Improving Learning Habits
I have observed in my years of learning and teaching that students across ages and universities have very peculiar learning habits. Since I've started teaching, I get endless inquiries from students and their parents on how they can learn more efficiently. Since this is such a pertinent issue, I've decided to list my observations and suggestions in this post. I know this is a long post, and I clarify right now that this post is meant only for those truly interested in learning.
Students' learning problems emerge from the fact that they take learning as a task to be completed, and not a journey to enjoy. This viewpoint makes a long road very tedious to cover. Typical problems with student learning are:
1) Being penny wise, pound foolish -
Students are certainly miserly in allocating time to studies. They use this approach to the extent that they want to avoid reading as much text as possible, in order to save time and effort. Most often, before even opening the textbook, the student will ask me to tell him/her which sections are not required for answer writing, so that (s)he can strike them off. Their enthusiasm in this task arises from their assumption that they are being very 'smart' by taking an economical approach to learning. If this was indeed a wise move, most students would easily excel the exam but this is obviously not the case. The truth is that most textbooks are written serially, with every topic emerging from or adding to the previous. Thus, every topic serves as the predecessor to the next. Missing one section means creating a weak foundation for the next. Besides, the author is not meandering into personal musings. Whatever (s)he writes is relevant to the topic at hand. When students ask me what irrelevant material they can do away with, it amazes me.
What is most important here, though, is that our brain is not a limited storage like a wardrobe, that will not be able to intake more information beyond its capacity. Students believe that if they read a couple of extra sentences, they won't have any room left for (what they consider) more important material. However, contrary to their understanding, our brain has infinite capacity. Think of how much knowledge you have stored into it from childhood, and you will know that this is true.
The problem with the whole aversion to reading the entire text, is that it actually proves to be very expensive in the long run. Poor understanding automatically translates to poor answer writing. Students later do not understand why they have not scored well despite reading and re-reading their cropped text so many times. A single, complete reading would have proved to be more useful than repeated reading of material rendered senseless.
Another display of the miserliness of students is their refusal to take a textbook in its full form in the first place. One example of this is that most students will use a photocopy of the textbook, leaving out the glossary. Seemingly a trivial issue, it is only a reflection of the student's lack of desire to study meaningfully. Typically, a student needs to reference and re-reference every topic to understand it completely. Without a glossary, this becomes very difficult. Particularly, the lazy student is bound to not get into taking up the search of a term (s)he does not understand given that (s)he is not willing to take up disciplined study to begin with. This 'small' habit leads to not understanding several topics due to the lack of understanding of a little term. Self-study is inevitable to any student, and the more tools (s)he has to this end, the better.
Yet another common and critical miserly habits of students is their absence of effort in understanding the basic techniques of answer writing. Students desire 'guides' that will give them the entire text in question and answer format. From my experience, my students have outdone themselves by learning a base structure of answer writing that enables them to adopt any section of the text into the answer. It s actually a matter of common sense. As I mentioned earlier, your brain is an infinite store of your knowledge, but your short-term memory is unfortunately not. Rote-learning caters to short term memory, meaningful learning caters to long-term memory. If at all rote learned material is to reach long-term memory, it must be repeated several, several time. I need not get into the practicality of this. Trying to remember every answer is not a choice.
2) Waiting for knowledge to fall upon them -
Literally. So many students will lie down in strange positions, and read the textbook as if they were reading an entertainment magazine.Though learning may not have much to do with postures, it certainly has a lot to do with the activity level of the student. Being a passive learner is actually not being a learner at all. It does not take much time for a student taking this approach to doze off. As a check of whether you as a student are going to learn anything, see if you have at least a pencil in your hand while studying, and whether you use it with decent frequency. I really do not see how, when students admit that the textbook is nowhere close to an entertainment magazine, they manage to approach the two in exactly the same manner.
Surprisingly, students adopt this approach even while studying statistics! And then, when most of them get a KT, they cry, "But I spent hours reading what was done in class."
Literally. So many students will lie down in strange positions, and read the textbook as if they were reading an entertainment magazine.Though learning may not have much to do with postures, it certainly has a lot to do with the activity level of the student. Being a passive learner is actually not being a learner at all. It does not take much time for a student taking this approach to doze off. As a check of whether you as a student are going to learn anything, see if you have at least a pencil in your hand while studying, and whether you use it with decent frequency. I really do not see how, when students admit that the textbook is nowhere close to an entertainment magazine, they manage to approach the two in exactly the same manner.
Surprisingly, students adopt this approach even while studying statistics! And then, when most of them get a KT, they cry, "But I spent hours reading what was done in class."
3) Expecting miracles to happen -
This one always amazes me. A board of experts decide upon a curriculum for an entire academic year. And a student expects to complete this entire syllabus within a week or even a day before the exam! I have nothing more to say about this ultra-optimism.
This one always amazes me. A board of experts decide upon a curriculum for an entire academic year. And a student expects to complete this entire syllabus within a week or even a day before the exam! I have nothing more to say about this ultra-optimism.
4) Overlooking the obvious -
We all know that people listen selectively to what they want to listen. This is especially true for our not-very-hardworking community of students. I have seen teachers and professors very casually giving harmful advice to their students. Why? To serve their own purpose of not having to deal with the 'burden' of checking too many papers. A colleague of mine had once told me that she prefers students answering objective-type question papers instead of doing projects so that she would not have to put the effort into checking them. When I was in a crucial year of learning, our professors asked students to learn only one chapter for the examination, and thereby answer only one question in the paper. The reason was obvious - they did not want to check full length answer papers. Their 'advise' went upto the prelims, just two months before the final exam, and students happily adhered to it, obviously not ignorant of what harm this would bring about. Needless to say, most students performed very poorly in the finals, and the professors acted as though they had been betrayed by the students. There are many instances of terrible advise like this. A tutee of mine had been given copy-pasted synopsis from the internet as final material for her IGCSE A level exams. Another group of my students had been asked to engage in extracurricular activities right upto the day of the exam. They were told that the board year is no big challenge, nothing to be looked at seriously, by their HOD. What is amusing in all these situations is that the students are very well aware of what they should be doing ideally, and keep expressing anxiety of losing out on precious time of study. Yet, they continue on a path that brings them easy excuses to shrug off responsibility for their studies - after all the expert told them not to study!
We all know that people listen selectively to what they want to listen. This is especially true for our not-very-hardworking community of students. I have seen teachers and professors very casually giving harmful advice to their students. Why? To serve their own purpose of not having to deal with the 'burden' of checking too many papers. A colleague of mine had once told me that she prefers students answering objective-type question papers instead of doing projects so that she would not have to put the effort into checking them. When I was in a crucial year of learning, our professors asked students to learn only one chapter for the examination, and thereby answer only one question in the paper. The reason was obvious - they did not want to check full length answer papers. Their 'advise' went upto the prelims, just two months before the final exam, and students happily adhered to it, obviously not ignorant of what harm this would bring about. Needless to say, most students performed very poorly in the finals, and the professors acted as though they had been betrayed by the students. There are many instances of terrible advise like this. A tutee of mine had been given copy-pasted synopsis from the internet as final material for her IGCSE A level exams. Another group of my students had been asked to engage in extracurricular activities right upto the day of the exam. They were told that the board year is no big challenge, nothing to be looked at seriously, by their HOD. What is amusing in all these situations is that the students are very well aware of what they should be doing ideally, and keep expressing anxiety of losing out on precious time of study. Yet, they continue on a path that brings them easy excuses to shrug off responsibility for their studies - after all the expert told them not to study!
5) Equating being a good learner with being a copycat -
When students take down notes in lectures, if at all they do, they merely write verbatim what the professor has presented on the white/black board, or whatever he is speaking. When I ask students to start taking notes actively rather than merely reading a text, they do exactly the same. What is an active exercise then converts into a mindless routine which the student gives up, since (s)he finds it futile! I agree that this interpretation of note taking is indeed futile, and is as good as not done.
When students take down notes in lectures, if at all they do, they merely write verbatim what the professor has presented on the white/black board, or whatever he is speaking. When I ask students to start taking notes actively rather than merely reading a text, they do exactly the same. What is an active exercise then converts into a mindless routine which the student gives up, since (s)he finds it futile! I agree that this interpretation of note taking is indeed futile, and is as good as not done.
6) Organizing collective folly -
Students often claim that since they are unable to focus while studying by themselves, they would like to study with a group of mates to remain on track. The idea seems good, until you give it some thought. How can a group of equally unfocused students inspire each other to focus? On the contrary, the practical face of 'group study' is gossiping, criticizing the system, sharing poor advice, and consuming junk food - none of which contributes effectively to studying.
Students often claim that since they are unable to focus while studying by themselves, they would like to study with a group of mates to remain on track. The idea seems good, until you give it some thought. How can a group of equally unfocused students inspire each other to focus? On the contrary, the practical face of 'group study' is gossiping, criticizing the system, sharing poor advice, and consuming junk food - none of which contributes effectively to studying.
7) Categorizing years as 'serious' or 'trivial' -
This is an age-old folly of considering only board years as important, the years which make for the qualification for entry into some further course. The problem with this approach is that the board year is naturally placed onto the end of a course, which tends to be the most challenging since the course reaches its most advanced level in the last year. Due to a weak foundation that the student has created by ignoring the basic and intermediate levels, the advanced course seems impossible to master. Certainly no year or section of a year is unimportant, for courses are additive and not standalone.
This is an age-old folly of considering only board years as important, the years which make for the qualification for entry into some further course. The problem with this approach is that the board year is naturally placed onto the end of a course, which tends to be the most challenging since the course reaches its most advanced level in the last year. Due to a weak foundation that the student has created by ignoring the basic and intermediate levels, the advanced course seems impossible to master. Certainly no year or section of a year is unimportant, for courses are additive and not standalone.
8) Studying Mindlessly -
It is amusing how students manage to double their workload in a bid to reduce it to the least. Students generally study mindelessly - without identifying their strengths and weaknesses. The outcome is that they read, re-read, practice and re-practice without really reaching anywhere. Take, for example, a student who has understood the first section of a chapter well, and is unable to understand many concepts in the following section. However, since (s)he has never measured his/her progress, (s)he does not know what to focus on, and what to keep for later revision. Hence, (s)he ends up going the same material again and again. Though this seems very contrary to common sense it is most frequentl the case. Another example of a related dimension here, is a student who understands better visually, but keeps learning from direct text rather than preparing a few diagrams.
It is amusing how students manage to double their workload in a bid to reduce it to the least. Students generally study mindelessly - without identifying their strengths and weaknesses. The outcome is that they read, re-read, practice and re-practice without really reaching anywhere. Take, for example, a student who has understood the first section of a chapter well, and is unable to understand many concepts in the following section. However, since (s)he has never measured his/her progress, (s)he does not know what to focus on, and what to keep for later revision. Hence, (s)he ends up going the same material again and again. Though this seems very contrary to common sense it is most frequentl the case. Another example of a related dimension here, is a student who understands better visually, but keeps learning from direct text rather than preparing a few diagrams.
9) Sticking to the surface -
Students quickly classify subjects as - dry or interesting. Typically, subjects involving abstract concepts are taken as dry and boring. This is because they fail to see the relation between learning these concepts and applying them in a prospective career. The problem is certainly not in the subject, but in the perception and judgment made towards the subject.
Students quickly classify subjects as - dry or interesting. Typically, subjects involving abstract concepts are taken as dry and boring. This is because they fail to see the relation between learning these concepts and applying them in a prospective career. The problem is certainly not in the subject, but in the perception and judgment made towards the subject.
10) Giving up too easily -
Just like any other learner, students under the formal education system quickly give up on a learning method if it doesn't work in the first two-three times. I had a student who learned quickly through listening rather than reading, for she was not habituated to reading. I asked her to listen to audiotapes of our sessions and jot down notes simultaneously while in self-study. She learnt well through the audiotapes, but found note-taking difficult. The result was that though she performed better than before in the class tests, it was not to her desired level. After much of my explaining that listening was as passive as reading for learning, she worked tried note taking again. After only a week, she told me that she failed to see why she found such a simple activity to be so taxing earlier. I explained that this was because every skill takes some time to develop. Patience is vital.
While walking down a long route, it is best to know what steps can be taken to make the journey not only easy, but also interesting. Solutions to the above problems are very easy, if understood correctly:
1) When I suggest that students should read the entire text, they argue that they will not be writing the answer as it is in the book. Agreed. However, there are two factors to be noted here. First, there is a difference between understanding and writing. Does your examiner want you to write the answer the way you have understood it? No. So, it is desirable to first read the text in its original form, and then mark out what is suitable for an answer from the section. Second, there is a difference between editing a section for an answer well, and simply trimming off sentences assumed to be irrelevant. The former shows skill in answer writing while the latter is nothing but crudity. So, I would suggest editing the text rather than cropping it.
Lastly, yes, certain texts use a lot of jargon, others are not at a level at which the student can easily understand. It is desirable then, to read simplified versions of the text which may be available in the form of study notes, or may be explained by a good text. These are not cropped versions, but deliberately simplified versions of the text. Also, if the student finds that (s)he has reached the last minute before the exam and needs to go through material quickly, it is desirable to read condensed versions of the text in the form of summaries rather than chopped off ones. Needless to mention, this is not as desirable as reading the text in a timely manner. A small note here, it is very unfortunate that many professors in many colleges of Mumbai actually encourage this miserly approach by giving students 'notes' which are exactly what I've mentioned earlier - crudely cut versions of the textbook. The wise student will be careful before using such 'notes.'
As concerns answer writing, it is good practice to read highly scored answers. However, the student's aim should always be to study these answers, and not memorize them. By studying the answers, I mean deconstructing the format, language, clarity, coverage, etc. of the answers. Such practice maybe effortful at first, but is very quickly adapted, and serves as a life-long skill for essay and report writing.
2) Accept one fact without doubt - knowledge will not fall upon you. Whether you re-read material a hundred times, or whether you train your subconscious by hearing a study tape while sleeping, knowledge will not fall upon you. Think about a passion of yours - craft, dance, sports, anything. Did you just learn it by reading or hearing about it? You practiced. Several times. Till you reached where you wanted to. There is a big bright side to practice as well - working with something arouses your interest in it. When you think about something actively, you get interspersed with it. Think about why you've been finding your studies boring all along. Simply because you never really connected with it.
3) Think about it this way. If you were to eat the entire day's food at night, how much would your stomach be able to digest? How much would be expelled? Your brain is a system of your body, too. You cannot overload it. Think of one more thing, now that you are at it. If you were to eat all your food at night, what would you feel the entire day? Terrible hunger. What do you think happens when you don't study all year round. Your brain is devoid of meaningful activity. Most students spend this time idly. That is the reason you complain of feeling bored and a lack of enthusiasm.
4) Students always feel that making excuses resolves issues. So, if I as a student can say that the professor advised me, and I was bound to take his/her advise (against my common sense), I will get away with having a gala time at the expense of studies. Yes, excuses may save a student from some scolding by parents, or help him/her garner sympathy from near ones. But excuses do not compensate for hardships in later life. Be smart in the real sense of the term. Identify the hidden motivation behind defeating suggestions and refuse to accept them. It's your life, you have to face the consequences - not the professor who gave you the 'advice'.
5) The meaning of taking notes, is to jot down what is understood from the lecture, to organize material into what is important and what is not, to arrange material into a format that is easier to revise later. It may seem like an insurmountable task at the beginning, since lectures often occur at a rapid pace, but that is merely because of a lack of practice of correct note-taking. Once practiced, filtering and condensing what the professor is saying comes automatically, and is a very beneficial practice for future independent study, which ideally occurs at the post-graduate level. Besides, any meaningful note taking is useful compared to mindless movements of the hand.
6) Though I simply cannot visualize study as being a group activity beyond the classroom, I would suggest that any group of study mates, if at all desirable, should have a balance of attentive and inattentive students. The group should be alike a classroom - where an expert guides students into learning. Why I am against the whole group idea to begin with, is that every student is at a different level of learning, and has a unique style of learning. Thus, there is no commonality on which a collective practice could take place. Whatever the case may be, group study should never ever be a substitute for self-study. It can be undertaken as an add-on.
7) The target of the student at the foundational level should be to make sure (s)he understands every concept of the subject matter. A self examination at the end of the course can be very useful to this end.
8) The antithesis of mindless study is naturally, mindful studying. Even a minute taken before getting into the day's study, to identify what needs working upon can lead to quick progress, and avoid demotivation.
9) It might be asking for too much if I ask students to appreciate certain concepts simply for what they are. Avoiding that route then, the student can take guidance or put effort into researching where these seemingly meaningless concepts add value to the practice of their subject. With easy access to the internet, this kind of self-motivation should not be challenging. I have seen students developing passion for subjects they've hated, merely by understanding the aim and scope of the subject.
10) Persist. What is a bit of effort in comparison to the Herculean syllabus ahead? Do not hesitate to experiment with what methods suit you best. And if you fail in a particular style, it is certainly not a waste of effort. It will help you eliminate techniques that do not suit you, preparing you to avoid those on first sight in future.
I have come across a lot of tips-and-tricks that make clearing an academic year easy. Ultimately, though, nothing can compensate for prudent learning that imbibes lifelong capabilities. The choice is yours.
Just like any other learner, students under the formal education system quickly give up on a learning method if it doesn't work in the first two-three times. I had a student who learned quickly through listening rather than reading, for she was not habituated to reading. I asked her to listen to audiotapes of our sessions and jot down notes simultaneously while in self-study. She learnt well through the audiotapes, but found note-taking difficult. The result was that though she performed better than before in the class tests, it was not to her desired level. After much of my explaining that listening was as passive as reading for learning, she worked tried note taking again. After only a week, she told me that she failed to see why she found such a simple activity to be so taxing earlier. I explained that this was because every skill takes some time to develop. Patience is vital.
While walking down a long route, it is best to know what steps can be taken to make the journey not only easy, but also interesting. Solutions to the above problems are very easy, if understood correctly:
1) When I suggest that students should read the entire text, they argue that they will not be writing the answer as it is in the book. Agreed. However, there are two factors to be noted here. First, there is a difference between understanding and writing. Does your examiner want you to write the answer the way you have understood it? No. So, it is desirable to first read the text in its original form, and then mark out what is suitable for an answer from the section. Second, there is a difference between editing a section for an answer well, and simply trimming off sentences assumed to be irrelevant. The former shows skill in answer writing while the latter is nothing but crudity. So, I would suggest editing the text rather than cropping it.
Lastly, yes, certain texts use a lot of jargon, others are not at a level at which the student can easily understand. It is desirable then, to read simplified versions of the text which may be available in the form of study notes, or may be explained by a good text. These are not cropped versions, but deliberately simplified versions of the text. Also, if the student finds that (s)he has reached the last minute before the exam and needs to go through material quickly, it is desirable to read condensed versions of the text in the form of summaries rather than chopped off ones. Needless to mention, this is not as desirable as reading the text in a timely manner. A small note here, it is very unfortunate that many professors in many colleges of Mumbai actually encourage this miserly approach by giving students 'notes' which are exactly what I've mentioned earlier - crudely cut versions of the textbook. The wise student will be careful before using such 'notes.'
As concerns answer writing, it is good practice to read highly scored answers. However, the student's aim should always be to study these answers, and not memorize them. By studying the answers, I mean deconstructing the format, language, clarity, coverage, etc. of the answers. Such practice maybe effortful at first, but is very quickly adapted, and serves as a life-long skill for essay and report writing.
2) Accept one fact without doubt - knowledge will not fall upon you. Whether you re-read material a hundred times, or whether you train your subconscious by hearing a study tape while sleeping, knowledge will not fall upon you. Think about a passion of yours - craft, dance, sports, anything. Did you just learn it by reading or hearing about it? You practiced. Several times. Till you reached where you wanted to. There is a big bright side to practice as well - working with something arouses your interest in it. When you think about something actively, you get interspersed with it. Think about why you've been finding your studies boring all along. Simply because you never really connected with it.
3) Think about it this way. If you were to eat the entire day's food at night, how much would your stomach be able to digest? How much would be expelled? Your brain is a system of your body, too. You cannot overload it. Think of one more thing, now that you are at it. If you were to eat all your food at night, what would you feel the entire day? Terrible hunger. What do you think happens when you don't study all year round. Your brain is devoid of meaningful activity. Most students spend this time idly. That is the reason you complain of feeling bored and a lack of enthusiasm.
4) Students always feel that making excuses resolves issues. So, if I as a student can say that the professor advised me, and I was bound to take his/her advise (against my common sense), I will get away with having a gala time at the expense of studies. Yes, excuses may save a student from some scolding by parents, or help him/her garner sympathy from near ones. But excuses do not compensate for hardships in later life. Be smart in the real sense of the term. Identify the hidden motivation behind defeating suggestions and refuse to accept them. It's your life, you have to face the consequences - not the professor who gave you the 'advice'.
5) The meaning of taking notes, is to jot down what is understood from the lecture, to organize material into what is important and what is not, to arrange material into a format that is easier to revise later. It may seem like an insurmountable task at the beginning, since lectures often occur at a rapid pace, but that is merely because of a lack of practice of correct note-taking. Once practiced, filtering and condensing what the professor is saying comes automatically, and is a very beneficial practice for future independent study, which ideally occurs at the post-graduate level. Besides, any meaningful note taking is useful compared to mindless movements of the hand.
6) Though I simply cannot visualize study as being a group activity beyond the classroom, I would suggest that any group of study mates, if at all desirable, should have a balance of attentive and inattentive students. The group should be alike a classroom - where an expert guides students into learning. Why I am against the whole group idea to begin with, is that every student is at a different level of learning, and has a unique style of learning. Thus, there is no commonality on which a collective practice could take place. Whatever the case may be, group study should never ever be a substitute for self-study. It can be undertaken as an add-on.
7) The target of the student at the foundational level should be to make sure (s)he understands every concept of the subject matter. A self examination at the end of the course can be very useful to this end.
8) The antithesis of mindless study is naturally, mindful studying. Even a minute taken before getting into the day's study, to identify what needs working upon can lead to quick progress, and avoid demotivation.
9) It might be asking for too much if I ask students to appreciate certain concepts simply for what they are. Avoiding that route then, the student can take guidance or put effort into researching where these seemingly meaningless concepts add value to the practice of their subject. With easy access to the internet, this kind of self-motivation should not be challenging. I have seen students developing passion for subjects they've hated, merely by understanding the aim and scope of the subject.
10) Persist. What is a bit of effort in comparison to the Herculean syllabus ahead? Do not hesitate to experiment with what methods suit you best. And if you fail in a particular style, it is certainly not a waste of effort. It will help you eliminate techniques that do not suit you, preparing you to avoid those on first sight in future.
I have come across a lot of tips-and-tricks that make clearing an academic year easy. Ultimately, though, nothing can compensate for prudent learning that imbibes lifelong capabilities. The choice is yours.
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