Time is finite. As a developer, your profession requires continuous learning and improvement. For you, I’m sure this is one of the things that you love most about the field. Regardless, the pressure to upskill can make slower methods of learning seem obsolete. However, to achieve deep expertise in many areas, you still need to pick up an intimidating paper or a large textbook. In this quick read, I’ll leave you with a few tips to help the process move along a little more smoothly.
Read the Preface and Introduction
As I mentioned, time is of the essence. Unless the time dedicated to reading a text is part of a hobby, you probably want to make sure that what you’re reading addresses your interests. The preface is the perfect place to make sure that the book aligns with your needs. Here, the author typically describes what the book is about and specifies the intended audience. Naturally, you should still take a look yourself, but the preface does a good job of letting you know what you can expect from the book ahead.
Start at the Back of the Chapter
It might seem counterintuitive, but reading the chapter summary and practice questions helps you quickly grasp the big-picture ideas.
Think of a puzzle. You’d have a much harder time putting the pieces together if you had no idea of the end product. Instead, you look at the picture you’re working toward first. This gives your mind crucial perspective as you fill in the details.
If there are end-of-chapter quizzes or practice questions, read these as well. Once you begin reading the chapter, you’ll already have an idea of what you are looking to answer.
Make Multiple Passes Through the Material
Skimming, scanning, and close reading are powerful tools.
Skimming involves quickly glancing through the entire chapter, focusing on headings, highlighted notes, and bits of text that catch your eye. This follows well after reading the end-of-chapter summary.
Scanning is reading quickly to find the answer to a particular question. Once you’ve read through the summary and questions, you will naturally feel curious. There’s nothing wrong with scanning the text to find the answer to a particular question you may have.
Once you begin to read closely, your focus should be on details. Remember the big picture you read about in the summary and try to link the details together as you go.
Stay Active When Reading Closely
You may argue that there are pros and cons to daydreaming in general. What we do know for certain is that daydreaming is time-consuming and exhausting.
To avoid distractions, I tend to read with a pencil or highlighter, and every so often I make a mark on the page to make sure I’m still awake. While memorizing information word for word can be dangerous, you still need to test your understanding since long-term recall is our end goal. To this end, you should question yourself on what you are reading as you go along.
The process of taking notes can also play a role in helping you re-encounter information and challenging you to translate it into your own words.
Lastly, as you read, be sure to interact with the information as much as possible. If there are simplifying assumptions being applied, think about how the situation would change if those assumptions were not there. If the example provided is too complicated, see what simplifying assumptions you can add to break the problem down.
Do the Exercises
The more ways you can reinforce what you’ve learned, the better. Exercises reinforce learning by involving key components of memory such as:
Struggle
Story building, establishing context, and experiencing healthy stress can all help you master a concept. Seeing how you can interact with a learned topic in a more realistic way than simply reading text can go a long way toward helping you apply it in other situations.
Creating Pathways to Retrieval
The more ways your mind can lead you to the information, the easier it will be to retrieve. This is why memorizing solely word for word is difficult: it leaves you with one specific way of recalling information.
Repetition
Practice really does make permanent. Going over something new reinforces the connections formed in your brain. Continuing with the pathways analogy, it is like the tread created from walking the same path through grass over and over again. Spaced repetition is crucial to helping the information stick.
Own the Learning Process and Try to Have Fun
Catering to these aspects of memory helps us move from recognition to being able to retrieve and manipulate information when we need it. At the end of the day, though, if we are going to be lifelong learners, then it really is in our best interest to enjoy the process. Happy reading!