Have you ever stared at a textbook, reading the same sentence over and over, not understanding a single word of what you’ve been reading? Many students can relate to this, making studying ineffective and time-consuming. Fortunately, there is an approach to solve this challenging situation called the Feynman Technique.
Why Should You Use The Feynman Technique?
Though you might study hard and remember enough to pass a test tomorrow, will you remember that information next week? Next month? The answer for most students is probably not. And what happens if you have a cumulative final? You’d have to relearn all of the information a few days before the test, only to forget it again. The Feynman technique effectively handles this issue as well as decreases your study time.
Instead of reading the same sentence 15 times and still not understanding what is being taught, using this technique you only have to read the sentence a couple of times. You’ll be able to grasp the concept almost instantly, with the additional benefit of retaining the information in your brain much longer.
The Four Steps
- Pretend to teach the concept to a child or an inanimate object.
Take the concept you want to learn and act as though you’re teaching it to a child who would only understand the concept in simple vocabulary and grasp basic ideas. If you’d prefer to not imagine something, but rather use something real, you could pretend to explain the idea to an inanimate object at your desk, such as a pencil, book, or even a stuffed animal! This way, you take the complicated jargon and turn it into simple terms, which allows your mind to comprehend the idea at hand.
- Identify gaps in explanation.
Places where you struggle with step one are where there are gaps in your understanding. Identifying gaps in your understanding are a crucial part of learning and make the information at hand stick in your mind.
To fill in these gaps, go back to the source, use other sources, or the Internet until you have all the information to explain the concept in basic terms. Explaining the concept in simple terms really shows how well you understand the concept and allows you to grasp it for longer.
- Organize and simplify
Now organize your information into an explanation (which you can write down to increase your understanding!) and read it out loud. If the explanation sounds confusing at any point, go back to step 2 until you have a logical narrative.
- Transmit (optional)
This is an optional step, but it can definitely help with your learning. Run this information past someone, preferably someone with no previous knowledge of the subject, either reading off the paper of notes or turning it into a lecture of sorts. The questions and feedback you will receive from those listening will further develop your understanding of the matter.
How To Use It In Your Study Routine
In between reading a textbook or watching a lecture, take a short break and summarize what you just read/heard in your own words. Then ask yourself a couple of questions that you can use to quiz yourself. Writing these questions down to answer later can also help you review before an exam.
As they add up, you can even create a study guide on the lesson. This method helps you understand a concept much faster and allows you to have more time to do other things.
What It Replaces + What Can It be Used Alongside
To really increase the efficiency of the Feynman Technique, use it along with The Pomodoro Method, another studying technique that also increases the efficiency of one’s learning. Briefly, the Pomodoro Method is a technique where you work for set periods, with timed breaks in between. You can use each step of the Feynman Technique to fit an entire pomodoro, which gives you adequate time to get the concept integrated into your mind thoroughly. For example, you could set 10 minutes for explaining a topic, 5 minutes looking for information gaps, and another 10 minutes writing down questions and organizing your information. This adds up to 25 minutes, which is the standard time of one pomodoro. You could then use 25 minutes answering the questions and transmitting the information gained. Together, these two techniques will boost your learning efficiency and will definitely help in the future.
Now, you hopefully won’t have to spend 6 hours studying for your chemistry test, and instead learn the concepts within a couple of hours. You also won’t have to study for that cumulative final as much, since you already understand the concepts!
tl;dr
The Feynman Technique is a studying method which allows you to comprehend a concept quicker and more in-depth. It makes learning easier and faster. To implement, pretend to teach the concept to a child or inanimate object in simple terms. When you teach it, look for gaps in your explanation and use other sources to fill them in. Concisely organize your explanation and if you’d like, explain it to real people. In between reading/listening to a lesson, take a break and summarize what you learned. This helps you actively understand the concepts you are learning. Using the Pomodoro Method along with this technique can allow you to grasp the concepts within a certain time frame. This studying method can increase learning efficiency and overall help you in grasping all sorts of concepts.