[cnidocyte]

I think a fundamental flaw in the teaching system of  modern universities is that they fail to acknowledge the fact that different peoples brains are wired differently which makes peoples brains geared towards different areas and styles of learning. In college they try and get us all to conform to one systematic way of learning and model of chemistry and this systematic style isn't the most effective learning style for everyone.

The way my brains wired, I can use animated, 3D pictures with varying degrees of opacity and other features to represent all the concepts I learn in a highly effective manner and this gives me an edge when it comes to creating things using theory to spot connections and discover things. This is the way I have to think though, I can't think verbally or mathematically. I'm good at some areas of maths simply because I convert it into pictures. Maths becomes second nature for me but I can't use this to think, these numbers are meaningless to me unless I can see what they're representing. I don't go to lectures anymore because I learn 1,000 times better by scouring the internet for visual representations of concepts. This saves me the time and hassle of using the words to slowly paint a picture in my head, a method which barely works for me since I'm never sure if I interpreted the words correctly or not. I think the reason a lot of people have the belief that subjects like physics and chemistry are complicated is because the verbal descriptions are incompatible with their thinking style.

[rabolisk]

Certainly different people have different learning styles, and should utilize ever resource available to help them understand material. Nevertheless, I think that any successful scientist should learn to think verbally and mathematically. Math is fundamental to science, and good verbal communication is important in any field. If you can't learn something (as well) from words, how can you communicate that knowledge well in words?

[tamim83]

Everyone has their own learning style and it is impossible for a professor to teach to every single one of them.  I do keep this in mind when I teach and I am prepared to  explain/represent things differently when it comes up.  

Things in the sciences seem systematic because there is a "general" way us scientists go about solving problems (I use general ver loosely here) and there is also a general way we present our ideas.  Communicating scientifically is an important skill.  But nothing says you can't use diagrams to explain things.  In fact, this is an important part of scientific communication; using models to explain concepts.  

It is good to know how you learn and to take this into consideration when you are taking courses.  Many professors are not trained in pedagogy (learning theories and such) so they may not know how to tackle this issue.  It's not their fault though; Ph.D training in the sciences and humanities does not usually cover learning how to teach.  Its something you sort of do on your own if you really are interested in teaching as a career.  

[Fluorine]

Cnidocyte I'm not sure how your school works however majority of classes personally, especially chemistry, have been setup almost as 'I'll take you across the river most of the way...but you'll have to swim the rest'. I admit this is a bit of a dry representation of how it is but I can't explain it any other way. In essence my professor have taught us the basic aspect of concepts then the details and they expect us to go home and click these together on our own time. I find reading ahead or using wikipedia/youtube/Khan academy before and after each lecture topic really helps.