Likewise when I was going through Navy ET school I nearly aced every exam.
It made me laugh that every night before the test the whole class would be
in someones room cramming for it while I would go out to the club and have
1 or 2 brews ... just enough to relax. They never did get the idea, the
problem was during class they were working so hard to take down minuet
notes that they really didn't pay attention to the instructor. While I
would listen to him/her ask questions when confused (often) and take down
the basics in notes.
I have since lost all my notes but still remember the basics which are
still applicable today even the the technology has totally changed.
John
US Navy, Naval Security Group CTM2 1973-1979





Ernest Christley wrote:

Jim Weir wrote:

And yes, in case of an unfortunate incident, it CAN make the difference
between YOUR life and death.

Jim


I'd just be happy if they required the authors to explain WHY
such-n-such must be done in a particular way. It just grinds my last
nerve to read what I think will be an educational article, just to find
it full of commands like "You must use black grease on the schmizzle
donker." The EAA claims to be an educational organization, but that
ain't education. It's training. Education hasn't occured until the
student know why black grease must be used on the schmizzle donker and
why the schmizzle donker is needed in the first place.

Just requiring explanations will eliminate 90% of what you're
describing. If someone can't explain why black grease is necessary in
simple terms, then most likely they are just a trained monkey repeating
what they've heard. With no understanding of the underlying principles,
they haven't a clue if they are applying their training correctly...if
they are missing an important point, or if they are doing a lot of
useless work.

I was the best history, physics and chemistry student in my senior year
of high school and I never lost one night of sleep 'studying'. I don't
believe it was because I had more intelligence than everyone else, but I
learned a simple secret. Don't memorize facts and equations...work to
understand the underlying causes and forces a play. The facts and
equations almost always become self evident, simple and HARD to forget.
Any variation of the problem space is also a non-issue. A list of
facts (like how to install an ELT) will get screwed up in your head
before the teacher finishes handing out the tests.