Summary: 1. Remove the word "study" from your vocabulary, and begin using Active Recall to cut your studying time and get better grades. 2. Eliminate procrastination by answering: How long am I going to study? How am I going to study? How do I know these methods will work? 3. Make sure work ends at 6 p.m. or 8 p.m. Make time to be happy and live your life.
José Genuino Don't just throw out advice if it doesn't fit, make it work for you. If you're very productive during the night and you're making millions, getting a 4.0 GPA, etc. then who cares. Tim Ferriss works until 3 a.m. or longer. The point is that you should schedule free time in your life and properly divide work and play.
Tyler O'Guinn I got your point, I was just 'kidding'. It's crazy how I thought almost my whole life I had to study during the day even though I felt at night I was at least 2x more productive (and I enjoyed more).
+Tyler O'Guinn I know he mentioned "Eliminate any study time that is not active recall or preparation for active recall (minimize the latter)" But how are we supposed to give a "self talk" about something that we are not 100% sure of? I mean, shouldn't we spend more time studying it in first place so that it will become easier to talk about it? I dont understand why he said minimize it. Any insights?
it means only do passive recall as little as possible, at least like one read over or something. basically try to active recall and just read it again if you forget something.
I just want to personally appreciate and give thanks to all the amazing individuals who summaries every educational video that is longer than 30 minutes because, people like me just dont have the patience and time to procrastinate for that long.
As a straight A student who graduated couple years ago I’m telling you he is right. I was able to go out the same amount of time as people who later dropped out of school while maintaining high GPA. Could never understand those kids studying in the library all night.
When you are a student, it’s your full time job. Treat it as a 9-5 job. Wake up, get ready, get your morning deep work session done. Go to lectures. Do some less mentally demanding tasks in the afternoon. Go home and have fun in the evening. If you do it every day Monday-Friday, it’s more than enough. I’ve done it at high school. I’ve done it in undergrad and then masters. And I rarely had to use entire 40 hours. Deep work for few hours a day will bring you so much results! You cannot do it with a movie playing on a background or 100 tabs open. Just go all in on one subject for an hour and two. Most of the students just waste their valuable time during day watching UA-cam and then complain that they can’t go out with friends in the evening.
A few years ago, before college, I was able to stumble upon Cal’s work and I’m very happy that I did. Because of his insights, I was able to graduate Magna Cum Laude in Electrical Engineering and I will forever be grateful for that.
pulkit yeh dekh ... 19:30 : Explaining in loud voice as if explaining a class. In complete sentences. Without looking at notes 25:00 , 29:10 : For Procrastination.
Active recall guys who get the concept and also those who want to exercise the concept lets come together and build something special. knowledge is power
Dear Dr Cal, I wish I heard this advice 11 years ago when I joined for my MBA program. Comparing my life then with what you laid out in this lecture, I did everything wrong with that program. Needless to mention, it ended up being a traumatizing experience for me, and I was not able to take away much from the program. I did manage a bit more than the passing grades, but looking back, those 2 years went off without making much difference, and when it was over, I had lost all my self confidence, my energy and my willingness to try anything new. I wish I had this information then, but as they say, its better late than never. Thank you very much sir.
I just did this active recall method and it works very well, but I did not finish studying for a science test in 30 minutes it took me about an hour, so set your expectations low for thirty minutes, but I loved your boo as well.
Great for core classes, and his books are excellent, but nobody is getting accepted to Medical school with only 30 minutes of studying. Change that to a few hours each day during the week with this method of active studying and you're good.
Cal Newport went on to get his PhD in Computer Science at MIT, which is harder than getting into medical school. he also studied computer sci in undergrad at Dartmouth (ivy league), which is also harder than pre-med
@@HermannTheGreat never wanted to go to medical school. I'm studying computer science like Cal Newport, which takes way more brains than pre-med or medical school. We will automate drs
Do you think 30 minutes per class is feasible for med school acceptance? i think Newport meant 30 mins per subject a day. 4 classes at 3 credits means 2 hours per day. so roughly 10 mins per day per credit
Is it procrastinating to watch this video? Hmm... yes. Okay... I'll listen while washing dishes. I don't just want to learn for a test, but for life. He's right about not putting your life on hold. Best advice!
There was a kid in my English class and psychology class who consistently aced every test we were given, and was a dick about it, would flex about it all the time. This is probably what he was doing. I on the other hand, spent cumulatively about a thousand hours writing practice tests and when I got my surprising grade of 30 out of 50 at the end of the year, I didn’t expect this, but my teacher said, this too was the reason. I never spent more than an hour at a time working for that exam, eventually being able to write a decent essay in under an hour, my class mate and I both understood this. We both understood that we can spend all the time we want studying the book for content and quotas, but if we don’t know how to construct a good essay, we’re screwed. So it makes more snide to learn how to write. Just like it makes more sense to learn and master concepts and synthesise facts than it does to learn facts. I can spend all the time I have learning the lab values and their normal ranges, but if I don’t know how to explain abnormal ones and their implications, how am I going to help anybody with abnormal ones?
Its actually suppose to be more harm than good, your brain will only process the information when you sleep. thats why so many med students take naps often rather than study for 6 hours straight.. also study in shorter bursts such as 20 minutes and a 5 minute break because you will remember the information better than a 2 hour study session.. Hopeful future surgeon trying to learn all the tricks he can to get into med school!
Let me tell you something about real life. It's nice to give an advice to someone but it's never as easy as it sounds. I have 80 credits so far with a 4.0 and guess what? My life sucks! I have no time to sleep and I have to go to work! 30 minutes a day is not enough to look over what I need to study for the day!I don't know what kind of genius you are but I can only tell you that getting straight As is a sacrifice. Best of luck to you guys!
I think the 30 minutes are only for the active recall. Of course you have to read and familiarize with the subject before you can explain it. The girl he talked about worked a whole week for only one test. The question is, do you do any active recall or only read the material over and over again? Also, I know it's not my business, but you seem rather stressed and unhappy. Are you sure it's worth it? Take care of your health! :)
gi yo No the truth is I didn't see the whole video, after a while I lost interest coz I couldn't agree with his statements, so if you think that there is something that I missed toward the end of the video(I refuse to finish it by the way) that could've made me change my mind then you may ignore my message.
Andy Michael Bro your probably just not doing it right, i have a 3.8 at a very challenging public high school, one of the toughest in the state. I play varsity basketball and participate and work on a number of extra curriculars and volunteer opportunities and I still have time to relax. It's possible just always try to change and adjust.
The strategies mentioned in "How to Become a Straight A Student by Cal Newport" for writing papers are for writing Term Papers or the same strategies can be applied for writing a Journal/Confernece paper especially in engineering or technical field at Master and Phd level?
Chen Charlette i think the point is intuition, when you truly understand something, you just take time to find words but you know it, so you arent just memorising it
In Italy teachers always ask students to give a "lecture" about the lesson, this is the most common kind of test. Does it exist in the US? It's called "oral interrogation" and it means students usually do active recall as homework.
Thanks for sharing this amazing talk. I'm a big fan of Cal techniques. But it's the first time that I heard about his "3 hows" (29:28). Someone knows where can I find more details about this technique? I think it's pretty useful to defeat procrastination. And this aproach of rethinking why you're procrastinating it's the key to move forward from it.
I've been trying to implement the principles Cal is talking about, but there has been one major problem. How do I lecture out loud without looking at my notes about a subject I don't have much knowledge about? I attempt to do this lecture to an imaginary audience, but then I have to look at my notes, and then I have to look at my notes again, and again. Yes, you can learn the subject more thoroughly this way, but it takes more time and is more disjointed. Seems to me that you have to passively review the material thoroughly, and then do this lecture to test your knowledge, but this takes a lot of time. My main question is about Cal's assertion that almost all college students are studying in a radically inefficient way and that should scrap passive studying all together, when it seems to me that you have to passively read over the material in order to lecture about it without looking at your notes. Another form of active recall is to occasionally test yourself after passively reviewing stuff. For instance, read one or two pages out of a textbook and then ask yourself "okay, write all you know about this without looking at anything". This is a very simple yet effective way of learning stuff, but I have had a harder time pinning down exactly what Cal is advocating for.
@@maxmaxwell4211 Because there is a very large and significant amount of time that goes into understanding and memorizing the main points, and that time is spent passively studying with some bouts of active recall. Cal makes it sound like if you do any passive studying then you are a dumb chump who is being horribly inefficient, but it takes a lot of passive studying before you can apply these tips.
@@jackstratif6937 moreover you're right it took about one and half hours for me to explain the sliding filament theory of muscle contraction which is about three pages in my zoology textbook.need some better method to understand and memorize a concept before explaining it
Literally a 3-step formula for a 3.90+ gpa *IF YOUR WORK IS PURPOSE DRIVEN*: 1. Read the book understanding the content 2. Do end of the chapter questions 3. Repeat
Thanos Sofroniou I got a 3.98 gpa, major econ with double minor in math and physics (not easy classes like marketing, etc.) I would just take those 3-steps literally, emphasizing the repeat part. Read it and re-read it, and do and re-do question. It has to be purpose driven, you need to feel that heck not going to the bar is worth it, because you'll get a better job, you'll get a better grad school, and believe it or not a big part of one's future depends on those two. So you have to feel that by obsessing yourself with these 3-steps you'll be the best, you're not going to fall behind, i'm not gonna let the guy next to me in class who is putting the time take away my place in a job, my slot position for an ivy league graduate school.
But how are we supposed to give a "self talk" about something that we are not 100% sure of? I mean, shouldn't we spend more time studying it in first place (passive read) so that we will be able to talk about it? I dont understand why he said minimize it. Any insights?
+twopaddles1 You obviously can't talk about something you've never heard of or read about. The diffrence is, that instead of just reading over your notes 10 times and learning to recall, you try to gave a "lecture" about what you've read the first time and only peek into your notes when you can't remember something. It's like telling someone about a movie you've seen. Of course you'd have to learn it by heart to tell every detail, like when there was a coke bottle on the screen or what fruit citizen #546 was eating in the background during the cafeteria scene. But the overall plot and events are all there, you only might have to look up the names of some of the characters.
30 minutes a day works if you're a humanities major but it ain't gona cut it if you're doing any science classes. Just doing 1 complex physics exercise takes me 30 minutes. Altough i can do 2 pages of organic chemistry exercises in 30 minutes it just isn't enough
Good question? From my experience, spread them out in a week, in a reasonable manner. No more than 3 classes per day, should have some “time blocks” throughout a day, so u can put in your study/active recall. And don’t overcrowd ur schedule with too many obligations, like he said.
It's been 6 years and I am (preparing for a competitive exam myself) tantalised with curiosity as to how life turned out for you. Did you get into medical? Please let me know!
well then do active recall of how different case study problems are solved and the logic behind the solutions. pretend you are lecturing on how such problems are best solved. come on you're an engineer think harder.
altho id have to say 30 min a day is not possible if the content is hard to understand to begin with, it might take 30 min just to understand what it means before actively recalling so it might even be 1 hour for just 1 subject a day if every subject is hard and if one takes 4 subjects on top of lectures then life is not going to be as easy as he paints it to be in terms of time expense
the act of solving a problem (without referring to notes) is in itself active recall. He didn't explain it in this lecture but it is. also, solving a problem that you've already seen the solution to is pointless because you are just memorzing solutions. It's more effective to learn the concepts.
Can you apply this technique to language learning? How would you do it? I'm learning Mandarin Chinese, but I feel like reading and rereading vocabulary and example texts is inefficient.
One great method that I have successfully used (I was a straight A student) is to perform active recall in the form of a song. Works best if you can get a friend to do it with you. For anatomy, check out Naru Kwina's website Hiplearning.org - click on the music option at the top menu, there are songs for the bones, about all kinds of things, blood, skin, cells, etc. all in really cool hip hop easy to memorize forms. You might feel really dorky doing this, but it works!!! And you will laugh a lot and have fun with your friend and actually make a nice memory.
+Renee Lazzareschi How are we supposed to do this self-talk if we dont have a good grasp of the topic? He mentioned minimizing the passive studying time. But shouldnt we spend more time passively memorizing it so that it will be better to explain it outloud? Otherwise we will keep referring back to our notes. Any thoughts?
I am taking 19 credits next semester and everyone thinks I am crazy. We shall see what happens. I am not working so it may be I will do well since I can just focus on school. :) It may be though that taking 6 classes will be hard to remember everything though.
D hooy7 For anatomy, try active recall in the form of a song. Works best if you can get a friend to do it with you. Check out Naru Kwina's website Hiplearning.org - click on the music option at the top menu, there are songs for the bones, lungs, blood, skin, cells, etc. all in really cool hip hop easy to memorize forms. You might feel really dorky doing this, but it works!!! And you will laugh a lot and have fun with your friend and actually make a nice memory.
Thats how i learn reseafch papers! Also i write the background section my doing that for future readers! Super useful then ppl wonder why I know it all from “memory”
Actually, active recall is also the best way to learn. You read something first, like a core concept, close the book and translate it into your own words. If you can’t, you haven’t learnt anything; if you can, you’ve learnt it. It’s difficult, but highly effective. And then active recall in the future should use a spaced-repetition schedule to commit it to long-term memory.
how do we know this guy isn't just really smart? Should I take this guys word for it. What if this guy is just using the power of persuasion to trick people into thinking this stuff actually works so we buy his book? how do we know if he had trouble studying at all? I do not mean to be a dick I just want to know if this stuff actually works or if its just a scam.
The Medical Enthusiast yeah I got it wrong it can be a active recall if you don’t look at any reference when doing it how ever it probably don’t work as well as explaining it out loud as cal Newport recomend no need to get upset about it
The Medical Enthusiast it’s not speaking out loud that’s the main idea but explain the concept out loud because with explaining the concept you pin point what you don’t understand I think that’s really what active recall is about as that’s how cal Newport explains it
So you don't even have to take notes? You can just read a textbook, explain the concepts without looking at your notes, and you will remember them? Seems too good to be true.
Is there statistical significance as to the effectiveness of his ideas? What if he this guy is smart? He did go to an Ivy League college. He did seem to be intelligent.
Falso, when properly engaging in active recall you are pushing yourself to not only understand concepts more in depth, but you're forming connections between them. Active recall does not test what you just know, otherwise if wouldn't be as taxing as Call says so.
Summary:
1. Remove the word "study" from your vocabulary, and begin using Active Recall to cut your studying time and get better grades.
2. Eliminate procrastination by answering: How long am I going to study? How am I going to study? How do I know these methods will work?
3. Make sure work ends at 6 p.m. or 8 p.m. Make time to be happy and live your life.
I'm night owl though
José Genuino Don't just throw out advice if it doesn't fit, make it work for you. If you're very productive during the night and you're making millions, getting a 4.0 GPA, etc. then who cares. Tim Ferriss works until 3 a.m. or longer. The point is that you should schedule free time in your life and properly divide work and play.
Tyler O'Guinn I got your point, I was just 'kidding'. It's crazy how I thought almost my whole life I had to study during the day even though I felt at night I was at least 2x more productive (and I enjoyed more).
+Tyler O'Guinn I know he mentioned "Eliminate any study time that is not active recall or preparation for active recall (minimize the latter)"
But how are we supposed to give a "self talk" about something that we are not 100% sure of?
I mean, shouldn't we spend more time studying it in first place so that it will become easier to talk about it?
I dont understand why he said minimize it. Any insights?
it means only do passive recall as little as possible, at least like one read over or something. basically try to active recall and just read it again if you forget something.
I just want to personally appreciate and give thanks to all the amazing individuals who summaries every educational video that is longer than 30 minutes because, people like me just dont have the patience and time to procrastinate for that long.
As a straight A student who graduated couple years ago I’m telling you he is right. I was able to go out the same amount of time as people who later dropped out of school while maintaining high GPA. Could never understand those kids studying in the library all night.
What did you study?
I wish I was like you
Polina R, can you tell us more?
When you are a student, it’s your full time job. Treat it as a 9-5 job. Wake up, get ready, get your morning deep work session done. Go to lectures. Do some less mentally demanding tasks in the afternoon. Go home and have fun in the evening. If you do it every day Monday-Friday, it’s more than enough. I’ve done it at high school. I’ve done it in undergrad and then masters. And I rarely had to use entire 40 hours.
Deep work for few hours a day will bring you so much results! You cannot do it with a movie playing on a background or 100 tabs open. Just go all in on one subject for an hour and two.
Most of the students just waste their valuable time during day watching UA-cam and then complain that they can’t go out with friends in the evening.
i should've known Peter Parker went on to study at MIT and then later on turn out to be a professor. good job, Peter. thanks for the tips!
Haha he only studies 30 min a day so he can be fighting crime the rest of the time
A few years ago, before college, I was able to stumble upon Cal’s work and I’m very happy that I did. Because of his insights, I was able to graduate Magna Cum Laude in Electrical Engineering and I will forever be grateful for that.
Congratulations mate! 👏
I found this video while procrastinating. But it's really helpful and insightful!
im making my presentatin for my superior technician and here i am ...
truthspeakz the irony.....
did it work?!
if you procrascinated, you need this video
@@danghoangluong2942 idk what procrascinated is, but I do know what procrastinated is.
pulkit yeh dekh ...
19:30 : Explaining in loud voice as if explaining a class. In complete sentences. Without looking at notes
25:00 , 29:10 : For Procrastination.
Thanks.
Thanks
start at 19:20
thanks so much
Thanks.
Thank u so much
You guys are the realist.
Thanks
Interesting, I've always found active recall the best method of studying! It does take time, patience and some passive recall periods.
Active recall guys who get the concept and also those who want to exercise the concept lets come together and build something special. knowledge is power
Pay attention to how you study - active recall is a *must because passive-recall is terribly inefficient - answering the 3-Hows beats procrastination.
This talk is so good I've listened to it multiple times.
Cal Newport is the man!!
1. How to study? -Teaching (active recall)
2. Procanasation
3. Mindset
How to study-Active recall
Procastinatio-Answer 3 how's
Mindset-Do less,Do better
Dear Dr Cal, I wish I heard this advice 11 years ago when I joined for my MBA program. Comparing my life then with what you laid out in this lecture, I did everything wrong with that program. Needless to mention, it ended up being a traumatizing experience for me, and I was not able to take away much from the program. I did manage a bit more than the passing grades, but looking back, those 2 years went off without making much difference, and when it was over, I had lost all my self confidence, my energy and my willingness to try anything new. I wish I had this information then, but as they say, its better late than never. Thank you very much sir.
Flank Attack maybe I heard this advice 8 years ago, rest is same story.
I just did this active recall method and it works very well, but I did not finish studying for a science test in 30 minutes it took me about an hour, so set your expectations low for thirty minutes, but I loved your boo as well.
I think that it work when you compound the knowledge rather than expected just one session
Great for core classes, and his books are excellent, but nobody is getting accepted to Medical school with only 30 minutes of studying. Change that to a few hours each day during the week with this method of active studying and you're good.
Thanks man.
Cal Newport went on to get his PhD in Computer Science at MIT, which is harder than getting into medical school. he also studied computer sci in undergrad at Dartmouth (ivy league), which is also harder than pre-med
@@justStardust940 You're not getting into a medical program on 30 minutes of study a day, sorry to break your bubble Angela.
@@HermannTheGreat never wanted to go to medical school. I'm studying computer science like Cal Newport, which takes way more brains than pre-med or medical school. We will automate drs
Do you think 30 minutes per class is feasible for med school acceptance? i think Newport meant 30 mins per subject a day. 4 classes at 3 credits means 2 hours per day. so roughly 10 mins per day per credit
Is it procrastinating to watch this video? Hmm... yes. Okay... I'll listen while washing dishes. I don't just want to learn for a test, but for life. He's right about not putting your life on hold. Best advice!
Awesome Video. Cool Insights.
1. Active Recall 2. 3 How's 3. Do Less.Do Better.
There was a kid in my English class and psychology class who consistently aced every test we were given, and was a dick about it, would flex about it all the time. This is probably what he was doing. I on the other hand, spent cumulatively about a thousand hours writing practice tests and when I got my surprising grade of 30 out of 50 at the end of the year, I didn’t expect this, but my teacher said, this too was the reason. I never spent more than an hour at a time working for that exam, eventually being able to write a decent essay in under an hour, my class mate and I both understood this. We both understood that we can spend all the time we want studying the book for content and quotas, but if we don’t know how to construct a good essay, we’re screwed. So it makes more snide to learn how to write. Just like it makes more sense to learn and master concepts and synthesise facts than it does to learn facts. I can spend all the time I have learning the lab values and their normal ranges, but if I don’t know how to explain abnormal ones and their implications, how am I going to help anybody with abnormal ones?
Not studying past 8 or 9? That sounds blessed. Omg.
why is your default a picture of the word "grain"? just curios...im sure theres a good explanation...
Grain? It's Japanese calligraphy for "Peace"
WhereWeBreathe In Chinese it means grain. www.hantrainerpro.com/hanzi/he_grain-chinese-character.jpg
hmm, that's pretty cool
Its actually suppose to be more harm than good, your brain will only process the information when you sleep. thats why so many med students take naps often rather than study for 6 hours straight.. also study in shorter bursts such as 20 minutes and a 5 minute break because you will remember the information better than a 2 hour study session..
Hopeful future surgeon trying to learn all the tricks he can to get into med school!
Let me tell you something about real life. It's nice to give an advice to someone but it's never as easy as it sounds. I have 80 credits so far with a 4.0 and guess what? My life sucks! I have no time to sleep and I have to go to work! 30 minutes a day is not enough to look over what I need to study for the day!I don't know what kind of genius you are but I can only tell you that getting straight As is a sacrifice. Best of luck to you guys!
I think the 30 minutes are only for the active recall. Of course you have to read and familiarize with the subject before you can explain it. The girl he talked about worked a whole week for only one test. The question is, do you do any active recall or only read the material over and over again?
Also, I know it's not my business, but you seem rather stressed and unhappy. Are you sure it's worth it? Take care of your health! :)
I think you didn't see this video.
gi yo No the truth is I didn't see the whole video, after a while I lost interest coz I couldn't agree with his statements, so if you think that there is something that I missed toward the end of the video(I refuse to finish it by the way) that could've made me change my mind then you may ignore my message.
Andy Michael Bro your probably just not doing it right, i have a 3.8 at a very challenging public high school, one of the toughest in the state. I play varsity basketball and participate and work on a number of extra curriculars and volunteer opportunities and I still have time to relax. It's possible just always try to change and adjust.
Andy Michael
One of the best video ever on youtube...
why, WHY? didnt i watch this sooner??!
Gayatri same here !!
I know right? I’ve already graduated, lol
same here
The strategies mentioned in "How to Become a Straight A Student by Cal Newport" for writing papers are for writing Term Papers or the same strategies can be applied for writing a Journal/Confernece paper especially in engineering or technical field at Master and Phd level?
Yes
what if i'm watching these to procrastinate but improve later? :/
...yes lol! I mean when I get a handle on the method then I'll try to apply it later slowly...
This is SIMPLY AMAZING !! Thanks CAL !!
How do you do active recall without repeating the concept and doing passive recall?
Chen Charlette i think the point is intuition, when you truly understand something, you just take time to find words but you know it, so you arent just memorising it
Misleading title Cal Newport himself said he studied 3 to 4 hours a day durnig his university days.
Thank you. Super valuable advice. I wish I knew about active recall a few years earlier.
1. How am I going to study? 2. For How Long? 3. How do I know it will work?
This gonna save my career.
Great video. It's not often that I find myself watching such a long video in a single go.
In Italy teachers always ask students to give a "lecture" about the lesson, this is the most common kind of test. Does it exist in the US?
It's called "oral interrogation" and it means students usually do active recall as homework.
Nice five pixels, I can see a lot. Very clear.
Thanks for sharing this amazing talk. I'm a big fan of Cal techniques. But it's the first time that I heard about his "3 hows" (29:28). Someone knows where can I find more details about this technique? I think it's pretty useful to defeat procrastination. And this aproach of rethinking why you're procrastinating it's the key to move forward from it.
I've been trying to implement the principles Cal is talking about, but there has been one major problem. How do I lecture out loud without looking at my notes about a subject I don't have much knowledge about? I attempt to do this lecture to an imaginary audience, but then I have to look at my notes, and then I have to look at my notes again, and again. Yes, you can learn the subject more thoroughly this way, but it takes more time and is more disjointed. Seems to me that you have to passively review the material thoroughly, and then do this lecture to test your knowledge, but this takes a lot of time. My main question is about Cal's assertion that almost all college students are studying in a radically inefficient way and that should scrap passive studying all together, when it seems to me that you have to passively read over the material in order to lecture about it without looking at your notes.
Another form of active recall is to occasionally test yourself after passively reviewing stuff. For instance, read one or two pages out of a textbook and then ask yourself "okay, write all you know about this without looking at anything". This is a very simple yet effective way of learning stuff, but I have had a harder time pinning down exactly what Cal is advocating for.
Obviously you have to understand and memorize the points first then try to explain them out loud, how is that passive studying
@@maxmaxwell4211 Because there is a very large and significant amount of time that goes into understanding and memorizing the main points, and that time is spent passively studying with some bouts of active recall. Cal makes it sound like if you do any passive studying then you are a dumb chump who is being horribly inefficient, but it takes a lot of passive studying before you can apply these tips.
@@jackstratif6937 moreover you're right it took about one and half hours for me to explain the sliding filament theory of muscle contraction which is about three pages in my zoology textbook.need some better method to understand and memorize a concept before explaining it
Try encoding the only way we understand and memorize things
how does encoding work?
So how do I active recall if I don't read over my notes first to know what I want to explain/read out loud?
That’s what I don’t get. You have to comprehend the material first
Encoding
Literally a 3-step formula for a 3.90+ gpa *IF YOUR WORK IS PURPOSE DRIVEN*:
1. Read the book understanding the content
2. Do end of the chapter questions
3. Repeat
Is this genuine by yourself? Did you get 3.90 gpa by basically reading the book and then doing the end chapter questions?
Thanos Sofroniou
I got a 3.98 gpa, major econ with double minor in math and physics (not easy classes like marketing, etc.) I would just take those 3-steps literally, emphasizing the repeat part. Read it and re-read it, and do and re-do question. It has to be purpose driven, you need to feel that heck not going to the bar is worth it, because you'll get a better job, you'll get a better grad school, and believe it or not a big part of one's future depends on those two. So you have to feel that by obsessing yourself with these 3-steps you'll be the best, you're not going to fall behind, i'm not gonna let the guy next to me in class who is putting the time take away my place in a job, my slot position for an ivy league graduate school.
+L.A. Chacin When you say repeat do you mean the same chapter or on to the next one?
He means to move on to the next chapter (not the same chapter)
Do not read mindlessly!
@18:30 active recall,,@24:40 procrastination
Is it helpful for mathematics?
But how are we supposed to give a "self talk" about something that we are not 100% sure of?
I mean, shouldn't we spend more time studying it in first place (passive read) so that we will be able to talk about it?
I dont understand why he said minimize it. Any insights?
+twopaddles1
You obviously can't talk about something you've never heard of or read about. The diffrence is, that instead of just reading over your notes 10 times and learning to recall, you try to gave a "lecture" about what you've read the first time and only peek into your notes when you can't remember something.
It's like telling someone about a movie you've seen. Of course you'd have to learn it by heart to tell every detail, like when there was a coke bottle on the screen or what fruit citizen #546 was eating in the background during the cafeteria scene. But the overall plot and events are all there, you only might have to look up the names of some of the characters.
+Petah55 best explanation ive ever read thank you
Can we apply this to language learning? If so, any advice?
Jeffrey D yes but the difference is with language and math and science you also have to do practice problems related to the question.
30 minutes a day works if you're a humanities major but it ain't gona cut it if you're doing any science classes. Just doing 1 complex physics exercise takes me 30 minutes. Altough i can do 2 pages of organic chemistry exercises in 30 minutes it just isn't enough
I easily get tired just in about half an hour when I study out loud.What can I do, please help.
Such a helpful video andsome very Insightful man
wish I heard this 10 yrs ago !
Why?
Any tips for a freshman just transitioning into university to study Law or even Sociology
I have taken 4 subjects n my classes starts from 8pm to 5pm !!!!!!! How can I organise my schedule ??
Good question? From my experience, spread them out in a week, in a reasonable manner. No more than 3 classes per day, should have some “time blocks” throughout a day, so u can put in your study/active recall. And don’t overcrowd ur schedule with too many obligations, like he said.
Great Presentation!
Will this work to the same effect in High school? I need to get a 4.0 if I ever hope to get into med school..
Theguitarwhiz Your high school grades do not determine whether you make it or medical school or not...
Xforeverlove21 here in Ireland they do.
It's been 6 years and I am (preparing for a competitive exam myself) tantalised with curiosity as to how life turned out for you. Did you get into medical? Please let me know!
Active Recall: 18:30
Thank you very much
September 2013-June 2014, Stay Out Of Trouble! For ME, #1! Give them a chance next time 2013-14! Class of 2014.
this is hard for engineering cos you actually have to solve problems, not just discuss your notes and concepts
well then do active recall of how different case study problems are solved and the logic behind the solutions. pretend you are lecturing on how such problems are best solved. come on you're an engineer think harder.
haha just a student, but i get what you say
altho id have to say 30 min a day is not possible if the content is hard to understand to begin with, it might take 30 min just to understand what it means before actively recalling so it might even be 1 hour for just 1 subject a day if every subject is hard and if one takes 4 subjects on top of lectures then life is not going to be as easy as he paints it to be in terms of time expense
what takes alot of time is answering practice/homework problems. many times youd think you know the concept but can't answer any question haha
the act of solving a problem (without referring to notes) is in itself active recall. He didn't explain it in this lecture but it is.
also, solving a problem that you've already seen the solution to is pointless because you are just memorzing solutions. It's more effective to learn the concepts.
So good! 🔥🔥🔥
Can you apply this technique to language learning? How would you do it? I'm learning Mandarin Chinese, but I feel like reading and rereading vocabulary and example texts is inefficient.
workbooks
Flashcards for vocabulary
Examples sets for grammar
40 mins were worth it...
Best study skill video.
What about for Human Anatomy? Any study hacks to get straight A's?
One great method that I have successfully used (I was a straight A student) is to perform active recall in the form of a song. Works best if you can get a friend to do it with you. For anatomy, check out Naru Kwina's website Hiplearning.org - click on the music option at the top menu, there are songs for the bones, about all kinds of things, blood, skin, cells, etc. all in really cool hip hop easy to memorize forms. You might feel really dorky doing this, but it works!!! And you will laugh a lot and have fun with your friend and actually make a nice memory.
+Renee Lazzareschi
How are we supposed to do this self-talk if we dont have a good grasp of the topic? He mentioned minimizing the passive studying time. But shouldnt we spend more time passively memorizing it so that it will be better to explain it outloud? Otherwise we will keep referring back to our notes. Any thoughts?
he makes it sound so right that it feels illegal. But i will give it a try
I am taking 19 credits next semester and everyone thinks I am crazy. We shall see what happens. I am not working so it may be I will do well since I can just focus on school. :) It may be though that taking 6 classes will be hard to remember everything though.
How did it go
What does Cal mean by the questions she answers in her notes? Did she create these herself?
Can I use this for anatomy? Would about physics? What's the best way to study for these courses?
D hooy7 For anatomy, try active recall in the form of a song. Works best if you can get a friend to do it with you. Check out Naru Kwina's website Hiplearning.org - click on the music option at the top menu, there are songs for the bones, lungs, blood, skin, cells, etc. all in really cool hip hop easy to memorize forms. You might feel really dorky doing this, but it works!!! And you will laugh a lot and have fun with your friend and actually make a nice memory.
Thats how i learn reseafch papers! Also i write the background section my doing that for future readers! Super useful then ppl wonder why I know it all from “memory”
thanks for the tips
i think universities expect
ppl who got there
know how to study
Terribly inefficient 😂 devastatingly effective 😅
So you learn the info then do active recall. How else are you gonna explain something you've never read over
Actually, active recall is also the best way to learn. You read something first, like a core concept, close the book and translate it into your own words. If you can’t, you haven’t learnt anything; if you can, you’ve learnt it. It’s difficult, but highly effective. And then active recall in the future should use a spaced-repetition schedule to commit it to long-term memory.
@@DuskAndHerEmbrace13 this was 5 years ago I was a freshman in college I actually applied this and got straight As throughout college pretty much 😂
@@Mustlehard Haha! Me too! Congrats
@@DuskAndHerEmbrace13best detailed explanation! thanks
Awesome video! This helped me so much already. 😄
how do we know this guy isn't just really smart? Should I take this guys word for it. What if this guy is just using the power of persuasion to trick people into thinking this stuff actually works so we buy his book? how do we know if he had trouble studying at all? I do not mean to be a dick I just want to know if this stuff actually works or if its just a scam.
Try it yourself?
I don't think his tips guarantee that you will have the same results, but I think they will significantly raise your own.
I prefer 3 hours a day thx
No man it needs to be 30 minutes
Just kidding
amazing
How are you supposed to do active recall on a library?
In that case, you can write out answers on paper. It has the same/similar effect of directly lecturing out loud.
Mind map....
Adams Maase that's not active recall
The Medical Enthusiast yeah I got it wrong it can be a active recall if you don’t look at any reference when doing it how ever it probably don’t work as well as explaining it out loud as cal Newport recomend no need to get upset about it
The Medical Enthusiast it’s not speaking out loud that’s the main idea but explain the concept out loud because with explaining the concept you pin point what you don’t understand I think that’s really what active recall is about as that’s how cal Newport explains it
verbalising concepts
So you don't even have to take notes? You can just read a textbook, explain the concepts without looking at your notes, and you will remember them?
Seems too good to be true.
you make notes on what you have learned and then do active recall on those notes its called smartnotes
@@moizahmed1149 yes
@@moizahmed1149 damn I find a Hamza/1stman enthusiast here
what if you have to know facts for like history do you actively explain the fast just as so a consept.
Brain Motivation-Get da brain on my side! (Avoiding Procrastination): 29:04
19:00
Thank you!🍷
I know this almost a decade ago. Rather than say "Laura" he could've used a MADE-UP-NAME😂
Is there statistical significance as to the effectiveness of his ideas? What if he this guy is smart? He did go to an Ivy League college. He did seem to be intelligent.
Looks thinner
Brian’s Brain 😂😂😂😅🤣
Active Recall
26:29
Thanks
Nothing ingenious about this. Just explaining what you know is self-testing.
Falso, when properly engaging in active recall you are pushing yourself to not only understand concepts more in depth, but you're forming connections between them. Active recall does not test what you just know, otherwise if wouldn't be as taxing as Call says so.
30:13
Thanks
24:17
19:33