Grad school this semester has been a real struggle for me. I suppose it was last semester as well, which came as a bit of a shock, but I chalked it up to getting back into the swing of things. I told myself I was just getting my feet back under me and that I’d be good to go next time around. After all, I was a Dean’s List student in ungrad. I always scored high in assessments throughout my life. I loved the research aspect of my undergrad courses. Why would I expect any different in graduate school? I was made for academia. So my decision at the outset to take on three courses this semester, up from the two in my first semester seemed doable. The first week of class I looked at the syllabi and said to myself this was not only possible, but I could kill this. What was that about pride and a fall?
So here I am nearing the end of second semester and I’m still not where I want to be. So much so that I think I’ll shift to part-time status next semester. If it weren’t for one of the classes I’ve been taking, however, I would probably give up completely. I know the stats on distance ed dropouts; I focused on motivation in distance education setups in one of my first semester courses. I don’t think it’s motivation, however, that makes up the bulk of my problem. I think it’s learning style.
In the first module of my course on designing web-based learning, we took a Multiple Intelligences survey. I was not surprised that my results came out in such a clump. I’ve always seen myself as a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. What was shocking, however, was how my linguistic intelligence was basically second to last. It’s not that I’m a language buffoon. No, I’ve always loved reading and books, and have a rather deep and complex vocabulary, and I speak three languages. It’s not that I have problems with words. It’s just that I don’t learn as well in a text-based environment. And the key to my struggle in grad school might just be that very thing: it’s almost entirely text-based. From readings for class, participation in online forum discussions, to negotiating group projects, it’s all text. I don’t speak, I don’t listen, I don’t watch, and short of my arms from the elbows down, there’s not a whole lot of movement, either. It’s just not engaging.
That’s not (entirely) the professors’ fault. There are technology barriers that have existed until very recently, and high-speed access to the internet is not required, although for some assignments it certainly has been, as I learned while in Indonesia. And so while video lectures might not be available to all students in all places, it certainly would be nice to have them as an option for learners who have that capability (after all, there aren’t many people in the program, I would guess, without at least access to Youtube or the ability to download video and audio podcasts to the phone or computer). At the very least, audio lectures would supplement nicely and give me the opportunity to at least listen and take notes, a system I know works for me.
When I reflect back on learning successes of my recent history, I have come to realize that I’m very much a visual and kinaesthetic learner. Lynda.com was an invaluable resource for me when I learned a lot of the tech skills that I’ve acquired. Other books from PeachPit Press (Visual QuickStart series). I learned these things through watching and trying myself. Even back in university I had near-verbatim notes from a lot of my classes, and I think the physical writing aspect was key to internalizing a lot of that information. So, in retrospect, had I been aware of my learning style in a little more detail at the outset of the semester I probably would have reduced my class load instead of convincing myself that there was just some hump I had to get over. Sometimes I wish foresight, rather than hindsight was 20/20.
So now I’m up against the end of the semester, too much to do, too much undone, wishing I had the chance to do it over again. One thing’s for sure: going forward, I’m going to have to do things differently, and that’s going to start with a more manageable workload.
