Here’s some of the principles behind the Head First Formula:
- Instead of repetition, use novelty to tell the brain something is important
- Use pictures, because your brain is tuned for visuals, not text.
- Place words within the pictures they describe (as opposed to somewhere else in the page, like a caption or in the body text)
- Use redundancy, saying the same thing in different ways and with different media types, and multiple senses, to increase the chance that the content gets coded into more than one area of your brain.
- Use concepts and pictures with at least some emotional content
- Use a personalized, conversational style, because your brain is tuned to pay more attention when it believes you’re in a conversation than if it thinks you’re passively listening to a presentation.
- Include many activities, because your brain is tuned to learn and remember more when you do things than when you read about things.
- Use multiple learning styles, because you might prefer step-by-step procedures, while someone else wants to understand the big picture first, and someone else just wants to see an example.
- Include content for both sides of your brain
- Include stories and exercises that present more than one point of view
- Include challenges, with exercises, and by asking questions that don’t always have a straight answer, because your brain is tuned to learn and remember when it has to work at something.
- Use people. In stories, examples, pictures, etc., because, well, because you’re a person. And your brain pays more attention to people than it does to things.
