Why direct answers hurt you and how to avoid them.

Question

e.mccormick · Answer

OpenStudy is a learning site.  It is not a place to get answers.  The goal is for you, the student, to come up with the answer through the help and tutoring of others.

Why?

The reason is simple: direct answer hurt your learning.  I am going to go over some of the problems with getting an answer handed to you.

When you are learning, it is the process of doing things that causes you to learn.  The less of the process you do then the less you learn.  A direct answer removes you from the process and therefore hurts you the most.

Things the brain marks as important are things you try to recall.  Self testing and recollection are very important parts of what is called chunking or consolidation or memories.  When you get handed an answer there is no recall involved so the items you are given are seen as easier to look up, less valuable, and therefore harder to remember.

When you see an example, you have a chance to emulate the example with your your problem.  Then you learn as you work through things.  You form recollection paths and do chunking as you apply what was learned from the example.

What about if someone shows you all the steps and not just the answer?  Well, when your problem becomes the example, you do very little of the work.  Sure, you see the steps, but that bit of learning can be done by reading a book or looking at any other example.  You will not truly understand a process until you work through problems yourself.  So you would need a new problem to work through to get any real value.

This is as true for history, English, and biology as it is for mathematics and physics.  

Many of the terms in these topics, and others, are more a research issue than anything else.  For academic success, people need to learn this research.  How to think about a topic, pull out the key terms, and research them, is an important skill.  It does not matter if a person is going to research the best car to buy, if a product is environmentally responsible, what college to choose, or some academic topic.  It is still research and that is one major skill needed in all of life.

Things you can do easily that do help are: working towards elimination of bad answers, link a resource that has the information needed , and ask why they are having trouble with the question and work towards solving those problems.

When you work with someone about why things are a bad answer it helps nudge them in the correct direction as well as gives them a chance to recall the correct one.  This makes it a very good alternative to direct answers.

When you use links to pages that have a few points on the topic, you are giving a resource the person can use.  As long as it is not just a direct answer or a repeat of the question with the answer, and at least a little reading is needed, then it is a study tool you are sharing with the person.

When you find out why a person can not find an answer then you can do some real help.  If it is, say, an English question and the problem is that they do not know what an intransitive verb is, then rather than tell the person the answer you tell them about intransitive verbs and how to identify them.  Then they can get the answer.  This sort of going to the root issue is a good way to help promote learning.

As you can see, direct answers hurt learning.  Even fully explained answers are not a good learning tool.  Wisdom and knowledge take some effort or they will not develop.  By being a part of the work process you help both yourself and the person asking the question.  So please, do not tolerate or participate in direct answers.  They do no good.

king.void. · Answer

Every time I see a direct answer, I cry :'( It's sad :(

confluxepic · Answer

Nice explanation.

My simple explanation is that when you are talking a standardized exam or a regular test you can't get help from anyone else and the only thing you have is your own knowledge. Direct answers slowly eat up at your knowledge and you don't learn as much as you used to. It's like tumbling in the dark and you don't even realize that your eyes are just closed.

Direct answers don't promote learning and the victims of direct answers often pay later on in life.

eclipsedstar · Answer

I believe that users that accept direct answers are equally guilty...they both don't benefit, as explained by Eric and Onclefux.

pooja195 · Answer

well done :)....
"When you use links to pages that have a few points on the topic, you are giving a resource the person can use.  As long as it is not just a direct answer or a repeat of the question with the answer, and at least a little reading is needed, then it is a study tool you are sharing with the person."
that part makes it more clear thanks :)

thesmartone · Answer

Well writen :)

amistre64 · Answer

everytime someone gives a direct answer, an angel loses its wings .... or was that a gopher gets its wings? .... either way its not a pretty site.

e.mccormick · Answer

Winged gophers... no wonder they are hard to find.

conqueror · Answer

Quite strange that the people that don't give direct answers see this when the people that do give direct answers do not.

confluxepic · Answer

You just broke that trend.

e.mccormick · Answer

@Conqueror You obviously do not get how a tutorial is to be used.  See, when a person does not understand a topic, you link them to the tutorial.  Then they have a chance to learn about the topic.

anonymous · Answer

very good explanation :)

bahurverse_luver · Answer

I usually try to help them through the problem but if i just don't feel like it i'll just give them the answer :/

anonymous · Answer

im with the person above direct answers are wat most of us sign up for

nincompoop · Answer

Ask me how I deal with these situations.

e.mccormick · Answer

Nin...  deal with?  More like react to...

anonymous · Answer

wow