Ask This Question to Do Better in School

As an instructor at a public university I can personally tell you that many students struggle with classes because there is a lack of perspective. In the academic environment, a lot of context gets lost in order to facilitate classroom learning and testing. However, many students start to fall behind in the learning process without that proper context. If it doesn't relate to them, then it's that much harder to learn. Today I'm going to share with you the question you should ask as a student to maintain perspective and hopefully make school a lot easier for you. 

How will I use this information in the real world?

This is a very simple, but powerful question. Before knowing the answer to this question, many students will only see the information in the context of a classroom environment as a means to get a grade. While this may be motivating to some, many others need something more. By taking the information and translating it into a setting that might directly impact the student one day, a scenario is created where the student can realize value from a classroom learning immediately. 

Psychologically, there can be a big difference between understanding a break even analysis for a large business and calculating how many products your side hustle will have to sell to pay your monthly rent, even if both scenarios are teaching the same content. By asking for a more relatable context, you can become more engaged in learning. This occurs because instead of just memorizing something for a grade your brain now sees this content as something that can benefit you in the future by getting you a job or saving you money. While that concept is understood on the larger scale as it relates to education, many students struggle to make the connection in their individual classes. 

So What?

The key takeaway here is understanding the bigger picture and how it relates to you. If you can take a concept that you need to learn and apply it to a scenario that actually affects you, you will have a better time learning and retaining the information. Similarly, if you can take a task that you are doing and understand how other people derive value from it, you can begin to empathize with them and learn to see that value and purpose yourself, which will give more meaning to your work.

If you’re having trouble learning in school, try asking this question where possible in your classes to get a better perspective of how the classroom lesson can affect you in the real world. Good luck!