Day 28: Learning Technique 14: Proceduralization

Today we discuss our learning technique #14, proceduralization, which is the process of converting declarative knowledge into automatic unconscious procedural knowledge. You will learn what this technique is, the science behind it, why you should use it, and finally how you can apply it to accelerate your learning.

Resources for this lesson:

• Transcripts
• Worksheet
• List of Scientific References

Summary

What is Proceduralization?

Proceduralization is the process of converting declarative knowledge into automatic unconscious procedural knowledge.

• Turning something from declarative learning to procedural learning is often going through a set of procedures that becomes easier to recall with each practice of the procedure.

When you're learning, you're depositing links on neurons into long-term memory.

• Links can be deposited in the quick to learn declarative learning system, closely integrated with working memory. So you're mostly conscious of what you're doing.
• The second way to deposit links is through the procedural system which is stored in another part of the brain.

Why it matters: Turning knowledge into easily executed procedures allows you to think quickly, efficiently, and effortlessly, freeing your working memory to focus on hard problems.

What does the science say?

Procedural and declarative systems work together in most kinds of learning, including writing language, math, music, and everything in between, according to research. [1]

• For many decades, researchers thought procedural learning only involved motor skills but then researchers have realized that the procedural system was also involved in habits.

The relationship [2] between declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge looks like this:

• Declarative knowledge often needs to know each step and learn it individually.
• As you begin learning, you're going to focus intently on each step that you're learning, but then these steps become a pattern, requiring only the initial cue to need remembering.
• Then knowledge is proceduralized, being able to perform those links without thinking about them, only remembering that first cue in order to pull out those links from long-term memory.

Procedural memories [3] are typically accessed by the appropriate trigger conditions.

Why should you use it?

Turning your learning into procedures will help you develop habits and intuition to perform tasks effortlessly and quickly.

• Creating well-developed links in your procedural system allows you to be lightening quick, even in stressful situations.

The speed and smooth confidence of the procedural system, coupled with the flexibility of the declarative system can really accelerate your learning.

How do you use it?

The general process of proceduralization is:

1. Learn something through declarative knowledge by focusing intently on the skill your learning, moving your learning from working memory to long-term memory.
2. Start recognizing patterns and repeatable steps within the skill.
3. Engage in deliberate practice until those steps become an automatic habit for you.

Note: When you go through this process, not all skills we learn are incompletely proceduralized.

• You may be able to do some of them automatically, but other parts require you to actively think about them.
• But this will create an interesting mix of knowledge with some things retained, quite stably over long periods of time and other susceptible to being forgotten.

Example strategies for proceduralization:

• Ensure that a certain amount of knowledge is completely proceduralized before practicing the entire skill as a whole.
• Proceduralize some skills which will serve as cues or access points for other parts of your knowledge.
• In math or science,  internalize key exemplar problems by working out the problems yourself, listening to intuition, then checking your answer against to worked out solution.
• In learning a foreign language, use retrieval practice, spaced repetition, and interleaving in order to make speaking that language second nature.
• In writing or artistic skills using the Benjamin Franklin Technique, which requires looking at other people's styles and practicing those styles until they are proceduralized.

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Activity

Create a procedure for you to follow when you are going to start a learning session, making a very rich que in the beginning of this procedure of steps, so that all you need to really remember is that first cue and it will cue all the other steps to come out effortlessly.

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Skill Lesson Mastered

Demonstrate mastery of the knowledge and skills presented in this lesson by applying it to the above activity. If, and only if, you have a full understanding and have mastered the knowledge and skills presented in this lesson, select the next lesson in the navigation.