Tony Buzan on learning HOW to learn

I recently spent a couple of days leading seminars and workshops. At the start of each workshop I would tell the participants, “I want to begin by telling you what I tell my students at the start of my courses and each lecture: ‘Don’t take notes. It won’t help you.’” That usually results in two reactions: laughter from most (those who know what happens to most of those notes we take at conferences once we get home), and a moan from a few others (those who will have trouble letting go of how they were trained to listen to a teacher in class).

It seems most people still cannot discern the difference between information and knowledge. Most workshop participants will scribble away trying to capture word-for-word everything the speaker says. It can become a matter of information going from the speaker or teacher’s notes to the student’s notes while bypassing the brain in the process. My comment, and challenge, about not taking notes is an attempt to help the participants “learn how to learn” in the context of the workshop. Writing down information is not equivalent to “learning.” Thinking about the information, asking questions, writing down an insight or a question, comes closer to learning than note-taking.

An important part of teaching is “helping learners learn how to learn.” Here is a clip of Tony Buzan, better known for the “mindmapping” technique he has popularized and developed, on “Teaching HOW to learn.” The clip focuses on creativity vs. the curriculum. It’s worth watching and may challenge your thinking on what it means to really teach.