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<p>Now, as with other personality traits, there is variation in learning styles. Most people in the middle of the distribution are fine off learning from lectures. Some people in the extremes may be able to do so with coping strategies. However, some other people on the extremes will never be able to establish such coping strategies. </p>
<p>Maybe it would be better if I had Adderall. But my psychiatrist refused to prescribe them to me, and I don’t have another choice other than to skip courses and get research to account for my inability to pay attention. Drifting off during lectures is not something you can easily work on. In fact, it is well demonstrated from psychological studies on ego depletion ( <a href=“http://www.psy.fsu.edu/~baumeistertice/egodepletion.html[/url]”>http://www.psy.fsu.edu/~baumeistertice/egodepletion.html</a> ) that using “willpower” on one task diminishes the amount of willpower one can devote to other tasks. Using “willpower” on trying to pay attention diminishes the amount of willpower that I can devote to other tasks.</p>
<p>Just because you have dealt with some differences doesn’t mean that those differences describe all people with learning style differences (as I said before, there is variation, and there are the extremes). I have Asperger’s Syndrome, and my case is far more severe than that of the other Aspies I know. Even with the condition of mine, I am still different from other people with my condition. I can learn the material - but I learn at an entirely different pace than other people do. I don’t process things at the same speeds at others. I can still learn the material - but it’s difficult to learn the material in a standard format. One that assumes that students can learn at the same pace. </p>
<p>Moreover, lectures are only the means to an end. Once you’re finished with them, you’re finished with them for good. There are seminars and conferences in the future, certainly, but those are different in lectures (you’re not expected to be tested on the material). </p>
<p>By effectively monopolizing all instruction to lectures, the institution fails to deal with people who choose to learn by other methods, such as MIT OCW, alternative textbooks, and other means. </p>
<p>What were you an instructor in? Are you a professor? </p>
<p>Moreover, try to avoid committing the post hoc, ergo procter hoc fallacy. People learn after they take a course. It does not establish that they have learned from the lectures. They may have learned from the book, even though they have went to such lectures.</p>
<p>The only thing that matters in the end is that you’ve learned the material, regardless of the means to such an end. All knowledge that is on an exam is covered by some textbook or course website (on another university’s website, perhaps, but I have downloaded huge amounts of course materials from other university websites.</p>