Hi math student, math parent.
Welcome to another edition of Coach Edison; Insightful strategies for math (and life)❕
How to learn intro!
It’s a tad presumptuous of me to write an article on ‘How to learn?’, as every math student, parent, everyone in the whole world knows how to learn!
I agree, but since learning happens in the classroom and in life and everywhere, I thought it would be useful to really understand the little ‘hidden’ details associated with learning. The ‘unknown’ steps we automatically take, when we learn.
And this ‘How to learn’ article will also give insight into why you might not be progressing on a task you have to learn❕
So, how to learn?
Table of contents
1 The 5-steps of learning
2 Think of it as a check list
3 Lennii’s grade 10 learning story
4 Next step
I’m writing this article to aid you with your New Years Resolutions, and your math learning!
1 The 5-step strategy for learning math or anything! The Learning 5!
#1 Objective? You decide what you
want,choose, will get better at. On Jan 1 it’s called a resolution.
#2 Motivation? What reasons are motivating you to achieve this objective? The more reasons you have the less likely you’ll give up!
#3 Understand the steps to achieve that objective#4 Then reinforce understanding (aka strengthen it) - this is the repetitions, the practice to help you remember. With math, this is almost the same as doing homework, except the critical change is that with step #4, you understand before starting homework, as that helps you remember the math.
#5 Result & Feedback: The results are the feedback of your #1 to #4 actions, that tells you whether you’re getting close to that Objective or not.
Note: The Learning 5 - These 5-steps of learning are a summary of the article, ‘Teachers teach, but how are students supposed to learn’.
Learning is a journey that always has 5 steps.
2 Think of these 5 steps as a check list
If you’re not getting closer to your objective, check the list to see which step you’re weak in. Then, aim to strengthen that weakness. How? You guessed it, go through the first four steps: set it as a second objective, list reasons motivating you, figure out how to understand it, and reinforce that understanding.
3 Lennii’s grade 10 learning story
I had a grade 10 student, I’ll call Lennii (not his real name) who came to me with a mark of under 30% after his first test - his goal was to, ‘not fail the course’. *
#1 Learning weaknesses?
Lennii thought he was struggling because he didn’t do his homework (#4 step).
His mother said, “he’s not working hard enough” (#2 step - motivation).
After assessing him, both were correct, but the core weakness affecting homework and motivation was that he did not understand his teacher or understand how to learn math, #3 step – I had to teach him how to understand math.
And you will struggle on the #4 step - repetitions, if you’re weak in the #3 step - understanding.
Objectives?
Lennii’s first objective was, ‘not fail the course’. We had to create a second objective, “understand his teacher,’ and went through steps #2, 3 and 4 - spoke about what will motivate him with this second objective, how to understand (my job with him). He agreed to always understand first before starting any homework. We then created a third objective, how to understand math.
*More motivations: I knew one reason wouldn’t be enough for Lennii as this was a steep mountain to climb, so we dug deeper and added many more reasons. It turns out his biggest motivation was how mortified and embarrassed he felt in front of the class when he could not answer any question the teacher asked him. He turned that embarrassment into an objective and motivations. And that was the motivation that got him fired up, as he was experiencing that fear every day.
He turned that embarrassment into an objective and motivations.
So with motivations addressed, the primary focus was another weakness holding him back, his understanding.
Results?
Lennii’s next test was a mark in the 30s. By Test 3 he was over 50 and, on his way, to achieving his objective, not failing the course. But more importantly between Test 2 and Test 3 he was able to start answering some questions his teacher asked him.
Lennii’s journey
Over the course of that grade 10 year, they were many more objectives we had to set (e.g. creating positive habits, too many slip-up errors on tests, preparing for tests too late, not asking teacher for extra help, giving up, procrastination, slipping back into memorization). But by the end of the course most of these strategies were habits and he became Lennii the learner!
4 Next step
Make the 5-steps of learning a habit for math, and then you’ll see how your learning skills transfer into other aspects of your life. View your math as practice in getting better at learning.
Your results are feedback that tells you how you’re doing with each of the first four learning steps. If you are not achieving your objective, identify the mistake with your learning and strengthen it.
And to learn from your mistakes, so you don’t make them again, you first have to know how to learn! You now know how to learn!
To ‘learn from your mistakes’, you first have to know how to learn!
Coach Edison
Insightful strategies for math (and life)❕
by Edison Hopkinson BSc Mech Eng, B. Ed