Feynman technique: what is and how to use it 

The Feynman technique facilitates learning and makes it more efficient when it comes to gaining a deep understanding of a subject.

This four-step learning technique was developed by Nobel Prize winner in Physics Richard Feynman and is based on explaining a concept in the simplest way possible, as if you were explaining it to a child.

In this article, we invite you to delve deeper into the Feynman technique, starting with its definition and focusing, among other aspects, on how you can incorporate it into your educational programs and training to obtain the best results.

What is the Feynman technique

The Feynman technique is a methodology for in-depth understanding of any subject that focuses on studying a concept and explaining it to someone else in a very simple way in order to identify gaps and work on them, before repeating the process until it is simplified as much as possible.

In other words, the process consists of choosing a subject, studying it and being able to explain it to a child so that they understand it, and improving the explanations until they have fully mastered what they have learned.

Some theorists consider this technique to be a pillar for accelerated learning and long-term retention of knowledge. Its benefits are not only for students who consolidate their learning, but also for teachers who perfect the act of teaching in a simpler way.

This model owes its development to Richard Feynman (1918-1988), an American physicist recognized for his contribution to quantum electrodynamics, together with Julian Schwinger and Shinichiro Tomonaga.

As you have just seen, the Feynman technique can be a practical application of the phrase attributed to Albert Einstein: “If you can’t explain it to a six-year-old, you don’t understand it yourself”.

In any case, whoever said these words, it is a phrase that highlights the importance of simplicity, of the process of breaking down complex concepts into parts that are simple to understand.

This technique can be applied in many areas such as communication, product innovation and, mainly, in teaching.

Feynman technique vs. Kidlin’s law

Kidlin’s law is a problem-solving principle that you have probably heard of. In this case, Kidlin is not a scientist, but a fictional character from the novel King Rat by writer, screenwriter and director James Clavell.

This character develops a law to face different challenges in his life that advocates that if you are able to write a problem in clear steps, it is already half solved.

Thus, Kidlin’s law proposes defining and analyzing a problem by breaking it down and looking for solutions for each of its aspects, achieving greater mental clarity and the structuring of thought.

These goals are shared with the Feynman technique, which seeks precisely to break down a concept until it is understood in depth, although in this case through the simplest possible explanation to another person.

It is important to note that Kindlin’s law exists only in fiction and has no support in scientific or academic literature. Nevertheless, we thought it would be interesting to compare it with Feynman’s technique in order to explore it further.What is Feynman’s technique used for?

The Feynman method can be applied to all kinds of areas of knowledge, from learning new skills in a sport, learning a new game or how to use tools, assimilating historical or scientific events, and even acquiring a foreign language.

Likewise, its simple steps of studying, teaching, identifying gaps and simplifying, which we will delve into in the next section, can be applied in the classroom for different purposes such as:

• Helping students understand complex ideas, both technical and abstract.
• Making it easier for them to remember key concepts that they often forget in exams.
• Maximizing the result of the study by avoiding stress, boredom or overwhelm in the student.
• Enhancing thinking based on simplicity and improving results.

In addition to all these benefits, the Feynman technique’s facilitating process enhances self-assessment. It does so by allowing the student to become aware of their weaknesses, identifying obstacles in the learning process, and finding solutions to overcome them. In the same way, this technique encourages the student’s autonomy.

How to use Feynman technique: 4 steps for success

The success of the Feynman technique is based on 4 basic steps: study the concept, teach it as if you were talking to a child, identify gaps in understanding, and simplify and review the content until the person can convey it as clearly and completely as possible.

We are going to address each of these stages so that you can achieve a deep and lasting understanding.

Study: select the content you want to study and tackle it

This first step is common to any learning process. It consists of selecting the topic to be studied and starting to tackle it by reading information, taking notes, etc.

You can write down everything you know about it to fix the information in your mind, but remember that at this first stage it is not about memorizing facts, but about understanding. For this reason, throughout the technique, you work on the accessibility of the information.

You can achieve this by reviewing the information and breaking it down into its basic components.

Teach: explain the content to someone else as if he was a child

In the second step of the Feynman technique, you will move from the reflective dimension of the study (understanding on a personal level) to the communicative dimension, that is, you will explain what you have learned to another person who may be real or imaginary.

This process forces you to actively process the information, thus allowing you to identify any gaps in your understanding and simplify the content to make it more accessible.

This is one of the reasons why it can be so interesting to apply this technique, not only as a student but also as a teacher.

Don’t lose sight of your target audience: a child, who must be able to assimilate the information you are explaining.

Although you can work alone with an imaginary person, it is more advisable that your audience is real so that they can interact with you in real time. This way, you will know exactly which aspects are still not clear enough, so you will have to work on them more.

Analyze: identify gaps and review information

After explaining what you have learned to someone, you can identify the gaps in your knowledge, that is, the aspects that you overlooked in the study phase or that you were unable to communicate clearly.

In this step, you should work specifically on these weaknesses to turn them into strengths for re-explaining the concept. This will enable you to:

• Reinforce the learning process by delving deeper into the gaps.
• Improve the deep and functional understanding of a subject, instead of memorizing without understanding.
• Encourage self-evaluation for the active resolution of problems or obstacles.
• Boost results thanks to active teaching that is also motivating.

In short, with this articulation of the learning process, you will move from superficial knowledge to a much more robust deep knowledge.

This third step is also very interesting for the teacher because it allows them to differentiate between failures in comprehension and deficiencies in the methodology used to teach a subject.

Simplify: organize and refine the explanation

At this point you should already notice that you have substantially improved comprehension, but to improve it even more you must simplify the content thanks to having identified the gaps.

Always bear in mind that the Feynman technique is based on the idea that true mastery of a subject is achieved if it can be reduced to its simplest and most accessible essence.

In short, this methodology makes greater use of the inductive process than the deductive process, since at the beginning the person starts from specific concepts that he or she needs to learn, and then, through explanation and simplification, is able to develop a more general and deeper understanding of the subject.

How to learn faster with the Feynman technique: tips that work

Now you know that the Feynman technique helps you learn faster because it is based on selecting a topic, breaking it down and improving learning through the teaching experience, and finally organizing and simplifying the process to reinforce the learning process.

With this in mind, you can maximize results by following these small recommendations that are useful both for teachers when imparting a subject, and for students who have to study it:

• Focus on understanding, not memorization.
• After studying a topic, write down what you know about it and explain it out loud in your own words.
• Resolve the confusion that can be created by your knowledge gaps.
• Incorporate a system of notes that allows you to classify the most complex indications, ideas and types of content in order to address them one by one.
• Use analogies and practical examples, relating concepts to everyday life. In this way, learning becomes more tangible and is consolidated, as happens in experiential learning.
• Encourage self-assessment before exams by reviewing the subject matter or concepts without resorting to reference material.
• Repeat the Feynman technique as many times as necessary, remember that it is a continuous process.

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Resources and content types for using the Feynman technique

To improve the results of the Feynman technique you can use visual and interactive elements that allow you to visualize the connections between notions such as concept trees, mind maps, flowcharts, infographics, diagrams and tables, flashcards, etc.

These types of tools will allow you to present information in a simple way, but also to add details or reorganize the content for a better understanding after having detected points for improvement.

Likewise, resources such as exercises of increasing difficulty or personalized content maps presented at different levels of difficulty are very well suited to this methodology.

Types of evaluation for the Feynman technique

When it comes to assessments, it is important to assess both the understanding of concepts and the ability to explain them in a simple way, either orally, in writing or visually.

To do this, you can use different types such as written explanation exams, oral assessments, simple presentations, comprehension questionnaires or peer assessment, a modality in which students evaluate each other.

In any case, as it is an evolving and continuous technique, it favors formative evaluation focused on improving the learning process through constant feedback and progressive simplification, which, in any case, can be completed with a summative evaluation at the end of the course or unit.

Feynman technique example

To illustrate what has been said so far, we would like to share with you an example of how you can apply the Feynman technique.

Let’s say that the concept you are going to study is gravity in the solar system. Let’s see how we can fit the learning into the Feynman technique:

1. Study. You study that the planets revolve around the Sun due to the force of gravity. At this stage you may have understood the general idea, but you still don’t understand why the planets don’t fall towards the sun as an object with mass on Earth can do.
2. Teach. You explain what you have learned in your own words. For example: “The Sun has a lot of gravity due to its enormous mass, attracting the planets in its system that revolve around it in orbits”. As you explain it, you come across questions like “why don’t the planets fall into the sun precisely because of the effect of gravity?”
3. Analyze. You realize that there are gaps in your explanation that you need to fill because you don’t understand the relationship between gravity and orbital motion. So you go back to your study, this time delving deeper into the concept of gravity to answer the question posed.
4. Simplify. In this process of deepening your understanding, you learn about Kepler’s laws, which allows you to better explain gravity in the solar system. So you reformulate your explanation: “The planets revolve around the Sun because they are in motion. It is true that the Sun’s gravity attracts them, causing them to fall, but because they move so fast they revolve around it instead of falling. It’s a bit like cycling in a velodrome, where cyclists spin very fast on an inclined track and don’t fall because of the speed. It is precisely the balance between speed and force of attraction that prevents the planets from falling towards the Sun.

As questions arise, the person should continue to delve deeper into the knowledge until the information gaps are filled in and the information is simplified to make it understandable.

Better methods to complement Feynman’s learning technique in the classroom

One of the aspects that makes the Feynman technique so valuable in education is that you can combine it with different types of active methodologies, which opens up endless possibilities to boost the student’s commitment to learning.

These types of educational dynamics turn the student into the driving force of their learning and focus on students “learning to learn”. This process equips them with skills such as analytical capacity, critical thinking and a problem-solving approach that they can put into practice throughout their lives, both on a personal and professional level.

Three educational approaches that combine very well with the Feynman method are microlearning, the flipped classroom and instructional scaffolding.

We will now look at these combinations one by one to help you identify how you can improve the results of your classes.

Microlearning and Feynman technique

Microlearning provides short content so that students can concentrate on one concept at a time, like small information pills that help them understand more complex concepts. You can reinforce this approach with the Feynman method by encouraging your students to explain each unit of information in simple terms.

By using both of these educational strategies, students participate in active information retrieval and iterative learning (a process of continuous improvement based on repeating steps to solve problems). The result of this synergy is more effective learning that also holds the student’s attention.

Flipped classroom and Feynman technique

In the flipped classroom learning methodology, the traditional order of the class is reversed: it is the student who researches and documents a topic outside the classroom and then uses class time for active learning.

The Feynman technique will allow you to reinforce this approach, as it encourages students to explain what they learn through simplification and self-explanation, while understanding the relevance of identifying their gaps thanks to the collaboration of their peers.

This combination promotes critical thinking, self-directed learning, and teamwork.

Instructional scaffolding and Feynman technique

Instructional scaffolding is a methodology focused on developing student autonomy through temporary support to help them understand new concepts until they can learn independently.

The Feynman technique aligns with this approach by promoting progressive simplification and self-explanation, with the intention that the student understands the material instead of memorizing it and forgetting it over time.

Thus, teachers who are using instructional scaffolding can gradually reduce their support as students improve their explanations and correct misconceptions.

By repeating the process, students gain confidence in their own learning and develop skills for problem-solving and long-term knowledge retention.

Pros and cons of the Feynman technique

To conclude this reflection on the Feynman technique, it is necessary to explore its advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages of the Feynman technique

The Feynman technique offers strategic advantages for both teacher and student. We have compiled the most significant:

• It allows the habit of simplifying concepts to be acquired. This facilitates learning through the decomposition of complex ideas.
• It improves the retention of information thanks to its reformulation in simple terms.
• It increases the student’s confidence in their own abilities and encourages their autonomy.
• It works on responsibility through a process of constructive self-evaluation.
• It helps to detect weaknesses, not to be frustrated, but to turn them into strengths.
• It promotes deep understanding instead of superficial learning through memorization as the only strategy.
• It develops empathy by encouraging students to take responsibility not only for their own learning, but also for that of others, creating more inclusive classrooms.
• It introduces the person to a process of continuous improvement that is very beneficial in their educational experience, but also in the professional sphere.

A study by Seyed Raoul Emadi, Akbar Momeni Rad and Zahra Bayat analyze how the Feynman technique can improve students’ cognitive and metacognitive skills, increasing their confidence and overall performance.

Likewise, teachers can also benefit from the advantages of this technique to improve their ability to teach and communicate their knowledge.

Disadvantages of Feynman technique

The biggest challenge of this technique is that the process of teaching what has been learned takes time, so in certain contexts, it cannot be applied.

Another drawback is that the person may fall into oversimplification which, instead of being useful, can further complicate the understanding of concepts that cannot be oversimplified.

Ultimately, the success of an educational methodology always depends on the balance in its application and its relevance.

Throughout this article, you have seen how the Feynman technique can become a powerful tool that helps to encourage self-reflection and the identification of knowledge gaps to achieve deeper learning.

Finally, for this active learning process to be validated in digital educational environments too, you can count on Smowltech’s proctoring plans.

Combining the Feynman technique with remote proctoring, educational institutions apply easy-to-explain methodologies that improve the student experience while offering ethical and secure assessments.

SMOWL solutions allow students to enjoy spaces in which they can clearly express their knowledge without having to worry about academic fraud which, when it occurs, can create unfair competition.

We invite you to request a free demo so that we can show you practically all the tools we can offer you to enhance your examination processes.