19 Learning reflections

I often learn best from repetition and flashcards. The easiest way for me to understand a slew of information is to break it down piece by piece, compartmentalizing it.  By putting each piece into a flash card, I can build my knowledge while creating them, make more specific cards for difficult subjects, and utilize the cards frequently in any setting. The repetitive nature of constant correction that flash cards provide enable me to cement my mistakes as mistakes and be constantly faced with the correct answer. I then take cards I have been struggling with and break them down further, asking myself “what is it that is confusing me here?”. Once I have that I can make flashcards for that specific subject. I found this extremely useful in Anatomy and Physiology classes. Being able to recall and breakdown individual systems within your body requires deep understanding of everything around said thing. The flash cards helped me grasp that knowledge with greater ease.

Active listening, everyone thinks “what? I am a great listener”. I think we all like to believe this. Well I am currently doing long distance with my partner and we can only speak at night.  It has been hard staying focus on the phone because of the hour. We are both excited to talk about our days but whoever goes second gets the sleepy end of the stick. It is hard to pay attention, I confuse names, projects and cant picture the layout in my head. Since focusing on actively listening I haven’t had to ask him to repeat things as often, which I am sure he noticed. I also am able to retain what he did the previous day. I Also tried this out with my boss Yochai. We were discussing the effects of coworkers skipping work. In this same scenario a year ago, I complained to him about this situation he couldn’t control and how they affected me.  We didn’t have a productive conversation and we left with no solutions. So skip to one year later, the same employee put us in the same predicament. Yes I was still frustrated however I payed attention to his side, and we talked about solutions. I don’t think he really noticed my active listening but I do think  we had a more constructive conversation. I was able to remain calm and not get worked up. He went on to point out things that I was not privy to and we created a game plan for this scenario in the future.

I feel like visual thinking strategies are things that everyone is semi aware of to a degree (looking beyond what is right in front of them)but we aren’t ever really taught to use this skill. I really liked the activity in class, interacting with the painting. At first I felt like it was a little repetitive, but when we were on the third round of dissecting it, people were pointing out things that really opened my eyes to what was happening beyond just three guys examining a woman. It really showed me how deep you can examine a piece with no knowledge and I think that critical thinking is really important to hone. On that note, I enjoyed walking around the MERF building. This was a really cool structure, everything from the outwardly design, the courtyards, the interconnected buildings via bridges, the study pods, the artwork and sculptures all really contributed to the welcoming energy of the building. My initial thought was that the purpose of the building was to decrease burnout and I do believe that to be the case however using visual thinking strategies I was able to realize that I was only able to deduce this because I was picking up on multiple intentional design choices. If I wasn’t able to see the space as a whole, then each design choice wouldn’t make sense to negate burn out.  These two activities worked well with one another to not only expose me and teach me about visual thinking strategies but also allowed me to implement it by having to figure out what made the building really special.

This semester, I have had the opportunity to explore and engage with various AI websites in this course and others. It seems that more and more professors are encouraging students to utilize these resources, which is a stark difference from two years ago. It’s been a challenge to rewire my brain to embrace AI help, especially given how we’ve been conditioned to view it as a hindrance to creativity. But with all the exposure I have had this semester I’ve come to realize that AI is simply a tool, not something to replace critical thinking but rather to enhance it.

I find AI similar to Adhd medication. When I am writing first drafts to papers, oftentimes I have tons of great ideas but I say the same thing over and over in different ways. Tools like Grammarly and Chatgpt have helped me look at my rough drafts with objective eyes. While platforms like Grammarly were helpful for basic corrections, I noticed that it missed more subtle organizational issues. Chatgpt is helpful in understanding what it is that I am trying to say and what is unnecessary repetition. I no longer have to rewrite a paper 3 times, I can simply ask if this fits the prompt and adjust accordingly if it needs more depth in certain areas.

The biggest thing I took from this course was AI exposure specifically as a research rabbit, which has been extremely helpful in finding sources for me (elicit as well). I loved how easy it made finding sources. I did find that while the AI could capture key points, the summaries often lacked the depth or nuance that I brought to my own writing. I still need to read the articles most of the time, especially when writing about their findings. I think that in a learning environment is where Ai fits best. It can summarize and break down concepts in a way that you will understand, and if you don’t you just ask them to try again differently. This has helped me in math classes so much this semester and I wish I had utilized it sooner.

This course has expanded my knowledge on the impact of storytelling, specifically in healthcare. I now recognize how stigma, oppression, and shame can shape healthcare decisions, societal factors like race, gender, and class can influence a person’s willingness to seek care or trust the healthcare system. Listening and reading firsthand accounts really helped me develop a clearer understanding of the systemic structure of how these health decisions are often intertwined with personal fears of judgment or discrimination. On the skills side, I’ve learned to use AI more responsibly.  Initially, I only used AI to break down concepts or study material, but throughout the course, I learned how it can be used for sourcing information, synthesizing papers, and fleshing out ideas. I still approach AI tools hesitantly, using them as a starting point rather than a final result. Overall, these experiences have deepened my capabilities for listening and understanding individuals and have equipped me with a more informed and ethical approach to using AI.