March 2021
An article in the Wall Street Journal about Rubik’s Cubes was published in Feburary 2020. More specifically, it described a challenge put out to a group of professors to solve the all-challenging cube in a timespan of only 5 minutes. The goal was obviously to learn how to solve a Rubik’s Cube quickly.
However, it also had an underlying motive to help the participating professors relate to their students.
When teachers remain in the teaching role too long, they sometimes become disassociated with the experience of students learning new material. In addition, teachers gradually become disillusioned with the complexities faced by students. Who can blame them, since they repeatedly teach materials for which they already know the answers?
A group of thirty teachers decided to take on the challenge. They all watched a short online course on how to solve a Rubik’s Cube and then were left to their own devices to meet the deadline a few weeks later. Just under three-quarters of the teachers who attempted the challenge were successful in the end, which is pretty good. But it was a bite out of humble pie for most professors, regardless of whether they completed the challenge. The experience reminded them how much stress can be caused by trying to learn new things and how frustrating it can be to not understand a concept. Even a minor error can dramatically hinder results.
This same complexity comes with many things that we learn how to do in our lives. At first, we are terrible at it. We fall, we fail, and we do an overall terrible job. But over time, with repeated action, we get better at it. And in most cases, faster too. At least for myself, this is true in the case of flossing. I think back about my journey to flossing my teeth and how slow I used to be; I downright avoiding doing it for years, mainly because I have a built-in retainer, making flossing a time-consuming task. However, by slowly integrating flossing into my routine, I have gotten faster at it. I am proud to say that now I floss every other day, which is quite an accomplishment, if I do say so myself.
Regardless of your flossing consistency, learning new things take time and lots of trial and error. Being in graduate school is a constant reminder that we invariably have to embrace novel experiences all the time. In a lecture, we grasp new terminology as well as methods and procedures of solving problems. And while doing those tasks right now takes a long time, once we have enough practice in them, we become faster.
Recently on an episode of ABC’s Shark Tank, an inventor had come to the tank with a product for making it easier to make a bed. The concept was a headband around the bed. Essentially, you would tuck your sheets into it instead of lifting the entire bed to make the bed. I had not thought that making a bed was a time-consuming task, as I got into the routine at a young age. However, Mark Cuban, one of the investors, stated that at one point, he spent up to an hour making his bed in the morning! He determined that it was taking up way too much of his time once added up throughout his lifetime, so he now downright refused to do so and therefore would not be a good investor.
Perhaps if he had chosen to keep trying, he would be faster at it today. But it is likely that today Mr. Cuban is just as slow. What have you stopped doing because it was too difficult to do? Do you think you are ready to try it out again?
To check out the article, click here: Professors are Puzzled by Rubik's Cube.
If instead you want to challenge yourself to successfully complete a Rubik’s Cube in 5 minutes or less, check out this class: https://youtu.be/R-R0KrXvWbc.
Vanessa Davis is a master’s student in the Department of Public Service and Administration.
However, it also had an underlying motive to help the participating professors relate to their students.
When teachers remain in the teaching role too long, they sometimes become disassociated with the experience of students learning new material. In addition, teachers gradually become disillusioned with the complexities faced by students. Who can blame them, since they repeatedly teach materials for which they already know the answers?
A group of thirty teachers decided to take on the challenge. They all watched a short online course on how to solve a Rubik’s Cube and then were left to their own devices to meet the deadline a few weeks later. Just under three-quarters of the teachers who attempted the challenge were successful in the end, which is pretty good. But it was a bite out of humble pie for most professors, regardless of whether they completed the challenge. The experience reminded them how much stress can be caused by trying to learn new things and how frustrating it can be to not understand a concept. Even a minor error can dramatically hinder results.
This same complexity comes with many things that we learn how to do in our lives. At first, we are terrible at it. We fall, we fail, and we do an overall terrible job. But over time, with repeated action, we get better at it. And in most cases, faster too. At least for myself, this is true in the case of flossing. I think back about my journey to flossing my teeth and how slow I used to be; I downright avoiding doing it for years, mainly because I have a built-in retainer, making flossing a time-consuming task. However, by slowly integrating flossing into my routine, I have gotten faster at it. I am proud to say that now I floss every other day, which is quite an accomplishment, if I do say so myself.
Regardless of your flossing consistency, learning new things take time and lots of trial and error. Being in graduate school is a constant reminder that we invariably have to embrace novel experiences all the time. In a lecture, we grasp new terminology as well as methods and procedures of solving problems. And while doing those tasks right now takes a long time, once we have enough practice in them, we become faster.
Recently on an episode of ABC’s Shark Tank, an inventor had come to the tank with a product for making it easier to make a bed. The concept was a headband around the bed. Essentially, you would tuck your sheets into it instead of lifting the entire bed to make the bed. I had not thought that making a bed was a time-consuming task, as I got into the routine at a young age. However, Mark Cuban, one of the investors, stated that at one point, he spent up to an hour making his bed in the morning! He determined that it was taking up way too much of his time once added up throughout his lifetime, so he now downright refused to do so and therefore would not be a good investor.
Perhaps if he had chosen to keep trying, he would be faster at it today. But it is likely that today Mr. Cuban is just as slow. What have you stopped doing because it was too difficult to do? Do you think you are ready to try it out again?
To check out the article, click here: Professors are Puzzled by Rubik's Cube.
If instead you want to challenge yourself to successfully complete a Rubik’s Cube in 5 minutes or less, check out this class: https://youtu.be/R-R0KrXvWbc.
Vanessa Davis is a master’s student in the Department of Public Service and Administration.