Learning How You Learn

NOTE: I get that this is an oddly fringe post for me to share. But I’ve been pondering all this and if there is one person out there who might benefit from it, its will be worth while to share it. So, READ ON!

A couple weeks ago I was sitting with a friend reviewing for a quiz just outside the lecture hall of the photography class I’m currently taking. We both knew the material well and were spouting off names and dates and significances of certain images, when a young girl in our class chimed in, “How do you remember all that stuff!”

In that instant I remembered that when I was her age, I was just learning how I learned. Before sharing with her an overview of my study habits (including the cycling part) I remembered that learning how I learned how to learn was the initial most important aspect to my learning.

Do you know how you learn or remember things? Do your kids know how they best learn before or while going to school? Can you read words and then remember what you read? Or does a photo or visual of what you are reading about, better stick in your memory? Will you perhaps only remember something if you write it down or if you touch it?

Way back when I did high school then university, I learned that I rocked at essay or verbal tests but was not as natural at multiple choice questions. If I was given free reign to self-organize I could learn at my best. When forced into an enclosed cube of some sort, I tended to second guess myself (funny how my life has played out that way as well). To sort out how I could best learn for the succinctness of multiple choice I started to notice how I best gathered and retained info in my mind.

Here’s an example of how that might look: I always take the larger body of information and break

it down into categories or groupings (sort of like an athlete having a big goal and breaking that into sub goals). I then take each item in a grouped category and put those into chronological order (if that is relevant) or in relational order. I then make flash cards of all this organized information. Writing down the info becomes the first step in the learning process—because I’m watching as I’m writing. That latter piece is key for me.

If there is a photo or visual of any sort that can go along with the text, I’ll add that to the flash card. Because what I know as an over arching theme, is that I am a visual/hands on learner. I see information in my mind. So even if there is no photo to support the text I write on a flash card, I’ll see the words in my head that I wrote and I’ll see how those words relate to other information on other cards. If there isn’t a relationship, I’ll make one up.

Here’s the slightly odd part. I then most often study while riding my bike on a trainer. Yes, I study and sweat at the same time. I use a music stand to hold the info and pedal away while memorizing or reading text books. When getting my masters degree I logged a lot of pedaling time while sweating my way to an M.A in Sport Psychology (no, the congruity of this is not lost on me). And I did really really well because I went into it with some years under my belt and already knowing how I learned!

Since you are wondering: There are two reasons why I do the pedaling/studying thing. The first is time constraints. I don’t want to miss my daily workout but I also want to do well when I take classes, so the trainer riding allows me to happily multi-task. I can feel satisfied that I am not missing out on anything while spending the time studying or editing. So I’m more content. I usually do this really early in the morning because I also know that I am someone who can jump out of bed and be clear headed and in action within minutes.

The second is that when I move, I am usually relaxed but hyper aware. And the fact that I am pedaling causes me to mentally target what I am trying to learn even more because there is more stress in pedaling than just sitting. It’s as if throwing in an additional task causes my mind to step up even more. Which makes sense because I tend to be more effective in life in general when I am very busy.

So knowing all of this not only helps me get a masters degree or take a random photography class but it aids me at being my best at my business or while trying to remember day to day useful information.

So how do you learn? How do you remember things? Do you know? Do tell because I love knowing why people do what they do as much as I love reading a text book while riding my trainer.

Happy pedaling,

– Terri Schneider