The following are 8 favorable means of aiding you in handling new capabilities and fresh information.
1. Gaming
A major challenge crippling performances in learners at all academic levels is the unprecedented access to varied types of video games. This trend has been a nightmare for most tutors and guardians. However, research shows that students who can skillfully play thrilling games like PUBG and Call of Duty are surprisingly smarter and quicker in carrying out new and challenging duties than their peers.
Therefore parents should be happy to have kids with keen interests in online games.
2. Try illustrating it to a layman
One of the best ways of grasping a concept is through continuous interaction or familiarisation with the same. You can enhance your mastery in a given field of study by impacting the same knowledge to another individual. In reference to Albert Einstein’s famous saying, if one is unable to elaborate a piece of knowledge plainly, then they haven’t mastered it. You can approach this idea by applying the Feynman Technique, named after the celebrated physicist Richard Phillips Feynman.
First, look through complex problems and try to apprehend them deeper by explaining it to an unknowing friend. Do it over and over again, improving your choice of words and simplicity of language. Eventually, not only will you have gained a better grip on the concept, but also a friend will have learned something new.
3. Learn more than one language
A study recently has shown that bilingual kids have an added advantage over their monolingual counterparts in terms of grasping new ideas and breaking knowledge barriers. However, a child’s cognitive abilities are not tied to a specific dialect. Apparently, the process of separating and understanding given groups of vocabulary is what matters. Therefore, if you happen to know just one language, make an effort to learn another because the results will be beneficial in adding richness to your vocabulary and boosting your mental capabilities.
4. Have a schedule for studying before bed
Another research done in 2012 has proven beyond reasonable doubt that the amount of knowledge retained during night-time studies is overwhelmingly high compared to daytime study alternatives. This is because at such times, neurological processes are increased and therefore the rate of keeping new information is elevated. Furthermore, there is proof that integration and restoration of brain activities happen when someone sleeps heavily. In addition to that, studying and then sleeping immediately is the perfect way of saving and getting the most out of valuable time.
5. Early mental preparation
Connecting what you are currently learning to the knowledge you already have is key to maintaining a steady and deep absorption of information. Thus when in a learning environment, you ought to strive to make several connections and prepare to use them for future references. Actually, it’s the best way to understand a concept. This method, as alien as it seems, is practically possible. All you need to do is pen down all topics, subjects, points and information relating to the current subject matter that you are about to learn. This is called a brain dump and it is essential in creating a link between what you know and what you don’t know, thus helping you to connect them effectively.
6. Use the visualization technique
Human brain is structured in a way that it masters, perceives, processes and retains visual information quicker than written information. Therefore one can resort to integrating useful and applicable visual particulars during learning sessions to boost the grip of knowledge. The likes of charts, drawings and diagrams have been utilized during learning processes to make the knowledge interesting and hard to forget.
7. Don’t pay full attention when learning
An effective way of acquiring new information in any setting is to forget that you are actually learning. It is possible to learn without having to think about the current state of events. This is proven by the Perpetual learning concept, whereby your brain coordinates your body and subconsciously activates your senses such that you learn without intervention. In simpler terms, your intuition can enable you to single out different experiences and visuals uniquely when they come across your mind quickly.
For instance, there is a huge difference between a prospective pilot applying perpetual learning techniques and one that isn’t.
At the end of the training session, the former will have gained a lot more skill and knowledge than the latter since they had different learning environments.
8. Shifting between diffuse and focussed styles of thinking
Author Barbara Oakley wrote a book that explains the two modes of thinking. In her book, she explains that in our diverse methods of thinking, two major ones stand out: diffuse and focusing modes. A person in the focussed mode is highly alert and very much aware of their surroundings and what’s going on in their heads while one in the diffuse mode is relaxed and slightly zoned out. As an individual, one of the determinants of your success in learning is understanding how and when to switch between the two equally divergent modes.
I can bet that anyone reading this has ever got drained by a complicated problem, then after refreshing and taking a short break, a solution surfaced. This is known as the Einstellung effect, whereby the first thought close to being a solution obscures one’s view of the wider array of possible or even better solutions.
For instance, if you get stuck trying to work out a tough arithmetic problem, its solution may be improbable, since all your focus and attention is directed to a single thing.
Therefore the most suitable way to go about it is to repeatedly arrange short sessions of incomprehensible situations alternating with sessions of calmness of thought, and the results will be amazing.