My Learning Style
I think I'm generally lucky because I don't have to do much to learn. I'm blessed to be a fast and accurate reading so I've never really struggled with school the way many other kids may. For me, the hardest part of learning is staying focused. My day is so jam-packed, that sometimes I just really have no motivation to do anything.
To combat my lack of motivation, I've picked up a few of the habits that help me learn the best.
1. I'm a routine learner. I like having a textbook, reading a chapter or two per week, and answering questions. Having everything set on a syllabus really helps me stay ready for the next lesson.
2. I'm a distracted learner. To avoid this, the best way for me to learn is when everyone else in the room is focused too. Like a kid, if I don't have anyone to bother or distract, I will then just default into doing my work too, and will probably be more focused.
3. I procrastinate. With everything. EVERYTHING. It's a horrible habit I've picked up since starting homeschooling Sophmore year. I push everything until I have no more time. To combat this, I try to trick myself. I tell myself I'm going to work in small increments. When this happens, I generally will then buckle down, and get everything I need to done, because I end up feeling the need to get everything accomplished anyways.
To accommodate my busy schedule, I took a hybrid science class online a few semesters ago. It was a weekly class, which met on Wednesdays from 5-10 PM. In order to offset the fact that we only met once a week, all of the work was to be done online before you got there. This included the lecture, any notes, tests, videos, and assessments. This flipped style of learning was already familiar to me from my homeschooling experience, so I was able to adjust easily. I actually preferred the lecture to be done that way, because I could hear my teacher, but she also added pictures and diagrams, which helped me photographically memorize some of the topics.
The hardest part would be trying to get information on something that wasn't clear via the online homework. For example, I can say that I hate math. To try to take a math class flipped would be horrible for me because I'm not comfortable with learning the material on my own. I think flipped classes would only be useful for topics that someone's already familiar or comfortable with.
To combat my lack of motivation, I've picked up a few of the habits that help me learn the best.
1. I'm a routine learner. I like having a textbook, reading a chapter or two per week, and answering questions. Having everything set on a syllabus really helps me stay ready for the next lesson.
2. I'm a distracted learner. To avoid this, the best way for me to learn is when everyone else in the room is focused too. Like a kid, if I don't have anyone to bother or distract, I will then just default into doing my work too, and will probably be more focused.
3. I procrastinate. With everything. EVERYTHING. It's a horrible habit I've picked up since starting homeschooling Sophmore year. I push everything until I have no more time. To combat this, I try to trick myself. I tell myself I'm going to work in small increments. When this happens, I generally will then buckle down, and get everything I need to done, because I end up feeling the need to get everything accomplished anyways.
To accommodate my busy schedule, I took a hybrid science class online a few semesters ago. It was a weekly class, which met on Wednesdays from 5-10 PM. In order to offset the fact that we only met once a week, all of the work was to be done online before you got there. This included the lecture, any notes, tests, videos, and assessments. This flipped style of learning was already familiar to me from my homeschooling experience, so I was able to adjust easily. I actually preferred the lecture to be done that way, because I could hear my teacher, but she also added pictures and diagrams, which helped me photographically memorize some of the topics.
The hardest part would be trying to get information on something that wasn't clear via the online homework. For example, I can say that I hate math. To try to take a math class flipped would be horrible for me because I'm not comfortable with learning the material on my own. I think flipped classes would only be useful for topics that someone's already familiar or comfortable with.
I also get distracted very easily in a room with people in it. I remember being in college and trying to do work in my dorm room. That was a big fail for me! I finally walked myself over to the library and found a nice, quiet lounge area on the second floor and for the next 3 years that was my spot for doing anything classroom related! Thank you for sharing your post!
ReplyDeleteWhat would be your go to place outside of the house if you were trying to do your work at home but it was loud wherever you went?