'Who Am I?' Part Two: Learn How You Learn

"Schools everywhere are organized on the assumption that there is only one right way to learn and that it is the same way for everybody.  But to be forced to learn the way a school teaches is sheer hell for students who learn differently." ~ Peter R. Drucker

I personally believe, and have often stated, that the philosopher's greatest tool for growth, if used properly, is the mistake.  Making mistakes, hence, should make us wiser; however, the one mistake that we should try to avoid is failing to understand how we learn.

Think of your educational experience.  Did you learn best in the traditional way of listening and reading or did you learn better by writing?  Do you perform best when given oral instructions or when given written instructions?  Did you find that you were constantly bored and day-dreaming or did you feel perfectly comfortable taking notes?

In this second installment of "Who Am I?" posts, we will seek to understand one of the key elements of self-awareness -- how we learn.  Why is this important?  To go beyond stating the obvious, I'll list just a few names worthy of mention who understood how they learn and applied that knowledge to reach higher levels of performance:  Mozart, Beethoven, Leonardo da Vinci, Winston Churchill, and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Before I provide an exercise to discover your ideal learning style, I highly recommend reading a brief article from the Harvard Business Review, Managing Oneself, by Peter R. Drucker.  The piece is only 11 pages and well-worth reading (and printing for further reference).  The larger underlying theme of the article drives at the transition into the second half of our lives, which is especially crucial to success in a "knowledge economy."  Drucker helps point the reader in the right direction to ask some crucial questions:  How do I learn?  How do I perform?  Do I work well with people or am I a loner?  What are my values?  Where do I belong?  What should I contribute? 

Here are a few choice excerpts from the Drucker piece:

Of all the important pieces of self-knowledge, understanding how you learn is the easiest to acquire.

Many first-class writers -- Winston Churchill is but one example -- do poorly in school.  They tend to remember their schooling as pure torture...

There are people, like Churchill, who learn by writing.  Some people learn by taking copious notes...

Beethoven, for example, left behind an enormous number of sketchbooks, yet he said he never actually looked at them when he composed.  Asked why he kept them, he is reported to have replied, "If I don't write it down immediately, I forget it right away.  If I put it into a sketchbook, I never forget it and I never have to look it up again."

Drucker goes on to cite other historical figures, such as Dwight Eisenhower and Lyndon Johnson, who had prior successes in their earlier lives but failed as Presidents later in life because they were unaware of their learning styles.  Once again, I highly recommend reading Managing Oneself.  It is an outstanding self-awareness exercise...

Finally, here is an exercise I suggest that will reveal your learning style and give pointers for improved learning:  It's the Learning Style Survey.  The survey will categorize you as one of four styles: 1) Visual/Verbal, 2) Visual/Nonverbal, 3) Tactile/Kinesthetic, or 4) Auditory/Verbal.  My results revealed that I have a "Visual/Verbal Learning Style," which means I learn best when information is presented visually and in a written format and that studying by myself in a quiet room is often preferable.  That explains why I did not do well in my college courses where the professor just stood there and lectured!

After reading Managing Oneself and taking the Learning Style Survey, you will not only learn more about yourself but you will be ready to learn more efficiently.  Whether you are a student wanting to improve test scores, a teacher seeking to improve performance, a parent with a child who learns "differently," or simply someone who is trying to find their "path" to move forward in life, both exercises are an absolute must! 

But when we really think about it, aren't we all "students?"  Education never ends... especially the kind that involves learning about ourselves...

As Socrates said, "the unexamined life is not worth living."

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Related Post: Who Am I? Part One: Emotional Intelligence

TFPAuthor, Kent N. Thune, QPFC, is the President and founder of Atlantic Capital Investments, LLC (ACI), a 'fee-only' Registered Investment Advisory firm located in Mount Pleasant, SC.

Comments

[SH @ Enhance Life]

I have read "Managing Oneself" but I am yet to read "Learning Style Survey".

Great article

[Jeremy Welch]

I am taking some time off from university in part because I became very frustrated with the learning system.

I think a majority of college students have no clue how they learn best. As a result, many are wasting an enormous amount of time.

[The Financial Philosopher]

Jeremy:

I share your frustration. I'm currently in an MBA program. What helps me is that I expect most professors to teach in a style that does not suit my learning style. In such a scenario, I am forced to "teach myself" to some degree...

[steve]

Managing Oneself is awesome.

"And yet most people-especially most teachers and most organizations concentrate on making in-competent performers into mediocre ones. Energy, resources, and time should go instead to mak-ing a competent person into a star performer."

So much for NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND.
Wow. How should schools work? Does he have a vision for schools? I would like to read his opinions and solutions.

[The Financial Philosopher]

Steve:

I believe Drucker would agree that schools should go far beyond teaching students WHAT to think. They should teach HOW to think and, more importantly, how to "think about thinking."

Self-awareness is critical to success in all aspects of our lives, especially in leadership roles.

I am also convinced that self-awareness would also reduce the rate of teenage suicide, which is why I have stressed the need for more philosophy taught in schools. My post, "Why The World Needs Philosophy," discusses this issue. Here's the URL address:

http://financialphilosopher.typepad.com/thefinancialphilosopher/2007/09/why-the-world-n.html