By Priyanka Rathi, Psychology Enthusiast
One thing I have heard most of the students say is that they learn better with practical approaches. However, two things we must consider are that resources for practical education are not always available and not everything we study has a practical approach that will help you. Sometimes, practical education is just as complex to grasp as theoretical education.
Theoretical education, to put it into simpler words, is the stretch that deals with facts, theories and literature. A theoretical study explains to you all that you need to learn about a subject, theories that have come up as yet, facts that have always existed. Most importantly, it is not limited. Knowledge is perennial, so is the theoretical approach. But as available it is, not every aspect of it is as easy to understand or to remember.
Theoretical studies are the way to practical applications and the first steps are always essential. Theoretical approaches will satisfy your curiosity for reasoning and explanation. The theoretical approach is not given enough credit for what it puts out in the space. And because it is so important it is continuously highlighted in schools, something that can be tested frequently.
Here are three things to work on that will help you grasp all that theoretical bunch without having to mug them up:
- Write what you want to understand: I cannot stress on this enough, learn to write every piece of information that you feel is important. The moment you are writing it down you are establishing a connection with it, which will help you to relate with the material. Highlight that keyword, put a question mark next to it if you have to look it up. Change the language to a simpler one. This simple step will make so much difference.
- Read: To be able to decipher the text, you must be familiar with reading. Reading will help you develop the skills through which you can analyze literature. Analyzing and understanding literature is probably the most essential step that will help you create your insights, understand other versions, and why one thing exists the way it does. There’s a reason why the review of literature is a designated section for researches and projects which brings me to my next point.
- Research: When you look for more materials concerning your topic of study, you will gradually understand the matter. Research is also a very famous way to study the practical approaches of others. So essentially, when you are unable to practically study a matter, you can get on with your research. Collect as much information as you can, write them down, consolidate them. You will have a clearer understanding by the end of your surf.
One must realize that a practical approach comes way after theoretical
understanding thus to perform well practically one must master the theoretical end. One thing to remember is: mugging up is not the only way to learn and learning is not limited to examinations.
