Learning process should be fun, personalized, and should appeal to the learner to quench the natural curiosity possessed by students. However, this process has been severely disrupted by the conventional learning style at schools and universities. We strongly believe that conventional learning will severely restrict the creativity and true potential of students. Success in the real-world often requires us to master and excel in a particular field. Mastery is often not limited to success alone but truly helps one achieve happiness in life though the pursuit of fulfillment [3] and stay engaged in the learning process throughout life.

How many times have you gotten bored in a class? How often have you gotten lost and wondered where you will apply the topics you are learn in a class? How many times have you wished there was someone who invests time to really understand your interests and provide personalized feedback for your learning? These are questions for another blog post. In this article, let's look at some of the scientific research done in understanding the process of learning. The idea is to get a sense of various mechanisms, conditions, and regimes that will help in optimized learning so that we can follow these to attain mastery.

Why master anything?

Craftsmanship spans multiple professions such as artists, doctors, engineers, chefs, and almost any service that is offered to others. Mastery makes you highly sought after. However, this should not be the only reason for you to master a topic. Mastery and excellence are also attributed to overall happiness and fulfillment [3].

Impediments to mastery

Best methods to learn are counterintuitive

Learning feels hard

Practice quizzes are not easy to create

Ideal path to mastery

Bias for action

Repeated recall

Interleaved practice

Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise

Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning

• Spaced practice (e.g., quiz, exercises) is better than repeated practice soon after learning the material.
  • The harder it gets to retrieve as we slightly forget the material -- this is exactly the condition that helps better overall learning and mastery.
• Going through the hardship of solving a problem before presenting the solution is beneficial for learning.
• Deliberate practice using exercises

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References:

1. Ericsson, A., & Pool, R. (2016). Peak: Secrets from the new science of expertise. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
2. Brown, P. C., Roediger, H. L. III, & McDaniel, M. A. (2014). Make it stick: The science of successful learning. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
3. Rose, T., & Ogas, O. (2018). Dark horse: achieving success through the pursuit of fulfillment. First edition. HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.