Strategic Learning

In high school, I know that there were times when I had the mindset of a strategic learner. Especially when it came to classes that I wasn’t quite as interested in, I worked hard to get the good grades but I was only doing it so that I could move onto higher education. I wasn’t thinking about it in the sense of how I could use the information later in my life. In What the Best College Students Do by Ken Bain, he states, “‘Strategic’ learners primarily intend simply to make good grades, often for the sake of graduate or professional school.” In other words, Bain believes that these “strategic” learners don’t truly care about the information and actually learning, but instead just strive to get the good grades so that they look good when moving forward. I think one example where this has applied to me is my senior year of high school in my AP calculus class. When I was taking the class, I did everything I could to learn the material so I could do well on the quizzes and tests and get a good grade in the class. This was my goal because I believed that getting a good grade in this AP class would look good to colleges. Looking back, I wasn’t thinking about how learning this may benefit me as a learner and a student, but instead, I wanted to get the grade because I believed it would look good. In this sense, I agree with the points Bain makes about being a strategic learner, however, I also know that there have been instances when that isn’t my only goal. For me personally, I believe it has to do with whether it is a subject that I find particularly interesting. Therefore, moving forward, I need to keep in mind that even if a certain class isn’t my favorite the information if being taught for a reason. I need to have a growth mindset and try to think like a “deep” learner. This will allow me to realize the importance behind what’s being taught so that I will be able to take the information with me and apply it elsewhere in my life.