Lunch today came together in a flash thanks to leftover quinoa and roasted vegetables from dinner last night.
Quinoa + Apple chicken sausage + Roasted broccoli + Roasted cauliflower
Three ingredients = Lunchtime winner
Missing the Classroom Environment
Since I graduated college in 2007, it has been a while since I’ve needed to study for anything. Aside from preparing for work presentations, I haven’t really had to sit down and memorize anything for years.
Now that I’m studying for my personal training certification, I’m back in the game! A few of you have asked how studying is going and my answer is simply fine. Not particularly fantastic, but not horrible by any means. It’s a bit slow at times, but I am learning a lot with each chapter I read.
(Coffee and chocolate-covered cashews make excellent study fuel.)
Ever since I started studying, I’ve found myself really missing the classroom environment. As nerdy as it may sound, I genuinely liked being a student. When a charismatic teacher encouraged lively discussions that evoked thoughtful questions, I felt incredibly engaged. Even when a class was rather boring, attending class and following the syllabus kept me motivated and on track.
During my four years in college, I never took an online class because I always craved the classroom environment. Taking a class online, buying a big textbook and essentially teaching myself never really appealed to me. Now that I am doing just that as I study for my personal training certification, I am trying my best to stick to a self-imposed study schedule. It’s going pretty well so far, but I would love to be able to discuss everything I’m learning with others in person as they learn the same thing, ask questions and feel engaged in the material beyond reading and note-taking.
I know there are so many different learning styles out there and I am someone who absolutely loves in-person discussion, interaction and dialog. Reading from a textbook and taking notes is completely fine right now since the subject really interests me, but nothing can replace classroom interaction in my eyes.
Question of the Afternoon
- Do you enjoy learning in a classroom or do you prefer to study the material by yourself and learn on your own?
- Have you ever taken an online class? What did you think?
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I did my master’s degree online, from the same school I went to undergrad. I hear you about classroom interaction but the online class environment was honestly a lot like an online forum or blog-commenting community in that questions were posed, debated, and answered all in the same type forum as we chat here… you might be surprised! I thought I would hate it, but I ended up getting a lot out of it (well the classes that I was interested in). I agree that if interest is low (or the professor is crappy), it can be brutal.
I am currently in my second year of law school and I understand what you mean about missing the classroom environment! I love school (which is good since my profession requires 4 years of undergraduate work then 3 years of law school haha) and I am not looking forward to leaving it for the ‘real world!’
Your blog is an inspiration to me! And Sadie is adorable! 🙂
I’m a senior in college this year and throughout my (almost) 4 full years of college, I’ve taken the MAJORITY of my classes ONLINE. Definitely NOT by choice. I’ve worked full time throughout the entire time and freshman year when I was working 8-5 then having class from 5:30-10 5 days a week, I was so worn out it became impossible to keep up and even stay away! (homework after that long of a day? HA! no thank you!) Its a lot harder to teach myself everything and it makes me nervous when we have exams (I’m on campus for all of my tests so about once a month per class) but I’m home a lot more and have more time now so it has actually worked out better.
During my undergrad I took a couple online classes, and I thought they had both positives and negatives. Although I was missing out on face-to-face interactions and discussions, being able to do coursework in my sweats on the couch was a nice thing too.
I’m in grad school right now, where the classes are 6-7 people and it is entirely seminar based – basically, a lot of interactions. It took a while to get used to (compared to underground lectures) but now I’m really enjoying it! It makes for a long more interactive learning, which I think is more beneficial in the long run.
I LOVED being a student, and being 3 years out of college and grad school, I’m itching to take another class of some sort.
If you’d like to discuss material, there are lots of online communities you could find that you could discuss the material with other people. Just a suggestion 🙂
I’ve never taken an online class & I used to love being in the classroom theoughout college. Buy I hit a point after finishing another degree after my bachelors that I can’t sit still anymore. So now I’d prefer doing it on my own, that way I can take breaks when I want to! 🙂
I am currently working on my Master’s degree (I will actually graduate in December! Yay!) and it is a completely online program. While I really enjoy the convenience of it, I definitely find myself missing the classroom environment and interacting in person with my peers. Discussing topics on message boards is nowhere near the same as being actively involved in a discussion in the classroom. The conversation just does not seem to flow very well. Keep with it though, because all of your hard work will be worth it!
When I was studying for my NASM certification, I could ONLY study in the library.I prefer learning in a classroom but whenever I’ve taken any online courses I find myself only able to be productive in a library. I used to get so distracted trying to study at home, but the library always works for me. Good luck studying!
Yes, my health coaching course was all online. We did, though, get to listen to all the lectures on an iPod Touch, which was pretty cool. I really liked learning that way…listening first and THEN following up with reading, especially for the subjects that took longer to sink in!
I’m working on my Masters degree online, and I definitely prefer being in the classroom. I started my degree work at Villanova — actually attending classes — but it just got to be too much with my already hectic schedule! Online classes are definitely easier to schedule!
I’m totally with you! I’m a huge nerd and looove the classroom enviro. I would love to go back to school for something and am always contemplating a new degree (too bad it costs a billion dollars 😉 )
I graduated in May 2011 and daily I miss being a student!! I tell my husband, “I just miss LEARNING!” I was an English lit major so you can imagine there were always such lively discussions in class ~ I crave that nowadays! In NC where I live, once you reach a certain age you can go back to public college and sit-in/audit classes just for fun {and for free!} and I fully intend to do so 🙂
I agree! I prefer the classroom! Never taken an online course for that very reason. discussions, mandatory classes, study groups, fun lectures, etc….. def sets it apart!
I love both ways of learning. Studing at home give you possibility to go and check in internet for additional resources and learn more.
Btw which personal trainer sertification you study?
Loaded question! 😉 I’ve been in college for a total of six and a half years now, with transferring from one school after four years. I’ve had traditional classroom settings, online only with no communication, and online with twice weekly online class sessions with chat interface. All have advantages and disadvantages.
Traditional classroom: You meet a lot of people, maybe form a study group, see everyone face to face and have access to the professor two to three times a week. They also can get off topic in lecture, and not cover specific topics they know are on the test.
Online incommunicado: These that I’ve had posted videos online that were extra boring. Usually it’s a read the book, write the paper, take the test, get the grade. Perfect for classes I didn’t like to begin with. 🙂
Online meetings: I disliked my fellow students, they would chat during lesson, go off topic, make radical statements that you’d never make during a face to face class. I took math classes this way and loved the technology we were allowed to use! I’ll graduate eventually. I’m dreaming of grad school now.
Oh, and to follow up, I have my NASM cert as well. I found so many interesting things I was happy to be by myself so I could go over everything. 🙂
I went to a really small college, and LOVED the classroom environment…most of my classes only had 15-20 people in them, so everyone participated and the professors were able to give more individual support. It was kind of hard to skip class without being noticed, though!
In high school I was in a program where I got to work independently, but the teachers were always there to ask questions or get clarification. It definitely made me focus, but I loved learning that way.
I took online classes for the first two years of college, and am finishing the last few classes for my ADN in the classroom.
Online classes took a LOT of getting used to. You have to really have some self-discipline to be able to go over the material and not get distracted by Facebook, TV, video games, etc. I had a lot of problems with this in the beginning and eventually had to take my first couple of classes over. But after I got used to the independent study aspect, I was able to get good grades.
Now that I’m taking my classes with a lab, I find the classroom environment a nice change of pace. Although, from my experience, it could either be really distracting to be around other students, or motivating. I have had college classes where maturity was an issue and it made focusing difficult.
if someone would pay me to be a student for the rest of my life, I’d do it in a heartbeat—so you’re not alone on the dorky thing!
I made the mistake of taking a literature class online in college (I was an English and Education major). Lit classes are not well-suited for online courses: they depend too much on discussion and feedback from the instructor and the class. Now that I’m working full time and getting my Master’s degree, however, I wish more of my classes were offered online—just to save time on commuting!
I can weigh in from the other side – I am a college professor, and have so far successfully avoided teaching online classes. I feel like students don’t get the full experience, and when they pay to take a college course, they deserve to know me, feel comfortable asking me questions, and be able to ask their peers for help as well.
Also I think students are not as good at things like studying/time management/self-directed learning as they think and they really struggle with them!
But I teach chemistry and online classes are the wave of the future even for us – they now offer totally online chemistry classes where you even do the lab at home – I think you video tape yourself doing it and email it to the professor? Not sure how it works, scared to find out.
I am still in school and I enjoy being in class… however I can’t wait for when I have no homework or tests to study for anymore!
I would discuss with you if I was studying for it. But I’m not studying for it til next year:(
Discussing things about what I’ve read always makes it stick with me better.
I’m currently flipping through this month’s Women’s Health and there’s an article about female trainers who work for some top sports teams and colleges. Very inspiring, and lots of great tips! Check it out if you get a chance. Very cool for you to pursue your certification.
I’m not big on the classroom stuff (most of my classes were boring lectures), but I did like the discussion parts and study groups. I wish I were studying for a PT certification 1. to learn about it but 2. to discuss it with you!
-AJ
FitTravelerAJ.blogspot.com
I had mixed experiences in classrooms, but overall I really enjoyed the engagement of college too.
My latest education has all been done online. Two classes were done without the benefit of a chat-room, it was entirely self paced, you just had to be done in the 3 months time. That was tough stuff.
Now I take them online with a chat/discussion room. I believe I get more out of it. The hardest thing is that I tend to kind of be the online discussion nerd and it kills me when a conversation won’t get rolling. I am guessing there is a lot of other smart opinions and ideas out there, but it can be hard to get others to talk.
you cant evoke a question:-/
I’m a senior in college and I have taken a few online classes on purpose. I love the classroom environment but some classes I hated the thought of actually having to go to (history of psychology and writing in APA =boring!). I also had to take a few of my classes online like our horrible computer class and behavioral neuroscience.
Did you see yourself on The Berry?
http://theberry.com/2012/10/15/im-wearing-my-brown-boots-everywhere-27-photos/brown-boots-1/
I was catching up on google reader and got to this pic, and thought, I KNOW HER! HA ha.
I did my education degree using both methods – I went to lectures, tutorials and by correspondence. Any classes that involved oral presentations were done by correspondence, I would rather do an extra assignment or 2 any day than stand up in front of a class of peers. It’s weird considering I did education, but standing up in front of a class of kids is nothing!
Enjoy your day 🙂
I’m so with you. Although I did finish a degree with mostly online courses there is something about being in a class. I’m way to distractable to teach anything to myself!
I took a few online classes and I loved them! We had online discussions in chat rooms, though, so I still had some interaction with other students. With that being said, I had plenty of classes on campus and I enjoyed those too, especially when it was something like Ethics, where discussions got very interesting!
I graduated from law school this past spring. After nearly 23 years of being a traditional student I had to study for the bar exam via online lectures and lots and lots of study guides all by myself. Although it was overwhelming at first, I found that sticking to a schedule, working in environments with no distractions like libraries, and remaining focused on the big picture really helped me to stay disciplined. If you can get up and get to the gym at 5 am every morning you definitely have the discipline to study for this exam! Plus, while you might not have other students to chat with and commiserate with, you also don’t have to worry about others freaking you out or making you feel like you arent working hard enough.
I’ve never taken an online class and I’m so glad. I don’t think I would like it!
You’re doing better than I am. I am studying for a huge test and have been studying since January. Or rather, not studying. It’s pretty depressing. I love the classroom environment. It’s so hard to study by myself.
I like online and at home learning because of the flexibility 🙂
I have studied quite a bit at home but do prefer the classroom as well. I am currently studying to be a personal trainer from home as well and have found the material a bit dry so it is hard to stay motivated to do the reading, so I have had to start setting aside time to do just that. It is harder than some of my studying as well as it isn’t riveting stuff at the start 🙂
Good luck!!
Steph
I like the classroom setting if I need things explained more in depth but I love the internet because you can do things at your own pace. It’s much more convenient when you’re older, working full time.
I really dislike online classes! I’m actually a teacher, and our college is trying to do more online courses. I see the positive in them, but I love the face-to-face time I have with my students. When I took online classes, I wasn’t motivated AT ALL!!
Love your blog! I read it everyday, hehe and sometimes in class!…
Can you please tell me which program you are choosing to get certified through. I have been doing some research and would love to hear your thoughts on the one you are currently doing! If anyone else knows of some other great programs please let me know :).
NASM 🙂
I am taking an online holistic nutrition course and just started a hands on personal training course (NASM). I am so glad I chose the classroom environment for the PT because all that anatomy and physiology would be brutal otherwise! I totally know how you feel and would probably have a lot of trouble staying motivated if I, like you, were studying at home.
It’s funny, now that I am back in school, I MUCH prefer being in a classroom than online. However, there are certain classes that are probably easier to take online rather than in person. Especially a computer class (if you are comfortable with basic processes) since it is mostly self-paced projects anyway!
I can relate to this topic so much. I would say both avenues have their benefits but ultimately WHAT you study is more important than WHERE you study. If the material isn’t great, even the best environment will fail you. I love the people and professors at my university but the material there was unchallenging overall. I didn’t investigate my program closely before enrolling because I thought the environment would compensate, which was silly of me.
After deciding to finish my senior year online, through various universities, I finally feel I am learning what I went to college for. Seems kinda sad that I am teaching myself when I really wanted to earn my degree from experts in my field, but a good education is a good education.
If you pick the right university, you will likely have a stellar experience and love the classroom environment. Since I picked the wrong one, I grew a bit bored and bitter and will probably need a break for awhile. So, if you hate your university I’ll preach for the Internet. But first I just want to preach for picking the right program! The Internet is a great alternative but I don’t think it’s a first choice for many people.