Learning when not learning.

[Cainntear]

I wonder if anyone can help.

Years ago, I read about the idea that the human brain keeps "learning" even when not actively using the material you were studying a while ago -- it's an effect that seems to be strongest for a week or two.

I hadn't thought about this at all this year throughout my masters, and now I'm working through the data for my thesis, and when I found that some did better on the delayed test (a week after stopping learning the target language) than in the immediate test (a day after the learning), I remember it.

But I don't know if this idea has a particular name or is associated with a particular researcher.

Does anyone know what name(s) I should be looking for in the literature?

[galaxyrocker]

I don't recall the name, but you might be interested in the Learning How to Learn Coursera course. If I recall correctly, they talk about this and how it comes down to basically having two modes of learning. You might be able to register and just view the recommended reading sessions. It seems like weeks 1 or 3 are probably the best (it's been a while since I've done the course; should do it again).

[jeff_lindqvist]

I just found a link to a report called Spacing effects in learning.

From the abstract:
"In a study aimed at characterizing spacing effects over significant durations, more than 1,350 individuals were taught a set of facts and--after a gap of up to 3.5 months--given a review. A final test was administered at a further delay of up to 1 year."

Fulltext available (from SAGE Publications and eScholarship University of California) in the upper right-hand corner.

[DaveBee]

I wonder if anyone can help.

Years ago, I read about the idea that the human brain keeps "learning" even when not actively using the material you were studying a while ago -- it's an effect that seems to be strongest for a week or two.

I hadn't thought about this at all this year throughout my masters, and now I'm working through the data for my thesis, and when I found that some did better on the delayed test (a week after stopping learning the target language) than in the immediate test (a day after the learning), I remember it.

But I don't know if this idea has a particular name or is associated with a particular researcher.

Does anyone know what name(s) I should be looking for in the literature?

There was some talk on this forum of a "bow wave effect" which might be what you're after.

[Stelle]

I don't recall the name, but you might be interested in the Learning How to Learn Coursera course. If I recall correctly, they talk about this and how it comes down to basically having two modes of learning. You might be able to register and just view the recommended reading sessions. It seems like weeks 1 or 3 are probably the best (it's been a while since I've done the course; should do it again).

I think you're thinking of the diffuse mode - the idea that our brain keeps chewing away at ideas while we're busy doing other things. I really enjoyed tha Coursera course!

[mcthulhu]

Yes, diffuse mode. As I recall, Barbara Oakley's book A Mind for Numbers, like the Learning How to Learn course, has a lot of literature references. You can find an excerpt on diffuse mode from her book at https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/ ... and-learn/.

[DangerDave2010]

Second Language Processing Shows Increased Native-Like Neural Responses after Months of No Exposure
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3314650/

https://forum.language-learners.org/viewtopic.php?t=1902&start=330

[Cainntear]

Second Language Processing Shows Increased Native-Like Neural Responses after Months of No Exposure
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3314650/

https://forum.language-learners.org/viewtopic.php?t=1902&start=330

Perfect -- that's exactly the one I was thinking of (although I'd clearly remembered the timescales wrong!)

[AndyMeg]

I think what the OP says is related to this concept: Incubation (psychology)

[zenmonkey]

You might also look at what has been called conscious vs unconscious learning ...


http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... 532.x/full