39 Learning Reflections

 Growing up in a small town in Iowa there wasn’t much to do in the summer besides baseball. So that’s why I started playing golf. Growing up I had an itch, not only to learn the game of golf, but to get good at it. Doing so took lots and lots of time, which was perfect because I had so much free time as a 13 year old. Besides the hours of practice and playing it took on the course, there were also countless hours I would spend watching videos on social media and even Youtube. I wanted to be able to drive the ball as far as Dustin Johnson, and putt as well as Phil Mickelson. After watching all these videos I came to find out everyone has their own style and routines. Which makes everyone good in a different way. So I figured I needed to find my own groove and work from there. The most important part of the process was being patient. Patience and consistency played a key role in learning the game of golf. Golf taught me that everyone learns and succeeds in their own ways, and for me it’s repetition. A great example of this is re-reading lecture notes. Reviewing topics multiple times a day allows me to recall the information much easier.

Active listening is a difficult skill to possess, but once mastered it allows for a greater connection between yourself and those you are engaging in a conversation with. Rather than intruding the conversation with your own experiences and thoughts, an active listener is someone who is attentive, reflects feelings, and asks questions. Active listening allows for the speakers to dump all their thoughts and emotions without losing their train of thought.

I was able to practice active listening with my roommates. A majority of the time the conversations were about how each and everyones day went. I felt as if everyone was a little bit more open to me as I was listening to them. What I really noticed is how much more information I could pull out of them by simply restating one of their sentences or even asking them a brief question about a topic. Some of the simplest gestures I made were able to pull out some broad details from my roommates. The one thing that becomes a challenge when actively listening, is trying not to tell someone about your story or how your own day went.

Actively listening is a skill that should be encouraged at all age levels. Having active listeners allows for conversations filled with confidence and extensive information. Society is filled with a large population that prefers keeping their experiences and feelings to themselves, as they feel that no one can understand them. Active listening could possibly allow for many people to open up and display their feelings.

 Growing up, there were plenty of visual learning strategies I used to help me better understand certain topics and remember vital details. Although visual learning strategies have a much deeper meaning than what I assumed it to be. I used to think these strategies could only be venn diagrams, visual aids, and concept maps in general. But as we toured the MERF building and gazed upon its architecture and features, I was able to understand that art in general can be used as a visual thinking strategy. Each and every wall inside of the MERF building was coated with vibrant art pieces. The thought of medical school is dreadful and horrifying. A majority of students have to spend all day inside of this building, studying and completing certain tasks. The abundance of art throughout this building can allow for the student’s to feel relaxed and calm, rather than uptight. Another common observation was the amount of windows and lighting found in the study spaces. Which also assists students visually. One would rather be sitting next to a window studying, as they are able to peer across the courtyard, rather than a meeting room boarded up by four walls. My understanding of utilizing visual thinking strategies has widened after learning of the variety of ways it can be applied.