for the ones who want to leap past their current level
Goal
Attempt a problem above your level before any instruction so the lesson that follows fills exactly the gaps you surfaced.
Source principle
Generation plus productive difficulty: attempting a problem before instruction, even wrongly, primes the mind to absorb the correct method and makes the struggle itself the durable rep. : from Make It Stick by Brown, Roediger & McDaniel.
The plan
- 🎯0:00-0:05Pick the skill sub-area you 'sort of can'. The uncomfortable one.
- 🤔0:05-0:15Attempt a problem WAY above your level. No instruction. Best guess.
- 🚩0:15-0:20Note every place you hedged, guessed, or stalled. Those are targets.
- 📖0:20-0:35Read the source material on those targets only. Targeted.
- 🪑0:35-0:40Close the source. Sit back. Fresh start.
- ✏️0:40-0:55Re-attempt the original problem from scratch. Apply what you read.
- ✅0:55-1:00Score: did the targets get filled? Mark yes / partly / no.
- 🧱1:00-1:20Drill 3 more problems of the same type. Solidify the gain.
- ✍️1:20-1:30Write one line: 'The gap between attempt 1 and attempt 2 was ___.'