The learning experience can be exciting and challenging, especially when you realize how it will make you more marketable.
But learning can also be a chore, one which you need support to balance. Get your planning and attitude toward learning right, and you make life easier for yourself.
The question is how to achieve this aim and get through your studies successfully.
A successful study plan equates to working hard, looking after your health, and remembering how to have fun in an educational setting.
Achieving your academic aims also means translating theoretical knowledge into practical experience.
Our collection of tips will help you achieve all these goals and come out wiser on the other end of your learning experience.
Make learning fun
As much as some people find the learning experience difficult, following your passion makes studying easier.
If you are learning for practical rather than passionate reasons, you probably need a reminder of turning the learning experience into a fun-filled journey.
There are several ways to make learning fun, so take advice from the experts by implementing one or more of these suggestions before you become your own learning experience designer.
Variety
Variety is truly inspiring as it mixes things up enough to engage the learning process deeply. You can achieve variety in learning in several ways by breaking up lessons and modules into bite-size pieces.
Depending on what you’re studying, setting aside time to go over the day’s lectures and learning helps keep things interesting.
Take breaks
Breaking up study sessions with fun things like playing computer games, watching part of a movie, chatting with friends online, or going for a walk are all healthy distractions.
You can use these breaks for 10 minutes between learning to energize yourself before hitting the ‘books’ again.
Always stick to your timeframe when taking breaks to avoid procrastination and adding additional stress to your time limits.
Learn in various locations
If you enjoy routine and always study in the same place, it is time for a positive change. Switch your learning space to the outdoors or take a trip to the nearby library for a change of scenery.
Ask friends or your learning community partners if they want to study with you to make the learning experiences more fun. Choose your study partner wisely to ensure that you learn rather than allow time to pass in idle chatter.
Be creative
Use a variety of tools and apps for note-taking. If you summarize learning material by hand, use different colored pens for emphasis.
Get yourself a pack of Post-its and create a learning board in your space where you can place reminders of a specific topic.
Using color and various tools such as flashcards, videos, and flow charts create visual associations in mind, making the recall of work much more manageable.
Group learning experience
Create a group learning experience on or offline. Supportive friends also help generate associations with the study material that makes for easy recall between jokes and discussions.
Get into creative mode to develop other ideas to turn learning into a fun experience that helps you through your study courses.
Practice over theory
Practicing what you study in theory is another way to enhance your learning experience.
When applying theoretical knowledge, you drastically improve memory recall, which is rewarding.
Education experts understand this concept and have developed various learning theories over the decades to prove their theories.
Some of the primary learning theories encompass:
- The behaviorist theory
- Cognitive theory.
- Constructivist theory.
- Humanist theory.
Behaviorist theory
B.F. Skinner developed the behaviorist theory, which he founded on punishment and reward. While this theory doesn’t sound like much fun, it does have redeeming qualities.
If you set learning goals and achieve them, you reward yourself for doing an excellent job.
Educators typically combine the behaviorist theory with repetition and practice to instill learning. The idea behind this theory is that good behavior is rewarded while poor behavior is punished.
Develop positive study habits and reward yourself when you reach your milestones if this theory appeals to you.
Cognitive theory
Jean Piaget was instrumental in developing cognitive theory, which explains the mechanisms of thinking during learning.
Cognitive theory fundamentally involves four steps, which are absorbing information, processing the data, using it to generate desirable outcomes, and the potential to understand complex ideas.
Essentially, the cognitive theory claims that people are active in the learning process and can use the information to their advantage.
You can use the cognitive approach to build on prior learning to broaden your learning experience using theoretical information as the building blocks for experiential learning.
In other words, practicing theoretical knowledge reinforces learning and exponentially improves memory.
Constructivist theory
People construct knowledge by assimilating new learning from individual perspectives or schemas. Lev Vygotsky developed this learning theory and believed that learning occurs through collaboration.
Additionally, engaging socially during the learning experience augments cognitive development.
In other words, learning with fellow students improves the learning experience dramatically because it is collaborative, especially when you learn at your own pace with others whose knowledge is more significant than your own.
Learning with others translates into completing tasks that would otherwise be difficult or impossible in isolation.
The humanist theory
As the name suggests, this teaching theory revolves around supporting the individual learning experience instead of meeting learning goals.
Therefore, the humanist approach takes students’ individual affective and cognitive needs into consideration when growing their potential.
Explained in different terms, you can establish your own learning goals and standards to determine personal progress.
If you value continuous growth and, eventually, self-actualization in the learning experience, this is one approach to implementing theoretical learning through practicing learning.
While experimenting with human-centered learning plans and theories to make gaining new knowledge fun, it is vital to take care of yourself.
Get enough rest
Any learning is a process, and if you approach it methodically and sensibly, you should be able to get enough good-quality rest.
Failure to gain adequate rest can result in burnout and a host of other unpleasant physical symptoms. Lack of sleep drives poor concentration, compromises memory recall, and can also lead to depression.
Rather focus on approaching the learning experience as a long-term process instead of a sprint where you end up procrastinating and stressing to get work done.
Decent quality sleep and help from study partners can help overcome the urge to procrastinate. Establishing healthy learning schedules can also help avoid this problem.
Balance your learning experience with study time, fun events, healthy eating, exercise, and enough sleep.
Avoid circumstances where you feel the need to consume energy drinks to stay awake or use pills to support your learning curve.
Most undergraduate students want to achieve their degrees, complete their courses, and enjoy the rewards of a qualification at the end of their learning experience.
Success comes at a cost, which is hopefully no more than discipline. Be kind to yourself during the learning experience by getting enough sleep to ensure it is positive.
Reward yourself
Add fun to the learning experience to avoid a situation where you lose interest in your learning and career goals.
Rewards are an excellent way to keep your motivation levels at a high. Rewards also serve to acknowledge yourself when you achieve your goals which is a positive act of self-worth.
B.F. Skinner links rewards and punishment in his behaviorist theory, including positive and negative rewards.
For example, if you achieve a learning milestone, you may misconstrue the absence of something as being punishment when it is, in fact, rewarding.
Your reward doesn’t necessarily need to be tangible and cost money in different words.
It can be intangible and as simple as taking time out for yourself to do anything except study.
If you’re uncertain about how to reward yourself positively or negatively, here are some ideas to support a fun learning experience:
- Go out to a nightclub or elsewhere with friends and let your hair down.
- Take your own time to walk your pet or do a kind deed by walking someone else’s pet.
- Reward yourself with a delicious meal at a favorite restaurant.
- Indulge in a long bath with all the bells and whistles.
- Download a new game to entirely focus your mind on something recreational that does not involve study.
Your reward doesn’t have to cost anything, but it should be something you enjoy after reaching your learning goals.
Be creative and try something new as a reward before getting stuck into the next set of goals you define for yourself.
Other tips
You can use various other tips to enhance your learning experience beyond dividing learning, taking breaks, using creative learning methods, studying in multiple locations, and group or social learning, including:
- Mapping your study responsibilities to stay on top of your schedule.
- Practicing your theoretical learning as much as possible by creating scenarios or implementing learning in real-life work situations.
- Focusing on one study module to generate a quality learning experience.
- This idea may be challenging to implement, but if you can learn the subject matter in the typical environment where people use it daily, it improves your memory.
- Be consistent and persistent with learning by studying a topic regularly throughout the week instead of once a week. This technique also enhances your long-term knowledge of a subject.
- Prepare yourself for a temporary lack of memory retention as you move through topics, as retaining memory will seem inefficient for a while. This seeming inefficiency is short-term, so practice tenacity as this approach builds long-term memory with a desired learning outcome.
- Address the most critical academic content before delving into the sub-topics as this method identifies the essential aspects, which inform lower-level information.
- Believe in yourself and the learning process by understanding a topic and why it is valuable before tackling it mentally.
- Understand why you are embracing a learning experience to generate more excellent value. Even if the surface benefits of the learning experience are not immediately apparent, list the short- and long-term benefits to access further motivation in achieving your learning goals.
Conclusion
Essentially, the learning experience is what you make of it.
Your perspective changes everything in life, so decide to tackle your learning experience with a cheerful outlook.
Now that you have new knowledge about creating a more effortless, more enjoyable learning experience, only you can decide whether to make the most of it.
