Persistence: The Engine of Learning
Mr. Ruff picked up where he left off the day previously. First, he reviewed two of the three main academic reasons for working hard not just in his course, but in every course, not just for credits, but for knowledge and expertise—for learning. Becoming expert in learning, he reminded them, is one of the keys to life. Why? Do you remember from yesterday?
“Vaguely? You remember vaguely? Well, you’re in luck. I’m going to teach you some semaphores so you will never forget your motivations. Whenever you are tempted to cram or force learning, ask yourself how you got there. You know it’s not the road to wisdom. Anyone know the word semaphore?” After a brief definition, including the role of semaphores in directing traffic by way of photos, he continued. “So semaphores are arm signals used to direct railroad traffic. We’re going to use these signals to direct motive traffic.
“Learning can lift you up in society,” he said. He made a show of pointing toward the ceiling. “It’s called the advancement motive and gets you to college. Please, join me in this semaphore. Come on. Stretch. Learning lifts you up in the world. Why? Because learning over many years makes you an expert, and society must have certified experts, democracy must have documented experts. Becoming an expert in anything of value in society takes drive and effort.”
Some pointed robustly, some half-heartedly, some not at all. There was a bit of chatter in the room. Ruff sensed an undercurrent of unease. He asked for quiet and then asked if he might join the discussion. The energy came from several directions—some didn’t trust experts, some didn’t know any, some didn’t really want to become one, many were listening intently. The room was awash in differences of opinion, but no one wanted to speak.
“Some kids don’t buy that college stuff, Mr. Ruff,” one person said, finally. “Most of us don’t plan on going to college. There’s work for us to do. My brother got a job at a furniture company. He builds those recliner chairs.”
“That’s not true,” another person interrupted. “I’m going to the community college and study cosmetology.”
“Cosmetology?” someone smirked. “No money in that.”
“Are you going to let him talk like that? That’s an insult. Mr. Ruff?”
The atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense, and students glanced around uncomfortably, trying to gauge their classmates' reactions.
“I see you have a good practical understanding of advancement. When we talk about schools as the great equalizer, we are talking about a fairy tale. A lot of it is jumping through hoops. Look, I would like to convince you to come to grips with what your true potential is. Your brother may like building recliners. People work in cosmetology and have fulfilled lives. What you decide is what matters. Do you want to go for it? Do you want to become a cosmetologist? There is a market for you.
“Do you want to become an architect? a musician? Would you enjoy working in the ocean as a marine biologist? Society is filled with occupations requiring special expertise—and certification or college degrees. I’m your teacher, and it’s my responsibility to let you know that high school students across the country exert strong efforts to pass their courses with high grades because they want to advance themselves. I can’t decide for you. But every one of you could decide to do it. You’re lucky. You still have plenty of time to invest in your future. So let’s reach for the sky one more time together!”
This time more fingers pointed toward the ceiling.
*****
“Now the second reason for working hard in courses, the intrinsic motive, probably isn’t so controversial. We all get satisfaction when we get better, right? We all have things we want to learn to get better at, to improve in that area.”
He crossed his heart with his right hand.
“Feel your hand on your heart. That’s the feeling of being alive, of enjoying something just for itself. As humans we’ve been given this brain, very powerful brains, and they were made to learn about the world. In teaching we talk a lot about intrinsic cognition, using your brain under heavy loads to learn what at first might seem impossible, but it turns out that most people find managing heavy cognitive loads quite satisfying—there’s even a word for it: flow. Flow is the feeling of working so hard it seems easy.
“When people work their brain hard enough to experience flow, they feel as if they’re totally absorbed and intensely enjoying the effort. Time seems to stop. Doing the work is its own reward. People who learn to appreciate this feeling choose to exert effort for the pleasure of learning to become more expert. It’s interesting that students sometimes become intrinsically motivated to work hard when they are collaborating with others. Studying together can help.
“Learning for intrinsic reasons is the most durable and the deepest kind of learning. When we are confused by complexity, when we need to know what step to take next but can’t quite find it, when we have just a few questions we need answers for to grasp an idea—this is often when the advancement motive sometimes breaks down. Deep understanding isn’t required when the test is simply to recognize a word or phrase.
“I want to speak just for a moment about chatbots and how they fit in with motives. How many of you have used chatbots? How many of you understand how they work? Ok, good. We’re going to work with them during this course. For right now, let’s call the bot an ‘answering machine.’ You type in a question, you get an answer.
“Now imagine you are reading an assignment at home. You’re struggling with a word you don’t quite understand in your biology assignment. It’s an important word because it’s tied up with everything else. You have a question, and you have an answering machine. Should you ask the bot? ‘What does the word meiosis mean?’ Well, that depends on your motivation. If all you want to do is get a dictionary definition and move on, the bot is a good option—that’s advancement: Get the assignment finished as quickly as possible with minimum time investment so long as you make the grade. Here’s what you get:
An Example Interaction with a Bot
Me: What does the word meiosis mean
ChatGPT4o: The word "meiosis" has two main meanings:
1. In biology: Meiosis is a type of cell division that occurs in sexually reproducing organisms. It results in the production of gametes (reproductive cells) with half the number of chromosomes of the parent cell. This process is crucial for maintaining the correct number of chromosomes when two gametes fuse during fertilization.
2. In rhetoric: Meiosis is a figure of speech that intentionally understates or downplays the importance of something. It's often used for ironic effect or to make a point through understatement. This is sometimes also referred to as "litotes."
The biological meaning is more commonly used and encountered. Would you like more details on either of these definitions?
“But if you want to learn more about the word as it is used in your assignment so that you understand it more deeply the next time you see it in class, first you’ll rely on your brain, using intrinsic motives to try to find some of its meaning in context for yourself before you turn to the bot. You’ll stick with it until you have a hypothesis about what the word might or seems to mean. Instead of asking the bot “What does this word mean?” you will write something like the example. First, you tell the bot about your task. Then you say what you think you know about the word. Then you ask for the help you need to continue:
ME: I’m reading an assignment on cell division for biology. I know the word meiosis means that a fertilized cell divides, but that’s all I really know. Is there more to it?
ChatGPT4o: There's quite a bit more to meiosis than just a fertilized cell dividing. In fact, your initial understanding isn't quite accurate. Let me provide a brief overview:
Meiosis is a type of cell division that occurs in sexually reproducing organisms to produce gametes (sex cells like sperm and eggs). Here are some key points about meiosis:
1. It occurs in reproductive cells, not fertilized cells.
2. It reduces the chromosome number by half, from diploid (2n) to haploid (n).
3. It involves two rounds of cell division, resulting in four daughter cells.
4. It introduces genetic variation through crossing over and independent assortment.
Meiosis is different from mitosis, which is the type of cell division that produces genetically identical daughter cells for growth and repair.
Would you like me to elaborate on any specific aspect of meiosis? I can provide more details on the stages, the importance of meiosis, or how it compares to mitosis.
“Notice that when you are in advancement mode to use the bot for a quick answer that allows you to do the minimum amount of work to help you pass a test, you are using a tool not to help you actually learn something so your expertise increases, but to survive a test. When you are in intrinsic mode to seek help after you’ve done all you can to describe what you think you know and then ask for help, you stand a much better chance not just of passing a test, but of genuinely learning, building knowledge and expertise. In this case, you have to work on distinguishing reproductive cells and fertilized cells, and you have to cross check the bot. You provisionally understand that meiosis is a process involving reproductive cells, an understanding to explore further and build on. It’s a good habit for intrinsic thinkers to distinguish between provisional and settled understandings.
*****
“So let’s review. Make this semaphore (point to the ceiling). Turn to a neighbor and explain what it means. (Pause) Yes, it means to advance, to make the grade, to pass the test. The problem for you—if you’re interested in actually becoming more expert, or really learning—is that the motive to pass usually isn’t strong enough to lead to deep learning, although it can if it sparks interest. We’ll talk about deep learning throughout the course.
“Now make this semaphore (hand to heart). Turn to a neighbor and explain what it means. (Pause) Yes, it means to learn, to set out to build knowledge and expertise that lasts beyond the test. This motive can take some time to cultivate, but once you practice it and become conscious of your own approach to assignments, you will find you can draw on it as a resource. Beginning next week, I’ll assign a major motivation self-assessment assignment and ask you to explain your opinion about how to use a bot to build vocabulary. For tomorrow see what you can learn about reaching for the sky and hand on heart learning from your experiences during the next 24 hours. Keep some notes so we can collaboratively reflect on your experiences.”
persistence nothing happens without it.