How I did it: I think the key for me was "learning how I learn" which took years after college, even.  I did fine in getting my bachelors and admittedly some topics were quite hard.  A lot of what hurt me then was not realizing that I learn by seeing the big picture first and relating the details to it as I go.

I also tend to learn in a non-linear fashion. I can't read books front to back. I have to jump around as my brain drives me to learn what it needs to learn to put the pieces together to add detail to the big picture.

Instead the teaching approach for most of the hard classes was very linear and mired in detail without drawing back to see the big picture--many people learn better that way.  This program was easier than my bachelor's -- far less intensive math to be sure. But I think if I'd known some tricks on how to learn the material back then I would've had an easier time.

Lessons & tips: Some other things to think about for maximizing your learning ability in addition to knowing whether you learn big picture to detail or vice versa, and whether you learn in a linear fashion or more randomly, also consider whether you learn best visually,
through words, through lecture, etc.  It sounds like a pain but finding
supplemental materials to help answer questions (I didn't have the
internet's vast array of info at my fingertips back in undergrad
school) can help fill in the blanks as you read or sit in lecture. You
can get simpler / different perspectives.  Seems like more work but may
actually shorten the comprehension time.

May 15, 2009, 10:15AM PDT | 0 comments | 2 cheers