Life As A Non-Traditional Student

Life as a Non-Traditional Student: Mastering Self-Regulated Learning

Self-regulated learning can be defined as “The process in which [a] student is cognitively, motivationally, and behaviorally active in his or her learning.” (Zimmerman and Martinez-Pons). While this concept is relatively new, many students have embraced it over the last few decades resulting in their success. I am one of those many students that embrace this concept; some aspects stronger than the others. Planning and organizing not only play a major role in my life as a student, but in my life in general. Though I often lack the confidence to ask questions that provide a more thorough understanding of what I am trying to learn, the one aspect of my learning I can control is my learning environment.
Being a non-traditional student with a full time job can be as hard as a rock. It means I must plan and organize every moment of my day. When I have places to be, for example class, I calculate driving times and when I will be there. This planning measure provides me with a better perspective of what I will be able to accomplish before having to leave work. Along with scheduling, budgeting is another very important priority. I calculate the cost of
everything down to the last dollar. Being a college student, I have to continuously recalculate my budgets. For example, after completing my core requirements at Northeast State, I will be transferring to ETSU to finish up my bachelor’s degree. When looking at the tuition and fees of ETSU, according to the 2009-2010 ETSU student handbook, a student could expect to pay “$189 per [credit] hour […] not including fees” (undergraduate fees). In comparison, a student attending in the fall of 2014, they can expect to pay “$263 per [credit] hour […] not including fees” (undergraduate fees). That is almost a 40% tuition increase, which is a tough pill to swallow. By arming myself with this knowledge I can plan and expect to incur higher tuition fees by the time I transfer to finish my degree. I know it won’t be as cheap as dirt, so I must plan to save where I can. By being as organized as a filing cabinet, I have the ability to plan the things I need to accomplish and organize my time and material so I can accomplish many things on time and correctly to work in the most efficient manner possible.
When I was younger and in grade school – just like in today’s society – kids were very mean.
I wasn’t a bad student or a slow reader, but I had distinctive features, such as being as tall as a giraffe. Because I was taller than the majority of my classmates: I stood out. I was for many unkind comments. Because of that my confidence suffered. I do not like to stand out for the fear of being judged or degraded. It makes me as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Because of this lack of confidence my education sometimes suffers. If I don’t understand the material or the concept being covered in class, I have a tendency to apply my own interpretation versus asking the instructor, which will not help me to master the material I desire
to.
One thing within my control is my learning environment. Depending on what I am working on and what I need to accomplish, will determine what kind of learning environment I would require. If given an essay to complete, just about anywhere can be my learning environment: if I am in my “idea” or “brainstorming” phase. However, when finalizing an essay I require a very quiet environment, so I can concentrate and really hear what I am saying. When it comes to studying, I must have a somewhat quiet environment, not necessarily as quiet as a church mouse, just somewhat quiet. While at home I have a designated study area where my husband knows if I am in there it is a “do not disturb” time. I have also found that very light and quiet classical music can help me to absorb the information I am reading.
Just as every student is different, so are his or her their learning methods. I know for myself that planning and organizing helps me to see what needs and must be accomplished. I may not be comfortable enough to ask questions to better understand something I am trying to learn; I can however control my learning environment and the distractions that interfere. By practicing and using all the elements of self-regulated learning, I am confident I will be successful in my education.