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games for learning & memory:
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Note: the self-experiment below is excerpted (with minor modifications) from p. 287 in Smarter Tomorrow. For more on the power of video games to improve mental performance, read chapter 17, “Serious Games”. To run a full version of this self-experiment, follow the instructions for the 12-week program in chapter 4, "The Nuts and Bolts".
The following experiment will compare the effects of two interventions on your learning and memory. In one intervention, you will use spaced repetition software to learn new material; in the other, you will use a typical learning method (e.g., physical flash cards). Because these interventions are learning aids—they affect how you learn the material while you use the aid but not how you learn material generally — you will be testing yourself on the material learned, not on your learning and memory abilities broadly.
Materials
Cost: Low ($0 to $50)
Complexity: Low
How to Customize
Directions
Sources from Endnotes in Smarter Tomorrow:
Karpicke, J. D., and J. R. Blunt. “Retrieval Practice Produces More Learning than Elaborative Studying with Concept Mapping.” Science 331 (6018): 772–75, 2011. doi.org/10.1126/science.1199327.
The following experiment will compare the effects of two interventions on your learning and memory. In one intervention, you will use spaced repetition software to learn new material; in the other, you will use a typical learning method (e.g., physical flash cards). Because these interventions are learning aids—they affect how you learn the material while you use the aid but not how you learn material generally — you will be testing yourself on the material learned, not on your learning and memory abilities broadly.
Materials
- Spaced repetition based flashcard app (e.g., Anki, SuperMemo, etc)
- Tools to make physical flash cards (paper, markers)
- Marbles (to make the experiment randomized)
- A timer
- Your performance-based learning and memory test (for examples, flip to the end of chapter 9, "Memory and Learning").
- Your Neurohacker's Lab Notebook where you'll record your experiment and your results (see chapter 5, "Organize to Motivate")
Cost: Low ($0 to $50)
Complexity: Low
How to Customize
- Pick a spaced repetition flashcard app at a price point and of a style that fits you best. Anki is one of the best known and it is free, but there are plenty from which to choose.
- Pick a topic to learn that you’re excited to master and that involves a lot of new words or concepts (for example, a foreign language or an area of science). There should also be at least eight tests on the subject matter available so that you can assess your learning as you go. Split the words or concepts you plan to learn in half. Half you will learn using spaced repetition and half you will learn using your typical study method.
Directions
- Take a baseline test to assess your knowledge of the topic you plan to learn.
- Flip a coin to decide whether you will start with spaced repetition or your typical study method.
- Begin studying using whichever intervention the coin flip indicated. Each day for a week, spend 15 minutes learning using that intervention. Record how many words you studied each day in your Neuro- hacker’s Notebook. At the end of the week, take a test to assess how much you learned that week.
- Switch to the other intervention for the next week. Alternate each week for at least eight weeks.
- At the end of your self-experiment, compare how many words you learned each day using the two interventions. Also compare how well you did on your end-of-week tests. Which intervention led to better learning for you?
Sources from Endnotes in Smarter Tomorrow:
Karpicke, J. D., and J. R. Blunt. “Retrieval Practice Produces More Learning than Elaborative Studying with Concept Mapping.” Science 331 (6018): 772–75, 2011. doi.org/10.1126/science.1199327.