31 Learning Reflections
How I learn
Growing up, I could never sit still in class. I never understood topics being taught to me even though the teacher would explain multiple times. I would always look forward to when we get to do group work and be sorely disappointed when I realized we aren’t. I am still like that today, however I do listen to the professor who is teaching the class I paid thousands of dollars for. I realized I learn best through problem solving and discussing in groups. When classes are discussion and problem solving based, I understand the content the best. Working with others not only helps me organize my thoughts by speaking to them but also allows me to exchange information with them. This is a stark contrast to the lecture based learning that is traditionally used by schools in the United States. I have a very difficult time comprehending information being taught to me in a class where I am supposed to sit and take notes for an hour or two. However when are in discussions, labs, or doing group work, that is where most of the learning takes place for me.
“Wait could you repeat that again?” – Active listening
I used active listening with my dad, a girl in front of me in line, and my friend. My dad was talking about his day and how stressful work was for him that day. The girl in line was talking about how long the food we were waiting for was taking, and my friend was talking about ending things with her boyfriend. I’m not sure they noticed my active listening but they did speak a lot more than usual. However, it could just be that I listened to more of what was being said than I usually do. The most challenging part about this activity with all three people was not interrupting them when I related to something they said. I would get excited and start making a list of things that I could say back to them mid conversation but I had to hold myself back and that was tough. At times I was losing focus on what the other person was saying because I was focused on what I wanted to say or I was distracted by something else. Though it was tough, it was refreshing to have someone finish what they were saying without getting sidetracked or annoyed by interruptions.
Visual Thinking Strategies at the MERF
I have engaged with VTS before but I did not know what it was specifically. For many art and history classes in the past I’ve had assignments similar to the analysis of Anarcha and observation at the MERF. I think the process of VTS is to observe art or anything that is visually engaging carefully. A student looks at a painting, pictures, architecture, etc and jots down notes and details that can be easily missed if one does not pay attention. After taking notes and observing, the student can go over why they took notes and what the purpose of whatever they looked at is. I think the purpose of VTS is to have students use their critical thinking and observational skills to get a deeper understanding of what they’re looking at, make connections, and understand the true meaning of something. For example, a hospital room can be colored blue, but by using VTS a student can understand why it’s blue and how that benefits the patient in the room. I learned that art is not only a creative process but one which is healing and used methodically in communities to bring them together. While observing the courtyard at the MERF, my group and I noticed the blue color scheme, landscaping, and layout of the space brought many people together. There were areas for people to eat lunch, study quietly, meet up with friends, or play volleyball in the grass. The outside of the building flowed into the inside and everything felt connected. The environment was very laid back, relaxing, and therapeutic.
What I know about AI
Throughout this course I have learned a lot about AI. I mainly learned how it can be manipulated to give you what you want. AI is all about what you ask it and the prompt you input in it. From what I have observed, AI is mainly useful for generating ideas versus writing papers etc. When we were asked to generate summaries of an illness in media using AI, our group saw that there were a lot of errors, incorrect definitions, and uses of media that do not relate to the illness we were focusing on. AI is better for generating prompts, spell checking and checking for grammar, and brainstorming ideas if prompted correctly.
I also learned that AI is used in more places than I thought it would be. I just learned that Grammarly is an AI tool, one that I have been using for multiple years. What I did not realize is that Grammarly’s system is not very reliable for correcting grammatical errors and throughout the years I have been using it for many different assignments without double checking if it was properly correcting my work.
Final Learning Reflection
This course taught me that a humanities perspective on health helps one learn and empathize with what the patient is going through rather than just learning about their diagnosis. It reveals more about the patient’s life and who they are as a person. It shows us their life story, how their health affects every aspect of their life, and the lives of the people around them. It emphasizes healing over curing and puts the patient first, not their diagnosis. I learned what healing is, how to view illnesses from a humanities perspective versus a scientific/social science one, and that there is so much depth to someone’s healing and it is not just medicine that solves their problems. From socio-economic status to race, culture, gender, or sexuality there are so many factors involved in one’s health journey. I learned that different types of therapies can heal different people, for example dance therapy helps patients with Parkinson’s disease, and not only improves their physical well being but also their social and mental well being. Therapies that relate to people’s cultures, hobbies, or interests also help in healing them.
Before August, I did not know what learning reflections were and never used to reflect on the material being taught in my classes. I would just memorize and regurgitate the material when there were quizzes or exams but I never really absorbed what was being taught. When I started doing learning reflections in this class it helped me slow down and actually process what was being taught to me and why it was being taught. Writing down what I learned helped me remember the material and gave me a new perspective on it. Learning reflections have improved my experience in this class.
