Research Data on Learning Methods?

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DelightfulLiberty

There's lots of received wisdom and personal anecdote, but has there been any decent research that shows/quantifies that certain learning methods lead to improvement?

Various YTers and writers etc expound the benefits of such-and-such a method (puzzles, playing, game analysis, visualisation techniques, memorisation, theory, etc), but is there anything beyond 'it worked for me and others' to back up their suggestions?

marqumax
After 3 years of searching I have not found anything like that. I have even talked to scientists on how the brain functions, but there seems to be no useful scientific study that can be applied to chess improvement. There has been many studies that take a look at chess in terms of what playing chess does to your brain but not the other way around
DelightfulLiberty
marqumax wrote:
After 3 years of searching I have not found anything like that. I have even talked to scientists on how the brain functions, but there seems to be no useful scientific study that can be applied to chess improvement. There has been many studies that take a look at chess in terms of what playing chess does to your brain but not the other way around

Given how long chess has been around, and how much research there has been on chess and brain functions, you'd really think there'd be more research on the ways in which people get better. It doesn't seem largely based upon conjecture and 'commo sense' at present.

marqumax
DelightfulLiberty wrote:
marqumax wrote:
After 3 years of searching I have not found anything like that. I have even talked to scientists on how the brain functions, but there seems to be no useful scientific study that can be applied to chess improvement. There has been many studies that take a look at chess in terms of what playing chess does to your brain but not the other way around

Given how long chess has been around, and how much research there has been on chess and brain functions, you'd really think there'd be more research on the ways in which people get better. It doesn't seem largely based upon conjecture and 'commo sense' at present.

If I become GM one day I'll get a degree in neuroscience and write a book about it

NotAUniqueUserName

There is no conclusive way of determining how learning occurs. All we know is this "Don't give people answers, only guidance; let them derive the answers," and they will learn.

DelightfulLiberty
NotAUniqueUserName wrote:

There is no conclusive way of determining how learning occurs. All we know is this "Don't give people answers, only guidance; let them derive the answers," and they will learn.

But what about some very simple research, like a 1000 learners are taught x method, a 1000 y, and a 1000 z and then after a year which group has shown most improvement in chess ratings?

marqumax

I mean they do exist. But they don't bring anything new to the table. One study published in the journal "Psychology of Sport and Exercise" in 2014 found that a combination of practice, training, and game analysis was the most effective way to improve chess performance. The study showed that players who engaged in regular practice and training, combined with analyzing their own games and the games of others, made significant improvements in their chess ratings over time.

But again this is pretty vague and sounds like another personal tip.

NotAUniqueUserName

People all learn differently, so better methods are those that more people could learn from. New methods do not improve the quality of learning relative to the best current method, only the quantity of people learning. Only when there is new material to teach would methods matter. But that material must be truly new. Chess is so old that there is no new material to teach. A piece always behave in a well define manner.

DelightfulLiberty
marqumax wrote:

I mean they do exist. But they don't bring anything new to the table. One study published in the journal "Psychology of Sport and Exercise" in 2014 found that a combination of practice, training, and game analysis was the most effective way to improve chess performance. The study showed that players who engaged in regular practice and training, combined with analyzing their own games and the games of others, made significant improvements in their chess ratings over time.

But again this is pretty vague and sounds like another personal tip.

What did they mean by practice and training?

PlayByDay

While I don't have any real advice about what to learn, I do think there are some good general strategy about how to learn. Which for me comes both from my own experience as well as "Learning how to learn" ( course, video ) and similar courses.

For most part it is about a lot of obvious stuff:

  • Continuous learning : instead of learning on weekend or "when I have more time", do it at least a little bit every day.
  • Spaced repetition : repeat the concepts you are learning even after you have learned them. More often when you just started learn them, less often after you are "done" with them.
  • Recall instead of recognize : it is much better to try remembering a concept or the correct answer yourself first and then look it up instead of just rewatching a lesson going "Ah yeah, I totally remember that".
  • Time management : Sitting for hours, trying to learn something might be somewhat good for training your focus but it is very ineffective, much better to use something like pomodoro where you learn/play/analyze for 15 - 30 min and then take a 5 - 10 min break, preferably doing something physical. Rinse and repeat for the whole duration of your study.
  • Do hard things first : many prefer to do some puzzles and play their game instead of analyzing their lost game or learn some specific concept. Instead of pushing it to a "later" which never comes, do those things first while you are still fresh with energy.
  • Physical activity : physical activity is good for your brain, nothing else is really needed to be said. Both light activity before learning as well as harder and more intense activity after study sessions. Good sleep is also important so it could be advised to getting to bed earlier instead of stay up half the night to study.
  • Memory technics : Mnemonics like "knights on the brim is grim" are supposed to improve memmorization of concepts. Pretty sure it works well in chess when you can visualize directly what "fork" or "screw" means.
  • Taking tests often : specific puzzles for the concepts you are learning as well as playing games is a good way to implement your knowledge and should be done parallell with the learning. Doubt anyone really tries to first read chess books and watch all lessons before playing but I have seen people who watch advance programming without ever written even the simplest hello_world.