“Super scholars” are students who learn quickly and go on to achieve high scores on their exams. They possess the ability to easily grasp new concepts, plus the problem solving skills necessary to then put their knowledge into action and achieve academic success.
Becoming a super scholar is not difficult, but it does require discipline. Firstly, it is important that students feel a true desire to learn, and express a willingness to put in significant effort. After all, it is only by seriously investing in study that we can hope to gain the wisdom we need to appropriately inform our future decisions. During the Song Dynasty, for instance, the politician Zhao Pu poured over the Analects of Chinese philosopher Confucius, then drew from these readings to successfully govern the country.
The next step towards realizing academic excellence is to hone one’s performance through careful practice. Math, physics, and chemistry all require students to complete numerous exercises on a nightly basis. While this can at times seem excessive, there is actually significant value to each and every one of these homework assignments. By completing so many problem sets, students become comfortable with many different types of questions, and thus learn to detect familiar clues in their wordings and structure. This training helps to inform their approach to similar problems they will encounter in the future, preparing them to quickly assess what style of question is being asked and recall how they were able to successfully solve it in the past.
Another way to help a student develop the mind of a super scholar is to ensure that their early learning environment provides room for lively exploration. Primary and middle school students tend to have underdeveloped abstract thinking skills, but there are plenty of ways to successfully teach these to someone at a young age. By encouraging students to build models and pay close attention to their senses, for example, teachers can help kids learn about observation, measurement, experimentation, and discovery — four key concepts that will later improve their experience with math, physics, and chemistry.
Furthermore, it is important for students to expand their horizons beyond the classroom. Seeking out books related to math, physics, and chemistry and joining in science or tech-related activity programs are two ways to help students to expand their knowledge base and become more directly engaged with these subjects.
Finally, it is suggested that students prioritize math, physics, and chemistry when it comes to structuring both their homework time and study time. That way, by completing any work that they have in these classes first, students tackle these challenging subjects with full levels of both focus and energy.