Have you ever spent hours reading and rereading a textbook, only to find you can't explain the basic concepts? You're not alone. Many of us confuse recognizing information with truly understanding it.
Fortunately, there's a surprisingly simple method to break this cycle. It's called the Feynman Technique, named after the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman, who was famous for making complex ideas easy to grasp.
His secret? If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.
What is the Feynman Technique?
It’s a four-step process for learning any concept deeply and quickly. You don't need fancy tools—just a pen, paper, and a willingness to be honest with yourself.
The 4 Steps to Master Anything
Step 1: Choose and Study
Pick a concept you want to learn. Take a sheet of paper and write the name of the concept at the top. Then, study it using your course materials, making notes of the key points in your own words.
Step 2: Teach it to a Child
This is the magic step. On your paper, explain the concept as if you were teaching it to a complete beginner—a child or someone with no background in the subject. Use simple language and avoid jargon. This forces you to confront what you actually know versus what you’ve just memorized.
For example, don't just write "Photosynthesis is a process used by plants." Instead, try: "Plants use sunlight, air, and water to make their own food, like a tiny solar-powered kitchen inside each leaf."
Step 3: Identify the Gaps
This is where the real learning happens. While explaining, you will inevitably find gaps in your understanding—places where your explanation becomes fuzzy, you get stuck, or you have to resort to complex terms. Circle these gaps. This is not a sign of failure; it’s a map of what you need to review!
Step 4: Review and Simplify
Go back to your course notes, videos, or textbook. Focus specifically on the gaps you identified. Study those areas until you can refine and simplify your explanation even further.
Why This Works on Moodle
This technique is perfect for our learning community here on Moodle. You can use the Journal or Blog activity to write out your Feynman-style explanations for different topics. Explaining a concept in a forum post is also a fantastic way to test your understanding and help your peers learn.
Your Challenge This Week: Pick one tricky topic from your studies and try the Feynman Technique. You'll be amazed at how much clearer it becomes.
Happy Learning!