Blog #4: Three Types of Learners, Which One Are You?

I think we can all agree school is stressful. The challenging assignments, pressure to succeed and get A's, and the difficulty of juggling extracurriculars with heavy homework loads has made most of us joke with a friend "I'm dropping out LOL!!" after an all-nighter studying for finals. Obviously the majority of us do not actually follow through. Rather we continue on with our lives, managing the best we can. 

And with this comes the different ways we approach school and how we learn. Murphy Paul explains three different types of learners: surface, strategic, and deep. Surface learners do the bare minimum in school, only trying to get by. Strategic learners do the most they can to achieve good grades. Lastly deep learners, who she considers to be the most successful, approach school on a deeper level, looking to absorb valuable knowledge, not necessarily achieve good grades. Murphy Paul then discusses different individuals, such as Stephen Colbert and Neil deGrasse Tyson, who are considered deep learners. She explains their educational backgrounds and how they reflect the individual as a deep learner then and now. 

I would consider myself to be a combination of a strategic and a deep learner, leaning more towards strategic. Why am I more of a strategic learner? Because as much as we'd like to think grades don't matter, they do. They matter a lot. This is especially true in our increasingly competitive job market. Straight A's versus straight C's can be the difference of whether or not you get a position in a research lab, or a teacher's recommendation, both of which can help connect you with a future job. I constantly wonder how different school would be and how students would turn out if grades were not such significant factors in our lives. Until the current system changes, I will continue to dedicate more time to achieving good grades then obtaining rich information. That being said, I have been trying to switch more to becoming a deep learner as I realize how important it is to take advantage of the invaluable information and education. It will just take time to rewire my brain to learn in a new way.

I believe success is an individual experience specific to that person. Therefore I disagree with Murphy Paul and her belief that deep learners are more successful. One of my roommates is a textbook surface learner. She does assignments hours before they're due, only does as much as is needed to complete the assignment, never reads the textbooks, and somehow manages to achieve A's, B's, and sometimes C's. Honestly I don't understand how she's made it as far as she had. But hey, she's made it. I consider her successful because she's content with how she manages school work. My brother on the other hand, is a text book deep learner. He is always looking for HOW and WHY things work and tries to understand the deeper meaning of things. He failed high school English because it was not his strong suit, however he got high A's in math and science. Therefore he learns in a completely different and equally successful way. Overall, the success from how someone learns is completely dependent on that person and how they define success.