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haven't been encouraged to dig deeply into topics, to feel the delight
of uncovering fascinating new knowledge until you know more about a
topic than anyone else, to realize the depth and complexity and
wonder associated with almost any subject, to interact with others who
know more and are also excited about learning in many areas, etc.
The greater the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder.
-Anonymous
Becoming motivated to study
A recent study by Mihaly Csikzentmihalyi indicates that to become
motivated to learn in school, (a) you must learn to genuinely enjoy
reading and studying and using the information (usually telling others
about it), (b) you must be given support and challenge at home and
school so that you willingly take on tough assignments, realizing that
you will occasionally not do well or not get done, (c) you must feel
competent and be taught or tell yourself that doing poorly on an
assignment or a test basically means that you need to work harder or
take a different approach or both, and (d) you must, in most cases,
believe the information learned is worthwhile (at least for passing the
exam).
So, if you were an undisciplined person, like John, how could you
become motivated to study and gain self-confidence?
1.
Learn "I am responsible"--that the more you study, the more
you learn and the better your grades are. Thus, you begin to
feel more responsible for what you get out of school. How
exactly can you do this? (a) Keep records of how much you
study and compare your grades when you have studied a lot
with times when you study very little. (b) Prove to yourself that
you are in control of your grades, no one else, not the teacher,
not the exam, not luck.
2.
Learn "I can be in control"--that you are capable of directing
your life. How? (a) Schedule more study time and reward your
promptness and increased effort. (b) Carefully measure the
greater efficiency you achieve, e.g. how much more of the last
few paragraphs do you remember when studying intensely (see
SQRRR method in chapter 13)? (c) Remember: doing poorly
simply means you should try harder. Take pride in your self-
control.
3.
Learn "I have ability"--that you have more ability than you
previously thought. How? (a) Have more success by developing
skills, like reading and test taking skills. (b) Get more
