Learning Experiences

For me, standardized testing has always been a dreaded task. Sitting still for such an extended period of time was horrible for me and would often lead to my not doing well on tests. The only time I really saw improvement in my test-taking skills was in high school when I took several AP courses. I actually enjoyed taking my government, microeconomics, and macroeconomics AP exams because I understood the content and felt confident. If I am given some sort of guide to help me study or know what to expect on an exam, I usually do fine. However, with state tests or exams like the ACT or SAT, I have never excelled. When I was previously in nursing school, we also had standardized tests for our material, and they were incredibly frustrating. Many times, they didn’t even match up with the content we had covered in class, which made preparing for them feel pointless.

During the pandemic, my learning experience was very challenging. Some of my classes never even met, and there was little to no communication from teachers. We didn’t have Zoom meetings, assignments, or clear direction, which made it difficult to stay motivated or feel like I was learning. I generally do well in online classes when they are structured and organized, but at that time, many teachers weren’t prepared to transition fully online. It felt unorganized and left a lot of students, including myself, feeling like we weren't getting much out of school for a couple of years.