Desirable Difficulties - Why "Difficulty" is Necessary in Learning

In the science of learning, there's a term called "Desirable Difficulties," which refers to the cognitive efforts necessary in learning, researched by Robert and Elizabeth Bjork.

In Chapter 5 of "Psychology and the Real World," the Bjorks list and compare learning techniques proven by science to be effective versus those mistakenly thought to be effective. These include:

• Spaced Learning (Spacing) versus Massed Learning (Massing)

• Interleaving Skills versus Blocking Skills

• Self-testing (Testing) and Active Recall (Generation) versus merely Passive Exposure to Information

Methods like Spacing, Interleaving, and Testing often take more time and require more thinking. However, these difficulties make us remember information longer and more deeply.

Because amidst the vast amount of information our brains process daily, actively thinking about something signals to our brain that "this information is not junk, but needs to be absorbed."

Sadly, most of us tend to think that learning methods that make us "think hard" and take more time are inefficient; we often prefer more "chill" methods, like re-reading a book and highlighting (perfect for making a timelapse video :)).

This tendency has a catchy name, the "Misinterpreted-Effort Hypothesis" (Kirk-Johnson, Galla, and Fraundorf, 2019).

I'll write more in detail about "Desirable Difficulties" in future posts. For now, remember that "good learning methods usually require cognitive effort," and if you want to learn poorly, do the opposite.

However, there are also "undesirable difficulties." Some challenges don't come from your own thinking but from external environments, like unreadable lecture slides or environments too noisy to concentrate. These difficulties should be avoided at all costs.

Be curious,

Desirable Difficulties - Why "Difficulty" is Necessary in Learning

In the science of learning, there's a term called "Desirable Difficulties," which refers to the cognitive efforts necessary in learning, researched by Robert and Elizabeth Bjork.

In Chapter 5 of "Psychology and the Real World," the Bjorks list and compare learning techniques proven by science to be effective versus those mistakenly thought to be effective. These include:

• Spaced Learning (Spacing) versus Massed Learning (Massing)

• Interleaving Skills versus Blocking Skills

• Self-testing (Testing) and Active Recall (Generation) versus merely Passive Exposure to Information

Methods like Spacing, Interleaving, and Testing often take more time and require more thinking. However, these difficulties make us remember information longer and more deeply.

Because amidst the vast amount of information our brains process daily, actively thinking about something signals to our brain that "this information is not junk, but needs to be absorbed."

Sadly, most of us tend to think that learning methods that make us "think hard" and take more time are inefficient; we often prefer more "chill" methods, like re-reading a book and highlighting (perfect for making a timelapse video :)).

This tendency has a catchy name, the "Misinterpreted-Effort Hypothesis" (Kirk-Johnson, Galla, and Fraundorf, 2019).

I'll write more in detail about "Desirable Difficulties" in future posts. For now, remember that "good learning methods usually require cognitive effort," and if you want to learn poorly, do the opposite.

However, there are also "undesirable difficulties." Some challenges don't come from your own thinking but from external environments, like unreadable lecture slides or environments too noisy to concentrate. These difficulties should be avoided at all costs.

Be curious,