Chunking is the process of connecting disparate pieces of information to form logical and meaningful wholes. This article will explain the concept of chunking and how it can help your brain run more efficiently.
How Chunking Aids in Information Processing
You know how it feels to have taken in so much information while studying but nothing seems to make sense? This is where you need chunking.
Chunking is a mental leap that allows you to connect disparate pieces of information through meaning. It is the process by which individual bits of information in your brain are linked together to form a meaningful whole.
This new whole, which makes some logical sense, makes it easier to recall the chunk when needed. It also makes it easier to integrate small pieces of information into the larger picture of what you’re learning.
Consider two language learners, one who is still very new to the language, perhaps a child, and the other who has been using the language for a number of years, perhaps a young adult, and is much more comfortable communicating in the language.
The child would be much slower when reading text written in that language because she has only recently learned how to identify the letters of the language alphabet and thus has little understanding of what she is reading.
The man, on the other hand, who is more comfortable with the language, will find it much easier and faster to call upon his “chunks” and “mini-chunks” of words he has used and read over time and thus quickly grasp what he is reading.
What is the significance of putting the puzzle pieces together?
It is useless to simply memorize a fact without understanding it in the context of the entire subject. This is because it becomes difficult to understand what is truly going on or how the concept relates to other concepts you are learning.
“Chunks” are bits of information that are linked together by meaning or application. It is easier to remember the entire puzzle as well as each of its pieces if you understand how the puzzle pieces fit together.
Conclusion
A chunk, in neuroscience terms, is a network of neurons that are used to firing together so that you can think a thought or perform an action smoothly and effectively.
We frequently forget how difficult it used to be to walk from one location to another. As a baby, you put a lot of thought into every step you took to get somewhere. But now you just get up and walk without even thinking.
Chunking improves the efficiency of your brain. Furthermore, once you’ve chunked an idea, concept, or action, you don’t have to remember all the details. You have the main idea, which is the chunk, and that is all you require.
When you use chunking to learn, you learn more effectively. You can improve your understanding by making a consistent effort to connect the bits of information you receive on a daily basis through meaning. Chunks make it easier to “transfer” what we’ve learned from one field to another where it applies. “Creativity is just connecting things,” as Steve Jobs famously stated.
See also How to Learn in Chunks and Improve Your Memory
