In the classroom

Some time ago at a class that i was attending there was this student i met who had a trait I had long back. After the class as we all were having a discussion the said person kept saying the following words " I already know all this". Now my immediate reaction then is to look back at his progress in the class and i realized that he does not apply anything that he claims he knows. And that is when I realized he is under the same type of misconception that I used to be under.
Now let me make it a little clearer- this does not mean that he knew the concept theoretically and not practically- in fact he is far from it. He most probably has heard/read about it once or twice somewhere and hence when it is reiterated in the class he is under the misconception that he knows the topic.
This basically means that the concept never became a part of his system of working. Essentially it never became a tool he might use in case a situation arose where he has to use the said concept. Unless and until it becomes a part of your system it might be something you know but it is not something you have learnt yet. Knowing and learning are 2 different things, and using the word 'know' to imply 'learn' is a common problem. It is as simple as saying i know that the meaning of the word ,say for eg, "quixotic" but its not part of your vocabulary and most probably you wouldn't use the word till the day you die.
The reason i brought this up is because in a class or any other place of learning when this misconception arises the student most probably will not put the effort to learn the concept further and make it a part of his system, hence in the final scheme of things he would not have any progress unless you have a good teacher who can recognize this problem make the student aware of it. This is one of the reasons why a lot of potentially good students don`t perform up to their full potential.

Finally the reasons behind this misconception- based on my experience (there could be more)

1. the simplicity of the concept being explained - usually as a good student we expect concepts related to our field to be complex. its a general human tendency to give complexity 'importance'

2.Stubbornness- Another one of the reasons being stubbornness as an inborn trait in the students personality

3. Desire to learn quickly - which stems from the urgency to achieve your goals

4. Laziness- the flip side of being talented/intelligent.

5. Self obsession- Speaks for itself

The above said reasons need not all be present in an individual. one of them is enough.

How to tackle this problem
Very simple- Read the above post and have the ability to look at yourself objectively. :D

Take care now
bye bye then