They've been coined by Vera F. Birkenbihl in German, but the acronym also works in English. I'm not surprised that you haven't found what they mean, they're jot very well known in English (which is one of the reason why I started this channel). CaGa stands for "cretive analografitti graphical association" and CaWa for "creative analografitti word association". Analografitti is a portmanteau of analogical (not logical - i.e. the aim is not to logically arrange ideas, but to generate ideas by associations) and grafitti (originally a word from art history, that means writing, painting or drawing on a wall or other surface). Birkwnbihl often said it means "non-logical (associative) thinking with a pen in your hand".
Hello Martin, I really love your ideas and wanted some advice on how I should about for my exam. There was no email or other contact information mentioned, so I am asking here. Question: I have an exam which is 8 months away, for which I have to study 6000 pages consisting of ~200 subtopics. The topics are very general in nature, for example cybersecurity, agriculture etc. The main idea is to know enough about a topic to be able to write just 250 words on it. Now there are two ways to go about it 1) read and make concise notes so that I can revise 1 month before the exam. But the issue here is whatever I make notes on now, I will not have enough context to be able to understand after 2-3 months. So I need to keep revising it regularly 2) Read whole syllabus in 3 months. Then Read again in 2 months. Then read again in 2 month and make notes So make notes after 3 successive reading. And later study/review from notes only What do you think will be more efficient? Will ABC/ cawa help me?
Hi focus! Sorry that you had to wait for a few days for a reply. That's a great question. I would go for option 3): Do reading and revision in parallel, but in a brain-friendly way. I would start reading your material and create an ABC-active or CaWa-active as I go along. So you could create a new ABC/CaWa for each paper, chapter, x pages, or whatever sectioning makes sense in your case. If you get further ideas as you read, make sure to also write them down. Now the thing is that you shouldn't just read the text now and then revise it later. I know metaphors like "absorbing knowledge like a sponge" or "uploading knowledge to your brain" are very wide-spread and it is tempting to seek for ways to do that better. But this is NOT what's happening in our brains when we really learn something (in a way that we can later use it). Instead it is an active process in which you need to construct that knowledge in your (semantic) memory. And that means that you need to actively work with the material you're reading. That should start already as your reading. That's why I like ABC-active / CaWa-active so much. They force you to really think about what words or expressions you want to write down (whereas if you use "normal" notes, there's a danger that you copy without thinking). Next (as you continue to read more of your material and continue to make new notes), you can start your "revision" by going over your ABCs/CaWas and engaging with them on a deeper level. You can go and classify your words acc. to how essential they are for the topic. Or you can try to put the words into categories. You can then take the categories or essential words and engage even further with them. You could, for instance try to assemble them into a (new) CaWa. You could try to transform them into CaGas. You can explore them even more by creating ABCs or CaWas about them (one ABC/CaWa to a word / category). Or you can bring your most essential words or categories into a logical order and try to reconstruct the gist of the "section" from that (I would do it in writing in this cse, since you'll need to be able to write about it in 8 months). You can start with this as soon as you finished a "section" or wait a few days. I found for me that in most cases I should not wait for more than a week or I start to forget things. Then, once you worked through several "sections", take your ABCs / CaWas from these sections (or just the most essential words) and write them onto a large ABC (this can be done for separate subtopics or for everything you read). And then you can continue to sort those words or to rank them. This time you start to bring concepts from different sections together and to see connections that might have remained hidden otherwise. Also start to go beyond just reconstruction and assemble your words into new structures you can write about. Or create outlines about some subtopics or key concepts. If you have practice questions, you can take them and pick a number of relevant concepts to answer them. Bring these words into a logical order and then work out a text from there to answer the questions. And so on. But the important thing is that you continuously and actively engage with your reading material. I hope my explanation below makes sense. If you have problems with implementing these steps, I also offer coaching. I’ll send you my email address and you can contact me for further questions.
@@bf-thinking thanks for such a detailed response Martin. I’m forever indebted to you for exposing me to new and efficient ways of studying. I tried ABC/ CaWas for some of the topics, and found that I retained much better than the other methods I had been using like Anki, memory palace, or making simple summaries. 1) should I follow the same spaced repetition technique like anki to revise my ABCs/CaWa? (1,3,7,15 days ..so on) In one of the videos, you recalled information after 11 months! I wonder how can I even retain information after 2 months! How many revision did u do? 2) while revising should I just recall from memory what I know about the topic using the CaWa cue word, or should I look at ABC list and recall the information associated with the words in the list. Also, what do you think about writing lots of tests as a way to learn information, without any element of spacing and revision. The tests will force you to actively think about the material. I’m also really interested in what you said about coaching, would love to know more. My email I’d is : psychologyupsc2018@gmail.com
@@VaibhavSrivastava15 That's wonderful feedback! I'm glad that you find it so useful. 1) How many revisions did I do? That's a question that's surprisingly difficult to answer. If we're talking about repetitions for the exlicit purpose of recalling, then the answer is zero. I had to recall the information actively to classify how essential each word is to the text, and I did that one or two days after reading the text IIRC. At the same time I was also reading a couple of other texts (7 in total) on the same subject and I created a total of 6 CaWas from memory on certain aspects of what I was reading (1x attract, 1x communication, 1x expression, 1x signal, 2x volatiles), but they drew on everything I read - i.e. they weren't meant to specifically recall the information of a certain text. I started reading the first text (the one which I talked about in the video) on 27th July 2019 and I finished reading the last text and created the last CaWa on 1st August. After that I did not engage with the text consciously anymore. It probably happened, though, that sometimes things I saw, read or talked about with ther people will have reminded me of some of the aspects of these texts, especially in August 2019. So, to answer your question: I think if you use intelligent repetitions, you'll need much fewer of them to actually construct that information securely in your memory (how many also depends on how new the topic is for you). That's why I don't bother with repetition intervals. 2) Why don't you try both ways and see what you like better? Or maybe you find that both together give you something that either alone would not be able to provide. 3) What do you mean "writing lots of tests (...) without any element of (...) revision"? Doing mock tests is one way of doing revisions. It can be an effictive way, but I wouldn't rely on it entirely. If you do, there's a danger that you're only looking for that one right answer which, in turn, probably leads to mindless cramming and, therefore, obstructs real understanding and learning. And that would be a bummer. So, I think it can be a good idea as part of a "balanced mix". Thanks for your email address. I just sent you an email.
@@bf-thinking Thanks for such a detailed response. By "writing lots of tests (...) without any element of (...) revision" I meant that > give tests every day by reading the material just before giving the tests. It will force me to actively retrieve information from my memory, and identify gaps. This is what I have been doing traditionally, but one of the gaps in this approach is the information doesn't stick for long periods. Also in this method, I will be only restricting myself to only tests questions. What you suggested is actually better, that first Read actively, make connections, and then later give tests to identify gaps. Let me try these strategies and see what works best for me. Thanks for giving me your email address, will get back to you if I need your assistance. Thank you!
@@VaibhavSrivastava15 This sounds ineffective, I agree. By testing your knowledge just after reading the relevant material, it seems that you're mainly testing your short term memory. It's more effective if there's some gap between reading and recall (whichever method you use for recalling). That's why I would continuously work with the information. Keep looking at your words from multiple ABCs and rank / group them. Keep doing ABCs over the months and not just at the end. And space out exam questions over the next 8 months. Good luck! let me know if I can help you.
Do CaGa and CaWa stand for anything? I haven't been able to find what these terms come from.
They've been coined by Vera F. Birkenbihl in German, but the acronym also works in English. I'm not surprised that you haven't found what they mean, they're jot very well known in English (which is one of the reason why I started this channel). CaGa stands for "cretive analografitti graphical association" and CaWa for "creative analografitti word association".
Analografitti is a portmanteau of analogical (not logical - i.e. the aim is not to logically arrange ideas, but to generate ideas by associations) and grafitti (originally a word from art history, that means writing, painting or drawing on a wall or other surface). Birkwnbihl often said it means "non-logical (associative) thinking with a pen in your hand".
@@bf-thinking thank you so much!
Hello Martin, I really love your ideas and wanted some advice on how I should about for my exam. There was no email or other contact information mentioned, so I am asking here.
Question: I have an exam which is 8 months away, for which I have to study 6000 pages consisting of ~200 subtopics. The topics are very general in nature, for example cybersecurity, agriculture etc. The main idea is to know enough about a topic to be able to write just 250 words on it.
Now there are two ways to go about it
1) read and make concise notes so that I can revise 1 month before the exam.
But the issue here is whatever I make notes on now, I will not have enough context to be able to understand after 2-3 months. So I need to keep revising it regularly
2) Read whole syllabus in 3 months. Then Read again in 2 months. Then read again in 2 month and make notes
So make notes after 3 successive reading.
And later study/review from notes only
What do you think will be more efficient? Will ABC/ cawa help me?
Hi focus! Sorry that you had to wait for a few days for a reply.
That's a great question. I would go for option 3): Do reading and revision in parallel, but in a brain-friendly way.
I would start reading your material and create an ABC-active or CaWa-active as I go along. So you could create a new ABC/CaWa for each paper, chapter, x pages, or whatever sectioning makes sense in your case. If you get further ideas as you read, make sure to also write them down.
Now the thing is that you shouldn't just read the text now and then revise it later. I know metaphors like "absorbing knowledge like a sponge" or "uploading knowledge to your brain" are very wide-spread and it is tempting to seek for ways to do that better. But this is NOT what's happening in our brains when we really learn something (in a way that we can later use it). Instead it is an active process in which you need to construct that knowledge in your (semantic) memory.
And that means that you need to actively work with the material you're reading.
That should start already as your reading. That's why I like ABC-active / CaWa-active so much. They force you to really think about what words or expressions you want to write down (whereas if you use "normal" notes, there's a danger that you copy without thinking).
Next (as you continue to read more of your material and continue to make new notes), you can start your "revision" by going over your ABCs/CaWas and engaging with them on a deeper level. You can go and classify your words acc. to how essential they are for the topic. Or you can try to put the words into categories.
You can then take the categories or essential words and engage even further with them. You could, for instance try to assemble them into a (new) CaWa. You could try to transform them into CaGas. You can explore them even more by creating ABCs or CaWas about them (one ABC/CaWa to a word / category). Or you can bring your most essential words or categories into a logical order and try to reconstruct the gist of the "section" from that (I would do it in writing in this cse, since you'll need to be able to write about it in 8 months).
You can start with this as soon as you finished a "section" or wait a few days. I found for me that in most cases I should not wait for more than a week or I start to forget things.
Then, once you worked through several "sections", take your ABCs / CaWas from these sections (or just the most essential words) and write them onto a large ABC (this can be done for separate subtopics or for everything you read). And then you can continue to sort those words or to rank them. This time you start to bring concepts from different sections together and to see connections that might have remained hidden otherwise. Also start to go beyond just reconstruction and assemble your words into new structures you can write about. Or create outlines about some subtopics or key concepts.
If you have practice questions, you can take them and pick a number of relevant concepts to answer them. Bring these words into a logical order and then work out a text from there to answer the questions. And so on.
But the important thing is that you continuously and actively engage with your reading material.
I hope my explanation below makes sense. If you have problems with implementing these steps, I also offer coaching. I’ll send you my email address and you can contact me for further questions.
@@bf-thinking thanks for such a detailed response Martin. I’m forever indebted to you for exposing me to new and efficient ways of studying.
I tried ABC/ CaWas for some of the topics, and found that I retained much better than the other methods I had been using like Anki, memory palace, or making simple summaries.
1) should I follow the same spaced repetition technique like anki to revise my ABCs/CaWa? (1,3,7,15 days ..so on)
In one of the videos, you recalled information after 11 months! I wonder how can I even retain information after 2 months! How many revision did u do?
2) while revising should I just recall from memory what I know about the topic using the CaWa cue word, or should I look at ABC list and recall the information associated with the words in the list.
Also, what do you think about writing lots of tests as a way to learn information, without any element of spacing and revision. The tests will force you to actively think about the material.
I’m also really interested in what you said about coaching, would love to know more. My email I’d is : psychologyupsc2018@gmail.com
@@VaibhavSrivastava15 That's wonderful feedback! I'm glad that you find it so useful.
1) How many revisions did I do? That's a question that's surprisingly difficult to answer. If we're talking about repetitions for the exlicit purpose of recalling, then the answer is zero.
I had to recall the information actively to classify how essential each word is to the text, and I did that one or two days after reading the text IIRC. At the same time I was also reading a couple of other texts (7 in total) on the same subject and I created a total of 6 CaWas from memory on certain aspects of what I was reading (1x attract, 1x communication, 1x expression, 1x signal, 2x volatiles), but they drew on everything I read - i.e. they weren't meant to specifically recall the information of a certain text.
I started reading the first text (the one which I talked about in the video) on 27th July 2019 and I finished reading the last text and created the last CaWa on 1st August. After that I did not engage with the text consciously anymore. It probably happened, though, that sometimes things I saw, read or talked about with ther people will have reminded me of some of the aspects of these texts, especially in August 2019.
So, to answer your question: I think if you use intelligent repetitions, you'll need much fewer of them to actually construct that information securely in your memory (how many also depends on how new the topic is for you). That's why I don't bother with repetition intervals.
2) Why don't you try both ways and see what you like better? Or maybe you find that both together give you something that either alone would not be able to provide.
3) What do you mean "writing lots of tests (...) without any element of (...) revision"? Doing mock tests is one way of doing revisions. It can be an effictive way, but I wouldn't rely on it entirely. If you do, there's a danger that you're only looking for that one right answer which, in turn, probably leads to mindless cramming and, therefore, obstructs real understanding and learning. And that would be a bummer. So, I think it can be a good idea as part of a "balanced mix".
Thanks for your email address. I just sent you an email.
@@bf-thinking Thanks for such a detailed response.
By "writing lots of tests (...) without any element of (...) revision" I meant that > give tests every day by reading the material just before giving the tests. It will force me to actively retrieve information from my memory, and identify gaps. This is what I have been doing traditionally, but one of the gaps in this approach is the information doesn't stick for long periods.
Also in this method, I will be only restricting myself to only tests questions. What you suggested is actually better, that first Read actively, make connections, and then later give tests to identify gaps.
Let me try these strategies and see what works best for me. Thanks for giving me your email address, will get back to you if I need your assistance. Thank you!
@@VaibhavSrivastava15 This sounds ineffective, I agree. By testing your knowledge just after reading the relevant material, it seems that you're mainly testing your short term memory. It's more effective if there's some gap between reading and recall (whichever method you use for recalling).
That's why I would continuously work with the information. Keep looking at your words from multiple ABCs and rank / group them. Keep doing ABCs over the months and not just at the end. And space out exam questions over the next 8 months.
Good luck! let me know if I can help you.
👍
Thanks, man.
Sorry, couldn't catch the name of the person who developed the tool?
Oops, I found it in the ABC video description. Vera Berkenbihl :)
@@imagomundiful Almost. It's Birkenbihl with and i. :-)