What are the benefits of testing oneself after learning new material?

Question

What are the effects of self-testing shortly after learning on retention of learned information?

Answer 1

mr huberman thank you i just finished this podcast and now i realised that i can learn way better by just learning features in this video

Answer 2

It seems as if some tools are known to all but when you explained the science behind everything it appears to be more meaningful to use them in my life. Thank you so much Dr. Andrew for this valuable podcast.

Answer 3

Not only are you teaching valuable lessons for life, you also articulate and express yourself so well that it is a joy to listen. Thank you so very much for your work Mr. Huberman.

Answer 4

# Action Takeaways for Effective Studying and Learning

## Preparation
1. Get a good night's sleep before studying.
2. Schedule regular study times (aim for 3-4 hours daily, split into 2-3 sessions).
3. Create a distraction-free environment (put away phones, inform others you're unavailable).
4. Hydrate and consider appropriate caffeine intake.

## During Study Sessions
1. Actively engage with the material - tell yourself it's important.
2. Focus intently on the material - use mindfulness techniques if needed.
3. Take brief pauses (5-30 seconds) during study for "gap effects".
4. Incorporate emotion and storytelling when possible.
5. Use interleaving - mix in related topics or anecdotes.

## Testing and Review
1. Test yourself very soon after first exposure, ideally same day or next day.
2. Use open-ended short answer questions for self-testing.
3. Teach the material to others to reinforce your understanding.
4. Space out your studying and testing over time.
5. Embrace the challenge - if it feels difficult, you're likely learning.

## After Studying
1. Prioritize good sleep the night after learning (first night effect).
2. Consider non-sleep deep rest (NSDR) or yoga nidra to enhance neuroplasticity.
3. Avoid checking your phone immediately after a study session.

## Long-term Strategies
1. Develop a long-term, aspirational understanding of how your learning will impact your life.
2. Practice focus regularly through mindfulness meditation or perceptual exercises.
3. Recognize the difference between familiarity and mastery.
4. Aim to progress from unskilled to skilled to mastery to virtuosity.
5. Don't be discouraged by errors - they help identify knowledge gaps.

## For Educators
1. Inform students about frequent quizzes as a learning tool at the course start.
2. Use open-ended questions and "trick" multiple-choice questions to test deeper understanding.
3. Be aware that using humor might impact student evaluations.

Remember: The goal is to offset forgetting through active recall and testing, rather than passive re-exposure to material. Regular self-testing is one of the most effective study methods, potentially improving retention by about 50%.

Comments

ai.

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yep

Answer 5

I usually don't make any notes of any podcast, but this one forced me to pickup my pen and note, which literally means that now I'm more neuroplastic to learning than I was an hour ago.

Answer 6

Starting school at 40 this coming Monday.. thank you so much! This is much appreciated!

Answer 7

Huberman, you are the best discovery in my life! Since I met your podcast a while ago, my life has improved in a lot of ways! I’m from Brazil and I’m really grateful for your existence! I started doing the 13 min meditation and I noticed improvement in my focus, and also I’m doing yoga nidra every night before sleeping. I’m a student, and these latest content was everything I needed to know for improve my learning, thank you, thank you so much for helping us!❤ oh, I also want to thank you for always explaining the meaning of technical terms, specially when you have guests, it’s really thoughtful of you! for a foreigner like me, it helps me understand much better your powerful content!

Answer 8

51:19 just marking this here as one of the key points of this lecture, many thanks Dr Huberman

"When you take a test on the material you just viewed, you half the amount of forgetting that would normally occur"

Answer 9

You have no idea how grateful we are for you Dr.Andrew.  I’ve unlocked a whole new character just by listening to your podcast

Answer 10

I will be sharing this episode with all my current and future students, thank you!

Answer 11

I was striving for such an information, to boost my studies at the next level
I came across this channel for a reason...

Answer 12

Impeccable Timing for my Birthday today! Thank you Andrew for your insightful and helpful information that your provide much appreciated!!

Comments

Happy birthday!

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you Andrew!!

Answer 13

Thanks for this Dr Huberman! As a student, I feel lucky to have you teach me, and the lucky others who also discovered your channel, all these useful things! Can't wait to start employing these Protocols, and also, can't wait for Protocols! (I want the hardcover but idk why it says unavailable, so I'm waiting to pre-order) The following is me testing myself after just finishing this video:

- Mindfulness meditiation 10-20 mins a day where you keep getting your focus back to your breath, or/and open eye focus retention

- NSDRs at some point in the day

- A good amount of sleep (especially on the first night of exposure to the material)

- Testing: Immediately after learning a topic for offseting most of the forgetful stuff (i forgot the term), frequently test yourself and just let the info play in your mind. Short and long answer questions that make you delve deep into it are better than mcqs.

- Pauses while consuming knowledgable content to let the hypothalamus (i think thats the part of the brain, edit: it was Hippocampus lol) play it at a rapid speed 20-30 times.

- What good students do, and what i will/am going to do: Schedule time to study, offset distractions and tell others that im going offline and to not disturb me, and teach the content to others in my course.

Next, I'm going to delve into your sleep series as I'm really having problems in that area, and like you mentioned, its worth the time and effort to get our sleep straight. I'm having a hard time going to sleep at night as my brain is constantly thinking, and alert, i overthink about things a lot, and i mean REALLY overthink..  I am sure your sleep videos will help me.[I saw a lot of ur vids (the david goggins one as soon as it released, i will never forget the anterior mid-cingulate cortex, the more you do things you dont like to do, the more easier it gets for you to do things like that...) some time ago and i am really interested in them but I have been busy with studies, but leave all of that, i love your vids and anyone who gets to watch them are lucky. I remember a few of the sleep tips like the early morning sunlight for the cortisol, but Its been a while and i think you have 2 or 3 videos for sleep, so I'm going to make time to watch them asap.
Thank you for what you do, genuinly.. You're making a big difference in our lives.

Answer 14

Mondays morning are for learning!

Comments

your butt is for learning

Answer 15

its a joy to see how Huberman lights up when going through the way he tested his class material. this is something only people who loves learning appreciate

Answer 16

¡Hola Profe! Extremely relevant topic. Being a parent, I'm truly grateful to You for this episode, especially since another school year is about to start. Thank You for all Your hard work and care for all of us.

Answer 17

After 10 years, I decided to go back to college this semester. God bless you for this podcast

Answer 18

Professor, you are an absolute gem. Thank you.

Answer 19

My teachers in class always told us to help our friends when they were struggling with some questions, highlighting that teaching your friends would help us more than it would to our friends. And one professor in uni also encouraged us to resolve each other's queries before finally reaching out to them as the last resort. This episode really reaffirms why.

Answer 20

First of all thanks for the podcast & time you devoted for us. Here is summary or crux of what have been taught during podcast :

It is important to offset the natural process of forgetting the learning you made. How ?
Voluntary Focus with alertness .Note that focus is limited but a renewable resource.
Good night sleep before you work on the plan for next day
 Drink caffeine if required for alertness & most importantly do mindfulness meditation
 According to the data survey of toppers here are the points you should consider while studying :
   1. Schedule your day to avoid distractions. Strictly followed the plan no matter what.
   2. When studying for long hrs break those hours into session or subjects.
3. It is not absolutely right that the subject requires interest in it but importantly requires focus with alertness.
4. Long term aspiration & goals
5. Test yourself you prepared for the subject.
6. Try recalling not revising until necessary.
7.self testing much, is far better than learning a study material thrice .... Test yourself whether you are able to answer the questions asked in the test.  It may happen sometimes that when you are testing yourself you don't find yourself up to mark,  but this is an effective strategy in the long term . Keep practicing. Testing should be sake for learning what you study
8.gap effects, take pause of 10 mins in every 1 hrs study.