Welcome aboard – fasten your seat belts and get ready for an enjoyable flight and a safe landing!
Isn’t a degree course (professional or otherwise) a journey for better future? Don’t you want to ‘land’ in a chosen job or course? You don’t want to ‘crash land’ or do an emergency exit, right? I am sure you don’t want to be frustrated due to lack of opportunities or do something that doesn’t interest you.
Imagine, you make a dish without adding sugar or jaggery in it. Can you expect that it would be sweet? No, don’t be a fool, you would say. Similarly, if you do not put the ingredients required to achieve success in whatever vocation you choose, it is foolish to expect success. So without spending much time in introduction, let us find ten things that you should do if you want to succeed – either become better employable or get opportunities for higher education.
1. Understand yourself – Of course, I know myself – may be your initial reaction. It is a well established fact now that people learn differently and they have different dominant intelligences. You can find more about these concepts at http://www.learning-styles-online.com/ but for starters, you should know that people’s preferences vary in the way they perceive information (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, text - read/write), in the way they process this information and in their personality. If you know what your preference is, you can use material that suits your style. This serves two purposes – one is that you would enjoy your learning and second is that your learning would be faster and more effective.
Another aspect of knowing yourself is to understand your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT). There are many sites which tell you how to go about this. Simply put, build on your strengths. Find what opportunities open up because of special skills or abilities that you have. If a weakness is becoming a bottleneck (threat) for your growth, overcome it. Or simply become aware of it. It may be difficult to ‘excel’ in an area which is your weakness. Set realistic expectations.
2. Get higher order thinking skills – You may be relying heavily on memorising and reproducing answers to pass exams. While this may fetch you good marks, it would certainly not help you to perform in interviews for jobs or PG. Several decades ago, an educationist named Benjamin Bloom identified some activities and questions that would help students achieve ‘mastery’ in subject and make learning meaningful – instead of fact oriented. (You can refer to Bloom’s taxonomy here (http://www.businessballs.com/bloomstaxonomyoflearningdomains.htm)
There is no job where you will be given a book and asked to reproduce something from it next day. Application, analysis, evaluation and creative thinking skills are required – and these cannot be acquired in a day. They need to be developed over time during your studies. So stop yourself from using question banks and readymade answers for passing exams. Understand and write your own answers. Even if your exam doesn’t have questions that promote higher order thinking, devise your own or follow a good text book to acquire these.
3. Language is the vehicle – so when I asked you to understand material and write in your own words, the biggest challenge is to know the language – both to understand and then express either orally or in writing. Hence, language is not something to be learnt just before graduation to face interviews. If you do not read, talk, write and listen in the medium of instruction – you cannot learn the language. Learn day-to-day vocabulary – not some fancy words that you would never use. The comprehension and précis writing which you have learnt in school is not to be thrown out of the window after Class X exams, but to be used everyday. Read good non-subject books. A dictionary, on-line or book, many fun learning activities or on-line courses can help you.
(http://www.1-language.com/englishcourse/index.htm)
4. Engage yourself in the learning process – your curriculum contains opportunities for acquiring many skills – your classes, labs, mini-projects, assignments, seminars, exams – if only you take them sincerely. If you involve whole heartedly in these activities instead of being casual or trying to copy, only YOU would benefit. These are qualities that are expected in your professional life – enthusiasm and sincerity. You cannot suddenly acquire them - they have to be cultivated over time. When in class, listen and take notes, ask questions, participate. When in lab, understand the experiment – why this way and not some other way? Prepare before coming for the session. Use your vacation or spare time to do extra projects.
5. There is a well known formula – On an average, we remember
20 % of what we read
30% of what we hear
40% of what we see
50% of what we say
60% of what we do
90% of what we see, hear, say and do.
Respect brain fade – it is natural to forget unless you review, discuss, apply or teach someone. When you teach someone, not only do you remember, YOU get clarity in thinking. It benefits YOU more than the other.
6. Co-operate and get inter-personal skills – Remember – cooperation is NOT copying assignments or exams. The best way to do this is to form study teams in your colony or bus or college hostel – some way where you can meet regularly after college hours. You can review material or one student can teach others a topic that s/he has understood well or you can solve problems in groups. Do you know the difference between a group people in a lift and a group of people in a lift when it is stuck? In the first case, each person gets off at a different floor, in the second case, all of them want to get out of the lift (irrespective of the floor). The second group is called a team – because they all share a goal. Similarly, the goal of your study team should be that all members should improve their result (set a target like 20% increase in exam marks). This would give you the skills required to face interviews or GDs and the soft skills which everyone is talking about.
7. Manage your time and energy – You know what is the difference between time and money? Many people say money can be saved, time can’t be. Yes, but there are more important differences. First being, time is given equally to everyone. Bill Gates, Manmohan Singh and you and me – all have the same 24 hrs. But why do some people get more accomplished in their time than others. Another difference between time and money is that time cannot be stolen. But come to think of it, there are many time stealers or time waster activities. It seems to be stolen without your knowledge – but in reality you are choosing to waste your time. Simple rule of thumb is to prioritise your tasks – definitely include those that you HAVE to do (whether you like it or not) and delete those that DON”T HAVE to do. Whenever you do something, give your 100% attention – this way you can finish the task in lesser time and ‘gain’ time. And here comes the best part – when you love what you are doing, you will not feel tired – thereby doing more things. Since it is not possible to love ALL the tasks that we HAVE to do, it is necessary for you to have a HOBBY – an active hobby – that would make you feel more energetic at the end. Painting, gardening, cooking, dancing, writing, sport – anything where your body and mind are totally involved would give you energy – which you can use for other ‘less interesting’ activities that seem to ‘drain’ your energy.
8. Charter your course – in your curriculum there are subjects which give you foundational knowledge – these you MUST know in order to learn other things or just by virtue of your degree. For example, we all expect that a student in class IV MUST know multiplication tables. Then there are other subjects which are ‘trends’ - they may change with time. What you learn in college may not be useful directly in your job. Here in addition to the subject, you need to ‘learn to learn’. Anyone who hires you doesn’t expect you to know the latest programming language or skill but they expect you to be able to learn a new technology or a skill quickly. And then there are subjects or activities which make you a better person and professional – seminars, projects, group work where you learn to interact with others. Go ahead and work extra – in subject areas (if you plan for higher studies in subject) or non-subject areas like NGOs, extra-curricular activities (if you want to go for a business management course).
9. Use short spans of available time effectively. Your motivation and interest is most essential for learning. If you are tired, upset or stressed, information or knowledge cannot enter your memory – you may be reading/hearing, but nothing would be noted/understood by your mind. Take a short break, whenever you feel tired – and totally guilt free. Remember the point 7 above? Give your 100% attention to what you are doing – including taking a break or talking to your friend or watching a movie. There is no point in having a TV, a phone, a family conversation – with a book open in your lap. You are neither enjoying your break nor are you studying. But it doesn’t mean, you only engage in ‘breaks’. Also don’t wait for that ‘ideal two hour uninterrupted time’ to start studying. Don’t set goals like “I will finish the entire unit without break”. When you read, time yourself. Read two pages and find the average time per page (say 5 minutes per page). If you have a 20-minute slot between two activities, go ahead and read four pages.
10. Adopt an attitude of gratitude. Every morning, spend 5 minutes in thanking every thing and person you have. Do you know that there are many people in this world who are deprived of basic human rights? Basic human needs like food, shelter, clothing, safety? People who live in countries where a war has been going on for decades? People who do not have access to education, or who cannot afford to go to school/college? People who are physically or mentally challenged? Be grateful if you are not one of these people and live your life powerfully, not as a casual observer. Do you know most of us are working at a fraction of our potential? Isn’t it a gross injustice, if those who are blessed with health, basic needs and education, waste themselves?
Learning can be fun and memorable and not a drudgery -if you follow these simple tips. And always remember to ‘reflect’ or think after any learning session. What you learnt and how you learnt. And use the answers to improve yourself. This reflection would help you become a life long learner – a quality required in every professional – every human being for that matter!
(The author is an instructional consultant and conducts seminars on this theme with more stories, anecdotes and activities. You can contact her at info@inspiring-teachers.com
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