28 Learning Reflections

Throughout my education, I have found myself immersed in a wide variety of subjects, from environmental issues to psychology to chemistry. I realized that what links these areas is my willingness to learn and engage in my curiosity. If I struggle to become interested in a subject, then my learning is not nearly as genuine, and it becomes easier for me to dread the subject and not put all of my effort into it. A huge factor as to whether I’m interested in a class is the instructor – if they are passionate, understanding, and willing to answer questions, then I find myself participating more and procrastinating less. If I can also see the usefulness of knowing about an area, I invest more of my time into learning things which may not even be graded. This could be outside research, such as reading articles or watching Youtube videos.

Before performing the active listening assignment, I only had a vague idea of what it was and how to demonstrate it. I initially believed that it was simply listening to someone, and perhaps offering some criticisms or solutions for their problems. However, after actively listening to one of my friends over facetime and reflecting on the experience, I have definitely had some valuable takeaways from the experience. While on facetime with my friends, I usually multitask – only partially listening to them while doing homework or something which takes my mind off the conversation. But while talking with my friend, I fully engaged with the conversation, making it clear that I was invested in what he was saying without interjecting as I usually would. From this, I heard him describe in detail how he was working at a camp over the weekend (and how the basement was supposedly haunted). Not only did he provide details which I would have normally missed, but I saw him become more animated in conversation and he seemed like he was enjoying himself. I was glad to see these changes, and although it didn’t seem hard at first to actively listen, I realized that it was hard to focus on listening so much rather than talking myself. After this exercise, I realized that active listening means more than being a pair of ears for someone, but to really soak in all of the information and even occasionally paraphrase it to ensure that you aren’t making any false conclusions or interpretations. It also doesn’t always include offering advice or criticism, as this can actually make someone feel worse about their situation, and can lead them not feeling as comfortable talking to you about things

Before looking at the painting and the MERF, I had never really used visual thinking strategies before. I’ve always used my eyes to determine information from my surroundings, but I found it challenging to go past my usual limits and derive as much information as I could from a room, window, or painting (such as the one in class). When I first heard about it in this class, I thought it was redundant and not very useful – since I already knew how to use my eyes! However, I quickly realized that I was missing lots of things when I looked at something – such as the painting we analyzed in class. I wasn’t looking in the corners, or edges, or where my eyes had automatically filled in information for me. I learned a lot from immediately jotting down what I saw in an image or surroundings – no matter how insignificant it may appear to me at first. Then, it was crucial for me to pick one or two specific things from my jottings to focus upon, such as the clothing of a person within a painting, or what images were painted on glass panes within the MERF, and analyze the importance/relevance of these details. Then, I would look around myself (or at the painting) again, because no matter how many times I looked, I always saw something I missed. It felt frustrating that I continuously missed details that others around me seemed to notice almost immediately, however I soon realized throughout the VTS exercises that I was becoming more thorough, and I was assuming less about the thing I saw. Rather than thinking that the only importance in a painting were the people and their obvious actions, I noticed that all of the intricate details – the tools, where the eyes were pointed towards, figures towards the back, and details only present “in between” the action – were equally important, and provides a more nuanced and complete view of the story being told.

I’ve learned that utilizing VTS makes me understand the entire picture without overlooking the details. This allows me to interpret what I see with my eyes in a variety of contexts, whether it be buildings or paintings. This is important for me to use, since it allows me to gather information and nuances that I would have otherwise missed due to thinking it’s “just a small detail” or “irrelevant.” For example, I want to be a physician in the future, and by just looking at the face and bodily language of a patient, I will need to effectively utilize VTS to ensure that I am providing the best care to people – even if it’s for things that aren’t directly spoken to me, but rather observed (by using my eyes!). When I looked at the painting in class, I learned that there are areas I tend to skim over or completely ignore in favor of where all the “action” is. Even within the centerpiece of the painting, I was neglecting to look at each person’s eyes to determine what they were thinking and what was going on. I’ve learned that rather than making generalizations, assumptions, and skimming over a piece of art, I need to carefully analyze each part, looking into the details and then connecting them to the rest of the image to draw nuances and create a more complete story. From looking around the MERF, I realized that a medical building designed for research and education can accomplish so, so much more than its “immediate” purpose. Most notably, I observed how it creates a strong sense of community by incorporating learning communities, which have their own animal mascots drawn/painted on the glass outside. In an intensely competitive environment, medical students have been given others which share their passion and goals – but who are there to support and engage with each other. I also noticed the incorporation of natural lighting by the immense amount of large windows used in the building’s design. This contrasts with the usual “hospital lighting” where bright lights appear to sterilize the space, while the rays of sunlight throughout the MERF warm the building and make it seem less cold. Wide, spacious rooms with high ceilings and lots of couches/chairs close together encourage socialization while people study or eat together, rather than supporting further competition and isolation which medical students are all too familiar with. Finally, I observed various artwork created by medical students, such as a pair of lungs carved out of wood, which incorporates beauty and art within the research facility. By observing the different spaces of the MERF, I realized how nuanced not only artwork can be, but also buildings – which foster community and beauty as well as medical education.