Learning is ‘mind-heavy work’, not ‘passive consumption’ online, write IIM Amritsar, CESS Hyderabad profs

Arun Kumar Bairwa & Jadhav Chakradhar

In the current high-inflation information environment, education is often viewed as an investment in ‘intellectual capital’. While Indian students across higher secondary levels and those preparing for competitive exams like the Union Public Service Commission’s (UPSC) or the Common Aptitude Test (CAT) have more access to data than any previous generation, there’s a significant gap between information access and knowledge mastery.

True learning is the acquisition of knowledge and skills available from memory to solve future problems. If information cannot be retrieved during a high-stakes interview or an exam, the time invested has yielded a zero return.

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Digital mirage and the classroom

Digitalisation has introduced a "familiarity trap" – polished videos or "news in shorts" make complex theories look easy. When students watch an engaging lecture, the ease of following the argument creates an "illusion of mastery".

It is frequently observed in MBA admission interviews that candidates with high CAT percentiles often fail to answer basic questions when they are presented indirectly or interrelated with other concepts.

Similarly, some students perform well in class participation but fail written tests because they confuse familiarity with deep understanding. Furthermore, many students struggle to resist mobile phones during lectures, operating under the digital fallacy that because information is available on the internet, they have already mastered it.

Resistance to ‘mind-heavy’ work

There is a natural human tendency to shirk mental effort, as it feels better to keep the mind at rest than to engage in the rigorous exercise of retrieval. Students often dislike frequent questioning or surprise quizzes because they prefer the comfort of passive learning.

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However, this preference results in "labor in vain" — hours spent consuming content that is never embedded in long-term memory. It must be accepted that the more hard work the mind is forced to do, the more effectively it remembers information.

Study Tips: High-yield strategies

To ensure that knowledge becomes a durable asset, every student — whether using digital platforms or traditional textbooks — should adopt a scientific toolkit for success:

• Retrieval Practice (The Mental Audit): This is considered the most potent tool for strengthening memory routes and arresting forgetting. Instead of rereading a chapter or re-watching a video, students should close the source and ask themselves what the key principles were. Recalling facts from memory "ties the knot" for memory and strengthens the neural pathways required for later application. For example, after studying market structures in economics, one should attempt to list all four types and their characteristics without looking at notes. If the mind struggles to recall a fact, it provides immediate feedback on what areas require further study. This active engagement prevents the "illusion of mastery" by forcing the brain to consolidate information.
• Spaced Practice (Building Long-Term Assets): Spacing involves studying a topic, letting time pass until the mind feels a little "rusty”, and then quizzing oneself again. This approach prevents the "binge" style of learning where information enters short-term memory but is quickly forgotten. For example, a student should spread the macroeconomics syllabus over three weeks rather than attempt to cover it in a single weekend. The effort required to "reload" information from long-term memory after a delay is what makes the learning significantly stronger and more durable. While massed practice might feel more productive in the moment, it produces gains that melt away quickly.

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• Interleaving (Managing Market Volatility): In the real world, problems do not arrive in neat, predictable sequences, so learning should mirror this reality. Instead of solving fifty identical math problems, students should mix different types of problems to improve their ability to discriminate between concepts. For instance, a competitive exam aspirant should alternate between math, logic, and economics challenges in a single session. This constant shifting gears helps the brain learn to select the right tool or "algorithm" from its growing toolkit for any given situation. Research indicates that while interleaving feels slower and more confusing than blocked practice, it leads to vastly superior long-term retention.
• Elaboration (Adding Value to Raw Data): Elaboration is the process of giving new material meaning by expressing it in one’s own words and connecting it to existing knowledge. The more connections a student creates between new learning and prior knowledge, the stronger their grasp of the material will be. For example, when learning about the "opportunity cost" of capital, a student might relate it to a recent personal choice, such as deciding to pursue an MBA instead of accepting a job offer. Creating these mental models allows students to apply their knowledge in varied, real-world settings rather than just repeating memorised phrases. This strategy transforms a set of unrelated facts into a cohesive structure that the brain can easily navigate.

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• Generation (The Entrepreneurial Approach): Generation is the act of trying to solve a problem or answer a question before being shown the solution. Even if errors are made, the act of struggling with a concept makes the brain more receptive to learning the correct answer when it is finally provided. For example, an economics student might try to calculate a firm's break-even point using only their logic before reading the formula in a textbook. This "learning by doing" approach prevents the passive acceptance of information and forces the student to engage in higher-order thinking. The subsequent solution is learned better and remembered longer because the mind has already prepared a "slot" for that specific piece of information.

Intellectual abilities are not hard-wired from birth; the brain changes physically based on how it is used.

Students must not be fooled by the ease of the digital interface or the temporary fluency of a highlighted textbook. Real learning is inherently effortful, and it is a fundamental truth that the more hard work the mind is required to perform, the better it will retain and retrieve information. By moving from passive consumption to active retrieval, students can ensure that their education is a lasting investment that pays dividends when they finally enter the exam hall or the interview room.

Arun Kumar Bairwa is Assistant Professor and Ranking Chair, Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Amritsar. Jadhav Chakradhar is Assistant Professor, Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS) Hyderabad. Both have over five years of teaching and 10 years of research experience in the field of business and economics.