How to study
Many students go to college with misconceptions. The most common misconception among college students is they believe that being good at a subject is a matter of natural talent rather than hard work. Many students told me that they are not good at Math, cannot write code, or have no talent in science, etc. If they have any doubt about their abilities, they will not work hard and eventually fail in these subjects. Sometimes students told me that their parents want them to study in a subject, but they do not have talent, so they do not want to work hard because sooner or later they will fail.
Alan Chang was one of those students who told me that he was forced by his parents to study Computer Science even he could not write code. I asked him: “As a Chinese who grew up in America, did you have a problem learning the English language? He said: “When I came here as a 10-year-old child, I had difficulty, but after a few years, I speak English as well as anyone.” I asked: “How do you do that?” He answered: “I had to because all my friends speak English.” I asked: “What is the difference between learning English and learning how to code?” He thought for a moment and hesitated: “I do not know?” I explained: “There is no difference. Learning English and learning to write code is the same. They are all just languages. It is on your mind. If you think you cannot do it, then you will not. You need to have a “proper mindset,” such as “I can do it. I am good at it because I have spent a lot of time doing it.” Each week, I spend an hour with Alan and a few students like him helping them in coding. Last year, Alan graduated with honor in Computer Science, and now working for Facebook. He told me: “Teachers can play a significant role in helping students develop the proper mindsets. If you did not help me, I would never think that I could do it. Now I have a good career and make my parents very happy.” I told him: “It is you who make the efforts and overcome the problem. When you believe you can do something, you will do it. It is all in your mind.”
Many students think that learning is about just reading and memorize a few isolated definitions. If you look at the way some students study today, you will see that many would sit in a coffee shop with their ears connects to the iPhone playing music, drinking coffee, and quickly glance through the textbook. Many do not even study until a few days before the exam. Some would spend more time to create a “cheat sheet” to bring to the exam room instead of studying anything. When they did not do well, either they blame the subject is too hard, or the teacher is not explaining well.
When Mandy failed my first exam, She complained that she had been studying hard, but my exam is NOT what she was expected. I asked: “What do you expect?” She said: “I think you would ask for a lot of definitions, so I memorize these definitions.” I told her: “That is for the elementary school where students learn about definitions and vocabulary. You are now in college; you need to understand the concept, not just a few isolated definitions. Knowledge is NOT about definitions. All the facts and data must be connected to form information to allow you to understand how to analyze and reasoning so you can apply it to solve the problem. When you go to work, nobody asks you about definition. If you forget something, you can use “Google” or “Wikipedia.” Who told you about memorizing definition?” She did not answer, so I continued: “It is your studying habit. You DO NOT know how to study. You think by memorizing a few definitions or facts and recall them to answer in the exam, but you never develop a profound understanding of how things work. Unless you are willing to change, you will never pass the next exam.”
After that, I spent the next class to go over “How to study in college” where I emphasize that for every hour in class, students must spend at least two hours studying on their own, without music, without eating, and focus on three things: “Why, How, and How to.” They must understand that learning takes time and efforts, NOT something that they could do quickly and casually. One of the misconceptions among college students is they think they know how to study, but in fact, they do not. I think every teacher needs to teach their students on the topic of “how to study effectively” on the first day of class to make sure students understand that there is no such thing as “QUICK LEARNING.”
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
