The way I learn constantly changes whether it was learning how to ride my bike, catch a ball, do a back flip etc. I never started off knowing how to do things. I would always learn new things to add on that would make it easier to do. Which learning new things like this always took 2 or 3 tries, maybe even weeks or months to actually master them. It took me a good year to just master a backhandspring. I went from almost falling on my head every time to finally being able to do it correctly. Also, I remember trying to learn how to rock climb (this is in a rock climbing gym- not outdoors. I am not ready to die yet). The instructor explained for probably about a half hour on how to tie a proper knot (so you could hold on to the rope of the person that was climbing with you). I just could not get it. He kept getting so mad at me because he thought I was kidding with him, but I was dead serious. Same with cheerleading, learning new cheers and dance routines always took me several times in order to get them down. .Learning for school basically is the same as outside events. I learn my material by going over it several times. I wish I was one of those people who could read their notes one time through, but it just does not work that way for me.

There are many things that cause me grief about learning. Basically going from high school to college was a learning experience of itself that caused me to have severe anxiety and minor heart failure (not really but if felt like it). I come from a school where class was always taking notes and if you studied your notes, the test would be identical. Whether it be multiple choice or essay, it still was note-oriented. This made high school relatively easy. We never had a test on more than 2 chapters at a time and we probably finished 5-6 chapters a year. However, when I came to college, there were 3-4 chapter tests and you completed a whole book in about 4 months. This, in general, was an overwhelming experience. Tests were extremely hard and many dealt with a lot of application. Needless to say, application was not a part of the curriculum at Paintsville High School. I agree that application is the best way to learn because if you can’t apply what you know, you will be in trouble. Application itself makes me have anxiety. I just feel that no matter how much I study, I won’t be able to apply what I know. However, I know that these feelings are a result of insecurity due to the fact that I had never had experience with application tests. I try to sit through and think of scenarios about the material to help me apply what I know. Even though I may not fail Mrs. McComas's application tests, I always leave the test saying, "oh, I now I failed. "There is no way I did well.” I guess this is a lack of confidence on my part. I feel that if I had more experience of application tests, I would have more confidence. The more experience I get with application, the better I get at having confidence in myself.

Learning new things are always exciting, but also stressful at the same time. In chemistry class (in high school), we always complained that we never got to do fun lab assignments. We kept begging our teacher that we were ready to do bigger things in the lab. Finally, for our mid-tern he let us create our own antacid independently. It was exciting to finally make something from scratch, but at the same time it was a lot of responsibility to complete the assignment. It was just so nerve racking that thought I would not be able to complete the lab. Also, the lab experience in the daycare for CD 422 was exciting and stressful. It was good to go in there and use things that speech pathologists might do in therapy with phonemic awareness and narratives, but it was also stressful at the same time. We had never done this and each time we taught, we always would do something different. We never knew what kind of mood the kids would be in and how they would react on any particular day. There were approximately 20 kids divided into 4 different groups. It was hard for them to concentrate on what they had to do in our group because there were too many distractions with the other groups. It was too much for them to want to focus on you and it was hard to get them under control. It would have been easier if we were alone with them. However, it was a good experience to learn how 3 year olds behave.

Also, I don’t know why, but every time I have a new class and have new teachers I just get so nervous the first couple of days. Not knowing their teaching styles, what they like, tests etc. makes me worry. Before going into the class, I am always afraid I won’t do well because I do not if I can meet their expectations.

There are several areas of this profession that capture my interest. So far, it seems as every CD class I take, I always find myself saying well, maybe I want to do this. For ex. I really have my heart set out to work with kids. However, when we learned about dementia and saw some therapy on how to work with these patients, it changed my view on working with adults. I think I could work with adults where as before I only wanted to work with children. However, we’ll see as I get to experience working with both. However, the things that I am most interested in are articulation and phonological disorders in kids and TBI’s.

An articulation disorder is when a person has not learned a sound and fails to use it. For a phonological disorder, it is when a person can say the sound but they can not use it correctly. I know that we have spent a lot of time telling the difference between them both but sometimes I have a hard time. I feel that if I have to do this I am always afraid that I will misdiagnose someone and I do not want to do that. However, I find articulation and phonological disorders to be a challenging and rewarding process. I remember working with the kids at the daycare for the lab and it was so hard for them to answer our questions (phonemic awareness and we worked on stories); half the time I was on my hands and knees trying to understand their answers. Overall, I know the end results of working with these children and accomplishing my goals would be rewarding.

As for TBI’s we recently learned the different types, risk factors, how to tell if you are in a coma, how to assess ones progress, and we learned how to put a treatment plan together. I find this area to be really interesting. Here, a speech pathologist would have a different plan. They might not always being helping someone with their sounds. Here they may work with memorization skills, orientation, and how to interact appropriately with the environment, etc. This is why I love this field so much there is so much diversity. Supporting this is the fact that speech pathologists not only help people with sounds but also with skills such as memorization, orientation, etc. Speech pathologist are not limited to one thing and one thing only.

There are several things about both TBI’s and articulation and phonological disorders that I do not know about. We have learned a lot of information on what they are, how to develop a plan, and ultimately how to help them communicate better whether it is my helping them correct sounds or helping them with memorization skills. However, I would really like to know more about how the disorder affects them (Self-Esteem etc.) and their parents, and how peers/public views their disorder.

Essential Question: What is the most effective way that speech pathologists can help patients focus on treatment rather than on their disorder?

First, to continue my academic development I must start taking advantage of all the resources that are available to me so that I can enhance my learning. I do not need to just depend on information given to me in class (any class not just CD). I need to start expanding my ideas and knowledge about class, to include how they relate and why they are important. I remember last year in Physics (I took it in a Summer class) we did not cover all the chapters that the regular semester did. However, the teacher encouraged us to go ahead and read the rest. Now being burned out from going to this class everyday from 8:00-1:00 I thought that Dr. Orsini must be out of his mind. There was no way ever that I would go and sit and read Physics for “pure enjoyment.” However, after reading the articles that we had to read (information literacy) I realize that we need to go beyond what information we are given. This may not mean that I will sit and read Physics night and day but I will take in the fact that I need to start expanding the knowledge I do know. Also, to continue my academic development I will need to finish undergraduate and graduate school to give me the knowledge that I need in order to become a speech pathologist. Then when I do become a speech pathologist I know that the field I choose (probably children) I will research everything that I am interested (which in children is speech disorders and language) and try to gain more knowledge about them. I understand than as years pass more information can be learned and by researching this I will be able to gain access to this information. I remember my Psy 311 teacher telling me that when he first started teaching this class he never knew a lot of the reasons behind some of the theories etc. but as years went by research was able to answer these unknown things. Now, he was able to include this recent information in his lectures. I also will want to continue my education by going to many conferences. The conference that I attended in the spring (West Virginia conference) was very fun and an interesting experience. I was able to learn a lot of information, techniques, etc. that I did not know before. I really think attending conferences is a good way to gain information that you are interested in, have questions about, or just in general what to learn about. Also, when I become a speech pathologist I will continue to read the ASHA code of the ethics.
I had never really put too much thought into how I meet my learning needs. After thinking for a while I realized I usually learn in three ways. I learn by watching and observing other people, by my own mistakes and new experiences, and by lectures/class involvement. I think without these I would not be able to learn effectively.