Know and understand, the most important concepts underlying the new material at the beginning of your course. Your teacher can also help you by clearly describing the course goals or objectives in the course description and at the beginning of the course as well.
Your teacher will highlight or repeat these concepts in lectures, practice exercises and assignments throughout the course and will include questions on every exam. You will get good grades rewarding you for learning, for remembering, and applying this knowledge in a variety of experiences and future learning situations outside the classroom.
The more you study the new content, the more you will come up with new ideas of your own. Learning and understanding abstract concepts can be useful if you are taking mathematics, science or nursing. You can apply this same strategy if you are taking courses from basic adult education to university level courses.
Recognize the importance of vocabulary in a course. Know how to properly spell the new word and it's meaning at the outset.
Learners often struggle with new vocabulary and spelling in many courses. To succeed in these courses, you must become comfortable with the new words. As subjects are presented, new or confusing words should be identified and introduced to you.
Present "real-world" definitions (state the meaning of the word, how you understanding it and in your own words), and alternative words, in addition to textbook definitions. I do not want to discount the value of text book definitions from the authors, but sometimes their word definitions may be hard to understand. So make up your own definitions as you understand them.
Provide yourself with a "visual aid" when possible to help yourself understand abstract concepts with practice exercises. This could be in a form of a "diagram" to show how all of the pieces of the content fit together to create a whole. Most of today's students are visual learners (but not always) and can be more valuable than a thousand words in a text or a lecture.
Rely on logic when applicable. Your teacher will point out to you which information is just a "fact" that must be memorized and which course material is based upon "logic." Your teacher will show you how to use logical thinking and creative thinking to learn and remember new information.
Will learning logic help you understand other school subjects? Logic is the foundation to the study of every subject, like: physics, mathematics, philosophy, law, and accounting.
These subjects or systems have "facts" or features that must be memorized or remembered and they are not based on logic. However, once you accept the system, you can use this logic to operate within any system.
Learning to read is a basic skill. Learning to think is just as basic. For instance, when I wrote a school essay in my high school days, I use logic to determine if my conclusion follows from what I have written. When I studied to give a report on the late President Kennedy, I use logic to decide which historian has interpreted the evidence about Kennedy's life the most accurately.
We already use and rely on logic in every subject or every life situation without knowing it. Are we using enough logic? Logic can help you do all of these things as examples:
Determine if calcium enriched milk is better for you than ordinary cow's milk.
Determine if the theory about the "Big Bang" is reliable, or it's just a big speculation about how the universe was created.
Take advantage of in-class activities to help you highlight newly presented material. After a new concept has been presented by way of text reading, lecture, or class discussion, you should allow yourself to put the concept into action by completing an in-class activity. This is helpful if you a "hearing" learner.
Actively engage with your classmates by discussing the course content with them. These sessions can be short, but they must be involved to ensure that you understand and reinforce the key concepts (there's that word again) underlying the new material.
Typically, most learning takes place when you are allowed to work in small groups by working together with your classmates to discuss the content, to go back to your notes, and to reflect on them.
Your teacher can pretty well identify the type of prior experiences adult learners bring to the classroom and then use this information to develop definitions that are relevant to the learners.
Your teacher can also help you create a "link" when learning something new. To help you do so, your teacher should help you draw out your prior experience and knowledge. If you can "link" the new material to something already learned, the odds of learning the new material are greatly increased
Something like "Oh yeah, I remember when I did..." Other examples of possible links include: prior material learned, material learned in prerequisite courses, and "real-life" experiences outside the classroom.
As do all learners, you need to be shown with respect. Treat your classmates and your teacher with respect as well. Your teacher should treat you as an equal in experience and knowledge and has to acknowledge that you may have a different opinion about a certain topic thus allowing you to voice your opinions freely in class.
If you are given your dignity, respect and equality, you will give your teacher and your classmates your best effort.
If you do not maintain a specified level of learning and performance, only the most highly motivated learners will set aside the time and effort necessary to learn.
On the other hand, maintaining high standards not only will motivate your learning, it will also be the source of feelings of accomplishment and self-esteem when those standards are met
Be careful though, if you set your standards too high, unattainable or unrealistic you will set yourself up to disappointment or worst yet - failure.
Robert Sissenah is the new owner of the Adult Basic Education (ABE) - About Learn-Eh! Visit his website at http://www.cybersenior.ca |
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