My best learning experience happened after a few semesters of trying to keep up with professors, where inconsistencies in timing became a problem. Some professors would go way too quickly over more complex concepts, and others would spend too much time on the material that was easily if not already understood. This would always leave me leaving the lectures with none of the information properly grasped or understood, Leaving study sessions becoming more learning everything from scratch than revising. This was slowly weakening my focus and motivation to study and learn at all. 

The real shift happened in the fall semester of 2024, where the overload in assignments and me missing many lectures just so that I could keep up with deadlines. At first it seemed like I would’ve ended up falling behind but instead, I found myself being forced into a new system of learning. Rather than stressing about missed lecture notes, I started studying on my own. This is where I learnt how to break down concepts directly and at my own pace, thoroughly learning the concepts and eventually teaching myself more. With the added pressure of assignments I was always held under a time constraint with understanding the lessons and then working on the relevant assignments, this pressure helped me not just figure out what to focus on but also how to quickly learn and adapt the material. 

One of the major changes this switch resulted in was that the material I was learning actually stuck, rather than being easily forgotten. I realized when studying for major assessments, I had a much easier time since there wasn’t much I had to relearn from scratch, rather it felt like a proper revision. Now looking back at this, this learning experience changed how I ended up learning and looking back I can somewhat relate this to behaviorism, since the constant pressures of deadlines, and trying to balance my own personal life acted like reinforcement. Each time I finished an assignment or figured out a concept, it rewarded me with more time to allocate to the other things in my life.

This became my best learning experience because it allowed me to learn more efficiently, where the information learnt stuck with me long term. I was able to use this to balance school with everything outside of it.