Part A: Studying
What are the most important factors that may influence learning (studying)?
According to an article by Benedict Carey in the NY Times, it may actually be the pressure of testing and this may be also aided by changing up study environments
(Did we learn the wrong way? Research on Effective Studying Habits - NY Times). Higher-quality studying may also depend on mixing up the material (interleaving and permutations of blocks), rather than single-minded attack in a single area (Good Study Habits Bad for Learning - The Week). Does this mean that those with ADD may have a higher capacity for creativity? Is it known whether music as an auditory cue can also help with memory, to help modify the study environment experience, or would it serve more as a distraction? At the same time, it is crucial to minimize the distractions from sources that disrupt flow such as social networking tools and email may help to improve productive studying (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - Wiki).
Learners must also give themselves enough time to absorb (Study Skills - HuffPost) and this may require improved time management. This time management should also incorporate exercise (Exercise Effect on Brain - Book - Amazon) to help boost the formation of neural networks.
As an aside, it is thought-provoking to also see that the difficulties and challenges facing those seeking a college education in terms of debt, and that there are efforts to help remove barriers (Education as the next bubble) and to make information that much more accessible to many others (Public Library of Science). There are increasingly more free open educational resources and lectures (TED blog on innovation, TED, MIT Open Course Ware). Will less indebtedness help to spur the economy by minimizing human capital wasted on worry and more destructive behavior?
It is interesting that geometry skills may be innate according to a study on an Amazonian tribe (Geometry - PNAS (2011/05/18) and Concept of geometry as innate - BBC). A follow-up question is whether 3D animations and environments can help enhance learning and elevate the ability to form neural connections (even life experiences in the real jungle and great outdoors, though the environment impact of this is not accessed) - and whether these should be incorporated to improve and enhance educational experiences. How about a wilderness trek field trip combined say with a course in electrical engineering on Random Stochastic Signals and Noise, or some other notoriously difficult subject? Would this help to launch the next technology revolution that John Holdren in this past year's AAAS address described as the goal for STEM education (John Holdren's Address for AAAS 2011)? Interesting graphic on status of Education in U.S. and the World and whether education has an effect on happiness (Education and Happiness), and another article that touches some of the issues regarding STEM recruitment (STEM and Education). There are also other blogs on studying:
Part B: Time Management
What is the important way for us to enable and activate effective learning and studying? Time is probably the most precious resource for us to manage, and is not easily banked or purchased.
Perhaps there is a simple litmus test or warning sign to indicate that we are challenged in the department of time management - we are not getting 6 - 9 hours of quality rest daily. Unfortunately, it is bank that follows a daily cycle and requires planning when several events can cause a rush. This may indicate the necessity of a self-intervention: analysis for time management. With 168 hours per week, it may be didactic to see how our time is partitioned and distributed in the week (electronic tool found here
It is also important for prioritization to separate out the details from the larger and more important tasks, and a quarterly or semester long calendar with only major highlights included can help separate the forest from the trees. To-do lists grounded in reality can also help (What you'd thought you'd get done - PhD Comics). Someone shared a simple approach was to create a rubric - with urgent/nonurgent for the columns, and important/nonimportant for the rows - and to sort tasks to evaluate their immediacy.
Apparently, the average desk worker loses 2.1 hours a day due to distractions (Managing Workplace Distractions - WSJ blog and Evolution of Email) that disrupt productive work flow. Other possible strategies include the GTD - Getting Things Done approach, where one corrals projects with a weekly "mind sweep," the Pomodoro method (set a task to be accomplished and set a timer for 25 min., take a short break and every 4 Pomodoros take a longer break - this seems to focus on breaking up tasks into manageable bites), and Gantt charting (applied in project management for work breakdown structure and advanced planning) (Time Management Systems - WSJ Blog).
In addition, naps between 20 - 30 min. (and no longer, as those could be counter-productive) can help provide an added surge for that day. Nutrition with both protein and carbohydrates, in addition to a healthy balance of oil in the diet (and of course hydration), on a regular basis may also round out another key element in powering on all of the energy intensive machinery in our minds. Typical brain power is measured to be 25 watts (W), a measurement close to a typical 30 W incandescent light bulb (Brain Measurements). Would it be possible to deliver targeted brain supplements via targeted mechanisms (Beta Secretase 1 (BACE) to traverse blood-brain barrier) in the future?
Interestingly, time management may be more difficult than spatial and geometric perception because the concept of time is not innate (Amazonian Tribe with no concept of time - BBC)?
There is healthy discussion about how one can best create and manage time for their own priorities (
LinkedIn Discussion on Work-Life Balance).
Part C: Collecting Thoughts on Creativity
Does it help to stay in tune with the most creative ideas out there?
Some of the coolest ideas that I've seen in the past year -
Kaggle - Data Prediction Competitions (way to harness creativity in the network - the next frontier for pioneers)
Only with the most diverse views can we harness the best solutions for the big world of problems out there. And this can be catalyzed with effective leadership (Qualities of Leaders).
Clearly, lots of fodder to think over with fragments everywhere for further exploration in future posts - and it's time for me to personally try to implement some of these collected thoughts - and for a "mind sweep" myself. Here ends this blogger's first ever public post - hope to improve on content and quality of posts in the future with great feedback!
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