JOURNAL WRITING AND ITS EFFECTS ON SELF-THERAPY, MEMORY AND SENSORY EXPERIENCE
Journal writing definitely acts as a tool for self therapy, according to Dr. N. Gadesden (2000):
As you engage the written word throughout the learning self-therapy through writing series, you will develop effective methods to not only recognize feelings such as anger, pain, abandonment, grief and even happiness ~ you will also learn to define, examine and manage those and other feelings”. Self-therapy through writing makes one believe that he is in charge of his own life and he is the responsible one to control his actions towards a certain situation. (p. 1)
Other than self- therapy, journal writing facilitates memory increase. Writing helps an individual to store everything down on paper so that if there is any need in future, one can refer back to his writings immediately. For those who suffer from long-term or short-term memory loss, journal writing acts as an aid, it not only helps them to cope up with their memory loss but at the same time it enables them to exercise their brain on a continuous basis which ultimately leads to strengthening their memorizing abilities.
Talking about sensory experience, it has been observed that journal writing increases an individual’s sensory experience. He is able to use his senses like; sense of vision, sound, taste, smell and touch, into his writings. According to King, R.P. (1973), sensory experience helps in generating more meaningful understandings regarding different aspects of life and one can illustrate those understandings on to his journal. Hence, it can be said that journal writing enhances ones sensory experience as they both are quite closely related.
The basic mechanism associated with journal writing makes an individual to write what he learned through his sensory experiences which leads to remembering and memorizing different aspects of his life and while using those aspects he is able to develop his learning towards the process of self-therapy. Therefore, it can be observed that journal writing enables an individual to create an effective environment of learning. It also helps to develop and generate a meaningful connection between a person’s sensory experiences, memory attainment and self-therapy exercise.
BASIC MECHANISMS ASSOCIATED WITH OLDER ADULT’S LEARNING EXPERIENCE IN A CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT
According to Cranton, P. (1994):
Adult learning gas been viewed as a process of being freed from the oppression of being illiterate, a means of gaining knowledge and skills, a way to satisfy learner needs, and a process of critical self-reflection that can lead to transformation. The phenomenon of adult learning is complex and difficult to capture in any one definition.
Older adults differ from younger ones in the way they experience the classroom environment. It can be said that older adults are able to do same sort of things as younger adults do but with a slower pace. Hence if they are exposed to a face to face classroom environment within a university or college setting, where other students are talking to each other, this atmosphere might distract their attention and they tend to accomplish their purpose in a less efficient and accurate manner.
Older adults have the tendency to learn in a systematic manner. They follow particular paths of learning to reach a common goal. According to American Council of Education Journal (2007), “Older adults may first have to overcome their own negative attitudes to become active participants.” (p. 19). They are unable to jump to a particular conclusion straightaway as they require time to analyze and come up with an appropriate conclusion. Their age and experience affects how they navigate through different classroom activities. Unlike young students, older students prefer to focus more on gathering practical knowledge from a classroom environment. They are more interested in learning and getting educated for its own sake rather than using their education as a part of their social relationships.
It can be challenging for an older adult to learn in a face to face university classroom environment as the adult learner is self-directed towards what he or she learns. An adult learners rate of learning might be a bit slower as compared to other young learners therefore any distractions in the classroom might hinder his or her learning rate. Moreover, an older adult student is charged up with ample amount of personal experiences that he can conclude upon. If they are provided the opportunity to share their experiences and ideas this might help them learn even more.
There are various reasons that lead to an older adult student’s slower reaction to the classroom environment as compared to a young learner. His sensory experience becomes slower therefore older adults require more time to learn new things. He might experience problems in hearing and that could immensely hinder his learning abilities especially when other students are speaking and discussing things in the class. He might face problems with frequency, pitch and volume but this problem can be solved with the use of hearing aid. But some individuals find it embarrassing to wear a hearing aid while they are in the classroom with other students.
Other than that, older adults are also challenged with decrease in long-term memory. They find it hard to collect information and then organize and process all the information gathered in an instant manner. They need some time to process and deliver what they have learned. They are not as able as younger adults to recall instantly what they have gained in the classroom. But with the help of aid like; journal writing or note keeping, an older adult can overcome his problem and is able to retain and memorize what happened in the classroom later as well. He can feel comfortable to participate in group discussions with regards to recent lectures and assignments.
Older adults have the tendency to learn in a slow and steady way, as it is explained in the report by American Council of Education (2007) older adults use their personal experiences, memory retention techniques and past experiences in order to learn what has been taught in the class. Whereas on the other hand, young adults are able to indulge themselves in the classroom environment straightaway and take everything on board that has been taught which can be quite challenging for an older adult. Moreover, older adult requires more time to complete a particular task or assignment. They tend to use a mixture of their personal experience and the knowledge gained in the classroom in order to complete their required assignment.
Any distractions within a classroom can immensely affect the ability to learn in an older adult. It is not necessary to provide extensive attention to these students; all is required to give them their space where they can acquire knowledge and education at their own speed and pace without any kind of distraction.
REFERENCES
Dr. N. Gadsden (2000). Learning self-therapy though writing: an experience in creative journaling. USA: Universal Publishers/uPublish.com. Available from http://www.bookpump.com/upb/pdf-b/1127030b.pdf
King, R. P. (1973). Sensory approach to creative writing: A study of the effect of increasing the number of types of sensory stimuli intended to motivate to write creatively. Unpublished Ed. D. dissertation. North Dakota: University of North Dakota.
American Council of Education. (2007). First report: Reinvesting in the third age: older adults and higher education. Available from http://www.acenet.edu/Content/NavigationMenu/ProgramsServices/CLLL/Reinvesting/Reinvestingfinal.pdf
Cranton, P. (1994). Understanding and promoting transformative learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
