What IVe Learned About How I Learn free essay sample

My first quarter of college life has been an experience that has taught me several vital lessons. The combination of classes, clubs, and other activities has forced me to use time wisely while managing a busy schedule. As my academic life at college will continue to become increasingly difficult, I believe now is the time to become serious about my education. I have found that there exist ideas, mindsets, and other factors that help in the motivation and success of learning. In addition, there are infinite ways in which I can educate myself through diverse learning styles. Through events and activities of the IGE 120 class, I have attained an increased understanding of different and unexpected learning techniques which exist in education. The books and articles which I have had the opportunity to analyze in this class have each shared new and unanticipated concepts. These ideas have often times pertained to how I learn as both a student in the classroom and as a young adult in the world. We will write a custom essay sample on What IVe Learned About How I Learn or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I believe it is important to work hard in school for the purpose of learning new ideas and becoming educated and not just for getting good grades. I also believe that it is important that I do not take myself too seriously, because I will undoubtedly make mistakes. Open communication between the teacher and myself is vital for all the different situations and techniques of education. My educational success lies in my ability to hold a healthy mindset towards education, communicate with my professors, and have a firm understanding of my own learning style. From the first day of college I could not help but compare my study habits with both my friends and classmates. It has always been difficult for me to prevent myself from comparing the speed at which my friends complete homework with the speed at which I complete homework. Usually it results in my frustration over the fact that it took me three times longer than my friend to accomplish the same standard of work. Richard Rodriguez and his constant studying work ethic, as he describes in his article â€Å"The Achievement of Desire†, reminds me of myself and the amount of time I spend studying. Learning to deal with the sacrifice of spending less time with his family was an important step in his educational career. Because I have been unable to complete assignments the quickest, I have had to sacrifice time spent on other activities. The reasons underlining Rodriguez’s study habits originated in his love for learning. I feel that my personal motivation for studying is misplaced. Rather than studying for the purpose of learning the material, I instead catch myself feeling more obligated to study for the purpose of getting an A-grade in the class. Once I remind myself that I’m at college to learn and not just to get A-grades, I find doing my assignments much more enjoyable. In the end, I simply have to remind myself that it is okay to spend a little more time on a project than others would spend. Also, doing my work for the purpose of actually learning and becoming educated for a future profession makes the time spent on assignments both more gratifying and rewarding. I’ve noticed throughout my years growing up that school can also be much more enjoyable when I keep a light attitude toward it. That doesn’t mean I think it should not be taken seriously, but that stressing over an assignment will never improve the quality of my work or education. Although it may be difficult to achieve the proper mindset towards learning, the results are well worth it. The final chapter of the book Being Wrong by Kathryn Schulz talks about how educated people need to move past the frustrations of mistakes. I believe that this not only applies to frustrations but also to all other aspects of school in general. I’ve learned that just rushing through homework for the purpose of being finished is not the best approach. Instead, if I take the time to actually understand what I am doing and why I do it, I then begin to take pleasure in my work. Being Wrong talks about taking pleasure in our mistakes and realizing that it is not always important to be right and that our mistakes can express our personalities. Just the same, I believe that it is important for me to realize that I must not take my work overly serious. Rather, it is more beneficial to take joy in my projects and express myself through them without developing the frustration of worrying about a good grade. Over the past few years of my education, open communication with teachers has been important to me. Having the opportunity to talk to my professors after classes allowed me to ask questions on new and difficult concepts. In the second chapter of the book Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire it talks about the problem-posing method of education. With this education technique, hierarchy is taken out of the classroom so that coexisting communication can exist between the students and the teacher. Just as Freire understood the importance of open communication in the classroom, I also became aware of the importance concerning this relationship with the teacher. In my junior year of high school I decided to enroll at community college for a trigonometry class. I could immediately tell that the teacher was disinterested in the students. He taught class straight out of the book and was reluctant to answer questions. I soon had to withdraw from the class receiving a W-grade. Being that it was my first college level math class, I became extremely discouraged. Once it was time to enroll in classes for next semester, I again decided to take trigonometry, but this time with a different teacher. Soon realizing that this professor was a complete opposite of my previous math teacher, I began to ask him my questions after class. Always willing to spend time listening to questions, I could tell he cared about the success of the students. Soon, I began staying after class to talk because of his willingness to have a conversation. It was because of this teacher that I decided I enjoy math. My discouragement over the previous semester was over therefore leaving me reinvigorated for success in my future math classes. All three arts events of the IGE program which I attended this quarter have given me the opportunity to experience culture through different learning styles. Visiting the Norton Simon Museum, I was able to view artwork of multiple different time periods. I was able to study the different artistic techniques used and experienced their interests through the visual learning style. Attending the Day of the Dead festival at Cal Poly Pomona for my second arts event, I was able to not only visualize a cultural celebration but also take part in it. This style of learning is especially engaging as it allowed me to take part in the activity first hand rather than only watching it take place from third person view. At this event I had the opportunity to physically touch that which was around me, giving me the chance to experience culture through the physical learning style. My third arts event which I attended was the play â€Å"Tartuffe† which took place at the Cal Poly Pomona Theater. This satirical comedy was a great opportunity for me to experience a cultural play through the visual, verbal, and auditory learning styles. All these events were exceptional experiences of education through different learning techniques. When looking at a list of different learning styles, I cannot help but think of myself as being most adept to the logical or mathematical learning style. After all, my favorite subject is math. Usually when approached with a choice or problem, I tend to assess the pros and cons so that I can make a logical decision rather than basing it off feelings. It is possible that even if I do make a choice based off feelings, I would back it up with logic and facts to at least convince myself it was the right decision. Learning concepts that are based off solid mathematical reasoning has always been significantly easier for me over more subjective and opinionated material. The mindset I hold towards education along with my ability to communicate with my professors and my understanding of my learning style will all be deciding factors in the success of my education. It is important that I do not overstress about the grades I get, but instead focus on actually learning the material and bettering my education through it. I am thankful for teachers who are open to students asking questions. Being that I am somewhat quiet and reserved, it has always been difficult for me to ask questions in class. Had I not forced myself to move beyond this fear, my past education would not have been as fulfilling. By coming to an improved understanding of my own learning style, I can better analyze the decisions I make and the reasons for which I make them. Coming to terms with the way in which I learn has allowed me to successfully choose a college major that will work for me.