How does learning happen and what does learning mean? You may be taking a course or attending lessons and yet you don't feel that you are learning anything. What can you do to improve the conditions for learning?
Do you ever sit in a class and feel that the information is going in one ear and out of the other? This might be because you are not interacting with the information or making enough connections with it. Learning is easier if you can find a way to relate it to what you already know and one of the best ways to make such connections is to engage with your learning through questioning.
Question the Information
One way to learn at a deeper, less superficial level, is to analyse what is being taught and to ask questions about it. Instead of just listening to the teacher or staring at the page, you can question what is being presented. If something does not ring true then ask about it. If an idea comes to mind then express it.
If you are just reading the material then make little notes as you go along. You might, for example, want to check what a specific word means or to find out more about the life of a poet so that you can understand his poem better. Looking at topics in this way, and reading around them, allows you to enter them more deeply . Make sure that you are not just accepting whatever is presented as if it was the answer to everything.
Use the Knowledge
Perhaps, sometimes, you think that you understand information because you can repeat it. You might learn it by heart, like learning times tables. The danger with this method is that you may not really understand the material. To show that real learning has taken place you have to be able to use the theory to solve problems. It is no good being able to chant the seven times table if you can't use it to solve multiplication questions.
Test the Knowledge
When you think that you have understood something then it is a good idea to test the knowledge. If you are training to be a plumber then don't just learn the theory, have a go at bending real pipes. Another good way to test your true understanding of a topic is to prepare and give a presentation on it to an audience who might ask you questions. By predicting what they might ask you will be able to anticipate and find the perfect answers.
Repeat and Rehearse the Knowledge
Even if you have tested your knowledge you need to keep using it. If something is not used then it may become rusty. When you return to a topic for a second and third time it is easier to remember. Come back to the learning and repeat and rehearse it at regular intervals to ensure that nothing gets lost.
Do you ever sit in a class and feel that the information is going in one ear and out of the other? This might be because you are not interacting with the information or making enough connections with it. Learning is easier if you can find a way to relate it to what you already know and one of the best ways to make such connections is to engage with your learning through questioning.
Question the Information
One way to learn at a deeper, less superficial level, is to analyse what is being taught and to ask questions about it. Instead of just listening to the teacher or staring at the page, you can question what is being presented. If something does not ring true then ask about it. If an idea comes to mind then express it.
If you are just reading the material then make little notes as you go along. You might, for example, want to check what a specific word means or to find out more about the life of a poet so that you can understand his poem better. Looking at topics in this way, and reading around them, allows you to enter them more deeply . Make sure that you are not just accepting whatever is presented as if it was the answer to everything.
Use the Knowledge
Perhaps, sometimes, you think that you understand information because you can repeat it. You might learn it by heart, like learning times tables. The danger with this method is that you may not really understand the material. To show that real learning has taken place you have to be able to use the theory to solve problems. It is no good being able to chant the seven times table if you can't use it to solve multiplication questions.
Test the Knowledge
When you think that you have understood something then it is a good idea to test the knowledge. If you are training to be a plumber then don't just learn the theory, have a go at bending real pipes. Another good way to test your true understanding of a topic is to prepare and give a presentation on it to an audience who might ask you questions. By predicting what they might ask you will be able to anticipate and find the perfect answers.
Repeat and Rehearse the Knowledge
Even if you have tested your knowledge you need to keep using it. If something is not used then it may become rusty. When you return to a topic for a second and third time it is easier to remember. Come back to the learning and repeat and rehearse it at regular intervals to ensure that nothing gets lost.
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