Dr. Murtaza Hameer is a medical doctor turned teacher. He pursued his medical degree in India and did the United States medical licensing exams in the USA. He also has a postgraduate diploma in education from the University of Dar es Salaam. He is the author of the book, “Learning How To Learn: Doing well in school, college and beyond”. He is passionate about education and teaching with interests also in philosophy, science, theology and spirituality.
R
ichard Feynman was an American physicist who won the Nobel Prize in the field of Quantum Electrodynamics. He was arguably among the smartest people to have lived after Einstein. A charismatic and eloquent speaker, Feynman had the ability to explain difficult concepts in college and university level physics in ways that students could easily understand.
His method of learning new information came to be known as the Feynman Method. This method involves four basic steps:
Pick a topic you wish to learn
Teach yourself or another person
Fill in the knowledge gaps
Simplify things
Let’s discuss these steps briefly.
The first step is to pick a topic of your interest or a topic that you’re learning in school or college. Learn the topic with understanding, by reading the textbooks, making mind maps, watching relevant videos on the Internet, etcetera. The key here is to understand what you’re learning.
The second step involves explaining to yourself (if you prefer studying alone) or to a colleague what you just learned in your own words. During this process, you will likely get stuck in your explanation process. When that happens, don’t get discouraged. It’s your brain’s amazing way of telling you that you have a knowledge gap.
This leads you to the third step. Dig deeper by reading some more, watching more videos, discussing with colleagues until you ‘get’ the concepts that you are learning. Fill in those gaps!
Once this is done, the fourth step is to simplify what you have learned via your own words and explanations. You should be able to explain what you have learned so that an eight year old can understand you.
The Feynman Method is all about understanding. Being able to explain things in your own words will allow you to remember things effortlessly as well as allow you to use that knowledge in answering questions that require you to apply what you have understood.
Remember, what you’re learning in school or college, in one way or another, directly or indirectly, is to prepare you to have the understanding of the concepts as well as the ability to apply what you have understood in the real world. Richard Feynman’s technique will help you do just that. Give it a try. You won’t be disappointed.
Dr. Murtaza Hameer is a medical doctor turned teacher. He pursued his medical degree in India and did the United States medical licensing exams in the USA. He also has a postgraduate diploma in education from the University of Dar es Salaam. He is the author of the book, “Learning How To Learn: Doing well in school, college and beyond”. He is passionate about education and teaching with interests also in philosophy, science, theology and spirituality.
