There's no doubt you're viewing this page because you're ready to do away with the frustration that comes from learning new things and you just want to go straight to the point where it clicks.
A concept is an idea of something formed by combining all it's features or attributes which constructs the given concept.
Learning itself is a skill and understanding concepts is important because it assists in your ability to follow instructions and be specific in your explanations.
Ensure you try to understand the information first. Information that is well organized and makes sense to you is easier to memorize.
Here are ways to grasp new concepts and enhance your long term memory faster.
The Feymann Technique.
This strategy forces you to actively create new material about the concept you're studying and in doing so, prevents you from focusing on inefficient memory-based study methods.
Write an explanation of the concept, make it as simple as you can and avoid jargon. Do not consult reference material during this step.
Consider what aspects of the concept you had trouble explaining and review them. Repeat the above step again until you can explain the entire concept.
Once you have written down a complete explanation, try to simplify your explanation further, without making it less substantive. Use this step to assess whether there are any further aspects of the concept you're still not confident in and need to review.
Use mental association.
Colours, acronyms and word associations are useful tools to help you hold on to thoughts, patterns and concepts.
When going through your study books, color the important margins you're learning or write notes on what you're learning along the lines. To grasp crucial concepts, use acronyms by using the first letter of each word to make a word.
Write it out.
Instead of just brushing or scanning through notes, writing out information forces you to process, organize and apply it in your own way.
Put down anything that comes to your mind during the day about the subject. You can either keep a pile of notes or use a note app on your mobile phone. Your brain will get used to the processing and you'll discover which concepts do and don't make sense to you.
Use existing knowledge.
This is one of the best techniques to build a strong long term memory. When studying, take what you're learning and find a way to connect it to your existing knowledge of the topic. It's why figures of speech are so effective in the classroom.
Share your concept with others.
Explaining a concept to others makes it easier for you to grasp. Sharing your knowledge with small teams or groups helps you progress faster in learning. Teaching an information requires a different way of processing and organizing ideas much like you do when writing it down.
Use brain exercises.
Games such as soduku, playing cards, tetris, crosswords greatly helps your brains ability to process complex information and they help you think critically. The more you play this games, the more your brain works effectively.
Break into smaller steps.
Whenever a new concept feels overwhelming, break into smaller pieces and learn each one even though it feels like a small concept already. It's always helpful splitting concepts into even more parts no matter how easy they are.
Learn your way.
People usually have different modalities of learning. Everyone processes information a bit different and we have our ways of letting concepts soak up faster. Discover which method works best for you and priortize it.
"A hard work ethic is admirable, but a smart work is just as important."
I hope you found this helpful. Let me know in the comment section what method works best for you.
Top comments (0)