Success in Teaching using The Barriers to Study

Teachers who use the Study Technology of L. Ron Hubbard have found its effectiveness both revolutionary and simple.

In its barest terms, there are three main barriers to study:

Firstly, study without any actual mass. By mass is meant the actual physical object or objects of study.

Obviously, one would not try to teach someone to drive merely by getting them to read a textbook about driving. One would have the learner driver actually drive a car, handle an actual car. This is applicable to all subjects.

Studying in the absence of mass can produce all kinds of physical symptoms: dizziness, sickness, headaches, to name but a few, and the remedy is to introduce more mass into the subject. In a subject like English Literature, this is just as vital. Going to see plays, dramatising parts of a novel in front of a class, pictures, sketches, diagrams, maps, clay models all supply mass.

The next barrier to study is too steep a gradient. If a student gets confused, it is likely that one is teaching too fast. For example, an able student doing well in a subject becomes very confused and says the subject is too complex. By going back to just before they became confused, they can be helped to understand what they did not grasp.

Using a lesser gradient helps students to regain interest and enthusiasm in the subject.

The third and most important barrier to study is the misunderstood or undefined word or definition. In teaching, if one sees a student going blank on what is being read, or reacting aggressively towards the subject, or wanting to give it up because they don’t like it or misbehaving, then an undefined or misdefined word has been passed. The answer is to find this word, handle the definitions thoroughly so that the word can be owned, check the derivation and idiomatic use and then continue.

An Advanced Level student overcame their severe spelling difficulties simply by looking up the definitions and derivations of words they did not understand. They went on to learn Business Studies at university.

When pupils look up the words using a good dictionary and pay particular attention to the derivations, spelling improves.

The importance of Study Technology cannot be stressed too strongly. It gives children and young people the chance to really learn and apply what they have learnt.

Based on the experiences of educator and teacher,
Lady Joan Hort

This article can also be found in the Results Newsletter (issue III)