Becoming a Lifelong Learner
By Matt Needham
Being a learner is critical to growth as an individual. If one never learns to walk, he will never get anywhere…literally; if one never learns to add or subtract, he has no hope of becoming the engineer he has always wanted to be. Humans are designed to learn, whether they appreciate it or not. And although I’ve only been around for twenty years, I’ve spent most of my time on the passive side of learning, and far less on the intentional side. Actively striving to learn speeds up the learning process and rewires a person’s attitude toward learning.
Case in point: First semester last year I took Calculus III and I struggled a fair amount. This was not necessarily because I didn’t understand the material, but because my goal in class was to get good grades and make it out in one piece. While this is a mildly effective method, it is less than ideal: it’s not fun at all, and the structure and drive to learn are gone. With a little quick cramming here and there, one will get the passing grade he needs.
About halfway through my class, however, I looked back and quizzed myself, attempting to recall a topic from the previous semester’s Calculus II: infinite series. To no surprise, I genuinely couldn’t remember the concept. I realized that I had started Calculus III with a real learning deficit, and it scared me.
I decided to switch my mindset towards learning: I would no longer strive just for good grades, but for actual comprehension and grasp of the material. My teacher even noticed that something had changed asked me about it; and I gave her this very explanation.
As a result of my “learning shift,” I actually enjoyed the class and can now recall and explain things that I learned with far greater ease than some of the concepts from my other, even easier classes.
I would challenge anyone to evaluate their stance towards learning. Are they passive learners, simply hoping that knowledge somehow washes over them and leaves them with a basic understanding of the material? Or are they actively engaging with the material set before them? This attitude will bring them one step closer to being a lifelong learner.
