batteries. Intensive learning over a long period of time can lead to fatigue and declining concentration. Breaks allow the brain to regenerate and stay fresh,…
The KWL model
The KWL model (also known as KWL technique or KWL strategy) is a learning technique that helps learners prepare for a learning activity, organise information and reflect on what they have learned. The KWL model…
What is the difference between learning methods and learning techniques?
Learning methods A learning method involves a more structured framework or set of steps used to achieve a specific learning objective. A learning method can include different learning techniques and integrate them in a coherent…
Tips for the perfect place to learn
Is there such a thing as the perfect place to learn? A resounding YES. There is YOUR perfect place to learn. How do you want to learn? Where do you prefer to learn? Do you…
The five best learning tips for students
From effective scheduling and realistic goals to the right learning environment, learning effectively can be easier than you think. Tip 1: Plan enough time for learning. Time is necessary in order to penetrate the learning…
Learning is like a journey …
…, so you should first know where you want to go. What is your goal? What do you want to achieve? Often, you can narrow down the learning material by informing yourself about the upcoming…
Feedback calendar
Achieving goals and acquiring new habits requires a good deal of stamina and motivation. Most of the time, good ideas fail to be implemented because they are not followed through as consistently as initially thought.…
How pre-studying can save you a lot of study time
Pre-studying refers to the practice of preparing oneself before a period of study or learning and refers to that process of reading and learning content before starting a training, course or lecture, i.e. it is…
Correct retrieval of vocabulary
When people learn a long series of vocabulary words and then have to recall them, the result is a serial position curve. Behind this is the finding that it is mainly the first and last…
What is the doorway effect?
The Doorway Effect refers to the fact that human memory often deteriorates when one enters or leaves a room. Entering or leaving a room can disrupt memory by making it harder to recall information from…
How can you remember names better?
Ask if you didn’t get the other person’s name right when you first met. Repeat the name aloud again. Terms are often better remembered this way. To be on the safe side, you can write…
Prompts for better learning and work
Prompts are a type of cue, question or instruction that can be used to stimulate thinking, generate ideas or encourage a particular action or task. Prompts can be used in a variety of situations, such…
Sketchnotes
Sketchnotes are overall a creative way to organise and present information visually, i.e. they can facilitate learning by breaking down information into easily digestible, easy to understand chunks. Visualise: Imagine how you can turn the…
Tips and practical mnemonics to increase the ability to learn
Divide the tasks in such a way that each day is burdened with approximately the same amount of learning! Learn economically: not at the last second, not irregularly, not uninterruptedly, without breaks, not only what…
Have the courage to fill in the gaps!
Yes, you’re right: this learning tip doesn’t sound very promising, but that’s probably the key to effective learning. It’s not a question of leaving out a subject you don’t like and not studying it. No,…
10 Study tips
Always divide the learning material into small portions. This way you will have more successes when you have completed a portion of the material. Take regular breaks from learning: You can only concentrate for a…
Making connections
To learn successfully, it helps if you understand how your brain works. You can think of it like this: For example, when you learn a mathematical formula just by looking at it, it gets put…
15 effective learning tips
How do you learn properly? Students need their own learning strategies in order to learn successfully. The following learning tips can help: 1. set up a fixed learning place A quiet learning environment is important.…
Learn with structure
A good preparation also includes a structured approach. This means that you pack the topics into individual blocks and work through them instead of just learning at random. You should also keep an eye on…
Find your motivation
It is often the biggest problem that keeps us from learning: the lack of motivation. Because, of course, there are dozens of things you would much rather be doing. Motivating yourself is therefore actually the…
Preparation is everything
Sit down and get started – before you do that, you should prepare yourself. Because if you want to study effectively, but then realise that your documents are not sorted, your desk is a mess…
Top 10 learning tips for students
From learning planning to the learning environment to the organisation of breaks: With these top 10 learning tips, learning succeeds! Learning tip 1 Planning your learning Keep a calendar in which you regularly write down…
Difference between learning and memorising
As can be seen from numerous statements made by students in the new media, very few of them understand the difference between learning and memorisation. Learning refers to the process of understanding and applying information…
Learning through teaching
The concept of learning by teaching has now become part of modern didactics and foreign language teaching, because everyone has experienced the effect of understanding something for themselves when they tell others about it. Obviously,…
Learning tip: Be your own teacher
Enough of paperwork like lecture notes or textbooks. You can also learn without even sitting down in front of your written documents. Simply make an audio recording of your notes, using a mobile phone and…
Study tip: Sort out
If you have to study for a test or exam, you often feel overwhelmed by the amount of material. Therefore, first sort out everything you don’t have to learn. Pay close attention to the tips…
SAAD-Method
Spaced Repetition Spaced repetition is also known as distributed practice. It means that you spread out the repeated tests over time. Instead of repeating the same thing over a long period of time, you repeat…
The SAAD method
The SAAD method is a learning strategy that aims to simplify and accelerate learning, with the name SAAD standing for “Survey, Ask, Attempt, and Decide”. Survey: Before you start reading a text or learning a…
Useful exercises for short-term memory
Write your shopping list and leave it at home. Try to remember what was on it when you go shopping. You can also take it with you and leave it in your bag for emergencies.…
How do you create a learning plan?
Decide whether you need detailed daily plans or whether weekly or monthly plans make more sense for you – depending on how big your learning goal is. Include your daily life and leisure time in…
Identify intermediate goals that give you courage
On your way to the learning goal, there are many intermediate goals. They help you to plan and strengthen the feeling that we can reach the goal. They make the stages on your learning path…
Sweets change the brain
The Max Planck Institute for Metabolic Research has shown that foods high in fat and sugar change our brain: If we regularly eat even small amounts of them, the brain learns to want to continue…
Study tips against test anxiety for adults
There are a number of study tips that can help adults overcome their test anxiety. Here are some possible strategies: Time management: One of the most common causes of exam anxiety is feeling overwhelmed or…
Recalling what you have learned shortly after learning
Whether it’s a motorboat license or an instructor’s license, sometimes you have to take exams as you get older. Do you plow through the textbook again and again? That can help. But memory research shows…
Active Recall & Spaced Repetition
Learning strategies are an important way to process and retain information. There are many different methods a person can use to learn effectively. Some of the most common methods are flashcards, mind maps, note taking,…
Rules for optimal creation and design of study notes in preparation for exams
Guidance on how best to create and design study notes, with a perfect summary making any cheat sheet redundant. Here are some guidelines: Rule 1: The type of summary is dictated by the type of…
Mistakes when learning vocabulary
Opening a book, reading through the vocabulary until something gets stuck and hoping that it will be enough for the exam the next day – these are the mistakes you should avoid when learning vocabulary.…
How can you increase your reading speed?
Reading is a basic skill that every student must master. However, there are often situations where you need to read quickly and efficiently in order to process a large amount of information in a short…
Why you sometimes can’t remember
For people to remember the most relevant things, they can follow a four-step process as it happens in the brain. There are four steps: being focused, organizing information, understanding the information, relating the new information…
Mnemonic mental factors
The human brain functions according to a certain basic pattern, which can be used to train the memory performance as efficiently as possible and thus make it more usable. In the context of mnemonics, there…
Tips for Multiple choice tests
Multiple choice tests are used everywhere from driver’s license exams to university tests and job applications, so mastering such tests is an important skill. Such tasks are especially common in employment tests. From the police…
Why is practice so important when learning a musical instrument?
When people practice something, they trigger what is called action memory. The new information is reconnected in the basal ganglia, deep inside the brain. This is a very slow-learning, very conservative network that interconnects both…
What are the basic rules of vocabulary learning?
When learning vocabulary, there are some important rules that can help you learn and retain new words effectively. Here are some basic rules: Context: learn words in their context. Try to learn words in the…
Learning strategies in speech form
If you can memorize learning material better by pronouncing it, you will do better with the learning strategies in speech form. Songs: If you can easily remember song lyrics, it is useful to make up…