During their training, medical residents learn countless techniques, surgeries, and procedures which they’ll later use to save lives. Being able to remember these skills can quite literally be a matter of life and death. With this in mind, a 2006 research study took a class of surgical residents learning to suture arteries and split them into two groups. Each received the same study materials, but one group implemented a small change in how they studied them. And when tested one month later, this group performed the surgeries significantly better than the other residents.
在訓練期間, 住院醫師要學習 無數技巧、手術,和程序, 以後要用來拯救生命。 能否牢記這些技能, 真的是攸關生死。 考慮到這一點, 2006 年有一項研究 找了一個學習縫合動脈的 外科住院醫師班級, 將他們分成兩組。 大家拿到的學習教材都相同, 但其中一組在研讀教材的 方式上做了一點小改變。 一個月後進行測試, 這一組在手術上的表現顯著優於 其他住院醫師。
We’ll discuss the secret to that group’s success, along with two other highly effective study techniques which can be applied both in and out of the classroom. But to understand why these methods work, let's first unpack how the brain learns and stores information.
我們要來討論該組成功的秘訣, 以及另外兩種高效的學習技巧, 在課堂上和課後都可以運用。 但,要了解為什麼這些方法行得通, 我們得先解釋大腦 如何學習和儲存資訊。
Say you're trying to memorize the anatomy of the heart. When you’re introduced to a new concept, the memory is temporarily encoded in groups of neurons in a brain area called the hippocampus.
假設你要試著背好心臟的解剖圖。 當你接觸到一個新概念時, 這段記憶會暫時被編碼在 大腦「海馬迴」區域中的 神經元群組裡。
As you continue to learn about workings of the heart in class or study its chambers for an exam, you reactivate these same neurons. This repeated firing strengthens the connections between the cells, stabilizing the memory. Gradually, the knowledge of heart anatomy is stored long-term, which involves another brain area known as the neocortex. How information is transferred from short-term to long-term storage is still not completely understood, but it’s thought to happen in between study sessions and perhaps most crucially during sleep. Here the new knowledge is integrated with other related concepts you already know, such as how to measure heart rate, or the anatomy of other organs.
當你接著在課堂上學習 心臟的運作原理, 或為應付考試而研讀心臟的心室時, 你就會重新啟動同一群神經元。 這種重複的放電活動 會加強細胞間的連接, 讓記憶更穩定。 心臟解剖學的知識就這樣 漸漸地長期儲存下來, 這就會涉及另一個大腦區域:新皮質。 資訊怎麼從短期儲存搬移到長期儲存, 我們還不完全清楚, 普遍認為資訊會在學習空檔時間搬移, 而睡眠時間可能是黃金時段。 這時候,新知識會和你已知的 其他相關概念整合起來。 例如:如何測量心率, 或其他器官的解剖學。
And the process doesn’t end there. Each time you recall heart anatomy, you reactivate the long-term memory, which makes it susceptible to change. The knowledge can be updated, strengthened, and reintegrated with other pieces of information. This is where our first study technique comes in.
資訊搬移的過程並非到此為止。 每當你回想心臟解剖學時, 就會重新啟動長期記憶, 這讓它很容易被改變。 這些知識可以被更新、強化, 並與其他資訊重新整合在一起。 此時就要談到我們的 第一個研讀技巧了。
Testing yourself with flashcards and quizzes forces you to actively retrieve knowledge, which updates and strengthens the memory. Students often prefer other study methods, like rereading textbooks and highlighting notes. But these practices can generate a false sense of competence, since the information is right in front of you. Testing yourself, however, allows you to more accurately gauge what you actually know.
使用學習閃卡和小測驗來測試自己, 會迫使你主動去提取知識, 便能更新及強化該記憶。 學生通常偏好其他研讀方法, 比如再讀一次教科書和做重點筆記。 但這些做法可能會產生虛假的勝任感, 因為資訊就在你面前。 然而,自我測驗 能更精確地衡量你實際上知道多少。
But what if, while doing this, you can’t remember the answers? Not to worry— making mistakes can actually improve learning in the long term. It’s theorized that as you rack your brain for the answer, you activate relevant pieces of knowledge. Then, when the correct answer is later revealed, the brain can better integrate this information with what you already know.
但是,萬一在測驗時 想不起答案,怎麼辦? 不用擔心—— 長遠來看,犯錯其實可以改善學習。 有理論認為,當你 絞盡腦汁想答案時, 你會啟動相關的知識片段。 等到正確答案公佈了之後, 大腦就可以把此資訊 和你的既有知識整合得更好。
Our second technique builds on the first. When using flashcards to study, it's best to mix the deck with multiple subjects. Interleaving, or mixing the concepts you focus on in a single session, can lead to better retention than practicing a single skill or topic at a time. One hypothesis of why this works is that, similar to testing, cycling through different subjects forces your brain to temporarily forget, then retrieve information, further strengthening the memory. You may also find connections across the topics, and better understand their differences.
我們的第二個技巧 立基在第一個技巧上。 使用學習閃卡來研讀時, 最好將多個主題放入這套閃卡中。 交叉練習, 也就是說,在單次練習中 混合你想專精的數個概念, 可能會比每次只練習 單一技能或主題記得更久。 為何這招會有用?有個假設說法, 在不同主題間循環綀習 其實和做測驗很像, 這會迫使你的大腦在暫時遺忘時, 提取資訊,進一步強化記憶。 你可能也會發現不同主題之間的連結, 且更了解它們的差異。
Now that you know how and what to study, our final technique concerns when. Spacing your review across multiple days allows for rest and sleep between sessions. While “offline,” the brain is actively at work, storing and integrating knowledge in the neocortex. So while cramming the night before the exam may seem logical— after all, won’t the material be fresh in your mind?— the information won’t stick around for the long term. This brings us back to our medical residents. Both groups studied the surgery for the same amount of time. Yet one group’s training was crammed in a single day, while the other more successful group’s training was spread over four weeks.
現在你已經知道如何研讀 以及要研讀什麼了, 我們的最後一個技巧 和「何時」有關。 將你的複習分散在許多天來做, 每次複習之間要有 休息和睡眠的時間。 大腦「離線」時其實是在積極工作, 在新皮質中儲存和整合知識。 所以,雖然在考試前一天 晚上惡補似乎合情合理, 畢竟,你才剛讀過這些教材, 不是會記憶猶新嗎?—— 但這些資訊不會長時間留存。 這就要回到之前提及的住院醫師。 兩組人研讀手術的時間長度相同。 但,一組的訓練方式 是在一天內惡補, 比較成功的那一組, 訓練則分佈在四週。
The reason all three of these study techniques work is because they’re designed with the brain in mind. They complement and reinforce the incredible way the brain works, sorting through and storing the abundance of information it’s fed day after day.
這三種研讀技巧之所以會有用, 是因為這些設計是以大腦運作為基礎。 它們能補足並強化 大腦不可思議的運作方式, 將大量資訊分類、儲存, 日復一日地灌輸資訊給大腦。