This semester has tested my problem-solving abilities. I returned to college after a twenty-five plus year absence and I am dealing with an immediate family crisis as well as assisting my in-law who recently entered hospice.

Returning to college has led to mental “gymnastics” with my “little grey cells” as Hercules Poirot says when dealing with a good mystery. I have had to learn how to study again, apply the material to my life experience, and process that learning is more than memorization. I identified a fixation issue with a tendency to focus on a specific part of a problem impeding me from finding a solution. (Goldstein, 2014, p. 338) When I am given a question that challenges my perspective in a new way, I focus on that question, especially on quizzes and midterms. I am trying to train myself to complete the other questions before coming back to answer the question that disrupted my process. I have been researching ways to address this hyper focus; but so far, I’ve not found a resolution.

Another issue for me has been my mindset: a preconceived notion about how to approach a problem based on successful past experiences. (Goldstein, 2014, p. 340) In the past, I was instructed to read and re-read a chapter, make flashcards to learn the definitions, and to work on the general concepts. College has shown me that re-reading a chapter only makes the writing more familiar, but it does not equate to increased understanding or retention. It is the same with flashcards. I realize I need to create a second set of cards to help me understand and comprehend the terms. There are also new recommended study techniques that are different from the last time I went to college.

The first conflict during this school year was a personal crisis that threw me into a tailspin, disrupting my study schedule. This crisis is on-going. I have been trying to figure out how to rework my schedule to an adaptable one that works for me. The problem is time management; I keep brainstorming: a technique that encourages people to freely express ideas that might be useful in solving a problem. (Goldstein, 2014, p. 360) I find it hard to concentrate like I did before the crisis; my mind often focuses on my worries for this person. I find it twice as hard to finish things and to process the material in my classes. Unfortunately, I have not been the best at balancing this crisis with college.

The second conflict comes from helping an in-law who has been placed in hospice. The first hospice company was not a good fit and we switched to another company that has been much more compatible. Now, I take my computer to work on school assignments while I help out the in-laws. It’s not a perfect answer but it has improved my time management and gotten me back to almost meeting my deadlines.

This whole semester has taught me more about myself, how to study better to understand, and apply the information I have been learning to my everyday life. I also recognize that I’m stuck in a rut with problem-solving, but I hope to work on it by looking at how the brain forms long-term and short-term memories. I plan on brainstorming and thinking through the problem-solving process of Basadur that made sense to me. (Goldstein, 2014, p. 359) I also have realized that no semester is going to be easy and that I need to be better at preparing for crises that are going to come up during the semester.

References:

Goldstein, E. B. (2014). Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research and Everyday Experience (4th Edition). In E. B. Goldstein, Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind, Research and Everyday Experience (4th Edition). (p. 338, 340, 359, 360). Cengage Limited.