Visual Learners Guide to Motivation

Hey you Bloggers!!! What’s up!? I’m back this week with NEW strategies that I think you’ll enjoy. This week I used a motivation strategy called Academic Fears in my ART 253 Film History class, and in my TRM 153 Transmedia studio class. I found this strategy to be very effective in both of my classes. In my ART 253 class, we are mostly graded on our ability to write analyses of the films we view, and on our performance on the exams that are given. There are only two exams before the final, so it is very important to learn the material and get the best possible grade you can receive on each exam given. I am a visual learner, so it is important for me to learn and process everything in a visual way. ART 253 is a great class for those who are visual learners because all the lectures are taught along with a very visual and detailed slide show presentation that helps me better understand the material. I love that I can put pictures of people and inventions, along with their names; this makes it much easier to remember for exams. To learn the materials I need are a notepad for writing notes during the lectures and films, a computer for writing an analysis, and a textbook that details all the information we’re learning. In order to learn my best in the course it is essential that I take notes, receive notes from the note taker, look over the textbook for information covered in the lecture, and show up to at least one cinematheque screening a week. In order to receive a good grade I need to show up to every class on time prepared to learn. The Academic Fears strategy that a chose was a very effective strategy for reducing stress and motivating me to study. To visually represent my Academic Fears; I created a comprehensive chart that has four columns. Each column is titled differently; Academic Fears in the first column, Worst Outcome in the second column, Best Outcome in the third column, and Action Needed in the last column. In the first column I listed three of my biggest academic fears in my ART 253 class, with my number one fear being “Fail final exam.” In the second column, I listen the worst possible outcome of that academic fear which would be having my grade drop and possibly having to retake the class, which would be awful. In the third column, I wrote down the Best Outcome that could happen which was “know all the information on the exam and get an A on it.” The final column titled “Action Needed”, I wrote down several things I could do to give me the best outcome such as, Getting notes from the note taker, making flashcards, and preparing a study group with friends. This strategy worked well for me because it visually showed me where my stress was coming from, the worst possible scenario of that fear, the best scenario, and what I could do about it. Whenever I get too stressed out over a project or test in a class, I end up not doing the assignment or not studying for it. This strategy addressed my stress, showed me where it was coming from, and what I could do about it. After seeing the example of the Academic Fears chart that visually shows how I can motivate myself to accomplish a large task, I chose it thinking it could be very helpful to me, and it was. I found this chart to be an excellent motivator. The chart not only shows what could happen if I don’t accomplish something, but it gives me the steps for doing my absolute best, which is very helpful. After finding this strategy effective in my ART 253 class, I thought I should use it in another class I had a lot of stress in.

Since I’ve been having a lot of stress recently in my TRM 153 Transmedia studio class, I decided to apply the Academic Fears strategy to see what I was worried about. Since I’m a visual learner, it is important for me to learn in a way that I can visually understand. In TRM, we are mostly graded on the projects we create, are participation, and are email responses that show our understanding of the readings we are sent. It is important that we complete the readings on time as well as show up to class, so It’s important that I come to class on time, with any project I need to turn in on that day, read the texts on time and response on the date my Professor provides, and make sure I learn how to use all the programs he teaches us how to use. The important materials I need for the class are my notebook, to write down notes, my laptop to create and present projects, the texts and readings my Professor sends by email. These materials are vital in doing my best in the class. I originally chose the Academic Fears chart for my TRM class because I found it to be a visually effective way to see what my fears are, how they can affect me, and what action I can take to make the best of the situation. Since this strategy worked well for me in my ART 253 class, I decide to use it in my TRM 153 class as well. As I my other chart, there are four columns. In the first column titled “Academic Fears” I listed my three most concerning academic fears such as failing my upcoming animation project, not knowing how to use the software, and ending up learning nothing by the end of the course. In the second column titled “Worst Outcome” I wrote down the worst possible thing that could happen if I fail the next project, which would be “my grade drops considerably, I loose many points which affects the professors view of me and my capabilities” and “Don’t do well in course, lowering my GPA a lot.” In the third column titled “Best outcome” I wrote down the best possible outcome for the project, which would be, learning how to use the software and creating a great project my teacher likes. In the four column titled “Action Needed”, I listed the things I need to do in order to have the best outcome become possible. For example I wrote, “Go to class Friday, pay close attention and learn how to use software.” I found this strategy to be very helpful to me as a visual learner. This strategy reduced my stress level, and gave me the motivation to perform my best on the next project I have in my Transmedia class. I feel a lot less stressed about failing the project, and more motivated now that I have the steps needed to actually accomplish my goal of an excellent project. If you’re a visual learner, and you’re stressed and need motivation to do well, the Academic Fears strategy is just for you!