Describing Myself As A Learner

There is a good deal of discussion in education circles relating to the manners in which people learn most efficiently. It is understandable that educators would want to discover and define the mannerisms of personal learning styles, when doing so would make their jobs much easier. However, lets not forget that this issue should mainly relate to the learner as well. After all, making learning easier would help deliver all of the benefits of becoming an educated person; such as an increase in understanding and decrease in senseless errors. There are certain characteristics that define me as a learner, and certain methods by which I learn best.

As long as I can remember, I have had a great memory. This has probably been the key aspect to any strength I have in learning. Having a great memory has allowed me to adapt to almost any teaching method that has come my way, because I can always sort through the mess later and find the key points in the most natural style possible. However, there are several learning methods that just seem preferable to me.

I feel like I learn the most, and that I enjoy learning the best, simply listening. Ironically, I really like classes that are taught by means of open discussion, but I do not really like to participate very often. I believe that the human mind does have some limitations, and one of those is the ability to process large amounts of information. There are a lot of people who express there discontent that some people do not really listen, but instead focus on the most intelligent response or the strongest question with which they can respond quickly. I think that all people are guilty of this on a regular basis, and I do think that it is a problem. Much of this comes from the fact that life is reaching such a hectic pace. People feel the need to come up with a good response with lightning speed or else everyone involved will lose interest. I would much rather sit back and listen to what people have to say, and then make decisions later. I would use this method for everything in life, unfortunately small group and one-on-one conversations do require somewhat quick participation.

The next best way I learn is through asking questions. I have never really been worried about who I ask, but I just like to hear what people have to say about different things. If I had to choose between only asking questions and only making statements, I would have no problem asking questions. There is a certain amount of power in questioning because you normally have some control over what you will hear from a respondent. The only problem with learning this way is that you often get questions back that I do not want to answer; such as, "Why didn't you hear this the first time I said it?" or "Why do you ask?"

You will notice that I do not really mention any really fancy methods or styles of learning. I agree that they work, but I just do not think that I need them to learn. I do learn really well from hands-on experience, but it does depend on the setting. I really thrive when I have a good deal of free time and I am trying to learn a technical skill in a low-pressure setting. However, when time is short and I am too concerned about irreversibly ruining something, I can not focus well enough to learn properly. On the large scale, I am really flexible in my learning styles and I have always been hungry to understand how everything exists and interacts.