Learning Profile

The past few week have proved to be a time of learning and maturity for me. Student Connect has helped this process along the way with the lessons presented in the class. In particular, I found the chapter about goal setting and time management to be the most help. I’ve always been terrible with time management; my mom is a procrastinator, and I suppose I inherited that trait from her. Now that I’m in a more flexible environment, I’ve found that I’m indecisive with what I should do with my time, and I don’t always get things done in the order they should be done in. The tips and techniques for better time management have since helped me prioritize my schedule. The chapter on goal setting, though mostly a review of what has been drilled into my head since kindergarten, has been a helpful refresher of the important components of setting, and finishing, goals. The other chapters helped as well, though they did not leave as great an impression as the ones mentioned above. All in all, I think that I will get a lot of use out of the lessons I learned over the short period of time that I spent in this class. I’ll be sure to remember these lessons in the coming semesters.
Since going through this class, I have realized some strengths I have as a student. During class, we did some character and career oriented surveys. I found that the results reinforced what I already believed to be my academic strengths. The results showed that I’m artistic, sociable, and articulate; traits that I hope to develop further. I have always excelled at English, and usually have an easier time interpreting ideas and concepts from lectures than other students. I have an ‘ok’ memory, but generally, unless I write it down, I forget entirely assignments and subjects of study. I also excel at math, and am often asked to help my friends or their friends with math assignments. I learn a lot better in group settings as opposed to a more individual situation; I remember far more, I believe mainly because when working in a group, stories are related to the topic at hand. Rather than a lecture, the topic becomes a discussion, and in that way is easier for me to remember. As for the content and ideas that I could help new people in the class with; it would be something that I have personally experienced, or have a lot of knowledge in. It could be anything from discussing pressing political or global issues, to talking about binge drinking, or just discussing past experiences. Anything that I can relate to would make me a better teacher, and thus give the student a better understanding of the subject.
My faults, on the reverse hand, lie in my poor time management choices, and my rather selective memory. As I mentioned before, I seldom remember lectures unless they’re written, and even then I have to re-read the lectures. Unless it is a subject that personally effects or appeals to me, chances are, I won’t remember it. This combined with my slowly developing ability to manage my time wisely has put me in some stressful situations. Throughout the semester, I have noticed others in class simply coasting through their assignments; everything done on time. I wondered if it was because they had more time, or just more access to resources? I think now that I just needed to focus more on my work, rather than on what I’d be doing later in the day. For the most part, it was the blog that was the most time consuming for me. I set one up, but then was unable to re-enter the site. I made several more, before I realized that I was creating them on a different site from the one we’re supposed to use. This was easily rectified, but I spent a great deal of time trying to figure out why my blogs wouldn’t stay. The essays have been very time consuming as well, mainly because I’m easily distracted. The time changing paragraph took a good part of an hour, because I simply couldn’t focus on what I was supposed to be writing. If I hope to get more out of a future class, I’ll need better time management, and need to develop a longer attention span. But for now, it’s a slow going process.
We learned several things throughout the class, and many of the lessons I took to heart. The lecture/video on binge drinking was particularly disturbing, and one I won’t soon forget. I feel I am more responsible, and will be with my drinking in the future. Several of the lessons I learned from the chapters, as I mentioned in the first paragraph, will help me in the future as well. The lesson on successfully reaching my goals will help me greatly while in college, and even after. This is probably one of the most important lessons, in my eyes, and I think should be the focus of the class. This, and as I’ve repeated many, many times, time management. These two skills could probably carry any student through college without too many problems. They go hand in hand, and are the skills that are needed to complete any and every assignment or project given to the student. I have found them very useful, and am developing them still.
I enjoyed the group activities the most. When I first entered the class, I was under the impression that the class would mainly be used to introduce us to other students. I assumed that the class was strictly interactive assignments, etc., but I was surprised to find very few group activities. The assignment where we were instructed to find people who spoke different languages I found to be particularly useless, mainly because I think most students just wrote down any foreign words they knew and forged a signature. I did enjoy the line assignment, where we stepped to one side of the sidewalk or another, depending on our outlook on a particular subject; I learned a great deal about my peers from that. The binge drinking lesson I also, as I said before, found to be very memorable. At the end of the video, the symptoms of over-drinking were displayed on the screen, and as I read through them, a party I’d been at one night came to mind. As I read, I realized I’d experienced several of the symptoms of alcohol poisoning, and for the life of me, don’t know how I got away with it. That is a lesson I won’t soon forget, and I have even told some of my friends about it.
The class was fairly effective in its goal, but I don’t think it went about it in the correct manner. Students get enough lectures about the lessons presented in the class from other teachers (and their parents), so more interactive assignments may help get the point across better. The computer work was entertaining for a while, but quickly grew stale. I thoroughly enjoyed the group work; I think maybe the assignments in the future should be oriented more I that direction. If it were up to me, I would drop the book work entirely; possibly keep the personality surveys. The book work proved to be more of a pain than anything else, and just ate up my time. I didn’t really learn anything from it; I learned more from applying the ideas than reading about them. As for what I would keep: the group discussions, and the drinking lessons. Maybe through in some discussions or videos about drug use, etc., as well. I think all of these can be a great help to repel students from these, mostly because it’s a shock to see a person our age dying from something we regard as harmless.
Things to know when entering the class: know how to get things done on a timely basis. This will help you more than anything else in the entire course. Set aside some time as soon as you get an assignment to get it done. With the assignment out of the way, you’ll be free to do as you please. I found that this was the most stressful situation in the entire class: I often forgot assignments, and as a result, seldom got them done on time. So the lesson is this: MANAGE YOUR TIME. Along with that, don’t be afraid to speak out during class. Try to strike up conversations and meet others. It helps ease the tension between you and your new peers, and makes the class more entertaining. Ask questions if you don’t understand an assignment or subject, and things will go a lot smoother when it comes time for you to get it done. These are probably the main things you’ll need to keep your sanity in the class; I wish I’d known them when I entered the class.
The lessons I learned in this class will be very useful in my future; I am utilizing them already. In this class, I learned just a little bit more on how to introduce myself to others with confidence, to work efficiently in groups, and to manage my time (of course). These will be ridiculously helpful when I enter a job setting, especially the one I’m headed for. I’m a mass communications major, and social skills such as the ones I mentioned will be key to helping me make it in the job field I’ve chosen. I’m excited to put what I’ve learned to use, and am looking for every opportunity to develop the skills further. I must thank my teacher for assisting us throughout the class, and being so flexible with late assignments, etc. The class has been helpful, and if it weren’t already mandatory for graduation, I’d recommend it for all incoming freshmen. It’s a good way to start the year, and a good way to a new ‘life of learning’.