Questions tagged [learning]
Questions about learning process in academia, lesson plans, learning problems, etc.
148
questions
20
votes
10
answers
7k
views
How can I pass a statistics exam that overly relies on memorizing formulas?
Long story short, I struggle with a statistics exam at the university. Although I know how to solve all types of exercises and the rationale behind each of them, I still can't pass this exam, because ...
- 219
-1
votes
0
answers
57
views
Need Advice about MS program
I'm an international student in MS program. My grades were fairly okay.
In one of the assignment I asked my friend for a advice and I added that part in my assignment (basically it was coding help) ...
- 1
-1
votes
1
answer
157
views
Best Way To Research On An Alien Topic?
One of the key challenges I have faced whilst transitioning to university life and further has been the independence bestowed upon oneself to find out information on their own. What is the best way to ...
3
votes
1
answer
468
views
Trouble with exercises and problem solving in graduate math textbooks
Firstly I'd like to apologize if this is too much of an opinion-based question. I do not know where else would be appropriate for such a post, if there is such a place please let me know.
I am very ...
- 133
2
votes
1
answer
191
views
How do you get better at self-learning by reading research papers?
I find it very hard to learn new things through just reading, especially research papers. Previously when I was taking classes I had homeworks to help me learn. I found it particularly helpful to work ...
- 1,694
-1
votes
1
answer
126
views
Correct and wrong mindsets for problem solving [closed]
Is there one right answer in a math or physics problem?How does one approach a problem?With what mindsets? Is it necessary to have a mindset that you should find the correct combination of elements, ...
- 69
0
votes
1
answer
168
views
What are some good resources to adapt oneself to academia and its customs? [closed]
I am an engineer in Academia, coming from a Master's degree that is pretty distant from Academia. I am ten months into my job and I still feel a bit distant about Academia, scientific research and the ...
- 143
3
votes
0
answers
82
views
Is there any reason to not use a pre-defined absolute grading scale? [duplicate]
I feel like curving the grades is just unfair, not transparent and goes against what learning is about. It also adds extra stress on the students. Having a grading scale of let's say:
A:91%-
B:81%-90%
...
- 131
-4
votes
1
answer
352
views
I like learning new things but hate to do revision
This problem has been troubling me for some years. The fact that I'm actually very curious in person about everything, I naturally become a learner who likes studying a lot.
However, I also get so-so ...
- 147
1
vote
1
answer
75
views
Should I do an exam-focused study or a complete learning based? [closed]
I've completed a Bachelor's degree in engineering and I plan to go for a master's next. To get admission to one of the top universities in my country, I need to take a standard exam, which is highly ...
- 153
-2
votes
2
answers
710
views
Study methods for average IQ individuals, math and physics [closed]
How should a person with 110 IQ approach studying? Particularly with math and physics. What are the methods (if any) that can be employed to compensate for my inherent inability to understand very ...
- 113
2
votes
0
answers
85
views
Research on number of exam attempts vs. learning outcome
Is there research on how allowing retakes or multiple attempts affects the learning outcome of students?
For instance, if one allows students 3 attempts to take the exam rather than 1, with tests ...
- 45.3k
0
votes
3
answers
136
views
What are some tips to get more out of long pre-recorded lectures?
I am seeing some online lectures and it seems so that my attention is decaying quite fast as time progresses in the lecture. Most lectures I find on the internet are 1hr yet the the time I can focus ...
- 1,946
7
votes
4
answers
2k
views
The best way to prepare an undergraduate student before entering scientific research
I am a student in the second year of a university majoring in mathematics. I am trying to publish scientific research. Of course I know that it will be very difficult to do it at this level of study. ...
- 171
3
votes
2
answers
176
views
Best way to read academic/scientific books [duplicate]
I’m a computer science student in the second semester. I passed all my first exams fairly well and can follow my lectures quite decent (usually).
But whenever I want to dig deeper into a topic and try ...
2
votes
2
answers
129
views
Are teaching and learning philosophy/philosophies written separately?
I am applying for faculty position in some school and among the documents needed, they asked for "Teaching, Learning and research philosophy.", this my first time to hear about learning ...
- 901
1
vote
1
answer
182
views
How to make the best out of my Applied Math degree?
I'm currently a second-year student taking a Math Degree. The reason I say Applied Math in the title is because I've started to see that, while I like studying Pure Math (I'm enjoying my proof based ...
- 49
25
votes
12
answers
8k
views
How to self teach mathematics?
I am a postgraduate in biology. I haven’t had an opportunity to learn mathematics beyond secondary school. In my current project I have to use differential equations, ordinary differential equations (...
- 700
2
votes
2
answers
252
views
How do I actively learn NEW CONTENT from text based content?
How do I improve my ability to learn?
Here is a similar question. I will tell why it doesn't answer my question here.
Solving exercises is not my problem. My problem is learning the theoritical ...
- 21
4
votes
2
answers
533
views
How to remember what one studies, when there are a lot of things to remember
I'm currently pursuing my bachelor's in Mechanical engineering and I am facing this issue since a long time. I study a subject completely and then forget it overtime as I continue to study new ...
- 153
2
votes
1
answer
429
views
What are good habits in learning mathematics well?
Please bear with me while I provide some background and then ask my question, which I hope you will be able to answer and thus aid my capacity to learn mathematics more efficiently and thoroughly.
I ...
4
votes
1
answer
133
views
How to overcome mental block while learning that feeling that something is too tough and I won't understand it?
I am studying a subject where I failed twice. So, it is normal that I am really scared of this. And everytime sth difficult appears, i get mental block. I feel I might not be able to solve this. But ...
- 41
23
votes
10
answers
7k
views
How do you study a graduate-level textbook that doesn't have any exercises?
I am trying to self-study a graduate-level physics book that was recommended to me, but it doesn't have any exercises. Also, it's a specific enough topic to where I can't really find any other ...
- 349
0
votes
1
answer
103
views
How to use spaced repetition and active recall help to learn new topics, rather than just memorize them
I’ve used spaced repetition and active recall help to memorize things that I already understand. It has been helpful to me.
Here is how I did it-:
I UNDERSTAND something.
I write short notes (...
- 9
0
votes
0
answers
40
views
How to improve my learning ability to learn from not so simple sources? [duplicate]
I am the person who asked How do I improve my ability to learn? this question. I forgot my last password and username, so I could not respond there so I am responding to comments here how these ...
- 9
14
votes
7
answers
4k
views
How do I improve my ability to learn?
I am decent at learning from videos. But poor at learning from textbooks, wikipedia articles etc. Unless the material is really easy to follow, I am unable to learn most of text content. How do I ...
- 149
16
votes
7
answers
14k
views
How should I reply to an email from a student who took a test and failed, and promises to do better?
Below is an email I received from a student whom I'm giving Spanish lessons to. He took a assessment test and failed it. I received this email (which I've attached below) from him today, and I'm not ...
- 189
5
votes
2
answers
440
views
How are other graduate students able to think on the spot during lectures or talks?
So this happened to me multiple times.
Scenario 1: I'm sitting in a lecture or listening to a talk (STEM related) which is more or less aligned with my background (so I know the big picture), and then ...
- 2,205
0
votes
1
answer
412
views
How to efficiently switch between two different subjects without losing productivity?
One thing I have noticed as a student is that when I have to switch between two different tasks that I am supposed to be doing, say, for example, studying for two different subjects I am reading, I ...
- 187
1
vote
4
answers
275
views
Tracking reading progress of documentations or ebooks [closed]
Challenge: I need to read a lot of documentations and websites, but often in random order. I need to track which articles of a website, or which pages of a documentation I already read. I want to mark ...
- 129
1
vote
0
answers
201
views
Why do fundamentals matter?
In certain situations, fundamentals may not matter, but very often, especially for long term learning, they really matter. Since this is a deeply held belief, perhaps moulded by experience, I find it ...
- 1,061
0
votes
1
answer
114
views
What are some tips to keep in mind when solving back of the book exercises?
I am pretty convinced at this point that the most difficult task when learning in a new topic in physics/mathematics is to actually sit down and do the back of the book problems till you figure out ...
user110816
0
votes
4
answers
384
views
Is there a difference between simplification and spoon feeding in education?
I had been researching about what students dislike about studying, and found out two contradictory piece of reasons:
students cannot understand the concepts taught to them by the teachers;
they hate ...
- 11
3
votes
1
answer
500
views
How do you do “research” as a fresh PhD student? [closed]
I started a PhD in applied mathematics and things seem to be going well after an initially terrible start. My supervisor and I have devised a clear set of objectives for the next three years and I’m ...
- 1,163
2
votes
1
answer
143
views
How do you re-learn a subject that you've started to forget?
Due to my lack of revision I've realized that I have started to forget most of the organic chemistry that I had learnt a few months back (spend about 3 m/o on a textbook). I'm trying to think of how ...
user110816
1
vote
1
answer
624
views
how to apply The Feynman technique efficiently to effectively improve my learning in math and physics?
I have known the Feynman technique two years ago, I tried to use it in my studies. I usually read a text about some topic(usually math, physics) and wrote in some paper what I understood. But I had a ...
- 19
14
votes
4
answers
3k
views
How to read textbooks like you listen a lecture?
When I hear a lecture, If the instructor is the kind I like, then I can easily understand what part of what I'm learning is important and the true crux of the ideas. Like I can pick it up from how the ...
user110816
1
vote
2
answers
299
views
How to avoid getting lost in referring multiple reference texts at the same time?
I am a 2nd year PhD student working on a project which involves control systems and power systems. For the next stage of my work, I have to learn about a control systems technique which I am not ...
- 53
3
votes
2
answers
377
views
How do (STEM) professors keep up with the latest tech or development in order to publish research?
From an outsider/student's view, STEM professors are:
not taking courses
mostly not doing things outside of their research comfort zones
not (?) studying up much except for their research, certainly ...
- 1,013
0
votes
1
answer
119
views
What does "abstract aspects" of a subject mean? [closed]
For example, political theory deals with the abstract aspects of politics, and similarly, there is theoretical (abstract) physics. Why are they called abstract or theoretical? Is something that we ...
- 1
0
votes
1
answer
163
views
Gaining software skills after PhD. Is it possible to achieve it in 6 months? [closed]
I have completed my PhD few months back. I am about to start my postdoc at my PhD lab soon. I will be working on a different project than my PhD.
My PhD was in computational materials science. I used ...
13
votes
6
answers
5k
views
Discouraged by advisor to take courses, is there a way to navigate through this situation?
Graduate schools in North America usually have a required number of courses that you need to pass. Afterwards, the school is usually pretty flexible at the student taking more courses (and it is often ...
- 11.4k
5
votes
2
answers
1k
views
What could it signify if I find most forms of abstract math (e.g. Calculus) much easier than Physics, Chemistry, and so on? [closed]
I'm an undergraduate now, and am faced with a genuine lack of ability when it comes to Physics. Seeing how my peers react to lectures and catch on faster, it's clear that the issue isn't my professors,...
- 59
11
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Try exercises or look at the solutions for self-study
I am currently self-studying The Art of Computer Programming as an undergrad in my free time. To do all of the exercises (or even a portion of them) would be incredibly difficult and time-consuming; ...
- 121
-3
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Can someone do another Masters in Canada if you already have a Masters and PhD from the UK?
Can someone do another Masters in Canada if you already have a Masters and PhD from the UK?
- 1
47
votes
8
answers
11k
views
How can I deal with being pressured by my department to pass students who failed?
Due to COVID-19, I have found myself teaching a course online. I worked with the university teaching center to transition the course online, prepared an online classroom, and updated the requirements ...
user128402
3
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Is it normal to not understand things from undergrad?
I graduated from college with a physics degree faster than my peers (because of various reasons: financial constraint and ambitions as well as near-burn-out state). My undergrad is a decent research ...
- 33
2
votes
1
answer
316
views
Learning More CS, Physics, or Math on side as a Physics and Electrical Engineering major [closed]
Background and Context: I'm a rising sophomore double majoring in physics and electrical engineering. My research interests lie in quantum computing, theoretical physics, energy (renewable energy and ...
- 21
3
votes
3
answers
459
views
Is "backward learning" well-documented?
I was initially in the field of pure math, but I successfully transitioned to being a researcher of machine learning with much less effort than I expected. My strategy was, instead of learning CS and ...
- 1,197
1
vote
1
answer
167
views
I am reading a paper that I barely understand. How can I make the best of my mentor in this situation?
Half of my inability to understand the paper comes from not being acquainted with the folklore of this particular part of the field, and the other half might be because I am lacking general background ...
user115122