Make Any Learning Interesting
by Dr Eugene Sern-Ting Tan
Are Your Studies Interesting or Boring?
Have you ever seen any student who finds every topic in every subject very interesting? Well, there may be one or two such people around but they are definitely in the minority. Most students are often faced with the problem of having to learn relatively boring and uninteresting subjects or specific topics in the subject. A Science student may breeze through Physics and Chemistry, but struggle to stay awake when it comes to reading a history textbook. The converse may be true for an Arts student who is “forced” to study the mechanism of photosynthesis in Biology.
CAFE: The 4 Secrets of Creating Interest
To do well as a student, you have to master the art of making an uninteresting subject interesting! In this article, I will share with you 4 cardinal secrets of creating interest in any learning situation, no matter how boring the subject matter may appear to you. You can remember them with the acronym CAFE.
1. Curiosity
Other than a positive attitude, it is good to cultivate an attitude of curiosity in life. Be curious about the world and everything around you, such that everything will appear interesting to you. There is a lot to learn beyond the textbooks, and learning is certainly not confined to the subjects you are taking in school.
Always be fascinated by new things and be hungry for new knowledge. Lifelong learning will put you on the path to a life of success and achievements. Having an attitude of curiosity will fuel your drive for lifelong learning. To quote Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs in his famous commencement address to Stanford University graduates, “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”
2. Attitude
As mentioned on another page in this section, I believe that attitude is the single most important factor that accounts for one’s success in anything that we do. Therefore, to be a successful student, you should develop an overwhelmingly positive attitude towards learning.
Be energised by the challenge of learning something new. Do not be easily discouraged by difficult topics. As the saying goes, “when the going gets tough, the tough gets going.” Do not be afraid of making mistakes. It is perfectly all right to commit errors and appear foolish, because it is the price to pay for learning and improving.
Ask WIIFM, which stands for “What’s In It For Me.” Before you embark on any learning task, you have to convince yourself why you are learning it. Are you studying the topic to pass an upcoming test? To appear smart in class? For self-interest? To acquire more knowledge? By knowing your specific objectives and what you can gain from learning, you will be supercharged and highly motivated to learn.
3. Fun
Think of ways to inject fun into your learning. For example, when you are learning a new topic in Mathematics such as Geometry, play a game with yourself or with your friends to solve 10 geometry questions within a fixed time limit. The winner stands to receive a treat from the others. If you are learning the human body in Biology, you may want to visit the Bodyworks exhibition to get a real-life 3-dimensional view of the various organ systems inside the human body. When it comes to studying Geography, you can supplement your textbook content with vivid imagery of nature from National Geographic (www.nationalgeographic.com).
4. Experiential
Imagine you are attending 2 separate lectures on the same topic. In lecture A, the lecturer gives a didactic presentation of the topic from start to finish. In lecture B, the lecturer adopts a more interactive approach and elicits responses from the students by asking questions, and provides them with a simple worksheet with blanks for them to fill in key ideas that they pick up during the lecture. Which lecture can you learn more from?
In short, learning works best when it is experiential, meaning you as the learner is actively involved in the learning process rather than just being a passive recipient of information. As the great Chinese philosopher Confucius brilliantly puts it, “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”
Conclusion
Take time to reflect on these CAFE principles and see if you can incorporate these ideas to drum up interest in mundane topics or subjects. Happy learning! :)
“What we learn with pleasure, we never forget.”