Myths and Facts of Learning

On page 32 of the textbook, there is a section about the myths and facts about diverse learning. As I was reading these myths and facts there were 3 of them that stuck out to me the most and related most to my learning experiences. The first myth that caught my attention was "students learn best in quiet surroundings." The fact is that most students learn best with music or background noise. I know that as I am writing this blog I have music in the background. Most of the time it keeps me concentrated and on task. I listen to music that is soothing to me such as acoustic songs or I will sometimes listen to techno songs that keep me motivated and keep my fingers moving. Depending on the subject I need complete silence. When I am studying for a subject that I do not understand I need it to be very quiet wherever I am. I retain information better when it is quiet rather than having music in my ear. On the contrary if I am writing an essay or doing a worksheet I can listen to music or have a little bit of background noise. Everyone learns and studies different so this myth would not apply to everyone. The second myth that caught my attention was "difficult subjects are best taught in the morning, when students are most alert." The fact is that it differs for all students when they are alert. Some students are morning people and enjoy having early classes and having the rest of the day to themselves. Many other students are more alert during the afternoon and nighttime hours and would be most alert during this time. I know for myself I am most alert during the afternoon, so if you tried to teach me math at 8am, chances are I will probably not pay full attention and will forget what I learned by the afternoon. I like to do my work later on at night, I find that I am the most motivated when I take this approach. The third and final myth that I wanted to talk about in this blog was "the most appropriate length of time for a class is 45 to 55 minutes." Again, this is different for many students. Some of them believe that this is not enough time, while others have an attention span that lasts about 10 minutes. I know that after a half hour of class I am ready to leave, especially if the teacher does not have anything else to say and is just filling the air with words to keep us there for the 50 minutes that we have. There might not be a happy medium for how long a class should last for, but it is important to remember that all students learn differently. These myths and facts do not relate to all students and the person who knows how they learn best is in fact the student. They must know which is the best way they succeed and how they can approach their schoolwork.