How I Learn and What Drives Me: A Personal Reflection
Hey everyone! I’m Ravikumar Vashi, a third year student at the University of Victoria studying computer science. I’m motivated to explore what learning means not only for myself but also for people I might teach or inspire in the future as I start EDCI 335 this term.
What Learning Means to Me
Personally, learning is more than just memorizing information. It’s about developing new skills and changing my perspective. Learning, in my opinion, is most effective when it’s applied to real life. For example, I learned how to code in Python last year. The most useful things were training, getting feedback and being able to track my progress. Even though it wasn’t always easy, the opportunity to try, fail and try again made it stick in my head.
Learning Styles and Theories
In this class we’re talking about three learning theories: behaviourism (learning through rewards and practice), cognitivism (focusing on how we remember and process information) and constructivism (learning by connecting new ideas to what we already know).
While constructivism fits me best, I also see how behaviourism plays a role in learning. Behaviourism is all about learning through practice, repetition and rewards. It’s focused on what you can see and measure like getting a question right and getting a check mark, or building good habits through routine.
For example, when I was learning basic math skills in school, behaviourist methods were everywhere. The teacher would give us questions to practice over and over and we would get immediate feedback on whether our answers were correct. Getting a question right felt rewarding and made me want to try harder. Even now, when I need to memorize something or learn a new process step by step, I find that repeating it and getting positive feedback really helps me remember.
So while I prefer to learn by doing and connecting ideas (like in constructivism), I appreciate how behaviourism can help build strong foundations especially when starting something new or practicing important skills.
What Motivates Me
There are four key things that make learning motivating: Attention, Relevance, Confidence and Satisfaction. For me, satisfaction is the most important. If I feel what I’m learning really matters to me, I work a lot harder.
Satisfaction is what keeps me motivated to learn. When I finish a task or overcome a challenge I feel proud and accomplished. That feeling of achievement makes all the effort worth it and makes me want to keep going. Positive feedback or seeing my progress gives me a real boost, learning feels rewarding. Knowing my hard work leads to success keeps me focused even when things get tough.
Learning From Experience
As an adult learner, I bring my past experiences into the classroom. Things I’ve done before; like a job or even a hobby, help me understand new ideas. For example, when I learned about teamwork skills in class, my volunteer for cricket team helped me see how the lessons could work in real life. I also notice that I like lessons that build on things I already know, because it feels less repetitive and more useful.
Looking Ahead
In EDCI 335, I hope to figure out better ways to learn and to help others learn, too. My goal is to take part in discussions, ask questions, and try out new ways of learning to see what works best for me. I’m excited to meet everyone and to hear your thoughts on these topics. If you’d like to share what helps you learn best, I’d love to chat!