Feynman Study Technique: An effective learning strategy for students
Not everything that needs to be learnt can be grasped and recalled easily by school goers. A lot of concepts and definitions are lengthy and confusing at times. A few study practices like, Feynman Study Technique, can surely help young learners remember things better. Read on to learn about this method to make conceptual understanding less challenging for your teens.
What is Feynman Study Technique?
American physicist, Richard Feynman was said to have an amazing ability to explain complicated subjects to others, in simpler terms. Named after him, the Feynman Study Technique is a method for quickly grasping a concept by describing it in plain and basic terms. It's based on the idea of "trying to explain things simply if you want to understand it completely." That is, we are more likely to grasp a concept quickly if we try to explain it in our own words.
Help your teen apply the Feynman Study Technique
The Feynman Study Technique is a simple strategy to learn anything new. According to this strategy, if you can explain something and use it in a variety of settings, you've learnt it. Use these four steps to make the most of Feynman Study Technique.
Choose a particular concept
What topic fascinates your adolescent? Take out a blank sheet of paper once he has decided on a topic. It could be a Physics concept like magnetism. Have him write down what him know about the subject he wants to comprehend. The kid can contribute to the sheet as they learn more about the subject. For example, the theme could be that of magnetism in Physics.
Explain it to someone else
In this step, you may ask your child to explain the concept to another kid. He can use the sheet as a reference and attempt to eliminate any jargon or unnecessary complexity related to the concept. Also, she has to use a language that a kid might comprehend. Our lack of knowledge is hidden behind jargon.
When kids are forced to write an idea in basic English from beginning to end, they'll notice where they struggle, where it doesn't make sense, what they don't really comprehend as well as they’d thought. You can only help kids fill holes in their knowledge by identifying them. A subject can be made complicated by anyone, but only someone who understands it can make it easy, isn’t it?
Reflect, refine and simplify
Tell your kids that they have grasped the subject well only when they can express it in simple terms. Guide your young learners to examine their notes so that they shouldn’t have borrowed any jargon or glossed over anything difficult. Ask them to read aloud as if reading to a child. If their explanation isn't clear or seems confusing, it's a good sign that the young learner needs to think about it again. They need to return to the original material and go over the incomprehensible bits. Tell them to repeat the process until they've come up with a simple explanation.
Organise and review
Finally, inquire if your school goer has used technical jargon or complex vocabulary in his writing. Ask him to go back and rephrase these sections in a candid language. Motivate your kid to know from others if his explanation was adequate. He should ask these questions to others: Did you understand the concept well? What element of the explanation was confusing? How can I explain better? Answers to these questions will help your kid to grasp the concept better.