The Magical Five Minutes That Turn Reading Into Learning

On a holiday afternoon, I closed my book by the window of a coffee shop.

There was still a little coffee left. Quiet jazz was playing in the shop, and an elderly couple at the next table were talking in low voices.

While soaking in the lingering feeling of having finished the book, I searched my bag and pulled out a book.

At that moment, I felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

When I got home and checked my bookshelf, the same book was lined up there.

The one I bought earlier even had sticky notes on it.

It seems I hadn't been rereading the book after all.

I had bought it all over again.

It is a rather pathetic story for a book lover, but I wonder if there are actually quite a few people who have had a similar experience.

For a long time, I thought that studying meant reading something repeatedly.

Reading it over and over so as not to forget.

Drawing lines.

Putting on sticky notes.

Highlighting the parts I like.

And feeling like I had somehow become smarter.

However, I was a bit surprised recently when I read some research in educational psychology.

In 2006, American psychologists Henry Roediger and Jeffrey Karpicke had students read a text and then compared a 'rereading group' with a 'recall group.' The results were unexpected. While the rereading group had an advantage on a test taken immediately after, a week later, the group that had recalled the content remembered it far better.

This study was published in the major psychology journal Psychological Science and has since been cited over 4,700 times. Today, it is one of the representative findings in educational psychology, known as the 'Testing Effect' or 'Retrieval Practice.'

In other words,

'Reading it again' is not the most effective way to learn.

rather than that,

"recalling what was written"

is actually more likely to stick in your memory in the long run.

I gave a wry smile when I read about this research.

That is because what I have been doing for many years was almost the exact opposite.

Rereading so I wouldn't forget.

Using sticky notes so I wouldn't forget.

Underlining so I wouldn't forget.

And then forgetting anyway.

Looking back now, perhaps I was increasing my sense of security rather than increasing my knowledge.

Of course, this does not mean that rereading is meaningless.

In fact, in this study, those who reread performed better on tests taken immediately afterward.

However, it seems to be a different story if you want to remember things for a long time.

Memory becomes stronger when you try to retrieve it from your mind.

Just as muscles grow by being put under load, memory is also strengthened by the "load of trying to remember."

What is even more interesting is that this effect has been replicated in many subsequent studies. Today, it is applied in medical education and exam preparation, and "testing yourself" is recommended as a learning method.

So, lately, I make it a point to close the book as soon as I finish reading it.

And then I ask myself:

"What was the author's main point?"

"What parts left an impression on me?"

"How would I think about this?"

There are many times I cannot answer.

Sometimes I am surprised by how little I remember.

However, that time is strangely interesting.

When there is a part I cannot recall, I want to reread just that section.

When I do, I feel like the content sticks in my mind better than before.

I think those who love reading will understand.

Sometimes, the act of reading itself becomes the goal.

How many books I have read.

How many pages I have read.

That my pile of unread books has decreased.

Of course, that is also fun.

But the original purpose should have been not just to read books, but to gain something from them.

As we reach the second half of life, time becomes increasingly precious.

That is why I have recently come to value "what I took away from a single book" more than "how many books I have read."

The five minutes after closing a book.

Learning might just begin in that short amount of time.

If I had known this sooner, perhaps there would be fewer instances of having two copies of the same book on my shelf.

No, I probably would have just ended up with three.

#Reading
#Relearning
#ReignitingLife
#EducationalPsychology
#ReadingTechniques