Thread by @MadDiva007

Sooooooo ...... Tweeps ..... whatch’all been up to in 2020....

It’s been more than a minute since I was last in these virtual twitter streets... I feel like I’m visiting my old neighborhood and everybody has moved out...

I’ve been working on classes. And the final assignment for my class had me stumped all week. Every time I sat down to begin writing I had flashbacks to starting a new grade or coming back from Christmas break and having to write about it. #whatIdidOverSummerVacation

I know the material and I have aced every exam, but the moment I had to start working on that final project ....

I have to brag, I have top notch presentation skills so if we’re talking spreadsheets, charts, graphs, flow charts... whatever you need, when I got data ....

But this class is different. No numbers to crunch, no flow charts or graphs, no complicated differential equations that I could dazzle you with...

This class is on @coursera and it’s one of the most popular. It’s called “Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects”

I highly recommend it. Not just for students but for anyone trying to learn anything challenging.

Anyway, I digress.. we were discussing how to overcome my writers block ....

Then I had an AHa! Moment. A thread on Twitter about Learning by teaching others how to learn!

So join with me in this overview on what I’ve learned in this course, these are the best tips I’ve learned this far. #PayAttention #MadDivaOnLearningHowToLearn

My cover sheet:

In this thread I will:

-tell you why I decided to take the class

-highlight the three most impactful things I have learned from this class

-conclude with some motivation to get you on a path to learning.

#MadDivaOnLearningHowToLearn

Like most of my fellow tweeps in NYC, #Pandemic2020 has seemed like an eternal journey, a quest that would never end....

#MadDivaOnLearningHowToLearn

So after about 4 weeks of endlessly binge watching @netflix Loosing track of days until my circadian rhythms were thrown off...
#NYCLockdown #pandemic2020

I decided I should make better use of this time so I decided to learn new languages and take a bunch of other courses ...
everything was going just fine... until it wasn’t.
It was trying to teach myself Korean that made me realize ...

#MadDivaOnLearningHowToLearn

And then as if by magic the next morning I had an email from @coursera suggesting @barbaraoakley course Learning How to Learn. I immediately signed up.

#MadDivaOnLearningHowToLearn

My favorite thing about this class is that it’s scientifically based. It’s not gimmicky or tricks to improve your memorization etc, etc.. It lays down the cold hard facts about your brain and what you need to do to learn better.

#MadDivaOnLearningHowToLearn

In a nutshell here are the three topics you need to understand so that you can learn better:

1-What does learning even mean?
2-What are the best methods to improve learning?
3-What is the biggest obstacle I found to learning?

#MadDivaOnLearningHowToLearn

What is learning?

According to Siri *well you know she knows EVERYTHING*

learn·ing
/ˈlərniNG/

noun
noun: learning
1the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, study, or by being taught.

Hmmm... ok, so really what does that mean?
#MadDivaOnLearningHowToLearn

And where do you keep all this newly acquired knowledge and skill?

That’s right in your brain. So learning is really about understanding and optimizing the functioning of your brain to be able to utilize the information you’ve acquired on demand.
#MadDivaOnLearningHowToLearn

I won’t take you down the rabbit hole of the dendrites, neurons, lobes etc of your brain. They are extremely important to the process of learning, but Twitter & character limits... so If you’re really curious check out brainfacts.org #MadDivaOnLearningHowToLearn

However, there is one tip on your brain and improving your learning that I can drop here -take care of it.

It is so important that u take care of your brain by getting proper rest, nutrition and exercise. If you do that, your brain will learn better #MadDivaOnLearningHowToLearn

After taking care of your brain, you need to understand how to get that new knowledge in there, have it mesh with your other knowledge to improve understanding then be able to retrieve it on demand. Think of building a brick wall, one brick at a time#MadDivaOnLearningHowToLearn

In this course, we called our bricks “chunks”

Chunks are bits of related information that help you form a bigger picture. These clusters, or chunks are related so you are able to recall them better and associate them with things you already know. #MadDivaOnLearningHowToLearn

As you make more and more chunks, you can eventually put them together to build your wall. But that takes time...a little bit everyday, so the mortar or glue that binds them together can settle in and get strong.

Pro tip: practice makes permanent

#MadDivaOnLearningHowToLearn

Here’s a fun video that explains it well



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From the website: englishmind-online.com/post/chunking-…

It’s that frequent practice ritual that’s hard. A lot of times we think we are studying by reading the material and highlighting it etc, etc. that’s one of the illusions of competence. In reality we’re often not focused on what really matters. #MadDivaOnLearningHowToLearn

I’m currently reading “A Mind for Numbers” where Dr. @barbaraoakley explores these concepts in depth. Or cliff notes checkout: blogs.mccombs.utexas.edu/mpa-students/2…

#MadDivaOnLearningHowToLearn

Her summary of the 10 rules of good studying vs the 10 rules of bad studying ... 🤯... totally changed the way I study. blogs.mccombs.utexas.edu/mpa-students/2…

Get this list and have your eyes opened like you took the red pill.

And last but by no means least ...
to all you procrastinators out there...
.
.
.
#MadDivaOnLearningHowToLearn

Even tho we know cramming doesn’t work, we do it anyway.

STOP IT!

Discipline yourself to practice a little bit everyday... just 25 minutes... set a timer... google: Pomodoro technique, you can thank me later. #MadDivaOnLearningHowToLearn

Getting motivated, getting started, developing that habit of daily practice is one of the biggest obstacles I faced... procrastination by a different name...

best pro tip to beat this: eat my frogs first w/Pomodoro 🤢🤮 eww gross...but effective…

#MadDivaOnLearningHowToLearn

eating your frogs first = doing the unpleasant/difficult tasks first

I said with Pomodoro, ie: tomatoe sauce in reference to Pomodoro technique... check it out here:



#MadDivaOnLearningHowToLearn

So I hope you learned something on this little journey. If so, here’s a couple of my favorite motivational videos



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And another:



#MadDivaOnLearningHowToLearn

Easy unrolled summary of the thread: threadreaderapp.com/thread/1305350…