how did you learn???

live4today, RN · Feb 6, 2002

Perhaps it's not the notetaking or test taking that's the real problem. Many students learning problems could totally be dependent on the type of educational discipline the students received--or failed to receive--prior to beginning college. Many parts of America are not educationally sound due to lack of funds in those school systems, and parents of those kids have a lot to do with how their kids grasp learning, too. A love for education, reading, grasping what is being taught, and having the discipline and eagerness to learn are essential to the development of healthy learning patterns that must begin in early childhood. I was in my late twenties to early thirties when I started college, and because of my healthy learning experiences and love for books and learning, I had a pretty smooth ride through college, and look forward to returning one day soon, and I am now fifty years young! (smile)

Ortho_RN · Feb 6, 2002

Our Nursing professors use PowerPoint Presentations to teach our classes, and I really really like them.. We have access to them on the computer, they are available for us to make copies of in our resource room... Much better than trying to write as the teacher talks, this way you can actually listen to what is being said.... :roll

live4today, RN · Feb 6, 2002

Hmmmm...computer generation, hey? This might explain some of the problem you are having with your students, Zumalong??? Kids raised on the computers at home and at school are like the generation of kids who got hooked on the use of calculators when they became popular as a tool in the classroom. The "calculator kids" were so addicted to using the calculator, they couldn't do math in their heads anymore. Now, we have the "computer generated kids" who are presenting teachers of yesteryear with the same problem. If you can't figure something out without using a computer and a calculator, you are bound to run into a professor or instructor who will challenge students of today in how well they "can or can't think" for themselves without those two tools. I see it at the fast food drive-in windows all the time, and in grocery stores. Kids don't know how to count back change, and heaven help us when we can't make a purchase because the computers and cash registers malfunction! Time for you to adapt to the generation, or teach them how to adapt to thinking and learning with their brain separate from the computer syndrome. (smile)

Ortho_RN · Feb 6, 2002

Just wanted to add something else.. Don't just lecture... You can't expect anyone "computer generation kid", "calculator kids", or "Nontraditional students" to be able to sit there and listen to a teacher talk for hours at a time.. We have 2 hour lectures but they give us a 10min break between hours... But one of our teachers likes doing group activities.. As much as I detest them, they are really good at breaking up the monotony of someone talking.. Plus they actually bring out really good thoughts... Good luck.. :)

live4today, RN · Feb 6, 2002

Unfortunately nurse2b, in college the professors method of teaching is suppose to be geared towards teaching adults and not kids, so they no longer cater to their students the way students were catered to in their earlier educational years. With each passing grade level, school work gets tougher, and more is expected from each student in the process, requiring the student to lean more on their own abilities and weight than on their instructors abilities and weight. Each student in college must discipline themselves to study and learn independent of their teachers. This is a hard fact to swallow, but a true one. :) I know from my own college days how many hours on end I had to sit and yawn through many a boring professor, but my boredom with them chattering for all that time did not excuse me from learning the required material and preparing myself for the required exams in order to pass each course. In the Army we say, "Suck it up and move on!" Not to sound harsh here, but such is life in the real world as an adult. College is a "culture shock" to many a student, but once you comprehend its requirements of you, you settle down and discipline yourself to adapt to the hardknocks of college learning. Best of everything to you in your college learning, nurse2b! :)

"Just when you think you've graduated from the school of experience, someone thinks up a new course." -- MARY H. WALDRIP

Ortho_RN · Feb 6, 2002

Thanks.. But I already have one college degree, so I know how college works... She asked for suggestions, and what helped us to learn.... And to be quite honest, if you are a good teacher you are gonna do more than stand there and read out of a book.... Especially nursing school, it takes a lil more than just a lecture.. So the labs, group projects, class discussions are all things the HELP a student learn... Yes, then obviously you have to do things on your own... We also have objectives that are self-taught... and if we don't understand it is up to us to get help... Most of our program is taught/learned by doing things on our own, so trust me, I fully understand how college is suppose to work....

Ortho_RN · Feb 6, 2002

OOPS!! No need for that to be on there twice.. :)

candicane · Feb 6, 2002

I am currently in my second semester of LPN, as a student the teachers who do the best are the ones that care. If the teacher shows a genuine interest in me and my classmates, and makes it interesting, I have no problem learning the information. On the other hand the teachers that are disorganized, and can't keep the facts straight make learning difficult because you have to go back and double check everything they teach you to make sure it is correct.

live4today, RN · Feb 6, 2002

Hello nurse2b,

Thanks for sending me a private message regarding your message above. I offer you my humble apologies for assuming I was sharing with a very young college student (not that you aren't young... because I'm fifty years young myself! :) I do thank you for bringing it to my attention which is why I am posting this particular apology to you here so others will understand, too.

You are right in saying (in your private message) that my advice would be more applicable to young students out of high school instead of students who are already college educated or well into their adult years, as I was when I went for my nursing degree. So, if there are any pre-college young students who read my first post, may you gain some insight from its' message, as I once did when I was in the young student shoes many years ago.

"I've learned that the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person." -- ANDY ROONEY

Ortho_RN · Feb 6, 2002

Apology accepted :) And I am still young... Just not wet behind the ears..

strangelilnurse · Feb 6, 2002

College, like anything else, should and usually does evolve with the rest of the world. When I started college in 1995, computers and use of the internet were just starting to be used in the common household. Now they are almost an essential ingredient in being successful in college. Many instructors use the internet and other computer-based tools to help their students learn new material. There are websites such as GradeSummit, that in conjunction with certain college textbooks allow student to self-test and evaluate their weak points. My A&P instructor made this available for my class last semester and I found it to be a very resourceful, worthwhile way to prepare for tests. In addition he also conducted each lecture through a PowerPoint presentation, similar to the way my nursing instructors have been doing. It includes visual aids, which is helpful for many students, who are not auditory learners. Twenty years ago, colleges were not that concerned with how a person learns, but the fact is, not everyone can learn just by hearing what is said during a lecture. Nor should everyone have to. We pay for college...it's not a gift. So, I think we should be able to expect our instructors to help us learn...not just throw it at us and "hope" that we get it.