In an age where we find ourselves pressed for time and constantly aim to do a multitude of tasks, we are constantly looking for ways to become more efficient. Our scramble can lead us in many directions.
For example, an article written last February by Matt Brundage ’15 (“Stop watching so many TED Talks,” Feb. 26) criticized our generation for failing to be intellectually demanding and for being satisfied with little more than the brief snippets of information we gather from quick news and information outlets. I think this is clearly a response to the up-and-go lifestyles that we all live. It’s hard for many of us to find time to do much of anything anymore and we resort to quick information and social media because they are brief tasks we can complete and fit in between papers and job interviews.
It is important to recognize, as Brundage points out, that learning take times and often repetition. Yet Brundage argues that our search for quick information is a bad thing. I disagree with this simplistic notion.
I would argue our quest for efficiency can be a good thing because it forces us to learn about our individual learning styles. Contrary to what Brundage suggests, maybe you are more likely to learn more if it’s through receiving quick bits of information here and there, if that’s what keeps you interested and engaged. Regardless, from my experiences and from what I have observed around me, the best way to keep up is to understand, as individuals, how best we learn.
Research has showm us there are many different forms of learning. Some people learn best through visual means: graphs, slides, pictures — images they can latch on to and associate with the information. Other people learn best orally: absorbing information from spoken lectures or from audio books. The important thing is to understand what works best for you.
This is something that is particularly applicable to Brown students who face heavy workloads, fast-paced curricula and constant testing. By understanding how we learn best and catering our studying to our learning methods we are more likely to remember the information we learn and can eliminate time we otherwise waste trying to learn and relearn information using methods that don’t actually work for us.
How do we do this? Through the good old means of trial and error.
Start by asking yourself a few basic questions. When do I learn best? Is it in the evening, the morning or right after class? What helps me remember things the fastest? Do I learn better when I use note cards or make outlines or draw visual representations? What is something I haven’t tried that I think might help me?
For example, I once met someone in the library who spent the entire three hours looking at his phone. I thought, “Why would you come to the library and not do anything?” When I left, I asked him. And he smiled and said, “I do all of my online and (Online Course Reserves Access) reading on my phone. It helps me concentrate better because I can focus on one line at a time. If I read one big PDF file on my computer I get distracted by the rest of the page and start thinking about how much reading I have left. I focus better and remember things better if I read on my phone.”
And I’m sure that you’ve tried things that you might not have realized you were trying. Maybe you brought your notebook to class and left your computer at home because you knew you wouldn’t be distracted if you didn’t have Reddit or BuzzFeed to troll. Maybe you decided to sit in the front row of class, no notebook, no computer, just listening to the teacher because you find that if you try and take notes you get too wrapped up in writing down everything that is said. Instead, you’d rather be engaged and thinking critically in the lecture. People learn in all sorts of strange ways and there are endless creative ways to help us learn more efficiently and effectively.
Understanding our individual learning styles can not only help us become more efficient students, but it can also help reduce our stress levels and free up time to spend with friends, read for pleasure or make music. We’ve all had those days where we found ourselves reading a paragraph on a page a dozen times over before we finally understood what was being said. It’s frustrating, not to mention emotionally and physically draining.
So the next time you find yourself stuck on a problem set, or with a passage from a book or getting anything out of classes, try something different. Who cares if it doesn’t work? Sure beats reading that paragraph half a dozen times.
Danny Delaney ’15 frequently rides the struggle bus when it comes to balancing his life. He’d gladly accept assistance and can be reached at daniel_delaney@brown.edu.
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