Learning & Cognition

Evidence-based learning & cognition practices.

38 concepts in this area — each broken into concrete practices with the real mechanism, an honest read on the evidence, and how to practice it with IX Coach.

Active Recall: The Most Effective Way to Study
The testing effect, retrieval practice, and how to build active recall into every session
Chunking: How to Learn More by Grouping Better
Working memory, meaningful grouping, and the architecture of expertise
Cognitive Load Theory: Learning Within Working Memory Limits
Working memory limits, the three types of cognitive load, and how to learn and teach within them
Concrete Examples: How to Make Abstract Ideas Stick
The cognitive mechanism behind examples and how to deploy them without fooling yourself
Contextual Interference: Why Varied Practice Beats Blocked Repetition
Blocked vs. varied practice, the spacing effect, and why practice that feels harder builds skills that last
Cornell Note-Taking: A System for Learning, Not Just Recording
The structure, the science behind it, and how to use it for real retention
Deliberate Practice, Not Just Practice
Focused, feedback-driven practice at the edge of your ability
Desirable Difficulties: When Harder Means Better Learning
The difficulties worth keeping — and the ones to remove
Dual Coding: Learn With Words and Pictures Together
Two channels, two routes to memory — when visuals actually help
Elaborative Interrogation: Ask "Why Is This True?"
Turning facts into understanding by demanding a reason
Embodied Cognition: How Your Body Shapes Your Thinking
Grounded metaphor, gesture, posture, and what movement does for understanding
Errorful Learning: Why Making Mistakes Strengthens Memory
Prediction errors, the hypercorrection effect, and how to design your learning around productive failure
Interleaving: Mix It Up to Learn It Better
Why mixed practice feels worse and works better
Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle: Learning by Doing and Reflecting
The four-stage cycle and how to use it to learn more from every experience
Levels of Processing: Why Depth of Encoding Determines What You Remember
Shallow vs. deep encoding, elaboration, and the practical techniques that drive durable memory
Make It Stick: The Science of Learning
Retrieval, spacing, interleaving, and elaboration — the evidence-backed core
Metacognition: Knowing What You Actually Know
Monitoring, calibrating, and steering your own understanding
Mind Mapping: Visual Thinking for Learning and Creativity
When mind mapping works, when it doesn’t, and how to use it well
Overlearning: When Practicing Past Mastery Pays Off
The mechanism, the evidence, and the diminishing returns you should know about
Peg System Mnemonics, Made Practical
Hooks, images, and the weird pictures that make numbers stick
Scaffolding: The Art of Temporary Learning Support
How temporary support structures accelerate development and when to remove them
Spaced Repetition That Actually Sticks
The spacing effect, expanding intervals, and how to run flashcards well
The Curse of Knowledge: Why Experts Struggle to Teach
Why knowing too much makes you a worse teacher — and the practices that fix it
The Expertise Reversal Effect: When Help Becomes Harmful
Why novice-friendly instruction can undermine expert performance and what to do instead
The Feynman Technique, Step by Step
Explain it simply, find the gaps, and close them
The Forgetting Curve: How Memory Decays and How to Fight It
Memory decay, the spacing effect, and how to schedule review so retention compounds rather than collapses
The Generation Effect: Why Making It Yourself Makes It Stick
Generate answers, fill blanks, and solve problems — before you are shown the solution
The Learning Styles Myth: What the Research Actually Says
Why VARK fails the research test — and what actually predicts learning
The Major System: Encode Numbers as Words
Phonetic encoding, word images, and the PAO system — building number memory from scratch
The Method of Loci: How to Build a Memory Palace
Ancient spatial memory technique backed by modern cognitive science
The Protege Effect: Learn It Better by Teaching It
Why explaining to someone else is one of the best ways to understand
The SQ3R Method for Active Reading
Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review — active reading that actually sticks
The Testing Effect: Why Retrieval Practice Beats Restudying
Retrieval practice, elaborative interrogation, and why the act of remembering makes memories stronger
The Worked Examples Effect: Learn Faster by Studying Solutions First
How to use solved examples, self-explanation, and fading to build skill faster than problem-first practice
Ultralearning: Aggressive, Self-Directed Learning
Metalearning, directness, drill, retrieval, and feedback as one system
Working Memory: How Your Brain Holds Thoughts in Play
The phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, central executive, and what they mean for you
Zettelkasten: Thinking in a Slip-Box
Atomic notes, your own words, and links that compound into thinking
Zone of Proximal Development: Learning at Your Real Edge
Targeting the gap between what you can do alone and what you can do with guidance

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