Learning Myths to Drop, and Your Weekly Learning Plan

In this last lesson you drop three popular myths about learning, and leave with a simple weekly plan. Letting go of the myths frees your time for the habits that work. Then you put those habits into a plan you can tick off, week by week.

Myth 1: learning styles

Many people say they learn best by seeing, or by listening. Those preferences are real, and people can tell you theirs. But the popular idea of learning styles goes one step further: that being taught in your preferred style makes you learn more. Studies that tested teaching people in their preferred style found it did not help them learn more.

Three example learners labelled Listening, Seeing and Reading, each with a test sheet whose score bar reaches the same dashed line. Text says Preferences are real, and a pill says Same results. A card in the corner says Learning styles, crossed out and tagged Myth. — People have preferences, but matching them did not change the results.

So choose the format the material needs, like a diagram for something you have to picture, such as a route or the parts of a machine. Give everyone the pictures, not only the people who call themselves visual. And judge any method by what you can recall days later, with the page closed.

An example map turned into a simple diagram with a pin, under a pill that says What the material needs. Below, three example learners each get the same diagram. On the right, a closed book, a calendar card that says Days later and a check mark card, with a pill that says Recall days later. — Pick the format for the material, and test yourself days later.

Myth 2: brain-training games

Large studies find that practice on brain-training games makes you better at the game itself. It rarely spreads to everyday memory, work or study. If you enjoy the games, play them as games. But if you want to pass an exam, practice for the exam. If you want to remember names, practice remembering names.

An example phone game with a full score bar and a grid of tiles. A dashed line from it stops short of three faded cards: Memory, Work and Study. Below, an example exam sheet with three checked answers and a pencil. A pill says Practice the real thing, and a corner card says Brain games, crossed out and tagged Myth. — The game score rises, but the gain rarely reaches memory, work or study.

Myth 3: the ten thousand hour rule

The ten thousand hour rule says that about ten thousand hours of practice makes you an expert. That number began as an average for a small group of top student violinists, and half of that group had not reached it. Practice does matter. But hours alone tell you little about how good someone will get.

A card with a clock, a violin and the faded words 10,000 hours, above a pill that says Practice matters. Beside it, an example bar chart of ten people, some above and some below a dashed line labelled Average. A pill says An average, not a finish line, and a corner card says Ten thousand hours, crossed out and tagged Myth. — Some people were above the average, and some were below it.

What makes an hour count

What makes an hour count is what it contains, not how long it lasts. Aim at one narrow weakness, for example one tricky passage of a song or one kind of sum you keep getting wrong. Get feedback right after each try, from a teacher, a friend or an answer key. Then try again.

A clock card with the pill What it contains, and the words How long it lasts crossed out. Beside it, a loop of three steps: 1 One narrow weakness, 2 Feedback right away, 3 Try again. — One weakness, quick feedback, another try.

Your weekly learning plan

Now your weekly learning plan, built from this course. Each habit has its own lesson if you want a reminder:

Test yourself instead of rereading (lesson 3).
Space it: spread your reviews over the week (lesson 4).
Mix it: mix kinds of questions you already know (lesson 5).
Explain it: explain one idea in plain words (lesson 6).
Check it: check what you know a day or two later, not straight after studying (lesson 7).

A card titled My weekly plan with five checked rows: Test yourself, instead of rereading; Space it, reviews over the week; Mix it, kinds you already know; Explain it, one idea, plain words; Check it later, a day or two later. Beside it, a week from Mon to Sun with reviews spread across the days and a note that says Not straight after. — Five habits, spread across your week.

An honest note

Most of this research involves students, and no method can promise results. But these habits have the strongest support we have, and they work whether you read, watch or listen.

A note that says Most studies: students, with a No promises tag. Below, five checked cards under Strongest support: Test yourself, Space it, Mix it, Explain it and Check it later. Beside them, three icons: Read, Watch and Listen. A pill says Works for any format. — The same five habits, whatever format you learn from.

YOUR TURN

My weekly learning plan

Test yourself: close your notes and write down what you remember, then check every answer.
Space it: put three short reviews on different days in your calendar.
Mix it: in one session, mix two kinds of question you already know.
Explain it: explain one idea aloud in plain words for two minutes, then fix the weakest part.
Check it: a day or two after studying, cover your notes and rate each point: knew it, half knew it, or didn't.

Learning Styles Are a Myth: What the Research Actually Shows: why preferences are real but matching them does not help, and what to do instead.
Do Brain-Training Games Work? What Large Studies Found: what the large trials found, and why practicing the real skill is the better bet.
The 10,000-Hour Rule: What the Original Research Really Found: where the number came from, and what makes practice count.
Learning How to Learn: A Research-Backed Guide for Beginners: the study habits behind your weekly plan, with the evidence for each.

You finished the course

You have finished Learn Anything Faster. Well done, and enjoy whatever you choose to learn next. Your weekly plan will be here whenever you need it.