Most Simple Feynman Technique Steps To Retain Information For Longer Periods Of Time

I have a complete blog post that is dedicated to 15 amazing study tips to develop better study habits and get better grades. One of the tips on that list includes the super simple Feynman Technique steps. The Feynman technique was created by an American physicist named Richard Feynman. He discovered this technique with the purpose of learning new information and retaining it for long periods of time.

Luckily for us, this science-backed study method is something we can use as students. The best part about it? It only has four simple steps!

The Feynman technique, simply put is learning the material, teaching it to someone, organizing main concepts, and then filling in the gaps in your knowledge! So continue reading to learn how the Feynman technique works and why it is one of the best techniques for studying smarter to help you better retain information so you can be prepared for any test or quiz your professor throws your way.

How To Use The Feynman Technique

Step #1 → Learn

So the first step is super simple. Well… everything about this study technique is super simple. Pick your topic and start reading through the material and understanding it. If you had a lecture, watch it or go through the notes that you took and take more notes on anything that didn’t make sense the first time you learned it. This may require going to office hours to ask to follow-up questions on the material, doing research on your own, or even reaching out to a classmate or two.

Sometimes creating your own notes as the professor is lecturing, you get overwhelmed with the amount of material they cover. This can make you forget the little details. So, asking while the information is still fresh on your mind will help you fill in those gaps.

You can’t continue to the next step until you have at least studied the material once. So take your time and make sure you have a decent grasp on the information you want to master.

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Step #2 → Teach

Now for the fun part, teaching. This is where you see how much information you retained by explaining what you just learned in step 1. There are two ways you can do this:

1. By yourself
2. With someone else

Teaching to someone else is ALWAYS more effective because they are able to ask you questions after you teach them. It will be intimidating at first, but allowing someone to ask you questions about the topic will only help you learn more and retain more.

This is also the most important step because you will notice that when you are teaching something there will be a couple of gaps in your knowledge. You want to make note of what you aren’t able to explain. Don’t feel discouraged, because this is inevitable unless you have the best memory in the world. Once you’ve noted the areas you can’t remember, you can move on to step #3.

Step #3 → Review Study Material Again

This is crucial. While you were teaching the material in the previous step you may have remembered a lot of what you learned or only a little. Either way, it’s so very important for you to fill in these gaps and make sure you have a grasp on all the major points of the material. This is an essential part of retaining information. Study → test your knowledge → study again → test your knowledge, and then you will eventually retain all of the information you want to know.

A key factor in this is to NOT stress out or get sad if you aren’t retaining the information in one or two study sessions. Learning is a process and you have to remember that sometimes you may need extra assistance. If things just aren’t clicking as you go back and forth through the review phase and teaching phase, go to your professors/teachers’ office hours, search up the topic on Khans Academy, and ask that super smart kid that sits in front of you in class.

NEVER have too much pride to ask for help. This is something that I had to learn the hard way. Because when you keep falling behind because you don’t understand a topic, that frustration and confusion will continue to build and build, and then you find yourself confused for the rest of the semester. ASK FOR HELP.

Step #4 → Simplify key concepts

Once you have a good understanding of the material, it’s time to simplify your knowledge. This is after step 4 because you can’t simplify anything if you have gaps in your knowledge on the topics you’re trying to master. Also, find better ways to remember the information using acronyms, use mnemonic devices, and find creative and even fun ways to remember information, unique to you. Or search up fun ways other people remember whatever topic you’re studying. Anything that will help you access the information you’ve learned is great.

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This is one of the greatest ways to learn and retain information in my opinion because anyone can do this! There’s no complicated formula. Learn on your own, teach someone or yourself the info, fill in gaps, and simplify key concepts.

Every single person has the capability to retain information and it’s using techniques like the Feynman Technique steps that make it so much easier and honestly kinda fun. So get to studying and make sure you focus on really understanding what you’re learning. I know you got this. Happy studying 📘.