Learn smarter: remember what you learn

Learn smarter: remember what you study

You read a chapter, you understand it, and a week later you know almost nothing about it. You read it again, and it costs you another evening. Recognise that? Then it is not your memory or your discipline. It is usually the way you study.

In the course Learn smarter: remember what you learn, Anton, one of the co-founders of Soofos, shows you what research really supports. You apply it straight away to your own study, whether that is an exam, a certificate, a language or an online course.

Why learning smarter gets you more than studying longer

Most people put hours into methods that feel good but give little back. Rereading, highlighting and summarising make a text familiar, and that familiar feeling looks like knowing. On an exam or at work you have to pull the material out yourself, and that is exactly what you have not practised.

Whoever learns smarter uses the same hours differently. In this course you see why you forget, what your working memory can and cannot hold, and which methods sit at the top of the ranking of learning techniques. Learning styles are covered too, and why you do not need to base your study time on them. Afterwards you know where your hours no longer need to go.

What you learn: remember better and really understand

You start with the forgetting curve and working memory, so you understand why material does not stay. Then you learn the two methods with the strongest evidence: testing yourself and spreading your study time. Next you practise mixing up topics, worked examples and the explain-it-out-loud test. In the course you learn, among other things, to:

• Explain how fast you forget and why repeating at intervals works
• Split material into blocks that fit in your working memory
• Test yourself instead of rereading
• Make test questions and flashcards from a chapter, video lesson or training
• Set up a repeat schedule for a real deadline
• Practise different kinds of exercises mixed together
• Learn from worked examples and check whether you really understand something
• Take notes with the Cornell method and turn summaries into questions

Besides that, you tackle the practical side. You write an if-then plan against procrastination, make a study plan that holds up alongside work and family, and set up a study session with your phone in another room.

How the course works

The course consists of short video lessons, divided over five chapters. Each lesson covers one method, with a recognisable example from practice: a professional certification exam, an Excel training, a language or a bookkeeping course. Anton shows on screen each time how you apply the method to an online course on Soofos.com.

Each lesson ends with one task under the heading Do this week. So it does not stop at watching: you apply each method straight away to your own study. You do not need paid tools. Paper, a notebook and a diary are enough.

The last lesson brings everything together. You put all the weekly actions on one weekly card, with fixed short study moments, a test session for each moment and repeats at the agreed intervals. Anton walks through a realistic week, with busy evenings and a missed session, and shows how you recalculate instead of catching up. He also runs one study moment from start to finish on Soofos, so you see that the whole system fits into one evening. Finally, he sums up in one minute why it works, with sources.

Who is this course for?

This course is for you if you want to study with fewer wasted hours and better results. For example, if you:

• Work and are taking a certificate or professional diploma
• Are a parent or carer and your study has to fit into a full week
• Are learning a language or a new skill for your work
• Want to finish an online course instead of leaving it half done
• Are a student and want to tackle your exams differently
• Often procrastinate and find it hard to start studying

You need no prior knowledge. Everything is explained in plain English, with sources for anyone who wants to read further.

Start learning smarter today

You do not need to study more hours; you can spend them differently. After this course you have your own learning system that you can run straight away, adjust after two weeks, and apply to your next course or certificate. You follow the course online in the Soofos learning environment, at your own pace and at the moments that fit your week.

Want to learn smarter and remember what you study? Sign up today for Learn smarter: remember what you learn and get started with Anton!