Education Heuristics
Part I: Knowing Oneself
Chapters
Part 1: Knowing Oneself
Part 2: Perspective & Attitude
Part 3: Learning vs Studying
Part 4: Going Beyond
Part 5: Start Teaching
If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle
Knowing oneself is essential to enhancing one’s learning capability. Begin this process by thoroughly identifying your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). Thereafter, manage these effectively with the resources at your disposal. This process helps direct your effort towards the right activities, handle setbacks more effectively, and readily seize potential opportunities.
IDENTIFYING YOUR SWOT
A) IDENTIFYING YOUR SWOT
A simple and common method to identify your SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) is to take diagnostic assessments. These can be a series of tests provided online or by an education provider, and they can be general or subject-specific. For example, Berleaf Education offers a free Math Aptitude Diagnostic for students seeking a comprehensive analysis of their math skills and advice on how to improve them.
B) IDENTIFYING YOUR SWOT
Maintain a record of your mistakes by documenting them in a book, referred to as the Book of Mistakes. Review this record to identify patterns and understand your weaknesses.
C) Seek Regular Feedback
We don’t always know ourselves the best. Therefore, regularly checking in with a teacher or mentor for feedback is crucial. This is a primary channel that helps us better identify our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT).
D) Plan Ahead
Planning ahead can lower your chances of missing golden opportunities. Knowing your desired outcomes and the steps needed to get there, whether for short or long-term goals, will enable you to identify and seize opportunities when they arise.
MANAGING YOUR SWOT
Simply identifying your SWOT is not enough. It is crucial to manage them effectively to ensure that this information is not rendered useless.
Build on Your Strengths. Challenge yourself to enhance your strengths. There might be a more efficient or quicker way to solve a problem, so never settle for the status quo.
Learn from Mistakes. The ‘[Book of Mistakes]‘ serves as a constant reminder to prevent repeating errors. This is particularly helpful for exam preparation.
Use Post-it Reminders. Keep your goals visible by leaving small post-it notes around your study area. Label opportunities in green and threats in red.
OUR "SECRET"
EDUCATION HEURISTIC is a methodology used by Berleaf Education educators. It helps students realize their potential and achieve academic excellence. The complete methodology is detailed in a five-part series:
[Check out Part 2 Here]
