The Best And Worst Learning Techniques

When I was in school I highlighted a lot. I still like to highlight parts of the books I read on the Kindle app I use so that I can find those sections quickly at a later time. So I was amused to read the article last week: Highlighting is a Waste of Time: The Best and Worst Learning Techniques. Maybe you have seen it as it was one of the most read articles at Time Magazine last week.

What I found interesting about the article is that researchers say one of the best learning techniques is called distributed practice. That means engaging in a lot of regular learning sessions spread out over time instead of engaging in marathon sessions. I have found this true in athletics as well. Frequency in practicing athletic skills is more important than volume of work in a session. Many of the best practices I have seen or taken part in are often organized into lots of small segments -- some maybe as short as 5 minutes. Each segment hitting on a different part of preparation for competition. As long as transitions are smooth, athletes like those practices too as they have lots of variation.

Part of distributed practice also says that over time and as you master a skill you should gradually lengthen the time intervals between practicing learned skills. I think that has interesting ramifications for coaches and athletes too. We should never stop working on fundamental skills but instead just increase the time between sessions.