3 Upgraded Steps To More Effective Learning

My approach to reading has been all wrong — your’s might be at risk too.

I thought the more I read, the more I’d know. So I crammed words down my cranium like a mineral dispensary. But reading isn’t about the consumption (unless it’s for pleasure). It’s about knowledge acquisition.

You can’t actively build upon your knowledge simply by reading, highlighting, and passively summarizing what you read.

You have to become active in what you’re learning:

Step 1: Activate

First, determine why you’re reading something (watching counts too). What are you trying to extract or build upon?

Before you start learning, review all your prior notes on the topic or related topics.

Determine your central concept and put it in the center of a mindmap or at the top of a bulleted list.

Write down what you know about the subject as nodes to the mindmap or indented bullets to your central concept.

After a reading session, spend a few minutes jotting down bullet points of things you want to remember. Then, add bolded keywords to your mindmap.

Before you start reading again, review your mindmap and bullet points.

Store all your notes in a file that you can easily access for the future.

This is a simple way to begin activating what you’re learning.

Step 2: Question

According to Maarten Van Doorn, “Studying requires notetaking. However, don’t simply transcribe or summarize the facts presented in the material. Remember, the point of active reading is that you — actively — engage with and process the information. Transcription is too passive.”

The Question Evidence Conclusion (QEC) Method gets you actively involved in what you’re reading.

First, a QEC note starts with a question you’ll ask based on what you’re reading.

Second, you’ll record the relevant facts (evidence) below your question.

Third, as you record the evidence, you’ll begin to generate ideas of what the conclusion could be based on the data. You’ll then review the…