A key theme of part three of the systems module TU812 is ‘learning about learning’, and this course on Coursera by Dr Barbara Oakley – which covers that from one angle – came highly recommended: http://www.coursera.org/learn/learning-how-to-learn. It’s subtitled ‘powerful tools to help you master tough subjects’, which is definitely the kind of help I need right now with this systems course. The MOOC course is, I believe, in the top 3 on Coursera, although it’s worth pointing out the focus is on helping you with mathematical or scientific subjects. Yet the ideas and study tips should be extendable across to more abstract and wordy subjects (the ones I struggle most with).
Two Types of Thinking: Focussed and Diffuse
If we understand something about how the brain works, we can develop and deploy strategies to help us learn more optimally. As humans we have two thinking modes – with Dr Oakley refers to as ‘focussed’ and ‘diffuse’. These are mental states where we’re, respectively, concentrating really hard on something (like reading & note-taking from a course text) or allowing our minds to wander and day-dream (which is, of course, my preferred mental state!). Another way to think of the two different states is that focussed is looking at the details (a church within the landscape), while diffuse is looking at the much bigger picture (drinking in the whole scene as far as the eye can see).
Focussed mental activity happens along pre-defined neural pathways, where the thoughts follow a fixed neural pattern. That’s why it’s easier for us to do something we already know how to do, but harder to learn something completely new like a different subject area or a completely new and unfamiliar language. Our brains just aren’t wired up yet to do this new kind of thought activity. So we need to practice it over and over to get the neural pathways to develop. Fortunately, the brain is always growing and new branches and pathways can be, and are being, created.
But it turns out that practice on its own (just keep on keeping on reading, studying, trying to remember – like banging our heads against a brick wall – yep that’s how part 2 of TU812 felt like to me) just isn’t enough. We need to make some downtime, create a rest state for our brains: a time to “deliberate, cogitate and digest” as Lloyd Grossman used to put it. And it’s this act of mental ‘resting’ (Oakley’s diffuse state) which allows those new neural pathways to be created, by tying up the new experience (what we’re studying) with our existing knowledge (what we already know through having experienced it – either mentally or physically).
The truth is we can both do both types of thinking already, it’s just that our ability for diffuse thinking is often not so well developed. Probably because our schooling and education systems just don’t allow for it or encourage it (and nor does life in the ‘office’ at work either!). But it’s a vital skill to develop if we’re to get better at learning something new, unfamiliar or difficult. Fortunately there are certain tricks we can use to tap into the diffuse state more readily.
The old and the new:
Another little point to bear in mind is that, when we’re engaged in learning about something that’s already familiar to us, we’re more likely to do so in the focussed mode (where our thinking activity will be centred mainly in the prefrontal cortex). Here, the neural pathways will already be there, somewhat ready formed and available to just do more of the same.
Yet when we switch over to learning about a new or unfamiliar subject we really need to engage the broad-ranging perspective that the diffuse thinking mode allows for. That’s because – it being unfamiliar and new to us – we don’t yet have those neural pathways already mapped out and ready to use,so our brain is having to go create them from scratch by bouncing around inside our brains to try to find things already familiar to us (from memory, past knowledge or experience) upon which it can ‘hang’ these new ideas and concepts, and out of which it can construct new neural pathways.
Our old friend, iteration:
The reason why iteration is stressed in subjects like the Systems course (and really for any new learning) is that it taps into this switching between focussed/concentrated then relaxed/diffuse thinking modes. Doing so helps our brains to engage in the neural processing it needs to do in order to develop the required new understanding. It’s important to remember how much of this neural activity happens when we’re not actively learning, and often when we’re not even conscious it’s taking place at all!
So it’s a key technique to sleep on it, and revisit it after a time using spaced repetition – especially when trying to learn more abstract and conceptually-based subjects.
Tapping Into Our Diffuse Thinking Mode
One method, as used by surrealist artist Salvador Dali, is to sit comfortably in a chair and let your mind wander (although perhaps still thinking about the subject you want to focus on or problem you’re trying to solve),while loosely holding a bunch of keys in your hand dangling above the floor. As you begin to dose off, the keys will drop causing a clatter and waking you up. You can expect to wake finding lots of diffuse thoughts and ideas in your mind, which you can then consciously note down and take back to your more focussed study. The inventor and scientist Thomas Edison used a similar technique, but replacing the keys with several ball bearings.
Another method, and one I use myself to good effect, is to go to sleep at night thinking about and asking a certain question. Sometimes dreams will come which provide new and obtuse or tangential thoughts and ideas. Often on waking a clear thought or phrase will run through my mind related back to the question or subject being asked about.
It also works when going for a relaxed walk in the countryside (others find running a similar stimulus – although I’d say that’s too frantic and not relaxed enough to work well for me), or doing other relaxing activities like taking a bath or a shower.
Overcoming Procrastination
Overcoming procrastination is the first small step to reaching the stars. But to do that, we need to better understand what causes procrastination in the first place. Some people (yep, I’m one of them) procrastinate over unpleasant or difficult tasks because they see pain or unpleasantness or anxiety associated with it. Naturally they want to avoid the situation which is causing them this perceived pain. It happens because, in those people, the considering of that situation activates those areas of the brain, called the insular cortex, which are associated with perceiving pain. The brain’s mechanism for avoiding that pain or unpleasantness is to switch attention to something less unpleasant (hence why the mind wanders so!).
Research suggests though that it’s the anxiety associated with the event or situation which causes the pain or unpleasantness, and – once begun – the pain will diminish or go away altogether. So the trick is to just begin it, in spite of the perceived unpleasantness.
So how to get over it? Try the Pomodoro trick: remove all interruptions and distractions from your workspace, set a timer to 25 minutes, then just begin to focus on the task in hand. But allow yourself some mini break and reward after you’ve completed that 25 minutes intense burst of activity. Removing distractions might be anything from turning off Facebook (go on, delete that app off your phone, it’s worth it), to closing down your email program and turning off your mobile phone, and on upwards to asking (telling if need be!) others not to disturb you for a time.
Other tricks I find are really useful for me is to make use of a diary where I plan the tasks I need to get marked off today. I plan my daily tasks each night before bedtime – and above all I make sure that they all align to my 90 day goals, 1 year goals & longer term life goals as far as possible, which really helps me to stay on track and motivated to do what I’m doing. Yes, I’d say PURPOSE is a key thing to tap into to ensure high enough motivation levels to help overcome procrastination. As they say: if you’re not motivated to do what you’re doing, get a bigger WHY!
This year so far I’ve been using the 7 Minute Life (TM) system + daily planner and it totally works so I recommend that to anyone who’s struggling to get done what they want and need to get done. That system really does work, and I’m a basket case when it comes to getting stuff done, so if it can work for me I reckon it can definitely work for anyone!
A Word About Maths and Science
So Dr Oakley and others suggest maths and science subjects are hardest directly because they are symbolical and abstract – there isn’t a ‘thing’ out there in the world which we can see and touch like there would be for other non-STEM subjects. She uses the example of the word ‘cow’. We can know what that is because we can see one in a field, observe its behaviour, and so on. Even more complex words like ‘love’ or ‘hope’, even though they are more abstract words or concepts, can be easily related to our EMOTIONS – we can feel ‘love’ or ‘hope’ thus can know them through our direct experience. That’s in stark contrast to the symbols used in maths (such as ∑ or ∞ or δ) and the ideas or concepts which stand behind those symbols.
I find myself to be the opposite – while most struggle with maths and algebra, I take to it like a duck to water. It’s the words I struggle with. Which brings me back to my musings the other day about being neuro-atypical and possibly of an Asperger’s neuro-type.
But either way, whether it’s maths or words which cause the difficulty – practice (coupled with the engaging of diffuse thinking mode) will allow the neural pathways (the linking together of neurons) to be developed and strengthened which allows for the problem subject to get easier over time. It’s the practicing which brings new ideas (be they physical like playing a musical instrument, or abstract like understanding concepts of systems inquiry and systems practice) into physical reality by building and strengthening the neural pathways which allows the mind to know, understand and use those ideas.
The recommended process for learning a new difficult subject is to (1) study it with focussed intensity (use the Pomodoro technique if need be); (2) take a break (go for a walk, or make a cuppa) or even change your focus to something completely (say, after a short break, start working on something less difficult or more enjoyable such as doing some artwork or – in my case – learning Java programming :)).
So you can see this method is: (1) focus; (2) relax! The focussed study IS necessary, but allowing the mind to then go into the diffuse or relaxed state is equally as important for allowing those neural pathways to get built up and/or strengthened. This is why it’s so much better to do a little bit consistently every day, rather than just trying to get a huge chunk done in a shorter space of time. The key to doing so is to plan the study so it becomes a regular habit (recommended to study in the same place at the same times/days every week consistently to get a habit formed) but also to plan it so you can keep consistently working on it little-by-little, day-by-day (if possible) so you can build up neural momentum as it were. That’s where that daily planner comes in so handy.
Staying Positive and Optimistic While Learning
Dr Oakley reiterates to us in her course: “It is possible to change and become accomplished in areas that you don’t think you can do very well at.”
This is an important point for me to remember because, after my experience with part 2 of TU812, I was sure that this systems subject isn’t for me and I should just stick with more technical subjects like programming in future. But I do recognise that is a bit of a cop out. The key thing is that I realise I should focus on those things which make me happiest and which I find most enjoyable and are most motivated by. If I am to pursue directions in artificial intelligence (including, but not limited to, software development) then I must learn new things which go beyond purely technical maths or computing subjects. For example, I will need to learn more about neuroscience, learning theory, information theory, and more. All this will involve heavy amounts of reading, organising and assimilating new ideas and abstract concepts.
I just need to remember these tricks and apply them consistently – and just keep on going. In this way, I might yet be able to master that new more ‘metaphorical’ way of thinking which is epitomised by subjects like Systems Inquiry and Practice as taught in TU812.
Memory: The Long and Short of It
Long term memory stores all those things we’ve learnt well over the years (like riding a bike or doing differentiations) while short term (or working) memory is what holds several bits of information and new ideas in mind in order for the learner to connect them together and build new knowledge and understanding from them. Short term memory does the immediate conscious processing and takes place mainly in the prefrontal cortex, but also connecting to other parts of the brain too in order to access the long-term memory of stored knowledge and experience.
In the past it was believed that the short-term memory was only able to hold c. 7 items, concepts or bits of information at one time. This is in use within TU812 when they refer to the 7+/-2 ideas being optimal number of concepts to include within the briefing paper required for the EMA. Latest research suggests this is in fact wrong and only c. 4 chunks of information can be held in the short-term memory at any one time. Blimey, no wonder I was suffering complete overwhelm during part 2!
One thing I was surprised to learn is the short-term or working memory actually isn’t very good and that we often need to keep going over things to make sure they stay in the working memory (so it’s not just me after all then!). Repetition, it turns out, is a very important and necessary part of learning. If we didn’t use repetition, there are metabolic dissipating processes which would have the effect of squeezing out those short term memories before they got a chance to take root.
Long term memory is widely distributed across the whole brain area, with different areas being responsible for storing different kinds of long term memories. To get something lodged into long term memory, it’s necessary to revisit it several times, hence why revision is so important as a study technique. We can think of that as like storing something in a massive warehouse but making sure we have an efficient stock organising method in place and a really good stock recording process or system too. That way, we’ll know what we’ve got stored and, more importantly, where we need to go to retrieve it so it can be used again. The revision technique is really about practicing and repeating this collection from long term memory storage so that, when you really do need to call on that item, you can instantly go to the right storage bay to collect it.
Long term memory is responsible for storing fundamental concepts and techniques about the subject being learned. Short term memory is in use when first learning the subject, but there needs to be an effective way to pass the ideas, concepts and techniques from short term into long term storage. The best method to do this is ‘spaced repetition’: repeat successively the information, ideas and concepts you wish to retain, but do so with some space of a day or two between the repetitions. This works because by allowing time for the neural structures (or synaptic connections) to form and strengthen in the brain, leading to more robust learning and a better organised memory.
To Sleep, Perchance to Learn
Sleep is vital for getting rid of the toxins which build up in the brain throughout the daytime. This happens because, during sleep, our brain cells shrink in size which allows the toxins to be washed out. A brain which suffers from too little sleep is a brain that is getting poisoned by toxic build-up, which impairs it’s ability to function – think, remember, and so on. (I love my pillow and duvet even more now!)
But sleep has another really important purpose which is to keep the long-term memory storage system working optimally. While you sleep, the brain gets busy tidying up and organising all the experiences you’ve had during the day, including all the ideas and concepts you’ve been engaged in learning about or all the problems you’ve been busy working on solutions for. The process includes deleting weak memories and strengthening memories about the things you need or want to remember. It does this by going over the neural pathways which were created during bouts of focussed learning and strengthened through spaced repetition – this going over the neural pathways during sleep is what causes them to be deepened
This mental tidying activity during sleep is a key reason why any goal setting and action planning process you might subscribe to and embed as a regular daily habit, is so useful. By focussing on your key goals (be they 90-day, 1-year or longer), especially every night time just before sleeping, your brain is constantly reminded what it is that’s most important and needs to be remembered.
Sleep aids the brain’s ability to understand and figure things out, by relaxing completely (shutting off) the prefrontal cortex which is most in use during daytime and allowing other areas of the brain to become more active. This is yet more of the diffused thinking mode, which will help you work out during your sleep whatever it was you were most actively focussed on just before sleeping. So to really help embed some learning that you want to do, focus intensely on it before going to sleep. This is akin to Dali’s and Edison’s method for activating the diffuse state shown above.
Dreamers are Learners
This idea about accessing the diffuse state during sleep as a way of enhancing our learning ability is a really important one. Whether we’re consciously aware of it or not, during sleep we will likely dream. If we dream about the subject we are learning about during our waking hours, this can considerably improve our learning of that subject, but organising and assimilating our thoughts and what we’ve learned. A great technique one can try is to go to sleep while focussed on the subject one is learning, but to go to sleep requesting that one dreams about the subject while asleep. This request increases the chance not just of dreaming about the subject, but also of remembering the dream.
Neural Networks and Computational Neuroscience
Dr Terrence Sejnowski is a researcher at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute as well as the Francis Crick Professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies where he’s focussed on computational neurobiology. He has significant background in the multiple disciplines of engineering, science and medicine and can lay claim to having graduated more computational neuroscientists than any other scientist.
So what exactly is computational neuroscience? Well, in short it is the study of how the brain functions by looking in detail at the information processing structures contained in the body (the nervous system). It is itself a multidisciplinary field combining neuroscience, cognitive science, psychology, engineering (specifically electrical engineering), computer science, physics and mathematics. (Source: Wikipedia)
His work is based in finding links between brain and behaviour with the use of computational models. The following notes come from Dr Oakley’s interviewing Dr Sejnowski on his tips for more effective learning and his views on learning about learning. The full interview (video) is available as part of Dr Oakley’s Coursera course (see References below for link).
Tips for easier learning of new and unfamiliar subjects:
“Get into the think of it” rather than just reading a load of books. For example, Dr Sejnowski transferred from physics to biology while in graduate school and did so by getting into a biology lab and start getting involved in experiments. It’s a classic example of ‘learning by doing’ but he also recommends “learning by osmosis from people who are experts” (Source: link).
This is a really important point and one I felt instinctively to be most important in my own learning endeavours – I learn best by doing myself. In fact I made the exact same argument while trying to pick apart in my TU812 TMA02 exactly why I was struggling so much with my study of P2 and of answering TMA02.
I think this idea of “learning by osmosis” as Dr Sejnowski calls it will be an important part of building a case for social learning for part of TU812 TMA03.
Tips for overcoming boredom during learning:
Sejnowski suggests there’s no real easy way to keep your attention levels up and focussed on something which is not interesting to you. One tip he gives is – assuming this is a face-to-face class or learning environment – is to ask a question leading to a discussion, where discussion is deemed to be of greater interest that simply listening to someone going on about a fixed topic in a fixed way. “You learn more by active engagement rather than by passive listening.”
This reinforces for me the sense I have that you should make sure you’re learning – or working on – subjects which are of particular interest or concern to you. It also stresses to me the need for interaction and a two-way flow of ideas as a key factor in engaged and focussed learning. Again, these tips are relevant for designing a more effective learning system (as will be required in TMA03).
Tips for accessing diffuse thinking mode:
Getting exercise, especially outdoors, works really well to “disengage [the mind] from the normal train of thought … and come up with new ideas, new thoughts …” where “unconscious thoughts bubble to the surface”. The only concern here is how to remember all those great ideas so he recommends taking a notebook along on the walk/run to jot down any important thoughts or ideas as they occur to him. (Another option would be to use a Dictaphone.)
Don’t multitask, do context switch:
It’s not possible to consciously do more than one thing at a time (although it is possible to do more than one thing at once if sufficiently trained and proficient at one or both of those tasks). But generally it’s not considered optimal. However, in a busy workplace it is necessary to be able to juggle lots of different things, interactions, bombardment of information and so on. To be effective at this one has to be good at “switching contexts” quickly and regularly. One can say this is an example of juggling Ison’s C-ball (contextualising) wrt his Juggler Metaphor for an ideal type of Systems Practitioner (or indeed, an ideal type of any kind of practitioner).
Some find this switching between contexts (almost like switching subjects) easy, while others (myself included) find it more difficult. For me I do find I have to have spent a fair bit of time working my way into a mindset and flow of consciousness which allows me to be more productive in what I’m working on. Once I’m in that zone, it’s actually then difficult to get me out of that zone – but if I am disturbed from that zone then it is really, really hard to get back into it again (the rhythm or flow has been disrupted and broken).
The implications of this for developing an efficient learning system are clear, and why chunking is an important step in trying to help maximise efficiency and productivity of learning.
Tips for effective learning coming out of a better understanding of neuroscience:
All the neurons in your brain were there at birth, but the wiring or connections between those neurons takes place during learning and development (both as a very young child, and also throughout your life), albeit with some neurons dying in later life leading to shrinkage of the cortex. But it was more recently discovered that, in the Hippocampus, which is the part of the brain responsible for learning and memory, new neurons continue to be generated through life, even in adulthood. This was discovered by one of Dr Sejnowski’s colleagues at the Salk Institute, Rusty Gage.
Dr Sejnowski and his colleague went further to discover together that learning and development is enhanced by being in an environment rich in interactions and stimulation. In their research, they used a rat (rats are often used as a model system) within an ‘enriched environment’, that is one in which the rat can move around, perform normal activities, and interact with other rats. This lead to more neurons being created in the hippocampus (and the connections between them being much stronger) among those rats in an enriched environment ie where interactions were able to take place – as much as up to 2x more – than of a rat kept in an ‘impoverished environment’ (eg a cage) where no interactions could take place.
The key take out from this research finding is that learning is enhanced – even among adults – when taking place in a rich and stimulating environment. Eg “surround yourself by other people who are stimulating you and events that are happening that you can actively participate in”.
A further discovery (again by Rusty Gage) was that exercise also has the same effect of increasing the number of new neurons which are being created and which survive, as does being in an enriched environment where lots of interactions can take place. As Dr Sejnowski points out, this too has major implications for cost-cutting within the educational sector by removing phys ed time and facilities from school environments, since this has a direct impact on the learners’ ability to learn most effectively.
It also highlights that I need to start doing more exercise again and not try to use the excuse that I don’t have time for exercise because I’ve got too much studying to do and not enough time for both!
Techniques for more effective focussing, learning and creating:
The key to enhancing creativity is often to be in a creative environment surrounded by others who are also being creative. Most people have better ideas if talking to/interacting with others. The process of explaining one’s ideas to someone else can help one to develop better ideas.
Again, this plays into the idea of social learning and why that works well for many. Although I would add that, in my own experience, being in environment with others has not always helped me learn most effectively. But still I can see in certain situations it really did help through sharing and pooling ideas in a group learning process. An obvious example was the team =-building exercises undertaken through work on Dartmoor several years ago, in which we all came together to help each other solve various tricky and unfamiliar problems collectively.
Parallel, not linear:
Our brains work along parallel tracks. An example is taking exams; don’t worry if you can’t answer one question now. leave it and move on to the next thing. While working on that the answer to the skipped question will likely come into your rain. (Yes, I’ve definitely experienced that during my many years of exam-taking.)
How to remain a creative learner:
It’s important to be surrounded by others who are similarly creatively focussed. But also important is retaining a youthful curiosity about life, and a willingness to be continually learning new things as well as to look at the same things but with new perspectives.
Again, this is an important factor in designing an effective learning system and an aspect of the arguments for social learning (especially that one about gaining fresh perspectives on old problems or situations or subjects, which is a clear advantage that can come out of learning in a social or group setting).
Final takeout:
Passion and persistence trump being ‘smart’. (And I would add: so don’t be afraid to pick one thing you really care about and then just keep on at that “without letting go or giving up”.)
References:
Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects, University of California, San Diego. Taught by: Dr Barbara Oakley & Dr Terrence Sejnowski. Available at: Coursera.org.
Interview with Dr Terrence Sejnowski (video), available within the Learning How to Learn course at Coursera.org.