Page 186 - A Mind For Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science

Concretely applied math also gets around the issue that many “real-world” word
problems in mathematics textbooks are simply thinly disguised exercises. In the
end, both concrete and abstract approaches have their advantages and
disadvantages.
Transfer is beneficial in that it often makes learning easier for students as
they advance in their studies of a discipline. As Professor Jason Dechant of the
University of Pittsburgh says, “I always tell my students that they will study less

as they progress through their nursing programs, and they don’t believe me.
They’re actually doing more and more each semester; they just get better at
bringing it all together.”
One of the most problematic aspects of procrastination—constantly
interrupting your focus to check your phone messages, e-mails, or other updates
—is that it interferes with transfer. Students who interrupt their work constantly

not only don’t learn as deeply, but also aren’t able to transfer what little they do
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learn as easily to other topics. You may think you’re learning in between
checking your phone messages, but in reality, your brain is not focusing long
enough to form the solid neural chunks that are central to transferring ideas from
one area to another.

TRANSFERRING IDEAS WORKS!

“I took fishing techniques from the Great Lakes and tried using them down in the Florida
Keys this past year. Completely different fish, different bait, and a technique that had never
been used but it worked great. People thought I was crazy and it was funny to show them
that it actually caught fish.”
—Patrick Scoggin, senior, history

SUMMING IT UP

Equations are just ways of abstracting and simplifying concepts. This
means that equations contain deeper meaning, similar to the depth of
meaning found in poetry.
Your “mind’s eye” is important because it can help you stage plays and
personalize what you are learning about.

Transfer is the ability to take what you learn in one context and apply