Another Groundhog Day post
Reading “Learn How to Study” by Derek Rowntree brings the movie Groundhog Day back to mind. It seems as if we were just having these same discussions about the topics that this book takes on and tries to cover. The genre might be called “study skills”, and it seems as if we are continuing to read our way through books on this topic.
Like some others, such as, How to Read a Book, and How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read, this offering by Professor Rowntree is meant to help students, readers, and learners to optimize their ability not only to read or take in information, but to get the things out of a book that we need to. The author encourages readers and students to ask the basic question: why are you studying? He writes, “what are your purposes in devoting so much of your precious time and money to being a student?”[1]
As if my alarm clock just went off and I woke up to the sound of Sonny and Cher singing “I Got You Babe”, it feels like this is the same question that we’ve been asking week after week. To examine and x-ray a text, to pre-read, to read syntopically, and more, were all skills that Adler encouraged for readers, especially readers who knew what they needed to get from a book and didn’t have time to waste trying to carefully “read” every word.
In the same way, Bayard challenges our notion of what “reading” really is, and encourages people who are interested in ideas, literature, culture and more to ask themselves what they really are trying to achieve through reading. Is it vanity? Is it pride? Is it “information”? Or is it the ability to talk about ideas in an engaging way?
My impression of “Learn How to Study” is that it brings out even more practical advice and ideas for a learner to follow as grow as students. Rowntree writes, this book is a “one to one tutorial between you and me.”[2] He is offering this book as a guide for how to think about studying as well as actually how to do it. Like the other books mentioned, there is a kind of de-construction going on, where the author challenges our prevailing notion of what studying really means.
Instead of passively taking in information, or receiving whatever a writer or teacher wants to give, he challenges the reader to consider what he calls the “three essential tasks.” These tasks include determining what you want to learn, to develop techniques to gain that learning, and then to be able to demonstrate you can engage with the information. In a very similar fashion to our previous authors, Rowntree lines out strategies for reading critically, learning by listening well, how to take notes, etc.
All of this brings us back to Groundhog Day. Or the feeling that we have had this same conversation before. Or maybe, that we are stuck in a cycle until we find the way out.
Perhaps the message that is being sent through these book assignments is this: unless you adapt to a new way of learning, unless you take on some new practices, unless you figure out how to read a book, how to talk about books you haven’t read, and how to study, you will not thrive in a doctoral program.
Since I don’t want to be stuck perpetually in that kind of trap, I’ll take some things away from this book to help me find my way out. One topic that Rowntree writes about that I really resonated with was the idea of “grit and self-control”. He writes that “these two behavioral traits from which we can predict the level of an individual’s future effort and achievement. Grit is the tendency to keep on striving toward some valued long-term goal or commitment, even in the face of adversity, set-backs and failures. Self-control is the tendency to ignore tempting alternative activities that might give you brief pleasure but would disrupt or interfere with what you know you must do to progress towards your goal.”[3]
One of Rowntree’s patterns in the book is to teach a concept and then offer a chance for the reader to engage with that idea. He often does this through a self-assessment or a list of ideas for application. When it comes to “grit” and “self-control”, he asks how we rate ourselves as “high” or “low”. For me, I would put my grit as above average, maybe even high, but on the self-control scale, I rank at the bottom!
It was helpful to me to see these two terms linked in his writing, and to realize that I will need both for the time ahead. Part of my grit probably comes from being a “people pleaser”, meaning that I just don’t want to let others down. So I will push myself, I will stretch myself and I will do my work. If not for my own sake, then for theirs! At the same time, I am in this program for “intrinsic” reasons. I am interested in my topic and in the approach that we are taking. So, I have good reason to be gritty.
As for the self-control, this is already something that I’m working on. Rowntree describes studying as a “job” or as work that you have to do (not an additional/side/add-on activity). I like this, and I actually look forward to the time on Thursdays, where I sit down to read, reflect and write. This is one step toward developing self-control and discipline. To say “no” to the other, more attractive things calling my name, and saying yes to studying and doing the work that I have before me.
In the end, for Phil Connors in Groundhog Day, the cycle is broken as he finally grows and develops as a person. I hope that our cycle of reading this particular genre of books will also be broken soon enough! And in the meantime, I’m bringing out my grit and self-control when it comes to my own process of learning how to study.
[1] Derek Rowntree, LEARN HOW TO STUDY: Developing the Study Skills and Approaches to Learning That Will Help You Succeed in University (Derek Rowntree, 2016). Kindle chapter 2.
[2] Derek Rowntree, LEARN HOW TO STUDY: Developing the Study Skills and Approaches to Learning That Will Help You Succeed in University (Derek Rowntree, 2016). Kindle loc 115.
[3] Derek Rowntree, LEARN HOW TO STUDY: Developing the Study Skills and Approaches to Learning That Will Help You Succeed in University (Derek Rowntree, 2016). Kindle chapter 1.
About the Author
Dave Watermulder
7 responses to “Another Groundhog Day post”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
I’m with you, Dave. I hope we’re going to find a way out of this cycle. But, I, too, have recognized that I need to change how I go about learning, recalling, and synthesizing information. You talk about self-control being a growth point for you. I actually schedule my school-work time in my weekly calendar so that I have an “appointment with myself” to get it done. It sounds like you have done the same thing with your Thursdays. Do you have other disciplines or practices in place that are helping you with self-control?
Hi Dave,
Yes, another Groundhog Day reference! Caught my attention right away.
I found it interesting that you started out with the thoughts and quote, “The author encourages readers and students to ask the basic question: why are you studying? He writes, “what are your purposes in devoting so much of your precious time and money to being a student?”” That is the first one that caught my attention as well. Our great minds must think alike!
When I saw his list of the proper purposes, my main reason for being a student did not even make his list. My main reason for reading and studying is APPLICATION. I hope I don’t sound heretical, but I find myself reading the Bible for application, too. You are probably way deeper spiritually than me, so you probably have more significant reasons than I do…
I almost began my blog talking about Ground hog day. I had the “Lather, Wash, rinse, repeat” phrase from the shampoo bottle going through my head as well. I appreciated the way you spend time comparing Alder’s and Bayard book. I initially thought about it but didn’t take the time to do a comparative analysis, even a short one.
You discussion on grit and your own self evaluation, prods me to think about myself and where I fall on that sliding scale. Since this is your blog, there is no need for confession from me. I am with you on wanting to round the corner on this genre of books.
You had me at groundhog day. Im really looking forward to this Monday to hear everyone’s thoughts and groans on this. Grit is good! But if you’ve made it his far in higher education you already have had to have a whole lot of grit! I think my undergrad took the most amount of grit because they were all classes outside of my interest.
Dave,
I cannot let a Groundhog day post go unnoticed. Sort of like Jerry Maguire having me at hello. That being said, I really appreciate your insight in the fact that we do have to become different than we were if we are going to survive our DMin program. I appreciate your candor in this assessment of our predicament. Hope all is well.
Jason
I am glad for your grit and self-control and, as you may have read in my post, I am with you in needing it for these types of readings. I think we do have one more book in a similar vain but at least a break this week with Pink. You ranked your grit and self control as separate. Do you really think they can be that different? It seems to me they go together. Grit is persevering and self-control is often impulse control. Rowntree talks about needing grit for the long-term and self-control on a daily basis. Do you think there’s a correlation to the daily self-control (or lack of) effecting the long-term grit?
I’m with you Dave, I’m hoping we break the cycle of these books soon also. I also like the part of your post where you talk about saying no to good things in order to get our job done as students. This will be one of the biggest challenges for me especially with working full-time job and volunteering 15 to 20 hours at our church plant and doing everything else. Wait to use your grip and a termination to get through another book, but Jenn warns me that our next book is more of the same, so get ready to step in that puddle again and start singing “I got you Babe”. Great post Dave and hope all is well with you down there in the Bay Area.