Chapter 91: The Cone of Learning

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“The sixth level is practice.”

“This is simple. The teacher summoned a Frost Wolf and instructed, ‘Fight the Frost Wolf and learn everything about it in battle.’ If you were on your second day as a mage apprentice and had only mastered Magic Rope, but were thrown before a Frost Wolf by a ruthless and unreasonable teacher, believe me, the learning result would be incredible. Don’t ask me how I know.”

The students in the third class laughed. The other students also guessed the reason why they were laughing and looked at Niedern with smiles.

Niedern was calm.

Su Ye continued, “The seventh level is the Feynman technique. This is also the most effective level.”

“I originally wanted to summarize the seventh level as ‘teach others,’ but I found that the Feynman technique is more efficient. So, the Feynman technique is the focus of the entire Cone of Learning.”

“Everyone knows that my previous results were very poor. However, it was precisely because of this that I was able to slowly research and try different learning methods. In the end, I discovered this Cone of Learning.”

Many of the students suddenly came to a realization. It turned out that Su Ye was constantly experimenting with learning methods. Now that he encountered a good learning method, his results naturally improved.

Su Ye was not sure if his explanation was good enough, since he could not mention knowledge related to Blue Star. He could only expound it in a way that the Athenians of this era could understand. However, this was coincidentally in line with the Feynman technique.

Su Ye said, “The first four levels are listening to lectures, reading, looking at pictures and watching demonstrations. Although the learning efficiency has gradually increased, has everyone noticed a commonality? In these four processes, we are passively receiving the knowledge, which I called ‘input’ before this. On the other hand, in the last three levels, which are discussion, hands-on practice, and the Feynman technique, our role as learners are more active. These processes include ‘output’ and thus, complete the learning process.”

The entire council house fell silent.

The teachers and students were either trying their best to take notes, staring at the Cone of Learning in front of them in a daze, or focusing their attention on Su Ye.

When Su Ye first explained about the Feynman technique, they vaguely felt that Su Ye was better than Carlos.

Now, he had brought up the Cone of Learning, which was a bigger system and a more novel theory. This filled their hearts with contradictions.

On one hand, they found it hard to believe Su Ye’s theory. After all, Su Ye’s qualifications were too low. But on the other hand, they felt that Su Ye’s speech was superb.

He far surpassed Carlos.

He even surpassed many teachers.

Even Sage Archmages were like students, taking notes and digesting Su Ye’s words. They were even more serious than all of the students.

Among all the teachers and students present, only Carlos wasn’t learning from Su Ye.

Seeing that no one spoke for a long time, Su Ye added, “The levels proposed by this Cone of Learning is more suitable for me or ordinary people who don’t have any talent. It doesn’t fit everyone. Let me give you an example. For instance, if Hort was lucky enough to come up with a way of memorizing while listening to stories when he was young, then he would definitely be more efficient in listening to lectures as compared to reading.”

Hort muttered to himself, “I really wish I am that Hort in Su Ye’s example.”

Finally, Su Ye said humbly, “The Feynman technique originated from the wise man Feynman. I just kept on applying and summarizing it. There are still some areas left for development. As for the Cone of Learning, it is also a crude experience that I summarized based on my own experience and the experiences of many people and wise men. It is also still a work in progress. If anyone finds anything wrong, please make sure to point it out. We will strive to improve the technique and share it with more people.”

Carlos’ hands were no longer clutching his robe. He stared blankly at the Cone of Learning in front of him. His entire body was drained of energy.

Andre had repeatedly told him not to be afraid. As long as he did not expose Andre, the latter would be able to protect him. However, after listening to Su Ye’s series of explanations, Carlos was well-aware that even a fool would know what was going on.

Carlos turned his head to look at Cromwell.

He did not know the truth, but he conjectured that the summary and analysis that Andre had shown him regarding ‘teaching as learning’ technique should have come from this master.

Carlos cast a pleading gaze at Cromwell.

‘Save me!’

‘Save me!’

Carlos howled in his mind, ‘I don’t want to become the laughingstock of Plato Academy. I don’t want to be a victim of Andre’s scheme. I don’t want to bring shame to my family. I don’t want to end my career as a mage…’

After Su Ye mentioned the Cone of Learning, Cromwell didn’t pay any attention to Carlos again.

99% of his mind was now concentrated on considering how he could accelerate his learning efficiency by mastering the Feynman technique and the Cone of Learning.

Only 1% of his mind was focused on the arbitration.

Every mage was a lifelong learner.

Even after a long while, the three arbitrators didn’t say anything. The students discussed in low voices –

“After looking at this Cone of Learning, I suddenly realized that it matches my experience. I always felt that I was learning very slowly, so I found a few classmates to learn together and discuss with them. The learning effect was very obvious.”

“I’m not sure about the Feynman technique, but it’s definitely true that it’s very efficient to learn through practice. When we were in the lower grades, we couldn’t comprehend some of the theoretical knowledge we were taught at all. When we went to the higher grades, after we participated in trials and experienced battles, our understanding of theoretical knowledge improved at a rapid pace, as though we were riding a magic carriage.”

“This Feynman technique is definitely useful! That’s because since long ago, I’ve discovered that every time when I teach someone a topic, I remember the topic particularly well. I would always get all the questions right if the topic came out in the test. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to analyze and summarize my own experience like how Su Ye did.”

“There’s one thing he’s right about. It’s that remembering images is easier than memorizing words.”

“No wonder I always feel that if I forget to preview a lesson, I might as well read the topic by myself rather than listening to a lecture. It looks like it’s not my problem. However, from what Su Ye said, he seems to have mastered the tips of listening to a lecture too.”

Be they commoner students or the noble students, they had all completely forgotten about Carlos at this moment and were all discussing Su Ye.

They might not be able to understand the Feynman technique and Cone of Learning in depth, but they were convinced by Su Ye.

The students in the third class were no longer happy for Su Ye, but rather began to feel sad for themselves.

How could they let such a master go unnoticed in the class?

In the past month, apart from Hort, were the others blind?

No wonder Su Ye could go from third from the bottom to second best in the basic magic test. It turned out that he had mastered such a powerful learning method!

No wonder Hort almost passed the test. It was all because of Su Ye’s guidance.

Some of the students were so regretful that they almost beat their chests and stomped their feet. If they had known that Su Ye was so powerful, they would have learned from him long ago!

Hort was in a daze from the moment Su Ye began to explain the Feynman technique.

Up until now, Hort was still stunned. It turned out that Su Ye had such profound knowledge, yet Su Ye was forced to teach very simple things to him. Was he limiting Su Ye’s potential?

With her head low, Palos was devoted to taking down notes while contemplating.

…

[Author’s note]

Let me clarify something to avoid misunderstanding.

The Cone of Learning that is circulating on the internet is often followed by a numerical value, saying how much knowledge would be retained after a certain amount of time. Only 5% of knowledge would be retained by using the first level of listening. 10% would be retained by using the second level of reading. Finally, if one uses the Feynman technique, they would be able to retain 90% of the knowledge. These numbers are not accurate. It’s just an estimation to make the diagram more intuitive and easier to understand.

Due to the inaccurate numbers, some people perceived the Cone of Learning as a completely useless concept. That’s going too far.

The Cone of Learning is actually a summary of empirical data. It varies slightly from person to person.

There are other available learning theories, such as the different learning styles. Some people are auditory learners and can better retain things that they hear. Some people are visual learners and can better remember things that they read. Some people are the combination of both learning styles, or they may be kinesthetic learners.

However, according to some theories, the so-called auditory learners actually apply a memorization technique in the process of listening.

In short, this Cone of Learning is generally correct. Besides that, the effect of active learning is indeed better than passive learning. This statement has been verified by countless people.