Slippery Slopes and Spindles by Lillian

Slippery Slopes and Spindles by Lillian - January 2014 Scholarship Essay

Studying is not passive. Studying is engaging and inclusive. Memorization is passive and temporary. Craik and Lockhart theorized that how deeply we process something during the encoding stage of memory effects the permanency of the memory itself. This concept is broken down into superficial, less permanent and deep processing, more permanent. The most effective type of study is one that engages the mind and forms connections with other information that has previously been stored, causing the new information to be meaningful, and thus more likely to be remembered, also known as semantic processing. Memory is much like a spider’s web, the more interwoven connections the more likely the web is to sustain over time, whereas when fewer connections are formed the web is more susceptible to the erosion of time. I employ Craik and Lockhart’s theory in my most effective study habit, which is tutoring.

Natalie Portman eloquently put into words the ponderings of teens worldwide when she declared, “I don't love studying. I hate studying. I like learning. Learning is beautiful.” To learn is to grow and expound on the potential in which the world encases, slowly picking away at the formidable shell that hides the wondrous possibilities below. Fortunately one can relearn something, and relearning is the strongest form of studying that I have found. In order to tutor another on a subject matter, one must possess a complete grasp on the material, one must be able to take something concrete and mold it to another’s brain matter, creating the abstract. Adaptation is key in this study method as one must know how to take the cell cycle and potentially make a rap, draw a picture, or connect to the real world a concept that in some eyes is deemed miniscule. Through tutoring another and relearning material through the view point of one other than myself I add spindles to my web further attaching the memory and understanding of a concept to the slippery slopes of my brain.