ihsanlab.itu.edu.pk

1. Junaid Qadir
Director IHSAN Lab,
InformationTechnology University (ITU)
Learning 101

2. Context of the two learning papers

3. 1
H A V I N G A
F I X E D M I N D S E T

4. "Imagine that one day, you go to a class that is
really important to you and that you like a lot.
The professor returns the midterm papers to the
class.
You got a C+. You’re very disappointed.
That evening on the way back to your home, you
find that you’ve gotten a parking ticket. Being
really frustrated, you call your best friend to share
your experience but are sort of brushed off.”
How will you react?

6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-swZaKN2Ic
The power of not yet
Redefines how the following is viewed:
Skills, Challenges/Setback, Effort, Feedback

7. A . H A V E A G R O W T H M I N D S E T
Focus on growing skills rather on demonstrating performance

9. 2
T H E F A I L U R E T O
E N G A G E ‘ Y O U R S E L F ’
I N L E A R N I N G

11. 3
T H E F A I L U R E T O
M A N A G E T I M E

15. 4
F A I L I N G T O R E A L I Z E
T H A T F A I L I N G I S K E Y

17. 5
F A I L I N G T O R E A L I Z E T H A T
L E A R N I N G I S S O C I A L

19. 6
B E I N G A L E A R N I N G
M O N O G A M I S T

20. A . A V O I D T H E
I L L U S I O N S O F L E A R N I N G
Frogs are Frogs, and Fish are
Fish. And That is That.
T H E T A D P O L E T E L L S
T H E F I S H T H A T
B I R D S H A V E W I N G S
The Illusion of Fluency Posing As Mastery

22. 7
N O T L E A R N I N G
H O W T O L E A R N

24. Now onto the Learning 101 paper

25. Learning 101
(c.f. Develop Metacognitive Skills)
Our intuition of how
learning works is
unreliable and often
counterproductive.

26. Sometimes beneficial to create conditions
that make learning difficult and slow.
Paradoxical nature of learning
Theory of Desirable Difficulties (Bob Bjork)
“That which does not kill
us makes us stronger”
Conversely, not all fluencies are desirable
Lecturers that use ugly
“An expert is a man who has made
all the mistakes which can be
made, in a narrow field”—Bohr

27. Poll: which techniques do we most often use?

28. “Rereading text and massed
practice of a skill or new
knowledge are by far the
preferred study strategies of
learners of all stripes, but
they’re also among the least
productive.”— Brown,
Roediger, and McDaniel
Are these techniques effective?

29. “Practice that’s spaced out,
interleaved with other learning, and
varied produces better mastery,
longer retention, and more versatility.
But these benefits come at a price:
when practice is spaced, interleaved,
and varied, it requires more effort.”
Three (scientifically backed) learning tips
“One of the most striking research
findings is the power of active retrieval
—i.e., testing—to strengthen memory,
and that the more effortful the
retrieval, the stronger the benefit.”

30. TESTING EFFECT:
T H E P O W E R O F R E T R I E V A L
Durable and flexible access to learned information is partly a
matter of achieving a meaningful encoding of that information
and partly a matter of exercising the retrieval process

31. SPACING EFFECT:
S P R E A D I N G S E S S I O N S
O U T I N T I M E
Practice before forgetting is wasteful …
Spaced practice (practice after forgetting sets in) works better

32. INTERLEAVING EFFECT:
T H E B E N E F I T O F
I N T E G R A T I N G C O N T E X T S
By interleaving, one can integrate different contexts and
learn how to discriminate and synthesize

33. Concluding remarks
1. There are many little things that we can do to
improve our learning in a big way
2. Don’t be deceived by the illusions of learning
(fluency ≠ learning)
3. Incorporate retrieval practice as a learning technique
and use it instead of rereading texts
Retrieving from memory is not a passive process but
it is a learning technique and a memory modifier
4. Spaced practice and interleaving are useful for long-
term retention of knowledge
5. In learning, some difficulty is desirable.
(Effortful is more durable)

34. Slides will be available at:
https://www.facebook.com/ihsanlabitu/
Resources

35. Another seminar next week!
Introduction to research opportunities at IHSAN Lab
Thanks! Q/A?
junaid.qadir@itu.edu.pk