Notes on learning science, the ideas I take from it, and how I’m applying them to AbsolutePath.
I’m building a place that asks us to do something with what we consume: pay attention, make connections, explain, recall, and return. Here is the thinking behind those choices.
By deliberate practice here, I mean focused attempts with feedback. I separate what the studies found from my interpretation and the product choices they inspire.
Craik & Tulving · 1975
Meaning matters when we encode.
What the research found
In word-memory experiments, processing meaning generally supported later memory better than attending to appearance. Spending longer on a shallow task did not produce the same benefit.
What I take from it
I take this as a reason to design for meaningful thinking, rather than effort for its own sake. Encoding is not a switch that only deliberate practice turns on.
How I’m applying it
Priming gives attention a direction; notes and explanations invite learners to work with an idea. This is how I translate the finding into a product decision.
In a controlled college-physics study, students in active classes learned more on the study’s tests while feeling they had learned less than students in lectures.
What I take from it
A smooth experience can be misleading. This does not mean reading or watching teaches us nothing; it means the feeling of progress needs checking.
How I’m applying it
I want the learning flow to make room for answers and feedback, rather than treating a finished video as evidence of understanding.
Students who practised recalling passages retained more on delayed tests than those who restudied them. Restudying performed better on the immediate test and raised confidence.
What I take from it
I see recall as learning work, not just a final examination. Retrieval and initial encoding are related but distinct processes.
How I’m applying it
Practice questions ask for an answer before feedback. Find My Gaps invites an explanation, creating an opportunity to check what can actually be recalled.
A review of distributed-practice experiments found a retention benefit from spacing study. Useful intervals depended in part on how long the material needed to be retained.
What I take from it
Learning needs another visit. I do not read this as a universal timetable that works for every person and every topic.
How I’m applying it
Scheduled review gives learners a way back to earlier material. I treat the timing as a design choice to evaluate and improve.