Learning Issues

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#299323 29-Aug-2022 16:28

I have always, since I was a kid, struggled to learn from textbooks. I sometimes struggle to absorb information if the terminology is the same as established terminology definitions I already know, it's not impossible but it does take some time.

I have been in the past, a voracious reader of fiction, and I can read and absorb that kind of content very quickly. My wife thinks it's because I skim-read, which isn't really possible when you are reading non-fiction. I have always learned easiest if someone can explain something to me, videos, or doing things myself. Once I have fundamentals, I am usually set for the rest of the content on top of it. For me somethings having something explained a different way makes it click, but with books that doesn't really usually work too well. I definitely find it easier if I can use real world examples.

I am keen to explore if there is a formal diagnosis for what I struggle with and if there are ways to overcome it. I am not really sure where to start, but I'd like to be able to learn new things faster and more completely than I currently do.

It may or may not be tied to a lifelong struggle with procrastination.

Does anyone have any ideas on what I could do as a next step to getting some assistance?

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#2960814 29-Aug-2022 16:39

Everybody has different ways of learning, there may be nothing wrong with you.

I personally learn best in a classroom situation, learning from books and video is all good until something goes wrong and I can spend way too long going in circles, having a fresh set of eyes that know what they are doing can help imensly.

The first step would be to talk to your GP, they should be able to point you in the right direction, give advice and a referral.

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#2960817 29-Aug-2022 16:46

I'm absolutely a hands on or visual person. I can read text but it only gets me so far, pictures help, and videos are even better or watching it in person. However I get the most of of doing it myself with being hands on.

I can also read fiction no issue.

I think it's simply a matter of learning styles.

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#2960828 29-Aug-2022 17:10

I wouldn't worry about it. I've found textbooks hard too, but after talking about it with someone it's makes more sense

This video from Veritasium, does a good job of talking about people's expectation of learning styles & what actually matters - namely, that you take in the information in multiple different ways & they compliment one another.

Learning style myth

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#2960848 29-Aug-2022 18:08

Deamo:
This video from Veritasium, does a good job of talking about people's expectation of learning styles & what actually matters - namely, that you take in the information in multiple different ways & they compliment one another.

Learning style myth

Haven't seen the video yet but given that is has the word "myth" in the title I assume it's going to be saying much the same as what I was going to post: The learning styles fad took hold in the NZ education system some years ago, presumably just as it was being exposed as bollocks in the US in line with most fads we import from there. So be very careful when someone diagnoses you as being a visual learner or an auditory learner or a recite-it-backwards-while-standing-on-your-head-eating-kippered-herring-through-your-nose learner. As for the rest, what @Deamo said.

Edited to add: After watching the video, the bollocks came from New Zealand (!!), not the US, and was based on no evidence whatsoever but just wishful thinking, or to use the technical term, analytical advocacy: "I've thought about it and this seems to be the case, we should now adopt it universally".

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#2960968 29-Aug-2022 20:24

I think you're probably looking for an educational psychologist. The right one can be _super_ helpful.

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#2961052 30-Aug-2022 09:08

The saying 'a picture paints a thousand words,' comes to mind. Give me a diagram to compliment a page of words makes it all come together and sticks in my head.

Personally I don’t like giving people labels because they tend to live down to them as if they are somehow at fault. Everyone absorbs and processes information differently and there is no right and wrong way, it’s what works best for each individual.

Our neurones don’t process and transmit information in the same way as the next person. Our brains are unique so why would we learn in only one way as prescribed by our educators.

I wouldn’t be searching for a label and instead would proudly celebrate the success you have and pat yourself on the back for doing it your way.

It pays to remember some of the most brilliant minds were labelled as dyslexic, many historically after their deaths.

Steve Jobs
Albert Einstein
Steven Spielberg
Richard Branson
Thomas Edison
Henry Ford
Leonardo Da Vinci, who used to write his notes backwards in mirror image and sketch his ideas.

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#2961058 30-Aug-2022 09:47

I'm a practical learner, hate theory of any sort. Yet like you, enjoy my scifi books and read them thoroughly, usually multiple times :)

I feel sorry for people (especially IT) who want to get into IT sector as a job, go to uni, spend a couple of years and lots of $$$ to then expect to get a great job..... unfortunately, a lot of Uni stuff is theory, and when it comes to applying that to the practical world, it fails.

When interviewing people as my replacement on a service desk years ago, quite a few had multiple certs under their belt etc, but asking them to even install a stick of RAM, I got blank looks.

But give me what they learnt at Uni, and the role would reversed... I'd struggle to complete what they learnt :)

As mentioned above, we all learn differently, and apply the stronger learning method to our daily lives.

XPD / Gavin

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#2961061 30-Aug-2022 09:54

xpd:

I'm a practical learner, hate theory of any sort. Yet like you, enjoy my scifi books and read them thoroughly, usually multiple times :)

I feel sorry for people (especially IT) who want to get into IT sector as a job, go to uni, spend a couple of years and lots of $$$ to then expect to get a great job..... unfortunately, a lot of Uni stuff is theory, and when it comes to applying that to the practical world, it fails.

When interviewing people as my replacement on a service desk years ago, quite a few had multiple certs under their belt etc, but asking them to even install a stick of RAM, I got blank looks.

But give me what they learnt at Uni, and the role would reversed... I'd struggle to complete what they learnt :)

As mentioned above, we all learn differently, and apply the stronger learning method to our daily lives.

It's an interesting thing. In the past 25 years I have *always* hired for attitude first (an almost impossible thing to teach) and skills second, and qualifications dead last. Having said that, in the past 10 years or so, I have learned that the value of qualifications is that it shows both a willingness and ability to learn, and in that regard, we usually look for at least some qualifications.

What is kind of interesting is that I have a very 'fast' mind. I process information and make decisions very quickly. It's absorbing details that seem to be a struggle. My problem-solving/solution finding skills are excellent. Communication is also a strong suit.

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#2961063 30-Aug-2022 10:08

Not suggesting you have ADHD but if you watch this you may or may not find things that ring true for you. I know a few people who have been diagnosed with ADHD later in life after struggling through school and their work life.

Should You Be Assessed For ADHD? with Dr Stephen Humphries

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#2961566 31-Aug-2022 14:37

sqw:

Not suggesting you have ADHD but if you watch this you may or may not find things that ring true for you. I know a few people who have been diagnosed with ADHD later in life after struggling through school and their work life.

Should You Be Assessed For ADHD? with Dr Stephen Humphries

OMG. I feel like someone just summed up a fair portion of my issues in 13 minutes! That was both alarming and awesome at the same time.

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#2961612 31-Aug-2022 16:21

You could look at getting a learning assessment. You would need to contact someone like SPELD or Learning Matters, just to name a couple that I know of. They have a wait list for assessments, and you can expect to pay around $1200.

This will provide you a comprehensive assessment of your cognitive ability and any specific learning challenges. They can then work with you to come up with a plan to address any deficiencies.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

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#2961613 31-Aug-2022 16:23

scuwp:

You could look at getting a learning assessment. You would need to contact someone like SPELD or Learning Matters, just to name a couple that I know of. They have a wait list for assessments, and you can expect to pay around $1200.

This will provide you a comprehensive assessment of your cognitive ability and any specific learning challenges. They can then work with you to come up with a plan to address any deficiencies.

Thanks. I'd gladly pay that to be able to identify those things and formulate a plan to better help me learn more effectively.

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#2961698 31-Aug-2022 19:09

Everyone has their quirks.

For example, I’m terrible at learning directions in urban situations, especially road names. If you asked me how to get from my mother’s house to a nearby station I could tell you how. However despite my family living in the town since 1970 I couldn’t possibly tell you the names of the roads.

I’d certainly suggest a professional assessment since it clearly concerns you. I don’t know enough about such things in NZ to suggest who you should see.

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#2961754 1-Sep-2022 08:43

One learning theory says that there are 3 styles of learning... visual, audial, and kinesthetic. Each person uses some combination of these basic types, depending on how their brain is wired. Visual learners remember stuff best if they see it (pictures or text), audial if they hear it, kinesthetic if they touch or manipulate something. Men are typically mostly visual.

This is why teachers are taught to use a combination of teaching styles, so write stuff on the whiteboard as well as speaking it, plus practical exercises.

From what you say, (You find it easier to learn stuff if you watch a video (with audio, I assume) or have someone explain it, or by doing it), it seems that you're more an audial/kinesthetic learner than visual.

I doubt that there's much you can do to "re-wire" your brain to be more visual. I suggest that you accept it for what it is, and work around it by actively seeking out sources of material that match who you are.

HTH.

[Edit] I just went back through the thread and watched the "Learning Styles Myth" video which debunks what I wrote. I was taught the above over 20 years ago, when it seemed like a revelation and I believed it explained what I had already observed. Nevertheless, I accept that that it's not a completely accurate depiction of what's going on (as Ernest Rutherford said so disparagingly, “The only possible interpretation of any research whatever in the 'social sciences' is: some do, some don't.”), and it's likely that there's some confirmation bias going on.

But I do think that the statement in the video that "we are all these styles at once" corresponds more or less with my statement that "Each person uses some combination of these basic types", so it's not 100% hogwash.

YMMV. :)