How I feel and how I learn? Emotion & learning

How I feel and how I learn?

Exploring the relationship between emotion & learning

By Christine Kolm
EDI 600 Psychological Foundation Of Education

Long Island University, C. W. Post
September 3, 2008

The learning survey handed out at the beginning of class sparked my curiosity. Although not circled as one of my top three areas of interest, I would like to explore the effect of emotions on learning.

From personal experience I know that my emotions largely influence my ability to learn on a couple of levels. To begin with I find it much more challenging to concentrate if I am in a heightened emotional state. For example, as a new student who has not been in a classroom for over eight years I was quite apprehensive before class last night. It was very hard to concentrate during the first few moments of lecture. My mind was racing with such thoughts as; will I be able to keep up? will I understand the material? will I be able to handle the work? Those thoughts provoked emotions of anxiety, which made it very difficult to focus. My internal dialogue began to drown out the external talk. My ability to concentrate was impaired and therefore the learning process was compromised. The name game was a clever way to quiet those anxieties while, at the same time, presenting teaching techniques.

Secondly I have found that emotional investment in a topic plays a role in the absorption of information. If the topic is something that concerns someone or something I care about I am more likely to grasp concepts. Also if the subject matter is of interest to me, my comprehension improves.

It will be interesting to discover what information has been determined about the correlation between emotions and learning. I believe that as a teacher it is important to be aware of what influences the learning experience and to be able to change and adapt your approach to one that is conducive to the most effective learning experience. (Christine Kolm, September 3, 2008)