Why story-driven learning can help you master any subject

Walk into a classroom today.

You’ll probably find a teacher lecturing about facts, figures, and formulas.

We treat kids like computers. Give them rules and information so they can process the data and spit out the right answer.

Kids who struggle must have bugs in their system.

Of course, humans are great at logic and math, but it’s not the natural way we learn.

We weren’t designed in a laboratory to follow code.

We evolved to learn by *mimicking.*

Just look at the cave drawings of our ancestors.

You’ll find some numbers, like etched tally marks on walls, but on the whole, you’ll mostly find paintings of hunting trips.

When ancient humans wanted to pass on knowledge, they shared stories of heroes for their kids to copy.

Stories are engaging, exciting, and captivating.

We love to hear tales of ordinary people who faced conflict, failed, picked themselves up, and found new strategies to overcome adversity.

Stories make knowledge memorable and practical.

They give us heroes we want to emulate.

The best educators today leverage these aspects of human nature.

Think back to your favorite teacher as a child.

I’m willing to bet two things:

1. They made the subject come alive with captivating illustrations. Maybe they shared their own experience or talked about history or the news.

2. They gave you the freedom to practice what you were learning. You could take what they showed you and apply it yourself.

These teachers know how to create an environment where kids can do what they do naturally.

Next time you have the chance, go watch kids play

They’re almost always pretending to live out stories they’ve heard.

Kids copy characters from their favorite shows, games, and books.

Much of the time, they’ll extend the story to include their friends, family members, and events from their own lives.

In other words, they’re applying what they learn from stories to the real world.

We’d all learn much better if we copied kids.

Find stories of successful people & then practice using their tactics. This turns study from a chore to a joy. It’s the natural way we’re meant to learn.

This is what @polina_marinova does with @ProfileRead

As @polina_marinova told me once:

"If I want to learn something new...I’ll pick a person that best embodies the idea I want to learn about. I find that it’s easier to have an emotional connection to a person, which then triggers my memory, and I actually learn and remember.”

I think that what’s true of Polina is true of all of us.

We learn best when we can connect an idea with a person and their story.

Consider an example:

Let’s say you want to learn about decision-making.

You might think the best step is to go to school and study statistics.

One of your first classes would introduce you to Bayes' Theorem, a famous formula for calculating probabilities, which goes like this:

Let’s be honest. Your eyes probably glazed over. Good luck remembering all those variables!

Formula-first learning is difficult because formulas are boring. We don’t naturally find them engaging.

On the other hand, we’re naturally drawn to interesting people.

So, what’s a better way to learn?

Instead of beginning with Bayes' Theorem, you might start with the story of @AnnieDuke

She’s one of the best female poker players in the history of the game.

How did she become so successful?

She used probability theories, like Bayes' Theorem, to make good decisions about how to make good bets.

This strategy rocketed her to the top of the poker world. Her lifetime earnings amount to over four million dollars.

Now, all of the sudden, I bet you’re much more interested in learning how to make decisions using statistics.

You’ve wrapped all the numbers and theories around a person with a good story.

You have someone worth mimicking.

I’m not saying mathematical formulas don’t matter.

Of course they do!

To master something, we need to know the technical details like the backs of our hands. However, to arrive at that goal, we need to begin in the right spot.

Start with stories and the rest falls into place.

If you want to learn engineering, read about the Wright brothers & build a model plane.

If you want to learn fashion, read about Coco Chanel & design an outfit.

If you want to learn computer science, read about Alan Kay & program an app.

You can use this strategy for anything!

The stories of real-life people teach us many things.

We learn how they achieved their greatest accomplishments—and what caused their greatest failures.

We can study what to copy and what to avoid.

In the past, it was hard to learn from the stories of others.

You’d have to read biographies of people from long ago or find a mentor in your local town.

Now, that’s all changed.

The internet is overflowing with stories of amazing people from every area of life.

Twitter, YouTube, Wikipedia, The Profile—everywhere you look, you can find someone to learn from.

No matter the topic, there’s an incredible story waiting to inspire you.

This piece was a guest column I wrote for @ProfileRead

One of my favorite newsletters that features the best long-form stories on people and companies in business, tech, sports, entertainment, and more. https://readtheprofile.com/ 

I explore ideas like this in Fab Fridays, my newsletter on childhood education with a twist + new ways to learn.

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