When it comes to learning anything new, knowing the difference between passive learning and active learning will help you choose the study techniques that maximize your chances of retaining the information that you are studying.

Passive learning is when you receive new information, but you don’t do anything that forces your brain to try and recall it. Common examples of passive learning are reading a passage or listening to someone lecture to you. While passive learning requires little to no effort from you, it also results in little to no retention. Your brain is constantly bombarded with information everyday and if there is nothing that makes something in particular stand out from everything else your brain comes across, your brain has no reason to try and retain it so it probably won’t.

Active learning, on the other hand, is when you do engage in any type of activity that requires your brain to recall or use the information. For example, if you take a practice quiz after reading a chapter, you are engaging in active learning because you are forcing your brain to analyze the information at more length and then apply it to something. By actually utilizing the information in some way, you’ve informed your brain that it has some particular value to you, so it is more likely to retain the information a little longer.

It is vital to engage in active learning, otherwise it is extremely difficult to retain the information you are studying. Our CPCU® study guides coupled with The Institutes’ practice quizzes are an excellent way to review the material in an active manner.

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