Are you a student of engineering? , dont you know how to learn more efficiently a subject?

In
addition, do you have illusions of learning? , you get stuck because is difficult to find a learning
method for engineering students, you tried to find it but you only got learning method for
social science. If you are one of this kind of student, this writing is for you.
Learning for engineering student is sometimes difficult, because when somebody starts as a
college student doesnt have a method to learn maths, physics, chemistry, etc. ll share you
information about how to learn. Ive learnt this information from the course learnign how to
learn by Barbara Oakley. Well focus on four topics:
Memory
Illusions of competence
Testing
Deliberate practice

Learning is a complex process and is do it step by step, for example perhaps you think that you
only need to read a math lesson once for learn it and thats all ( the wrong way to go )
1. - Memory
Actually, your memory needs repetition to maintain information for long time. It is something
as a man walking for a ground path that nobody else has passed before. The first time the
footprint will not be clear but if you continue walking for the same path the footprint will be
intense, the same thing happens with your memory. To learn something for so long you need
to read the information several times and understand it. After reading each paragraph, you
have to understand what does that paragraph mean? Answer with your own words and you
will see that you understand more quickly (this is a chunk). Chunk is a solid concept about
what you are learning .Repetition contributes for your long-term memory the table for
repetition is:
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
x x

x

x

2.- illusion of competence
Sometimes you think that youve learnt a lot (this is illusion of competence) in math, physics,
etc. only because you did the repetition that contributed for your long term memory, this
could be true in social science, but for engineering students is different, you know that you
dont only read, you have to solve problems in maths, physics, chemistry,etc too. Perhaps you
know correctly the concepts of the subject that you learnt but when you solve a problem you
get stuck, because you dont know how to solve the problem. Thats why engineering students
need to read and solve problems, understand the concepts and remember step by step how to
solve problems

3.- Testing
Testing is a good way to prove if you have illusions of competence, might you know all the
concepts correctly but when you solve problems you get stuck, this is because you have
illusion of competence. If you easily solve problems congratulations, you do not have illusion
of competence, you have learnt a lot.
4.-Deliberate practice
This topic is for help you for complicated problems, you know that problems have levels of
difficulty, sometimes simple levels are easy to solve but sometimes a high level isnt easy to
solve, deliberate practice is practice how to solve high level problems and remember the steps
for solve it.
Relevants reading
Baddeley,A, Eysenck, M. C. (2009). Memory. NY: Psychology Press.
Keresztes, A., Kaiser, D, Kovacs, G., & Racsmany, M. (2013). Testing promotes long-
term learning via stabilizing activation patterns in a large network of brain areas.