My Process of Learning

While watching the video, there were multiple times where I resonated and realized I was doing some of the techniques mentioned subconsciously. Academically learning has been a challenge for me; I procrastinate to an extreme level and when I finally gather the motivation to start working again I easily get distracted and sidetracked. Therefore, I’ve had to adjust and try out multiple strategies in order to learn effectively.
One of the most productive strategies I tend to use when memorizing is through association. There are many different methods within associating, but the base idea is to create a similarity with what you’re learning to something else, whether it be related or not. For example, when I’m going through my Mandarin Chinese lessons, there is a section where we have to memorize some key characters. To many who are unfamiliar with the language, they often look like just a jumble of lines. However, I try my best to see an image within the character that’s related to the sound it makes, or a word that it’s used in.
I use this strategy outside of academics as well. Specifically, in color guard, we have to remember our staging (the location we need to be at any specific count during the music), and the equipment and body choreography when performing a show, which is typically 5-10 minutes long. When learning our staging, I will associate my position with something that stands out around me: a random object that’s in my field of view, my location related to a teammate’s location, etc. When memorizing choreography, I naturally associate the movements with words or an audible cue in the music. For example, with our current choreography, my memorization process when performing is, “7, reach, spin, close, 1, extend…”