Please see Course on Subject Clearing
In today’s world the understanding of a subject depends on the words and symbols used to express its basic ideas. When there is confusion in a subject, the first thing to do is to create a list of its key concepts from the earliest to latest in the form of words. You not only clear up those word but also relate them to each other until you have a clear picture of the subject. You will need a good dictionary, a thesaurus, and a basic textbook for this purpose.
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Key Word List
Every subject has its own vocabulary. Knowing the purpose of the subject, one may easily arrange its key concepts from the earliest to the latest in the form of words. We know that if it takes ‘concept 1’ to understand ‘concept 2’ then ‘concept 1’ must precede ‘concept 2’ on the list. For example, the purpose of Mathematics is to learn about quantities in a systematic manner. Knowing that, we may arrange its key words as follows: Counting, Number, Digit, Place Values, Unit, Tens, Hundreds, Groups (in reading and writing numbers) , Addition, Addend, Carry over, Sum, and so on.
As you become more aware of the key words, you may sometimes find that a different sequence provides a more consistent picture. It may even reveal some holes in the sequence. Therefore, there is need for dynamic sequencing of the Key Word list. An Excel worksheet may fulfill this requirement nicely.
Keep building up the Key Word List, and clearing the words, as you study the subject.
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Clearing the Words
As the Key Word List comes into existence, we start clearing these words. It is important to clear the most fundamental concepts first. The steps to clear up a word are as follows.
- Determine the broad concept of the word from its etymology.
- Determine the most appropriate definition of the word from dictionary.
- Visualize that definition by means of “google image” and/or real-life examples.
- Contemplate on the word in relation to nearby key words.
- Meditate on the concept underlying the word in the context of your experience.
These steps lead you to deepening awareness of the ideas associated with the subject.
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