Episode 6: Learning That Actually Sticks — Why Your Brain Loves the Easy Stuff (and Why It Fails You)
with Sheila B. Robinson

What if the way you think you learn is the very thing keeping you from learning at all?

In this episode of The Underlayer, I sit down with teaching and learning expert Sheila B. Robinson to unravel one of the biggest lies we tell ourselves: that feeling fluent equals knowing.

It doesn’t. That warm glow from rereading and highlighting?
It’s a fluency illusion, and it’s costing you mastery.

We go beneath the surface of real learning to break down why the strategies that feel hardest are the ones that actually make knowledge stick.

You’ll hear:

• Why rereading feels productive but produces almost zero retention
• How retrieval practice, spacing, and blank-page testing train your brain to remember
• The power of simple language and teaching concepts back to yourself
• Why learning styles are a myth, but preferences still shape how you engage
• How mnemonics, meaningful imagery, and the Feynman Technique boost memory
• The surprising science behind “desirable difficulties” and productive friction
• What Sheila learned from writing a book, and why struggle is the secret ingredient
• How to use AI for quizzes, prompts, and feedback without outsourcing the thinking

By the end, you’ll know exactly how to turn information into skill: retrieve it, space it, & apply it until it sticks.

🎧 The Underlayer — Where the Real Story Lives.

If this episode helps you learn better, subscribe, share it with a friend who’s studying or teaching, and leave a quick review to tell us which strategy you’ll try first.

Sheila's LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheilabrobinson/

Sheila's Website:

https://www.sheilabrobinson.com/

The Underlayer YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/@the_under_layer

The Underlayer Podcast Website: https://www.theunderlayerpodcast.com/

David's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-young-mba-indy/