19th Quick Step: How to get better at learning math on your own?
Become an auto-didact!
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Ever heard of an auto-didact? Never heard of an autodidact?
Many famous people were and are auto-didacts. Here’s the lowdown - being an autodidact is one of the best ways to learn, and one of the funnest ways to get better. I’ll give some details, then do more research to understand why you’d want to be an autodidact.
When you’re an autodidact, you believe in yourself.
You have higher self-confidence & self-belief - you’re willing to bet on yourself more! ⬅ click that link
Want to be better at learning math on your own?
Get more questions on your own?
Love making mistakes :)!
Not give up?
Become a self-learner!
Teach yourself.
Be self-taught.
And yes, there is a name for a person that does that.
An autodidact. What? Who? An autodidact!
What’s an autodidact?
A person that is a self-learner.
Self-taught.
They self-teach.
Learn on their own.
They’re an autodidact!
Who’s an autodidact?
My namesake, Thomas Edison, was an autodidact. Research the word autodidact, and you’ll notice that many well-known human beings who have contributed massively to humanity and this planet were autodidacts. Famous people you’ve heard of - writers, scientists, actors, politicians, artists, musicians, engineers, thinkers …
When you’re an autodidact, you teach yourself to learn.
When you’re an autodidact, you teach yourself to learn.
You become
self-taught.
You’re a self-learner.
You’re educating yourself in an area you want to learn more about.
You accept problems, challenges, getting stumped as part of learning.
Giving up doesn’t happen as why would you give up on something you want to learn – you just figure out another way to solve the problem.
It’s all part of learning on your own!
When you’re learning on your own, making mistakes are a must.
Ask Edison (Thomas). Mistakes are not frowned upon, instead they’re invited and welcome as they give quicker feedback, and feedback is a part of the learning process.
Learning from your mistakes is a key strategy with autodidacts.
Autodidacts it turns out have a clear objective, have to be self-motivated, and create the habits to master learning.
I first heard the word autodidact about 15 years ago
from one of my grade 10 students. She had missed months of school due to an illness and had to learn all of her courses on her own. So if you’ve missed a math class, been absent from school for a while or have a teacher you’re not learning from, then being an autodidact makes the learning on your own less intimidating.
My students who perform better at school and university tend to be self-learners. In other words, they're very interested in figuring stuff out on their own. Independent learning at university is a key to success, so it's not surprising knowing how to teach yourself helps.
My students who perform better at school and university tend to be self-learners.
You've probably done autodidactism in a few areas in your life already.
Think about something you studied on your own and taught yourself on your own. It could be a video game, a craft, a musical instrument, or a sport. What's a skill you were aiming to get better at and taught to yourself?
Become an autodidact and you’ll cherish the time you spend learning - you’ll love learning! It’s like having a super-power where getting stumped brings out the best in you. I’d say you would thrive as a self-learner.
It’s like having a super-power where getting stumped brings out the best in you!
Coach Edison
Insightful strategies for math (and life)❕
by Edison Hopkinson BSc Mech Eng, B. Ed