Learning Exercises – A Study Ritual

The main reason pupils do not get the results they desire, which they potentially could obtain, is due to the fact that they don’t know how to learn.

What do I mean by that? Learning means primarily to think. After you have thought about a topic, you internalise it. In short: You take ownership of what you have learnt.

Taking ownership means to know. To know is to become one with whatever you have learnt. To illustrate this point, let us look at learning how to drive. At first, you might think: How do I change gear, press the clutch, brake and focus on the road at the same time?

With time, you will be able to perform those activities without thinking about them at all. Now, you can truly say: I know how to drive. Whenever you don’t have to think about something any more, it means that it has become part of you. That is the secret to learning: To internalise the content until it has become part of you.

These learning exercises have helped many pupils around the country and some of them made a remarkable shift from symbol F to A. If you are serious, then they will help you too.

The previous article taught us one way of internalising the content of a given topic. It was suggested that you take a walk after studying and engage in a soft self-talk. This allows your mind to digest and make sense of what you have been studying. It is important that you do this, because most pupils study for a couple of hours and forget what they have studied until they resume their studies. That is not enough!

Understanding only happens when you continue to ponder about what you have studied until you understand it. Look at it this way: A pregnant woman carries her pregnancy with her, wherever she goes, and when the time has come, the baby is ready to join the world. Just as the fetus needs time to develop into a complete baby, the content of what you have read needs time to develop into a complete understanding. Be patient like a pregnant woman (even if you are a man).

The exercise for this week is to develop a wise study ritual. A ritual is a pre-determined sequence of things that you do whenever you do something particular. We are not talking about witchcraft. Relax.

Here is the five-step study ritual I teach in my lectures and workshops:

Step 1: Have a dictionary whenever you are studying. You need to understand the words that you are reading.

Step 2: After reading a paragraph, close your eyes and review the paragraph until you have found the essence. It is important that you focus on the images which come to your mind. The words are not important. Keep your book closed and trust your mind. With time, this activity will become easier.

Step 3: Take a 10-minute break after every hour. Your mind needs to refresh.

Step 4: After you have repeated steps one to three for the entire chapter, close your eyes and review the entire chapter.

Step 5: Take a walk and imagine you are teaching the content to someone else.

Shapumba ya Shapumba of Natural Learning Education Consultancy gives lectures and workshops on the secret to learning (pupils), the secret to extra-ordinary teaching (teachers) and self-mastery (youth).

For more information, email naturaLearningnamibia@gmail.com.

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