Sunday, February 17, 2019

struggle to learn





Last week in my blog I mentioned that defeating fear is one of the most important things to do to be successful.  I received a lot of feedback stating that fear does hold people back.  The fear of losing, fear of looking dumb, and the fear of struggling while others seem to be cruising.

Can struggling help you learn.  Let’s look at two lists of words.  What I would like you to do is look at both lists for an equal amount of time.



A                                                                         B

Ocean/breeze                                                 bread/b_tter

Leaf/tree                                                          music/l_rics

Movie/actress                                                 sh_e/sock

Gasoline/engine                                             phone/bo_k

High school/college                                       chi_s/salsa

Turkey/stuffing                                               pen_il/paper

Fruit/vegetable                                               river/b_at

Computer/chip                                                television/rad_o

Chair/couch                                                     l_nch/dinner



Without looking try to remember as many pair of words as you can.  From which column do you recall more words?  If you are like most people you should remember two to three times as many words from column B.

So why does this happen?  When you examined the words in column B, you stopped, you stumbled and for a second you struggled.  You did not practice harder with column B you practiced deeper (more info)

Another example happens quite often in the classroom.  A teacher calls on a student who is struggling to figure out the answer.  His friend trying to help the student out tries to whisper the answer to him so that the teacher can not hear.  The truth of the matter is if you give the student the answer they probably will not remember it in the future.  However, if they are forced to struggle, retrieve the information themselves then they are more than likely to remember this information in the future.

So, the next time a teacher asks you a tough question, do not ask your partner for the answer.  Instead force yourself to struggle, because when you struggle at the edge of your ability, where you make mistakes you become smarter.

The great thing about deep practice is that we are not asking you to work longer just harder.

27 comments:

  1. One thing that I find that helps with deep processing in the classroom is reworking problems by hand by myself, going through each individual step and understanding how I got there. Usually the teacher just tells you how its done and you nod and say "oh i understand" but forget it after a short time. Reworking problems by hand is a much more effective method because it forces you to process the information and gain a deeper understanding from the problem. This type of processing helps you not only better retain information for similar problem types but also allows you to gain a deeper understanding towards that concept.

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  2. I agree that the "struggle" to learn is the most important part in the process, but I would add that this plays a much larger role in studying than being put on the spot in a classroom setting. I personally find myself spending much of my time studying by simply reading and re-reading pages of notes off of my computer screen. But when I try to recall the information shortly after without my notes up, I have trouble recalling information. I think that no matter which style of studying best suits a particular student, it should involve some sort of self-quizzing. For example, I have found that I study the best when I write things down, so instead of reading a definition and directly copying it, I first try to write down the definition without looking so as to involve a "struggle" in my thought process.

    - Harrison Ewing

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  3. I agree with both of you that working out problems is the best way to learn. There is plenty of research that shows that self quizzing is a much better way to learn than to reread your notes. I would suggest when reading over your notes you develop some quiz questions for yourself

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  4. essages
    With

    Connor Mitchell
    Messages
    Today at 7:57 PM
    Connor Mitchell
    A completely agree with your comment that if someone is having trouble with a topic, that they have to struggle to truly understand and remember the concept. I have personal expiersnce with this in mathematics. In math it is very easy to sit out the answer if someone’s gives it to you, but you will never understand it. A comparable example to this is when you met someone new, you are a lot more likely to remember their name if you repeat it after they tell you their name versus just saying “Nice to meet you”.
    -Connor Mitchell

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  5. I almost completely agree with you. I think there is a difference between struggling to better yourself and struggling because of a lack of proper instruction. You can struggle to find an answer all day long, but if you have not received the proper instruction it is a waste of time. Struggle is definitely a way of remembering facts. From Boy Scouts and camping trips I find it much harder to remember the sunny picture perfect days but the rainy football games as if we are shooting a scene from the movie "Invincible" stand out vividly. Neat idea, I almost completely agree with.
    -Sam Gallatin

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  6. It is true that the brain often requires struggle to learn because, on a biological level, learning requires strengthening the connection between neurons. If someone's neurons have a strong connection, the information relating to those neurons will come easy to that person. Conversely, if someone's neurons do not have a strong connection, the information relating to those neurons will not come easy.

    Therefore, one must strengthen the connection between their neurons to learn, which often requires time and struggle to do. Taking time to study can often be a struggle in school because someone would spend too much time studying for every single subject. One can shorten the amount of time they study by attaching an incentive to what they are learning because the brain learns better when it is interested in doing so. Another way to decrease the time taken to study is by studying in a group because if someone in that group knows certain information better than you do, they can explain it and help you understand. These are two strategies for learning effectively in a short time.

    -Rishi

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  7. I think struggling with something is in the end the best thing. When starting a new topic and learning new things, struggle at the beginning is most common. However, when someone continues to struggle with an objective, it helps to identify the fact that help is needed in a certain area. After seeking help and looking to do better in a certain cause, one can feel better and in the end, struggling can help a person understand what they need to do to help improve in a certain area.

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  8. I think this is a really good example of a struggle that can be applied parts of our lives. Especially when trying or learning something new, such as AP econ this year, it is very beneficial to read and go over some notes each day and to be in the mindset of this class. When I read this blog, I began to think about how I become "good" at math and its really natural to get in that mindset now. Math, unlike economics, is something I've been learning for much longer, throughout the years it is something I've gotten to know because of my interest and struggle learning many years ago. As this year continues, I am getting more and more used to economics and what kind of mindset I should have when doing it.

    -Matthew Tao

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  9. Sam I agree with you in the sense that the problems have to be slightly beyond your limits but one which you have enough information to solve. Rishi you are correct in your scientific approach and I think if students push themselves in class to struggle with the teachers problems, push themselves while reading to truly understand then the neurons are getting stronger which would allow for less studying time. Matt, you are correct in what makes economics hard is that many students have had no exposure to it before. Thanks everyone for your comments

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  10. In my personal experience, working through problems without help is the best way to learn a concept. It sometimes becomes difficult to deny having an answer given to you. However, when I work for the answer, it gives me a sense of every step of the problem and allows me to understand on a level deeper than just the surface.

    -Nick Boehl

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  11. In my experience at Calvert Hall it is so easy to get answers from other people and i do believe that takes away from the learning aspect. My problem is wanting to get the work done as quickly as possible that i am willing to get the answers from other people. That willingness is shown threw test grades, as they are often worse than grades i get on assignments. But when i do assignments by myself i do find myself getting better test grades as well.
    -- Anthony Perrera

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  12. As I was reading the explanation about why people are more likely to remember words from the second list, I realized I have experienced the same phenomenon in my own academic life. I can think of a couple of instances at Calvert Hall where I got a bad grade on a test or quiz that I studied considerably for, and I remember being very confused as to how that could happen. Times like this have taught me to develop better studying habits. Instead of listening to music while mindlessly reading over my notes, I have become very particular about doing everything possible to stay focused on what I'm studying. This includes putting my phone somewhere out of reach so I stay focused on the task at hand. Lastly, the phenomenon described in the blog is akin to semantically encoding information while studying. It has been proven that semantic encoding, compared to regular encoding, improves memory recall. Semantic encoding is also a tactic I have used while studying, by creating mnemonic devices and other hierarchies to organize information for a test or quiz.
    -Ben Archacki

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  13. Anthony I do know that we all have to fight the immediate gratification for the long term result which is learning. I think if you were made to struggle all through your school career it would be easier to do now. Ben, I think anytime you can interact with your notes or your reading you will encode better. I know that a lot of us read pages but could not explain what is on the page they just read. So I agree with you and am glad that you have founds way to study more productively. Nick, I also understand that it is hard not to take the easy way out and take an answer but in the long run it is hurting us.

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  14. One saying that I always relate to is that people “learn more through failure than through success.” You have to learn through your mistakes to really develop as a person. That is through anything in life. In sports, school, and with people, you must learn to struggle before you can truly be your best self. I can personally relate with this. I have struggled so much in school this year, but because of it; it made me a better student. I did so well on all my exams because I saw what I struggled on, then I worked hard to learn these topics to better myself. It all paid off. Struggle is part of the human existence. How you handle it determines how successful you will be in life.

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  15. I solve Rubik's Cubes fast for competition. I average around 14ish seconds so I can confidently say I'm closer to the top than the bottom in terms of global ranking. This sort of applied learning works in this scenario as it does in the classroom. Generally, it's faster to be efficient and turn slower in your solutions than it is to rush. This is because while your solving, you want to be able to plan your next few moves while you're doing your current ones. With 15 seconds of inspection, this is imperative to getting fast solves. However, some people decide to take the easy way out and just turn fast to the point where they can solve it in a relatively good time. Doing this has intrinsic problems however. Just like in learning difficult concepts in school, if you just turn fast without knowing how the puzzle pieces actually interact with each other, then you're going to hit a wall, and unlearn all of your bad habits and replace them with good habits. This concept can be equated to leaning on a crutch, where turning fast with inefficient solutions is the same as asking your friends for the answers.

    In life, an important goal that is often lost is to work on improving yourself, rather than winning. If you improve yourself, you acquire consistency, and as you improve yourself, you will get results more often than if you were to just focus on the end goal. This applies to speedsolving as well, since competitions are based on averages of five rather than single solves. If you focus on self improvements, the results will come naturally and consistently. I find that if people were to stop focusing on the numbers and instead on the content, they would do better in all of their challenges in life.

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  16. Often throughout my academic career I have wondered why I performed poorly on a test or quiz that I studied religiously for. The answer was simple: its not a matter of how long I studied, but the way I studied. It took me quite a while to realize that I was studying incorrectly, and that skimming over my notes the night before a test was not effective. Calvert Hall has taught me that I need to actually understand the material instead of simply memorizing it. This has helped me to actually remember and apply the material beyond the classroom, and not to just memorize for a test and forget the information.

    -Cole Darley

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  17. I think you are absolutely correct that struggling to find an answer is better than being given the answer out of fear for the struggle. If you look at highly successful people, most have experienced a few grand failures before achieving success. For example, Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, did an interview with Time Magazine revealing his numerous failed projects before Amazon became a success. Without his willingness to fail and learn from his mistakes, Bezos would have never invented Amazon and would not be one of the richest men in the world.

    Mike Campbell

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  18. I think struggling with something is in the end the best thing. When starting a new topic and learning new things, struggle at the beginning is most common. However, when someone continues to struggle with an objective, it helps to identify the fact that help is needed in a certain area. After seeking help and looking to do better in a certain cause, one can feel better and in the end, struggling can help a person understand what they need to do to help improve in a certain area.

    Travis Fruhling

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  19. Struggling is a key component to learning effectively. I think struggling correlates to physically writing notes, answers, thoughts, etc. because when you write the thought out, it is better stored in memory. However, when they are typed they seem to be easily forgotten and may not be reviewed. When you struggle you repeatedly review the question and deeply contemplate possible solutions to a problem which assist you in remembering. Additionally, people do not generally enjoy struggling so they will learn and take not from the struggles to further prevent struggling which promotes learning.

    Keegan Byrd

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  20. Struggling is a great way to learn. In the sense of the two lists, struggling to find out what the missing letter was made me remember the words better. I think this is applicable to life too. When things are handed to you and are very easy, the material is not retained as well as if it made you think about the problem. For Example, I remember how to do math problems based on knowing where I usually mess up in them. The struggle of doing the problem and getting an incorrect answer is what guides me to getting the right answer next time around.

    Bryce Bailey

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  21. I see this in class very frequently, where a student doesn't know the answer and someone whispers the answer to him. I will be honest, I have been that guy that whispers the answer many many times. This is because I know how they feel. I feel embarrassed when I don't know the answer to a question and ashamed. But this makes a lot of sense to me, letting them struggle. I have struggled with a lot of things in my life and it has strengthened me, forced me to push through. I do not know why I have not necessarily applied this to academics and education but I will definitely start to. I know how struggling can help, but in moderation. Struggling too much can be a major issue so I will do my best to apply this to my education in moderation.

    -- Will Cook

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  22. I do agree with your opinion that struggling in front of the class eventually does lead to better learning in the long term if you truly do care about the subject but it could turn other students off. For example, in my science class the teacher is constantly asking questions and some students, who honestly care very little, are turned off because of the flurry of information being thrown at them. This causes them to look that they do not care at all because of the difficulty of the question but they just do not understand. Another point i would like to make is the increasing fragility of the newest generations when faced with adversity. Record suicide and self harm rates are the norm and i do not know if your view point will even be seen as valid in 25 years let a teaching tool. An example of this might be the dunce hat or the use of corporal punishment today. I want to make it clear that i support the struggle in the class room but i would watch out for criticism of it in the future.
    - Henry Jones

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  23. People generally do not use the full capacity of their minds. Deep thought trying to find an answer forces them to think hard about what they are looking for. Failure is something humans are afraid of. Deep thought is a solution for this problem. This also expands the mind.


    -Ben Hooper

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  24. This concept that one will likely learn and remember more proficiently when certain material is struggled over has been evident in my academic experience at Calvert Hall. Last year, AP Chemistry was my most challenging class, and I struggled over the material. However, this helped me grasp it better as I frequently asked questions of my own knowledge of the subject, eventually being able to connect the class's concepts effectively. Now, I remember the material from AP Chemistry more than any other class I took last year. All in all, this circumstance in my life proves the statement that material is better grasped when it is struggled over.

    -Spencer Nattans

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  25. You're mind isn't the only thing in your body that adapts to obstacle like struggling or stumbling over words or not remembering answers to questions asked in the classroom. Your body adapts in a similar way like when you attempt to lift something and you struggle, if you keep trying your body adapts and eventually is able to overcome. Even when you get sick your body adapts to this circumstance and the next time you get sick you won't be as sick as you were before. Your body and brain are connected and they adapt in a similar way to each other.
    ~ Dasan LaRose

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  26. When there is a challenge, your mind seems to become better. It tends to remember the times when you overcame a challenge. When I was doing the left column it was easy but I could not remember them as easy. The right side was not as easy but I could remember them better. Your body is the same way. When you overcome a physical challenge your body will become used to it and it will become easier.
    ~Nick Bush

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