Learning has been an aspect of life that is consistently changing and adapting. One aspect that comes to mind regarding a challenge is memorization. During my first year of undergrad, I was required to take a biology course that predominantly focused on plants. I was really excited to take the course as I have always loved nature, and I enjoy going on runs and hikes frequently. Therefore I had hoped to do well in the class and I was motivated to learn the course concepts. However, as the course progressed I noticed I was struggling with remember course content, particularly when I had to remember scientific names or plants. I can recall spending hours studying the names and trying to memorize them, however, all that effort did not help me as during lab pop quizzes I still struggled to recall scientific names of plants, primarily because I made no connections between them. One day I was discussing my struggle with a friend who was also taking that course. She told me that she memorized the scientific names by making personalized connections and using mnemonics. She suggested that I also try using these techniques next time I study, and I certainly followed her advice. During my next study session, I began making a mind map so that I can visually make connections between scientific names. After making a detailed mind map with connections between each plant, I began creating unique and personalized mnemonics that I knew I would easily recall during tests. I employed this technique a few times and I was surprised by my results, to say the least. I was beyond thrilled that the techniques suggested by my friend worked, as I began scoring better on the scientific names of plants during exams.
The learning theory employed by me and my friend was cognitivism. This theory helps learners work through the cause of their struggle and then make connections to previous knowledge (James, 2021). Cognitivism helped me make meaningful and personal connections to the course content based on my previous knowledge. Particularly constructing the mind map helped me organize my information and make meaningful connections, and creating mnemonics further helped me as I made personal and unique mnemonics, which were meaningful to me. Therefore, cognitivism has helped me worked through my struggle with memorization and allowed me to expand my learning by making meaningful connections to prior existing knowledge.
References:
James, H. (2021, May 5). Learning Theories. Https://Edtechuvic.ca/Edci335/. https://edtechuvic.ca/edci335/learning-theories/
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