Research is Learning
🎯 Objectives
- Consider viewing research as a learning opportunity.
- See the importance of seeking truth as you conduct research.
RESEARCH IS LEARNING
Do you know what a paradigm is? It’s a little bit abstract, but it’s basically a set of thoughts and ideas that create a certain way to understand something. For example, have you ever been asked the question, “Are you looking at the glass half full, or half empty?” This question helps you define what mindset, or paradigm, you view the world through: optimistic or pessimistic.
Sometimes in life, our views shift, and often these shifts can be massive, like when Copernicus helped people understand that the earth is not the center of the solar system; the sun is, or the realization that the earth is, in fact, not flat: it’s a sphere (or if you want to be technical, it’s an oblate spheroid).
Anyways…
What does this have to do with research? What does this have to do with getting your homework done?
Here’s the deal: The way we view research and writing drastically changes the way we work, and we believe that a certain mindset will help you approach your research in a better and easier way. Other paradigms can make things harder on you. So we want you to approach research with the right mindset. It’ll make it more enjoyable and help you develop the skills to navigate this crazy age of information.
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Being assigned to research a topic and then write a paper can seem scary at times, but thinking of research as a learning opportunity will help the process be a lot more natural and enjoyable. If you see research as learning, you may actually enjoy writing your paper.
As we seek to view research as learning, it is valuable to make sure we are seeking accurate information. Learning new things takes effort. Don’t waste your energy filling your brain with false information. The next section will be about the value of seeking truth.
Intellectual Humility
Ready for a game? Complete this quiz, and then we'll chat. (This quiz was created by the News Literacy Project. Scroll down if you don't see the "start" button.) If this activity doesn't show up for you, complete it on the News Literacy Project's website.
So how'd you do? 100%?
This quiz highlights that our assumptions are often incorrect. Even things we think we know—like really, really know—are incorrect.
In the October 2022 general conference, President Nelson counseled us to “[delight] in truth, [denounce] deception, and [become] ‘humble followers of Christ.’ In our search for wisdom, learning, and truth (see D&C 109:7), it's important to practice humility.
We want to share a few ideas with you that we’ve taken from Adam Grant’s book, Think Again. In this book, Grant has a proposition. He wants us to shift the way we think about learning: “Intelligence is traditionally viewed as the ability to think and learn. Yet in a turbulent world, there’s another set of skills that might matter more: the ability to rethink and unlearn” (2, emphasis ours).
Grant points out the irony that we so readily update trivial things like our clothes and phones, but we rarely update things as significant as our beliefs and world views. One of the problems with our current information climate is that people stubbornly stick to their beliefs. This leads to divisions, closed minds, and tensions. Watch the following video to learn about approaching learning with an open mind.
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What Have We Learned?
- Research is not taking a stance and then simply finding sources to support it.
- Instead, research is learning. It is curiously asking questions and being open to finding the answers.
- Take time to search for truth. Be patient with yourself and the process. Be humble and enjoy the opportunity to learn about something that you find interesting.