Do You Really Know What You Think You Know?

While writing this article about how what you don’t know may be holding you back, I remembered a recent experience that revealed something important to me. In my teens, I took a self-awareness quiz and made notes in my journal based on my results: I learn best by a.) Personalizing b.) Having broad, general principles c.) Using imagination d.) Discussing things with a group e.) Allowing my emotions to be touched f.) Relating with a teacher lecturer Fast-forward to adulthood. If you had asked me last year, “Do you know what endometriosis is?” I would have said “Yes, I do.” I really thought I understood it. Then I attended this seminar, and it was as though I had never heard of it before! That’s not the main thing, however. Last year, I started reading a Hilary Clinton biography, A Woman in Charge, and I had hoped to finish it before the US elections. Unfortunately I couldn’t, and then Hilary lost, and I found myself temporarily unable to continue reading it. Eventually, when I did resume a few weeks ago, I decided to go back just a little bit, so as to get back into the flow. As I did, I was shocked to find that Hilary Clinton had battled endometriosis! I had read that whole section before, including all the information about what endometriosis is and how it affects women, and I heard the same things at the seminar. Yet it was only after the seminar that I understood endometriosis. Reading that section after the seminar moved me so deeply, I had to face the fact that I had not really grasped it before. This experience revealed to me that I wasn’t just an auditory learner as a student; I am still an auditory learner now! Like children, adults also learn in different ways. Visual learners are at their best when they can ‘see’ what they are learning. They benefit from diagrams, charts, pictures, films, and written directions. They like visual aids, graphs, sketches and symbols, and often learn by memorizing where they see things. Kinaesthetic learners prefer to learn through the “lived experience”: moving, touching and doing; they like to experiment and explore. They are most successful when totally engaged with the learning activity. They learn best by being involved in the process, or even by making their own notes. Auditory learners like me, learn best by listening to lectures, or in discussions. This doesn’t mean I don’t understand when I read or look at visuals. I just understand better and deeper when I receive information through my ears. As a child I was blessed to have a private tutor who understood this. I still remember the songs she used to teach me, and how I used to hum them silently during exams. My favourite was one she taught me in primary school. “Plants manufacture their food, by using chlorophyll and sunlight; this process is known as photosynthesis!” I recently resumed memorizing and reciting scripture with my partners after a two-year break. It’s amazing how verses I’ve read for years come alive in my hearing. It’s not just enough to pursue knowledge. Are you learning in the way that suits you best? Do you really know what you think you know?

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This article was first published on 7th July 2017 and updated on July 9th, 2017 at 12:36 am

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