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How much support do students get on how to learn stuff better?

Hi everyone,

I hope your studies are going ok in spite of Coronavirus

When I was an undergraduate, I spent hours hunched over my books and notes (we didn’t have computers in those days), reading and trying to make some sort of coherent sense out of my scribbles made during lectures.
What no one told me back then, is that there’s lots of things you can do to learn stuff better.

I’ve been through the system. I’ve done a postgrad, an MBA, I’ve taught in state schools and in the private sector and I set up my own company. And what I see is a lack of support for students at all levels on General Learning Skills. No one seems to teach the subject of How To Learn

Maybe things have changed and in your centre of education you get a crash course on effective learning methods, mnemonic techniques, revision strategies, note-taking methods, mental structures and, of course, exam techniques. I don’t know. I’d be really interested in getting some firsthand opinions.

Reply 1

tulipsinrain

We definitely don't get a crash course or a short PowerPoint presentation about ways of learning. In high school, they did suggest flashcards as a way of revision but definitely not much more. In university, nada. In university, it's completely independent and they would never give you advice on how to learn. We all go to YouTube to find ways of learning. There are videos on how to make flashcards, spider maps/mind maps, how to write essay Qs in exams.

Reply 2

Ian Gibbs

Thank you for your reply. It’s interesting to see industries like the motor and aeronautical industries immediately incorporate anything that improves the quality/safety of their services. Yet education ignores and forgets any research that shows how students can get a better return on their study time (spaced repetition system, mental models, mnemonic techniques etc). These have been known for decades but rarely even mentioned in schools and colleges. It’s heartbreaking.