One of the most difficult things for learners of any skill is unlearning incorrect information.
As a teacher of students ranging from pre-K, all the way up through corporate executives, this is one of the most common issues that I see students deal with.
The minds of many students are kind of like an old attic. Throughout the years and across many different teachers and education institutions, students gradually build up a collection of useless, outdated, and many times just flat out wrong information. It builds up in their mind, like the clutter mentioned before. Soon, it becomes next to impossible to navigate the confusing mess.
So what can you do to solve this problem?
To increase learning outcomes, there are a few simple steps to take that can make unlearning back information quicker and easier.
1. Have a plan.
You can even start with this plan! Having an idea about what knowledge you want to improve is essential in beginning your learning journey. Whether it’s reading and comprehension like we learn here, driving a car, fixing an engine, or building a Tokamak Fusion machine, you must have a plan to improve your knowledge, or you will end up like a child lost in the woods.
2. Do lots of reading.
Reading is by far the most effective way to engage with knowledge. When you read, you are activating parts of your brain that passively watching videos don’t. Voracious reading in the areas that you are trying to improve will have the additional benefit of growing your vocabulary. Even if you are a working professional, constant and intentional reading is the best way to expose yourself to words and ideas in a variety of contexts.
3. Watch instructional videos actively.
Instructional videos are awesome! If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a whole book! But only if you are following the correct procedure when watching videos that you hope to gain knowledge from. Take notes while you watch. Pause the video periodically and try to formulate questions that you would ask the creator, then use those questions as research topics to guide further reading. Have an internal debate with the presenter in the video. All of these are great ways to prevent your mind from going into passive-mode while watching videos. If you just sit there with your brain switched off, watching flickering images on your screen, how can you hope to learn from it?
4. Read from multiple sources.
If you only read from one source, you are only exposed to one point of view. Even if that one point of view tries to be “open minded”, everything will be filtered through the lens of their own experience and opinion. That’s even true with me. Students sometimes ask if they should cancel other classes in order to take mine, and while I appreciate that, I usually tell them that the skills I teach will help them excel in their other lessons. I teach cognitive skills, and developing strong cognitive skills will help improve the outcomes of all other classes that students take.
5. Read actively.
What good is reading if your brain is switched off, and you’re just staring at letters on a page? Read actively. That means trying to visualize what you are reading. Reading and then rereading passages that you feel you have not completely understood. Taking notes about what you are reading. Even drawing pictures to summarize ideas. But what is the most
6. Admitting when you are wrong.
This is a tough one. Nobody likes to admit when they make a mistake. But, admitting that your understanding of something was wrong is really a critical step to improving your knowledge and understanding. Just imagine if a doctor refused to accept the latest science regarding treatment of a disease that he has used for decades. Would he be able to provide the best healthcare to his patients if he is basing his decisions on debunked and outdated knowledge? Of course not.
These are some ways that incorrect knowledge can be unlearned and replaced with better knowledge. Just understand that, the more you know, the more you realize you don’t know. Learning is a never-ending process of upgrading and correcting outdated and incorrect information.
Now that you are armed with a few ideas on how to improve learning outcomes for yourselves and for your children, go pick up a book and read!
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