Know why I am doing a series on this?
What Psychologists Don’t Talk About Textbooks?
CONTENTS
Introduction
Structured textbooks use the chunking method extensively.
Nature of textbooks
Purpose of Textbooks
Why should we master a Textbook?
Choosing a Textbook
Topographic Memory
Connective Imagery
Summary
Introduction
Is it possible to master a textbook? If you are told
that you can learn to master a textbook in two days, would you say “Let me
try!” or will you reject it saying “No one can”. In reality, instead of
spending years together just going through several textbooks, is it not better
to learn
how to master a textbook for 12 hours and remember all our textbooks for life?
This is something What psychologists don’t talk about textbooks?
Take
any of your textbooks and see how many pages it contains. Select a novel with
the same number of pages. Now ask yourself, “How many days do I need to read
the novel, so that I can remember it well?” Can you put in the same number of
days to read the textbook?
Structured textbooks use the chunking
method extensively.
Each
one of your textbooks is the best example of chunking (See ‘What PsychologistsDon’t Talk About Chunking’). Title, subtitles, chapters, sections, subsections,
headings, subheadings, constructs, concepts, terms, and words that are underlined
and in bold or italics are ways chunking is used regularly.
Unfortunately,
we are not taught how to study a textbook using the chunking method. Though
textbooks organize information using chunking, we tend to study a textbook
serially as if it were a novel. This is the reason why we are always in the
dark about information available in textbooks.
My
workshops on ‘Learn To Master Your Textbook In Two Days’ and ‘TOPOGRAPHIC
MEMORY & CONNECTIVE IMAGERY’ use a different approach. This method of study
takes chunking to the next level and is more amenable to the way our brain
works in processing, storing, and retrieving information.
Nature of textbooks
If
the students can remember a textbook clearly, there will be very little for
them to study during the whole year in that subject. I had mentioned earlier
that 10th-standard students have very few new things to study as it
is a collection of what they studied for the last 11 years.
A
textbook is a summary of the information available on a particular subject matter
collated from several sources. A textbook is not an end in itself. Many
students, teachers, parents, and even psychologists think that if we know very
well what is there in the textbook, we are prepared to face the examination.
However,
this is not true. A textbook is only an outline. It forms the basis of what you
are supposed to learn for the whole year. Stopping to study at the textbook
level is like reading the title of the book and thinking that we have read the
book.
Purpose of Textbooks
I
prefer to draw similarities between a library and a hospital. The hospital
contains several faculties that deal with patients. But it also has a mortuary
where the dead are kept. Similarly, a library has several faculties like
reference books, journals, magazines, newspapers, etc. but also has textbooks.
Technically, a textbook is a dead body of knowledge.
However,
let’s not underestimate the power of a dead body. Just like a post-mortem can
reveal the cause of death of a person, an autopsy of the textbook can reveal a
lot of information about the subject. Let me remind you that the information in
the textbook is quite older than what is available in the periodicals and to
that extent the information is dead.
Considering
the textbook is ultimate is a disservice to recent advancements in the field of
study. Unfortunately, rarely do students and teachers visit the periodicals,
especially the journal section. They seem satisfied with the textbooks and
reference books.
Why should we master a textbook?
Mastering
a textbook will allow us enough depth and width to understand the complexities
within the subject. Especially at the level of higher studies, reference
material will become more meaningful. I have seen research students referring to
textbooks. This means that they have not understood the subject they are trying
to specialize in.
For
high school and college students, as I have mentioned in Relearning,
subsequent learning becomes very easy. The amount of effort and time the
students are putting in to just understand a few pages of textbook, where many
things get repeated, is unimaginable.
As
one high school student exclaimed, “Is that all? Am I spending the whole year
just to understand only this much?”, you will be surprised to find out that a
textbook contains a minimum amount of information, which you can easily master.
The system has made the textbook out to
be a monster because it can’t tolerate smart students who know better than
their teachers.
So,
let’s master the monster to teach a lesson or two to the world.
Choosing a Textbook
Pick
up a textbook that is most difficult for you. Let it be from the curricula you
are studying in the present year. You must have a basic understanding of the
subject to master it. Whenever I have conducted this program, there will be
some people who bring a textbook on an unknown subject. The most surprising
thing is this technique works even there. However, they can only master the
syllabus but not the content of the whole book.
The
more the textbook is structured, the easier it will be for you to master. So,
don’t play with your notes or any other material.
First,
go through whatever is written before the “Contents”. Each author of the
textbook would have written about the nature and purpose of writing the book. You
must jell with the author before you venture to conquer the book.
Now
go through whatever is written on the backside of the cover. This will provide
you with the gist of what the book is all about.
Count
the number of chapters in the textbook. This will be your ultimate frame of
reference.
Topographic Memory
An
age-old technique called the “Method of Loci” or “Mind Palace” is known to
psychologists and others. However, I prefer to call it topographic memory. The
idea behind this technique is to create physical imagery and associate it with
new information so that it can aid retrieval of specific information.
Rather
than going through the technique, (plenty of literature is available on this)
let me just explain to you what you need to do.
Choose
mentally a familiar place like your room, house, classroom, or school. Make
sure that whichever place you choose must be very clear in your memory. Suppose
you have identified 20 Chapters in your book, try to mentally walk through the
place you have selected, and choose twenty objects or spots in chronological
order.
Use
a sheet like below (My Place) and write down all the objects or spots you have
identified one below the other in the first column. You can download a PDF copy
of the sheet by clicking on the download button.
Make
sure you can recall all of them without error. Maintaining the order is most
crucial.
Next,
write down the name of each chapter, one below the other, in the second column.
Now,
you should think of the first object, and associate it with the first chapter.
The association should be creative, ridiculous, and impossible. The funnier the
association, the better will be your retention.
Do
the same thing for all the chapters you have identified. Whatever association
you have made, try to jot down in the third column “Attach”.
Go
through what you have written as many times as you can until you are sure you
can recall all of them without any mistakes.
Once
you have completed it, close the sheet and mentally try to visualize the object
or spot and try to recall the association and the chapter name. Write down only
the chapter name on another sheet of paper. Cross-check if you have got it all.
It
only takes a few minutes to do this exercise. The greatest advantage is you
will remember it for life. In one of my programs, a high school girl was able
to remember all the 16 chapters in her biology textbook without a single error,
after just a few minutes of using topographic memory.
For
each subject, you can choose a different room, place, or even familiar route.
The most important prerequisite is that whatever you choose must be well-known
to you, and the path you take should be in chronological order.
Connective Imagery
Once
you complete recalling the whole syllabus without a single error, this becomes
a frame of reference for you to proceed further. As the syllabus is a kind of a
pointer to the whole textbook if you do not learn the syllabus properly, you
will always have difficulty in storing the larger information of the textbook.
Before you begin, I suggest that you just go
through the following articles that provide you with a background for mastering
your textbook.
‘How to study a textbook when there is so much
information?’
‘How to study a textbook when we are not sure where to
begin’
‘How to use the six-step strategy in studying a Textbook
when there are so many techniques?’
In the last one I have
given you an outline of the six strategies mentioned in ‘What
Psychologists Don’t Talk About Concentration?’, with a slight
modification. They are General Layout, Relationship, Meaning, Working Memory,
Parallel Processing, and Reorganization.
These are just to provide
you with an introduction about what you should do and not do while studying a
textbook and a general awareness about studying.
Presently, we shall deal
with studying a textbook in 30 Specific Steps.
Step 1: - Forget
the fact that you are a student. Imagine yourself to be a detective. Do you
know how adventurous the job of a detective is? If you do, then your job will
be more fun so get going.
Step 2: - Select a
textbook or syllabus, which is most difficult or boring to you. It is in this
book that you will show your detective skills.
Step 3: - Take a
few sheets of writing paper. Keep your pen or pencil ready but do not write
anything now. Find a good dictionary and place it nearby. Arrange all these
things on the table.
Step 4: - See if
you are comfortable in your sitting position. If you are lying down or
standing, then make yourself room to sit. Use a steel chair, sit comfortably,
and then pull the table towards you. Make sure you do not have to bend down
while reading or writing. Ensure that your back is straight. Posture is an
important ingredient while studying and always you should keep reminding
yourself to maintain an erect position.
Step 5: - Put an
end to your habit of opening your book and reading it. This is the first fatal
error you make, which is irreversible. Do not open the book until you are told
to do so.
Step 6: - On a
sheet of paper draw two parallel lines in such a way that there are three
columns. Write the title of the book at the top of the table and keep your pen
down. (You can even download a
PDF copy of the sheet by clicking on the download button and print copies).
Step 7: - Ask
yourself the three questions: Why should I study this book? What does it deal
with? What do I already know about this subject?
Step 8: - Take
your time thinking about answers to these questions. In “Active Self-Study”,
there is more thinking than reading.
Step 9: - Write
each question in the first column and write the corresponding answer in the
second column. All three questions must be answered before you set out to go
through the textbook. If in case, you are studying a new subject about which
you know very little or nothing, you still need to answer these questions. If
you do not know what exactly to write, then take a guess, even if it is a wild
guess. At this point suspend all judgments. Do not bother whether your answers
are right or wrong. The idea of introducing the second column is to refresh
already existing knowledge. It follows from the dictum: ”From Known
to Unknown”.
Step 10: - Now
start your detective work. Take the book and read the front and back pages.
Read the preface. Read instructions to students if they are present. Glance
through the end of the book and see if the index, glossary, or both are there.
Do not do anything more. This stage of information processing is known as Preparation. You are
regulating your consciousness to receive information as a whole. Keeping the
answers that you have already written down in the second column, you need to Search
and Scan the book at relevant places to find out the following: Do your
answers cover all aspects the book deals with? If not, is there something more
to be added? Are some parts of your answers irrelevant to the subject under
study?
Step 11: - Check
each statement written by you in the second column and scratch out whatever
part is not relevant. If your answer is correct even in general terms then do
not correct or edit it. If you have missed out on something important, then
write that information in the third column.
Step 12: - Now your
general layout is ready. This serves as a foundation upon which you will be
building your repertoire of knowledge.
Step 13: - Usually,
any textbook or syllabus is divided into chapters. Close the book you are
studying and try to visualize the contents. If you have by now used Topographic
Memory, you will recall all the chapters in order. This is an important stage
to set your plan of action and this stage is called Awakening. You need
to awaken your consciousness to see the general relationship that exists
between the major highlights of the study material.
Step 14: - Close
the book. Think of each chapter and try to link it to the subject you are
studying. Guide yourself with the following questions:
1. Why should I study
this chapter?
2. How is this chapter
related to other chapters?
3. Have I already come
across this chapter in my earlier classes?
DOWNLOAD 'Title & Chapters.pdf'
You can either draw your table or download the PDF file and
print as many copies as there are chapters in your textbook.
Step 15: - Write
down the name of the first chapter as a heading. Write the three questions in
the first column. Then write down your answers to these questions in the second
column. Let your answers be brief and to the point. We do not need lengthy
answers at this point.
Step 16: -
Similarly, proceed to other chapters and for each chapter follow the same
method as in Step 15. You are trying to follow the dictum: ”From
General to Specific”. Without doing this if you proceed to go through the reading of
the chapter in detail, then consider that you have blocked any further
learning.
Step 17: - Now open the book. Almost all the good textbooks have a
summary at the end of each chapter. Read it and compare it with what you have
written. Scratch out unnecessary details and fill the third column with what
you have missed.
Step 18: - Go to
the index page. Read each word written there and try to place it concerning the
chapters. If you have a doubt, then refer to the page number and confirm its
origin. If you come across a new word, an unfamiliar word, or a word that gives
no meaning to you, then refer to either the dictionary or the glossary or to
the textbook itself to know its exact meaning. This is an important stage
called Semantics where you associate and tag each word
appropriate to the section.
Step 19: - Close
the book. Take a fresh sheet of paper with three columns and write the name of
the first chapter in the first column. Or you can download the PDF file as
shown below.
Now think of what sections, subsections, and points come under the chapter and write them down in the first column. Try to generate a list of words. Do not elaborate on them at this juncture.
Step 20: - Open the
book and check whether all the important words are present or not. Write down
in the third column what you have missed. Scratch out irrelevant words.
Step 21: - Read the
chapter section by section. This stage is known as Tracking where
specific information is learned part by part. After finishing each section,
close the book, write the section heading in the first column, and write down a
summary of what you have understood. Use your sentences. This is very crucial
because during the examination you have to write everything on your own. This
stage will help you practice for the exams.
Step 22: - Open the
book and check if all details under the section are being recalled by you. Just
as you have done earlier, scratch out unnecessary information and write down
what you have missed in the third column.
Step 23: - Repeat
steps 23 and 24 until you complete all the sections (Page 1), subsections (Page
2), and points (Page 3) in the chapter. Now think of what questions can be
asked in the chapter. If you already have an old set of question papers search
for the relevant questions and see if you can answer them without leaving any
details. The best thing for you to do is to write down the answers to each
question under the chapter. This follows the dictum: “From Simple
to Complex”. Use the same ‘three-column format’ as you
did earlier and check for your completeness in understanding. This stage is
known as Parallel Processing of information.
Step 24: - Repeat
the above procedure for all chapters.
Step 25: - This is
the last stage called Reorganization. Suppose
that a book has 12 chapters. The first chapter has 17 sections, the second 15
sections, and so on. All you need to do is count the number of sections in each
chapter and assign the corresponding number to the letters of the chapter.
Thus, prepare a list like the following: A17, B15, C12, D19… and so on. Go back
to the questions you have answered under each chapter and find out which of the
sections corresponds to the question. For instance, a question in Chapter 1 may
expect you to know sections 7 to 14. Glance through the section headings once
again and file this information in your mind. This will help you to recall
answers fluently during examinations.
Step 26: - As the
adage goes, “Practice makes us perfect”. If you set out to learn on your own
using this method it will work wonders for you. Initially, you may feel the
method is making you proceed very slowly. It does not matter. If you persist
with the method, things will fall into place automatically and the speed picks
up.
Step 27: - Remember always that it is not the amount of information you
go through that matters. What is crucial is how much of the information will be
at your fingertips when you need to recall them. Once you finish the book this
way you can consider yourself a master of the subject. There is no need for you
to go back to the book once again. What you have written down itself serves as
a reference to you.
Step 28: - During exams, there is no need to go through everything you
have written down. Glance through the first column and you know what all are
there in the subject. Whenever you feel that you need revision only then read
the second and third columns.
Step 29: - If you have time to practice write a set of questions from
your memory and answer them on your own. You can also refer to ‘Pass any exam equipped with these
Questions’. Refer to your document only when necessary. This way you will
overcome your problems of forgetting and lack of concentration.
Step 30: - Get set and go actively into your self-study. Wish you all
the best.
Summary
Before we set out to master any textbook, it is essential to know certain facts about it. A textbook uses Chunking extensively to structure its contents. It is a summary of the information available. It forms only an outline for which a student has to collate details. Mastering a textbook will not only allow us to know a lot more about the subject but also make our further classes easier. If you can master a textbook, the subject of which is either boring or difficult for you, then it becomes easier to master other textbooks. Topographic Memory utilizes your capacity to choose a place or a route and associate each chapter in chronological order so that there are no errors in recalling the chapters. Connective Imagery is explained in 30 easy steps, which saves you a lot of time and effort so that you do not have to go through the book several times. Strategies explained in the earlier articles (What Psychologists Don’t Talk About Remembering? What Psychologists Don’t Talk About Concentration? and What Psychologists Don’t Talk About Chunking?) are used to master the textbook or syllabus.
Know why I am doing a series on this?
Let me know if I am wrong. I have started this series because there
are hundreds of things psychologists don’t talk about. I feel that it would
benefit everyone if they did so. I hope at least now, they will make a
beginning.
This is
an attempt to bring to the fore what has been hidden for a very long time.
Next:
Please do not include any spam links in the comment box.