Common ways for easy learning

Common ways for easy learning 

In-depth learning means learning as much about a topic as possible-learning for the sake of knowledge and understanding itself as opposed to learning for the sake of passing a test with high grades or trying to impress people.

 Having met many smart students who cannot get good grades, I have concluded that in many of these situations it is because they are not learning materials in depth. They tend to stop with an overview of the materials and say, “oh, I know all that”.

 They do not learn things in depth because they are patterning their learning after someone else rather than stopping to ask questions such as, “do I really know this material?” or “how do I learn best?

All of us learn differently. For example:

•  Some have such developed audio skills that they take in information more easily through the ear than the eye.

•  Others find that their best learning comes from talking over a topic with someone else. The give-and take dialogue sharpens their thinking, causes them to reflect, raises questions, and enables them to hear opposing viewpoints.
•  Still others do their best learning by the rote system-repetition and drill.
• I have friends who have to actually do something-what we now call hands-on learning.

Of course, the best-disciplined learner combines all the methods in some form.

   Sometimes I ask students, “How do you learn best? Which method is the most effective for you?” they do not usually know.

If this is true in your case, here are some helps to discover how you learn best. Remember three things that you have learned really well, such as:

1.  Completing a science experiment
2. Solving a tricky algebra problem 
3.  Having a solid grasp of the cold war
4.  Playing difficult pieces on the piano

Ask yourself, how did I learn these things? What methods did I use?

    Once you have figured out the answer to these two questions, you then understand your primary learning method, at which point you should adapt your learning situation so that you work from your strengths, not from your weaknesses.

   For example if you learn well by repetition, you won’t try to learn the major bone structure of the body by listening to a lecture. Instead, you would probable use flash cards. If you are a good reader, you may be able to visualize the things you read about.

   Rote may be boring to many as a primary learning tool. Still, consider how many people have learned the words to “My country ‘Tis of thee” or Amazing Grace” by repeating the song again and again.

   My general rule for in-depth learning says: Start with methods that work for you. Use those methods for your major learning projects. Then, strengthen your learning skills by using some of the other methods.

Ben Carson in one of his books wrote this: That when he entered Yale University, he had to face two important facts about himself. First, though he could consider himself a smart enough, he was not quite as smart as he thought. Secondly, he did not know how to do in-depth studying.

   His pattern in school had been to put off studying until just before exam time concentrate heavily for a day or two, then slide through for the tests- and forget half of the information afterward.

Other of his friends told him that they learn best that way some that they study best under pressure and so on.

    Those were the kind of learning he too did best, but when he got to Yale University and then to medical school, he had to make changes in his learning methods.

   After nearly failing chemistry in Yale’s pre-med program-a required course to stay in the program he got serious about learning. How do he learn best? He asks himself.

 Although he did some experimenting and try several approaches, by the time he entered medical school he had a solid learning program laid out for himself.

• He finds out that when books are opened, we discover that we have wings

 Right off, he realized he did his best learning by himself and through reading books. Listening to lectures was far down on his list. During his four years at the University Of Michigan Medical School, He cut many lectures so that he could stay in his room and not be disturbed. And he read constantly and insatiably.

     His reading began with the required material, and then he added other books related to the same topic. To get an in-depth view, he wanted more than one writer’s perspective. If they were studying the nervous system, he used three different text books all good, but each with slightly different emphasis.

      Most days, he read from six in the morning until eleven at night, using all texts books and related materials he had available. Someone may loan him class notes and pick up all copies of hand out for him.

It did not take long before he discovers that he was using the right method for himself. What about you? Which is your best method of learning? What Is the best grade you ever got in your life? How did you read then? It time to call for reflection. 

    The time of Ben Carson Has pass,  now is your turn. What will the world say about your situation? What will your children say about you? The change begins with you. You are what you are because you don’t want to know who you are and what you have.