Misinterpretation of Effort

Learning techniques that feel hard and slow must be worse than those that feel good and fast, right?

Coined in 2019 by Afton Kirk-Johnson et al, the The misinterpreted-effort hypothesis¹ is an observation that students will frequently gravitate towards learning techniques that “feel” productive, yet are not. Fuelled by the idea that skill is effortless and that people are either born smart or stupid, both terrible fallacies, many students will initially eschew strenuous learning techniques.

The fix

The solution is surprisingly straightforward: First of all, explain to the students how the brain works and why certain exercise types may be more effective than others. Without this metacognition knowledge, students are left in the dark as to why they are required to study topics a certain way or not.
Once that is done, letting students experience the results that come from better study techniques, like better grades, also increases their motivation considerably.

Much like an amateur athlete may at first avoid exercise sets that leaves him sore, yet will seek them out once the fundamental workings of muscle gain is understood, so a student will eventually seek out more effective learning techniques despite the effort they require.