Fixing Difficulties in Learning

Trying to learn something new could be challenging at times. It could either be a skill such as riding a bicycle, driving a car etc. or a new concept.

The whole idea of a subject such as mathematics, physics, accounting etc, could be overwhelming. And you could meddle up the steps every time you try to implement it.

When it comes to quickly grasping and implementing the concept learned in some lessons, it even gets more overwhelming.

Sometimes after you’ve given a lesson your full concentration, follow all the steps and instructions, you still find yourself always mix it up.

You even discover that you’re stuck at deciphering the next action. The process seems to get more complex. Then, you wonder how those who work it out easily do it.

They say “practice makes perfect” but in your case, practice doesn’t make any perfect rather, it causes you more headache. Then you conclude: this isn’t my stuff.

Someone would even say “I hate so, so, and so subject” just because s/he couldn’t comprehend the concept. It hurts, I know. And this often happen with someone so dexterous at something they really wished they knew how to do.

I have been there, trust me. Many times I had tried to learn how to drive, but every time I hold the car steering, it seems driving is too complex for the likes of my brain.

Even with instructor by my side directing me on what to do, I still can’t. I tried hard until I let go of it. It took several years before I cracked the concept and aced driving lessons.

Everyone has difficulties at learning something, only that the level of difficulties vary from one person to another. Although for some people, it would seem as if they never had difficulty at learning anything. Just show them how. Gbam! They’ve cracked it.

They would even do it as if they were born with it. You would say those people are gifted. Yeah! They are, and so you are too. Just that you’ve not found what works for you to be able to learn fast like them. And that’s exactly what I will show you here.

Learning something and quickly getting it is fun. It gives you a kind of excitement, like a quick gratification. But when it seems you are not finding it easy at acing things, do the following.

Self-assessment

Assess yourself, this is key to unraveling any challenge facing you in life. It helps prepare your mind to accept the responsibility. Self-assessment in learning helps you answer some critical question such as:

What kind of learner am I? Auditory or Visual learner? How long does it take me to grasp new concept? What kind of environment do I assimilate most? How quickly do I forget the concept I already mastered? Why and what makes me forget so soon?

If you could answer these questions correctly and sincerely, they will help you identify your strengths and weaknesses. With this, you can also design a tactics and strategy that works at every point in time.

Learn how to use feedback loop strategy

This strategy is what makes it seem like some people are fast learners or have innate talents. They understand how they learn and know the systematic way of applying this strategy every time they learn variety of things.

To speed up your learning process, you have to understand how you can effectively use feedback strategy.

What is Feedback?

Feedback is a way of getting information about your performance whenever you make an attempt to practice a skill or apply a concept. It is what tells you what went wrong or right, and at which point you’ve missed out.

To apply feedback loop, you have to follow these 3 simple steps.

Practice and apply what you learn: put what you learn into action.

Measure your performance, i.e. get information about your performance. Do this sincerely and effectively. You can even ask someone to help assess your performance.

Analyze how well you performed. Learn from your mistakes and make adjustment to improve your wrong steps. Then, repeat practice and apply again.

To effectively speed up your learning skill, you have to keep repeating this process over and over again. Soon, it will become automatic and you won’t even be able to tell if you applied any strategy or not.

Tip

The best form of feedback is the one that is instantaneous. The shorter the time it takes to get feedback, the better and faster you master the process. And achieve more in no time.

If it takes too long to get feedback, the longer it will take to improve on the skill/study. That’s why some people spend huge amount of time practicing/studying but still do not make substantial progress.

So, you’ve got to do it quickly, accurately and consistently. How quickly do you learn? What other method(s) do you use that works? How do you think this method will help you learn fast? Let’s have your thoughts in the comment box.

This is a guest post contribution from Yusuf Olanrewaju.