Ep 40: Learning and Study Strategies

Ulrich Boser, author of "Learn Better" and "The Leap", discusses
the latest research on the science of learning strategies and
reveals how you can help your teen to adopt proven study
techniques for accelerating academic performance with less
effort.


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Full show notes


When a teenager is constantly getting bad grades or failing to
grasp course material, it’s hard to watch as a parent. It’s
difficult to see them struggle to learn as well or as fast as
their peers. We especially don’t want our kids to fall behind or
get discouraged. Poor learning skills in the teen years can
negatively impact grades, but failing to improve those skills can
lead to greater disadvantages further into adulthood. This is why
learning strategies for teens are so important! We want our kids
to be happy, well-adjusted members of society, not those
struggling to keep up.


Luckily, there are tried and true learning strategies for
teens that can guide our kids towards being more
effective learners. Our guest today is Ulrich Boser, the author
of the book Learn Better: Mastering the Skills for Success in
Life, Business, and School, Or, How to Become an Expert in Just
About Anything. In the episode, Ulrich shines light on common
misconceptions most people have about learning and several great
learning strategies for teens we can use today.


Ulrich writes from the heart, as the inspiration for the book
came from his own childhood. He struggled a lot in school, as he
needed to repeat kindergarten and was placed into special
education classes. Due to his difficulty keeping up with class,
he always assumed he was going to be less successful than the
classmates who excelled beyond him. However, as he began thinking
critically about the process of learning itself, he discovered
how he could become much more capable of retaining knowledge. He
took his ideas about learning strategies for
teens and put them into the book.


Ulrich describes a serious problem we have in today’s education
system. He says we tend to sort people into two categories: good
learners and bad learners. We shouldn’t be doing this, however,
as research shows that we all have pretty much the same learning
abilities. Rather than labeling them as unintelligent, we should
be providing individualized learning strategies for
teens who struggle in school.


One of the many learning strategies for teens
that we discuss is the importance of physical learning. For
example, we can greatly benefit from using hand motions to
remember pieces of information. Although it may look peculiar,
try helping your teen create a tapping motion that goes along
with the information they are expected to memorize. Then, have
them perform that same hand motion while being tested. This
surprising technique can help them recall information much faster
and with more accuracy.


Quizzing is another one of the effective learning
strategies for teens I loved hearing about during this
interview! Quizzing means testing your teen on the material they
are learning. This is already a popular technique, so it’s good
to know that it’s actually helpful. In fact, Ulrich says it’s one
of the most effective techniques you can use! Even better, says
Ulrich, is having teens repeat ideas to themselves
without notes. If you can recall the information
at hand without any reference, you will be more successful in
remembering it for the long term.


Practicing new learning strategies doesn’t mean your teen isn’t
smart already. Instead, it shows that they are dedicated to
learning and adapting, even when things are challenging. Albert
Einstein, one of the most brilliant men in history, struggled
with basic tasks like tying his shoes and telling time. He had to
learn certain strategies to adapt, and it was likely the
development of those strategies that helped him become the
brilliant innovator we all know. By researching and understanding
learning strategies for teens, our kids can be
just as brilliant as Einstein!


When it comes to learning strategies for teens,
it’s good for them to distribute their learning over long periods
of time, as Ulrich notes. As we’ve been told over and over,
cramming for tests doesn’t work. If they try to learn everything
in one night, their brains will simply not retain the information
very well. Instead, by spreading out their studying over long
periods of time, they can give their learning a boost.


Speaking of long term planning, Ulrich and I discuss how planning
and goal setting can be helpful learning strategies for
teens. This is especially true for teenagers in the
modern day who have to juggle more than just school. Most teens
are also involved in sports, extracurriculars, college
applications, social media, complicated social circles, or a
million other things. Ulrich speaks on the idea that if they’re
feeling stressed and overwhelmed, teens simply don’t learn as
well. By planning and setting specific deadlines for themselves,
they can help section out their responsibilities so we’re not
exhausted.


Along with sharing strategies for success, Ulrich also debunks
common learning strategies that don’t work as well as we think
they do. For example, Ulrich mentions research on reading has
shown that highlighting certain phrases doesn’t help our brains
retain information. The widely-accepted theory of learning styles
(visual, written, or auditory), is also not scientifically
accurate. These are very common misconceptions, and it’s
important to learn that they are not effective learning
strategies for teens. Instead, focus on quizzing,
physical learning, and other scientifically-backed methods Ulrich
shares in our conversation.


Ulrich says that our behaviors as parents have a significant
influence on our teen’s behaviors through a psychological process
called “modeling.” Modeling means, if we exhibit good learning
strategies, our teens will do the same. For example, research
shows that parents who are math anxious--meaning doing math makes
them uncomfortable to the point where they avoid it--are likely
to pass the same tendency onto their children.


Additionally, Ulrich encourages parents to share their own
experience of struggling with learning to help kids contextualize
and understand their own difficulties. If you can talk to them
about what you’ve been through, they won’t feel so embarrassed or
discouraged about their own struggles. Maybe you’ve always found
writing essays particularly hard, but because it was difficult
for you, you adapted and learned new strategies. By sharing this
breakthrough with your teenager, you might help them adapt for
their own situation.


Also in this episode, we discuss:


Other methods of learning that are surprisingly effective,
such as using analogies and talking to yourself

Why it’s positive to “think about thinking”

How to ensure that our teenagers will do the right thing,
even when no one is watching

What my brother has learned about education from running a
tutoring company How receiving or providing tutoring can help
your children

How to gain back the trust of a teenager once it’s been
broken

How technology plays a role in learning



These ideas about learning and other learning strategies
for teens are discussed in tod...