Differences in learning speed are often just differences of opportunity
Summary
- Typically takes most people the same time to master a difficult concept. The students who learned faster tended to have had a previous knowlege
Details
- Previous knowlege could be self-teaching, parental teaching. But they improved at the same rate as other students
References
Quotes
Recent evidence underscores the importance of conditions for learning.
To master a new concept in math, science, or a foreign language, it typically takes seven or eight practice sessions. That number of reps held across thousands of students, from elementary school all the way through college. Of course, there were students who excelled after fewer practice sessions. But they weren’t faster learners—they improved at the same rate as their peers. What set them apart was that they showed up to the first practice session with more initial knowledge. Some students got a boost from already having a grasp on related material. Others had parents teach them early or got a head start teaching themselves. What look like differences in natural ability are often differences in opportunity and motivation.