WOOP! Such a nerd! As you know I am studying to become a qualified Pilates instructor at the moment. Part of my course requires me to learn a fair bit of anatomy and physiology. Luckily I just so happen to teach (as a secondary science teacher) a lot of the physiology – phew – so that hopefully won’t require too much of my time.
The anatomy on the other hand may just need a fair bit more time devoted to it – especially all the muscles!
FACT: According to Wikipedia there are at least 640 muscles in the human body (depending on who you speak to).
Luckily many of them work in pairs so that brings the list of names needed to know down to 320. Saying that I am slightly daunted by this task is certainly an understatement. So I have enlisted the help of two books: The Concise Book of Muscles and an Anatomy Colouring Book.
I have always wanted an excuse to learn human anatomy. Having studied zoology at university I could recognise all the bones of crocodile, koala or Panda’s skull at one stage, but never learned muscles. Now is my chance. Learning is something that I really enjoy. It gives me a strong sense of accomplishment and improves my own self identity/confidence. My aim is not just to ‘learn’ the muscles in order to pass the exam, but to truly learn (most) of them. This will 1) satisfy myself that I have truly accomplished this challenge and 2) make me feel more confident understanding the relationship between the body and Pilates when working with clients.
As I teacher I gave myself a long, hard look in the mirror telling myself that I have an enormous toolbox of strategies for learning so I would be pretty (extremely) foolish not to use them.
I know that I learn best through writing in context, use of colour, pictures and then verbalising. What does this mean? Well basically putting the information into my own words or format, using lots of colours and pictures where possible, then explaining to someone else. Yes that requires more effort… but that is exactly why they work! Hence the colouring book. Plus you need to have some level of enjoyment to learn as this means that your brain is engaging in more areas and therefore greater learning is occurring! So felt tips (textas) and coloured pencils are at the ready. Watch out muscles… here I come!
Do you enjoy learning? How do you learn best?
Everyday Small Things 