I want to oppose the idea that school has to teach directly that special knowledge and those accomplishments that one has to use directly later in life.  The development of general ability or independent thinking and judgment should always be placed foremost… If a person masters the fundamentals of his subject and has leraned to think and work independently, he will surely find his way and will better adapt himself to progress and changes than the person who training consists principally in the acquiring of detailed knowledge – Albert Einstein

A while back my friend Malcolm had wrote a post about “Taking Your Learning to the Comments” when it came to blogging. It had really resonated because at the time I was reading and now finished the book “What Smart Students Know” by Adam Robinson.

I think that it’s difficult to get into high level (“intelligent”) conversations in class at the undergrad business student level being as undergrad business students lack real world experience to contribute their personal opinions and tie it to the theory that is being taught in class. This is especially true for cut and dry fields like Information Technology, Engineering, Accounting, Finance and the like. For liberal arts courses, it’s an entirely different story where you can reflect on personal experiences, thoughts of the world, philosophies, etc.

Everything is mapped out for us and any sort of “creative expression” for your given course is really difficult because of our lack of exposure to real world application of what we learn in business school. Exceptions to this are if you’re studying entrepreneurship or involved in that field in some form or fashion where being creative and innovative in solving a real world need is a must.

The crux of the problem is that most business is the lack of the lessons being taught in class being anchored to real world application and “seeing it in action” to make what was abstract and intangible to concrete and tangible and then further reinforcing the theory that was taught in class.

The key, however, is engagement and full immersion of what’s being taught. By full immersion I mean that you’re engaging all of your senses and breathing life into what was theory and “seeing the gears turn” in real life. Any intelligent or insightful dialogue between both teacher and students or even between students is sorely lacking.

I’d say take a multi-pronged approach to learning would be more holistic. Instead of confining your learning to in class, textbook and conversations with classmates, this could be extended to online, in person, through books and conversations with your prof / classmates – ANYTHING that engages the student to think more critically about the material in making connections to the “big picture” (of the business world, life, etc…)

In terms of my own learning, most of my growth stems in the personal development field. I’d relentlessly devour anything and everything with respect to how to tackle whatever issues I may be experiencing and taking on a ‘360-degree’ perspective. This entailed going through volumes on books on spirituality to books on ‘learning how to learn’ (see “What Smart Students Know” above).

How I learn is whether the topic I’m learning about applicable in my own life, so I feel that taking a sense of responsibility and ownership over what you’re learning. Being personally invested and immersing yourself are critical success factors in “true” learning versus superficial learning for the sake of just passing the course or your undergrad degree.

I wouldn’t go so far as taking participation to online only. Rather, I’d encourage to EXTEND it to online conversations if you’re savvy enough.

Bottom line is, try anything that works for you that would further engage you and think about your subject matter more critically through taking different perspectives from other peoples’ comments. Be wary of environments that stifle critical thinking and seek other outlets to further your understanding in whatever field you may be in.