Hi, my name is Jaisal! I’m in my fourth year of my Psychology undergrad here at UVic. I’m minoring in education, which is why I’m taking EDCI 335. The biggest influence on my educational journey so far has been going to the same high school my dad taught at. Growing up with a math teacher from my school in the house was an interesting experience to say the least, but it also gave me insight into the day to day lives of teachers.

The Learning Process

I define learning as the process of acquiring knowledge. Most of the time this happens from the instruction of someone else, but I think a lot of it happens through self-exploration as well.  One time I learned something effectively outside of a formal environment (e.g. a classroom) was when I learned how to drive a manual transmission car, because the car I ended up buying a couple of years ago was manual. The best tutorial I found was on YouTube, from a British driving instructor named Richard Fanders, who ran a channel called Conquer Driving. The way he explained each component of driving, as well as how he started off assuming that the audience had no prior knowledge of driving a manual, worked extremely well for me. I’m thankful I found the channel, because I had about a two-day window to learn how to drive – I picked up the car on a Friday in Vancouver and returned to Victoria on Sunday night. 

My Preferred Learning Style

Out of the learning theories we’ve discussed so far, I think that the cognitivist approach aligns best with my preferred learning style. Maybe it’s my personal bias as a cognitive psychology student, but I do really enjoy how this approach considers mental processes like information processing, thinking, memory and problem solving. A connection I make between my neuroscience classes and learning design is that the more I understand how my brain works, the more I understand what I need to do in order to learn best. For example, I’ve learned more about how our brains respond differently in different environments, specifically when we are at home versus at work or school. At home, I tend to feel like relaxing and hanging out around the house, which has always made it difficult for me to learn online. I’ve been able to remedy this somewhat by trying to complete as much work as possible before I come back home to relax, which has made me much more productive and allowed for a better school-work-life balance (this is also something I’ve learned from my teacher dad!).  

ARCS Model

For me, attention and satisfaction are most important parts of the ARCS model for keeping me engaged in class. I remember my first year chemistry class, where my motivation, combined with the professor’s ability to foster curiosity in people who didn’t care much about chemistry, allowed me to still do relatively well in the class. Even though I didn’t really want to be in chemistry, the professor motivated me enough to care about the subject. He kept my attention during early morning lectures, and I always had a feeling of satisfaction whenever I completed a quiz, lab assignment, or exam.

Neuromyths or Neurofacts?

My prior knowledge of psychology usually makes me approach new learning from that perspective. An example that comes to mind is my prior knowledge of “neuromyths”, since I’ve already studied some of them in psychology. I discussed the myth of multitasking during our reflection assignment, which was discussed in further detail in Dr. Lindsay Blooms’ Ted Talk: 

Because of my prior knowledge as an adult learner, I was able to think more about how multitasking impacts my life, rather than investigate the neural mechanisms behind why the brain isn’t able to multitask effectively.

I’m excited to learn more about learning with all of you in EDCI 335!