I haven't been using Coursera for a while, but previously I have participated in different courses. Usually I lack the time and effort to finish a course, I hope this time will be different.
As I write this journal as a part of the course "What Future for Education?", these posts will be written in English.
The task for week 1 of this course is to reflect on my previous learning experiences. Here goes..
My Previous Learning Experiences
I feel like a lot of time has passed, since I last learned something. As everyone else, I have had many positive and negative learning experiences, but I think we can learn from either.
When I think about learning and successful learning, most of my memories include practical tasks. I can name a few occasions, but the brightest might come from my studies in the university. I took a course about teaching outdoors and many of the classes took place outside - in parks, in the forest and so on. We, as students, had to prepare games and learning activities outdoors, then we went through all of these activities and gave each other peer-to-peer feedback. Today, I can still remember many of the activities and some of the theory, we learned back then (more than 5 years ago).
Oppositely, I believe the most unsuccessful learning situations have involved lectures with slideshows and sitting behind a table, trying to take notes. These learning experiences weren't comfortable then and I barely remember anything I was taught. Taking part in trainings today, as a teacher, I prefer the sessions, that include practical activities, games etc. Usually sitting in one place, trying to listen and take notes results in a headache for me, making these experiences very unpleasant.
In conclusion, I might say I prefer learning actively, with alternating activities. Lectures, slideshows and taking notes are okay, but only during a short amount of time. Alternating activities might be the key to learning efficiently for me.
