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Learning And Growing Together Essay

Table of Contents

Introduction

Have you heard the saying, “Two heads are better than one”? This statement emphasizes that working together and sharing knowledge can lead to greater success and better outcomes. This concept is known as learning and growing together, and it is essential for personal and professional development. This Learning And Growing Together Essay will explore the benefits of learning and growing together, strategies for implementing this mindset, and examples of successful collaboration.

Here are the benefits of learning and growing together:

Collaboration and Teamwork

One of the main benefits of learning and growing together is the ability to collaborate and work as a team. Individuals can combine their unique strengths and skills to achieve a common goal when working together. For example, in a group project, one person may be good at research, while another may be skilled at graphic design. They can create a high-quality project showcasing their research and design skills by working together.

Improved Communication Skills

Learning and growing together also help individuals develop better communication skills. By practicing effective communication, individuals can avoid misunderstandings and work more efficiently. When working with others, expressing ideas clearly and listening to others’ perspectives is essential. In addition, good communication skills are important in personal and professional relationships.

Increased Creativity and Innovation

Another benefit of learning and growing together is the ability to generate new and innovative ideas. When individuals work alone, they may become stuck in their thought patterns and ideas. Working with others allows them to brainstorm and share ideas they may have yet to consider. This can lead to greater creativity and innovation, leading to better problem-solving.

Greater Accountability and Responsibility

Learning and growing together also promote greater accountability and responsibility. When individuals work alone, they may be tempted to procrastinate or take shortcuts. However, when working in a group, they are accountable to others and must take responsibility for their actions. This promotes a greater sense of responsibility and can lead to better work ethics.

Enhanced Problem-Solving Abilities

Finally, learning and growing together can enhance problem-solving abilities. When individuals work together, they can approach problems from different perspectives and develop more effective solutions. This is because everyone brings their own unique experiences and knowledge to the table, which can lead to a more comprehensive understanding of the problem.

Essay on Learning And Growing Together

Here are the strategies for learning and growing together:

Regular Check-Ins and Feedback Sessions

One strategy for learning and growing together is regular check-ins and feedback sessions. This can be done in a personal or professional setting. For example, in a classroom setting, students can work in pairs or small groups and have regular check-ins to discuss their progress and provide feedback. This helps individuals stay on track and ensures everyone is on the same page.

Sharing Knowledge and Skills

Another strategy for learning and growing together is to share knowledge and skills. This can be done by teaching others or by learning from others. For example, in a workplace, employees can attend training sessions to learn new skills or teach others their skills. This helps everyone improve their abilities and ensures the organization has a well-rounded and knowledgeable staff.

Participating in Group Training or Workshops

Participating in group training or workshops is also a great way to learn and grow together. These events allow individuals to learn new skills, share ideas, and network. For example, a group of students may attend a writing workshop to improve their writing skills. They can share ideas and learn from one another by attending this workshop together.

Encouraging Diversity and Inclusivity

Another strategy for learning and growing together is to encourage diversity and inclusivity. This means that individuals should embrace different perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds. By doing so, they can learn from one another and better understand the world around them. This can lead to more effective problem-solving and decision-making and a more positive and inclusive environment.

Setting Goals and Working Towards Them as a Team

Finally, setting goals and working towards them as a team is another effective strategy for learning and growing together. This helps individuals stay focused and motivated, ensuring everyone works towards a common goal. For example, a group of coworkers may set a goal to increase sales by a certain percentage. By working towards this goal together, they can hold each other accountable and ensure everyone is doing their part.

Examples of Successful Learning and Growing Together (Essay)

There are many examples of successful collaboration and learning, and growing together. One such example was the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969. The mission involved a team of scientists, engineers, and astronauts who worked together to accomplish a historic feat. Each person brought their unique skills and knowledge to the project, and by working together, they overcame challenges and achieved their goal.

Scientists worldwide worked together to create an effective vaccine against the virus. By sharing their knowledge and collaborating, they were able to develop a vaccine in record time. Another example of successful collaboration is the development of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Challenges and Potential Roadblocks

While learning and growing together can be incredibly beneficial, challenges and potential roadblocks can arise. One common challenge is the need for more communication. When individuals are not communicating effectively, misunderstandings can occur, leading to conflict and delays in the project.

Another challenge is the need for more trust. When individuals do not trust one another, they may hesitate to share their ideas or work together. This can lead to poor collaboration and hinder the project’s progress.

Finally, lacking diversity and inclusivity can also be a potential roadblock. When individuals do not embrace different perspectives and experiences, they may miss out on important insights and ideas. This can lead to a lack of creativity and innovation, hindering the project’s success.

The Learning and growing together Essay concludes that learning and growing together is essential for personal and professional development. By collaborating, sharing knowledge and skills, and working towards common goals, individuals can achieve greater success and better outcomes. While challenges can arise, these can be overcome with effective communication, trust, and a commitment to diversity and inclusivity. So, whether you are working on a group project in school or collaborating with coworkers in the workplace, remember the benefits of learning and growing together and embrace the power of teamwork.

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What is learning and growing together?

Learning and growing together is a collaborative process where individuals work together to gain knowledge, skills, and experiences. It involves a shared commitment to personal and collective growth, where everyone involved contributes to each other’s learning and development.

Why learning and growing together is important?

Learning and growing together is important because it fosters a sense of community and collaboration, which can lead to improved outcomes for everyone involved. It creates a supportive environment where individuals can learn from each other’s strengths and weaknesses and work together to overcome challenges. Additionally, it promotes a growth mindset where individuals are open to feedback and continuously strive to improve themselves and their collective goals.

What is the power of learning together? 

The power of learning together lies in the collective knowledge and experiences of the group. When individuals come together to learn and grow, they bring unique perspectives and insights that can broaden everyone’s understanding of a subject. Additionally, the group can provide a supportive environment encouraging risk-taking and experimentation, leading to innovative solutions and increased creativity.

Which is a process of learning and growth?

The process of learning and growth involves several key steps. First, individuals must have a growth mindset and be open to feedback and continuous learning. They must also be willing to take risks and experiment with new ideas. Next, individuals must actively seek learning opportunities and grow through formal education or informal experiences. Finally, individuals must reflect on their experiences and use their newfound knowledge and skills to improve themselves and their community.

What is the learning together model? 

The learning together model is a collaborative approach to learning and growth that emphasizes the importance of community and shared experiences. It involves individuals working together towards a common goal, each contributing unique skills and perspectives. The learning together model encourages active participation and engagement, with individuals taking responsibility for their learning while also supporting the learning of others. This model can be applied in various settings, from classrooms to workplaces to community organizations.

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The Educationalist

Growing together: What's the key to a successful learning community?

The educationalist. by alexandra mihai.

Welcome to a new issue of “The Educationalist”! As I am settling into my new adventure at the Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning at Yale , I am trying to make the most of these first weeks, full of new ideas and reflections. After all, nothing compares to being in a new place- it gives you the chance to practice “beginner’s mind”, to challenge your assumptions and open your mind to new ways of doing things. One of the thing I noticed already after a few days is that faculty learning communities feature much more prominently among faculty development activities here than at the European universities I am familiar with. So I decided to dedicate some time to learning more about different approaches of community building and facilitation. This newsletter is only the starting point, bringing up some initial thoughts and questions I have, as well as some resources for further reading. If you have experience facilitating faculty learning communities, I would be very happy to hear from you and start a conversation!

What is a learning community?

Moving from knowledge transmission- be it pedagogical, technological or both- towards facilitating learning communities has been an important topic on the faculty development agenda for quite a while now. Nothing new here. Professional learning communities have been, at least in theory, one staff development avenue used with various degrees of success in different contexts and at different levels of the education system. They are based on the idea of creating a space for reflective practitioners to exchange and crowdsource ideas and support each other in their practice . This is my own (distilled) definition, but you can find more nuanced definitions and interpretations in some of the resources listed below.

While the concept itself is very generous and inviting, and it certainly feels suitable to the world of Higher Education, creating and maintaining learning communities is more challenging than it may sound . To begin with, it is not a straightforward, well-structured faculty development activity such as, for instance, a workshop, or even a consultation. People need to commit more time to it, which is always a tricky thing with so many competing demands on our limited time. Moreover, the immediate outcome may be less tangible than in the case of a targeted workshop. Arguably, the value of a learning community increases proportionately with the effort and commitment participants put into it. So does the perceived value. You get it, it’s a vicious circle.

So how can we start to turn it into a virtuous circle? In my first three weeks at the Poorvu Center I already had the chance to observe a few instances of learning communities. While the number of participants was not very high, the quality and depth of discussions was. So I started thinking about what it takes to nurture a learning community so that it becomes a space where faculty look forward to coming and exchanging with peers.

Faculty learning communities can be created within departments (with a more homogeneous disciplinary composition) but also across disciplines , focusing on specific topics, like assessment and feedback, use of technology, etc. Both approaches can offer benefits and in fact communities can perfectly run in parallel and cross-pollinate. The key is to plant the seeds for a culture of exchange and collaboration in teaching and learning . Having functioning learning communities, however small at first, is a valuable testimony of a cultural change. It’s something we can work with.

I wrote more about the benefits of cultivating a dialogue about our teaching practice, including some examples of how to do it here . Sanna Eronen also wrote on the importance of peer support as a tool for faculty development here , giving some great examples and tips based on her practice.

There are many good reasons why facilitating faculty learning communities is an important aspect of educational development. Here are the ones I find most important- again distilled from my perspective:

Safe space : creating a space where faculty can “come as they are”, where they can afford to be vulnerable, imperfect and share their experiences with peers. This is the most difficult thing to achieve, also the most valuable. It takes time, patience, perseverance and a gentle welcoming attitude.

Validation : providing opportunities for faculty to get their teaching practice validated: by peers, by educational developers and ultimately by the broader institutional community. We can act as cheerleaders- this role is almost as important as providing direct support.

Crowdsourcing ideas: a learning community is essentially a space where more minds come together and think through their challenges. The results are rich, sometimes surprising and definitely provide lots of food for thought.

Accountability: making changes in our practice is hard as it is. Doing it alone can be really daunting. A community can provide chances to partner up and work through changes together. Share notes. Keep each other accountable in a gentle, collegial way.

Facilitating a learning community

Creating a learning community, facilitating it and nurturing its development and growth takes commitment . Individual commitment and institutional commitment. It takes time and it requires resources (which might not be self-evident, but think about it for a minute!). Building and especially maintaining a community implies a cultural shift . And these don’t just happen overnight. I heard many colleagues at various institutions who tried to establish various formats of learning communities, and failed. No matter how passionate they were about it. It happened to me too. And all too often we give up on this informal, light touch approach that seems ever more elusive and put our efforts into highly structured programmes like workshops and certificates.

Still, there is nothing that prevents these two paths from running in parallel, and cross each other every now and then. But we need to acknowledge that successfully building a learning community requires a specific set of skills . Here is how I’d summarise it:

Reach out : proactively going to different departments/ faculties and talking to people, finding what their needs are and planting the seeds for a culture of exchange;

Connect : creating networks that bring together people with similar interests, connecting the dots, bringing people in the same room (physically or virtually);

Listen : active listening plays a key role; taking yourself out of the equation so that you can help create an atmosphere of trust;

Facilitate : conversations can sometimes be difficult; being prepared to manage those moments, knowing when to step in and when to take a step back (it’s an art);

Curate : creating a repository of resources, which is always “work in progress”; encouraging co-creating and co-curation; this is the lasting legacy of a community.

In terms of space and modality , both virtual and physical spaces work well, the key is keeping a certain degree of flexibility and technology can help with this. For instance, the curation element, but also part of the networking element can take place in the virtual environment. However, the social aspect can be enhanced by the presence of coffee and cake :)

How about engagement ? We can start with the "usual suspects", people who come to us often and are enthusiastic about their teaching. Then we could try adding a "bring a friend" policy. In time, the community hopefully grows, at its own pace. Every new member is a small win. Again, we’re talking about a marathon here, not a sprint.

Last but not least, trying to build learning communities right now is a very good way to support Faculty reconnect with peers after a (too) long time of working and teaching remotely. Creating a shared space. A safe space. A sandbox. Centres for Teaching and Learning can initiate and facilitate these communities, but ideally, given time, the spirit will spread beyond their boundaries.

Faculty Learning Communities: Five Skills Every Facilitator Should Capture - a collection of useful tips for those of us aiming to build and facilitate learning communities;

Sustaining pedagogical change via faculty learning community , by Teresa L. Tinnell, Patricia A. S. Ralston, Thomas R. Tretter and Mary E. Mills- article offering interesting insights on the relation between faculty learning communities and lasting pedagogical change;

Faculty Learning Communities: A Model for Supporting Curriculum Changes in Higher Education , by Marion Engin and Fairlie Atkinson- an article reflecting on the benefits and limitations of a faculty learning community;

Professional Learning Communities: A Review of the Literature , by Louise Stoll, Ray Bolam, Agnes McMahon, Mike Wallace and Sally Thomas- A broad overview of professional learning communities as a tool for capacity building;

Community of Practice Design Guide: A Step-by-Step Guide for Designing & Cultivating Communities of Practice in Higher Education - provides a structure to help clarify the most important design elements that go into defining, designing, launching, and growing CoPs- both online and face-to-face;

Practices of Professional Learning Communities , by Markku Antinluoma, Liisa Ilomäki and Auli Toom- an article which investigates practices of leadership, culture, teacher collaboration, professional learning, and development;

Faculty Learning Communities: Making the Connection, Virtually - some thoughts on creating and maintaining virtual learning communities (written before Covid but definitely making some relevant points for the current context);

Can online learning communities achieve the goals of traditional professional learning communities? What the literature says - a literature review on online and hybrid professional learning communities.

Letter to Faculty

This week I had the chance to attend a very inspiring workshop on alternative assessment methods with Jesse Stommel . During a 4 minute writing exercise, he had us write a “letter to students” (or to faculty, for those of us in faculty development) in which we acknowledge our values, what success looks like for us and how we try to show we care. I found it a great exercise and I am sharing what I wrote not because I think it’s great, but because it captures the raw essence of my faculty development approach (also closely linked to the idea of learning community) and I hope it may serve as inspiration for some of you:

This space is your space. A space for learning. For trying new things. For failing. And again, for learning. I value your presence. I value your questions. Keep them coming. I can’t promise I have all the answers you need but I commit to do my best to support you in finding your answers. And in asking ever more questions.

Your success is not going to be measured only in student evaluations. Your value as teachers goes far beyond that. If you tried something and reflected on it. If you changed a small part of your practice and see the benefits. If you had a student coming and telling you that you did a good job. This is success .

Learn from each other. Talk to each other. Put your experiences together. This collective experience will value more than the sum of its parts. But don’t forget to take care of yourself. Be there for yourself so you can be there for your students.

What’s new @ The Educationalist?

It is my pleasure to invite you to check out three new stories , part of the “Around the world” faculty development series:

How faculty development can contribute to the well-being of academics: Reflections from practice , by Dr. Inken Gast , Maastricht University, The Netherlands, where she shares some useful tips about how we as faculty developers can make a positive impact on the well-being of academics;

“Around the world” podcast, episode 6: Digital competencies and internationalisation , with Chahira Nouira , University of Göttingen, Germany, where she talks about how the good use of virtual environments, together with digital skills development can benefit interdisciplinary collaboration and broaden the geographical reach;

“Around the world” podcast, episode 7: Institutional support for the use of educational technology , with Dr. Jenae Cohn , California State University, Sacramento, USA, where we discuss about her institutional role as a translator and bridge builder between different actors (Faculty, staff, students, IT, etc) and some lessons learned during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ready for more?

What Is Learning? Essay about Learning Importance

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

What Is learning? 👨‍🎓️ Why is learning important? Find the answers here! 🔤 This essay on learning describes its outcomes and importance in one’s life.

Introduction

• The Key Concepts

Learning is a continuous process that involves the transformation of information and experience into abilities and knowledge. Learning, according to me, is a two way process that involves the learner and the educator leading to knowledge acquisition as well as capability.

It informs my educational sector by making sure that both the students and the teacher participate during the learning process to make it more real and enjoyable so that the learners can clearly understand. There are many and different learning concepts held by students and ways in which the different views affect teaching and learning.

What Is Learning? The Key Concepts

One of the learning concept held by students is, presentation of learning material that is precise. This means that any material that is meant for learning should be very clear put in a language that the learners comprehend (Blackman & Benson 2003). The material should also be detailed with many examples that are relevant to the prior knowledge of the learner.

This means that the learner must have pertinent prior knowledge. This can be obtained by the teacher explaining new ideas and words that are to be encountered in a certain field or topic that might take more consecutive lessons. Different examples assist the students in approaching ideas in many perspectives.

The learner is able to get similarities from the many examples given thus leading to a better understanding of a concept since the ideas are related and linked.

Secondly, new meanings should be incorporated into the students’ prior knowledge, instead of remembering only the definitions or procedures. Therefore, to promote expressive learning, instructional methods that relate new information to the learner’s prior knowledge should be used.

Moreover, significant learning involves the use of evaluation methods that inspire learners to relate their existing knowledge with new ideas. For the students to comprehend complex ideas, they must be combined with the simple ideas they know.

Teaching becomes very easy when a lesson starts with simple concepts that the students are familiar with. The students should start by understanding what they know so that they can use the ideas in comprehending complex concepts. This makes learning smooth and easy for both the learner and the educator (Chermak& Weiss 1999).

Thirdly, acquisition of the basic concepts is very essential for the student to understand the threshold concepts. This is because; the basic concepts act as a foundation in learning a certain topic or procedure. So, the basic concepts must be comprehended first before proceeding to the incorporation of the threshold concepts.

This makes the student to have a clear understanding of each stage due to the possession of initial knowledge (Felder &Brent 1996). A deeper foundation of the study may also be achieved through getting the differences between various concepts clearly and by knowing the necessary as well as the unnecessary aspects. Basic concepts are normally taught in the lower classes of each level.

They include defining terms in each discipline. These terms aid in teaching in all the levels because they act as a foundation. The stage of acquiring the basics determines the students’ success in the rest of their studies.

This is because lack of basics leads to failure since the students can not understand the rest of the context in that discipline, which depends mostly on the basics. For learning to become effective to the students, the basics must be well understood as well as their applications.

Learning by use of models to explain certain procedures or ideas in a certain discipline is also another learning concept held by students. Models are helpful in explaining complex procedures and they assist the students in understanding better (Blackman & Benson 2003).

For instance, in economics, there are many models that are used by the students so that they can comprehend the essential interrelationships in that discipline. A model known as comparative static is used by the students who do economics to understand how equilibrium is used in economic reason as well as the forces that bring back equilibrium after it has been moved.

The students must know the importance of using such kind of models, the main aspect in the model and its relationship with the visual representation. A model is one of the important devices that must be used by a learner to acquire knowledge. They are mainly presented in a diagram form using symbols or arrows.

It simplifies teaching especially to the slow learners who get the concept slowly but clearly. It is the easiest and most effective method of learning complex procedures or directions. Most models are in form of flowcharts.

Learners should get used to learning incomplete ideas so that they can make more complete ideas available to them and enjoy going ahead. This is because, in the process of acquiring the threshold concepts, the prior knowledge acquired previously might be transformed.

So, the students must be ready to admit that every stage in the learning process they get an understanding that is temporary. This problem intensifies when the understanding of an idea acquired currently changes the understanding of an idea that had been taught previously.

This leads to confusion that can make the weak students lose hope. That is why the teacher should always state clear similarities as well as differences of various concepts. On the other hand, the student should be able to compare different concepts and stating their similarities as well as differences (Watkins & Regmy 1992).

The student should also be careful when dealing with concepts that seem similar and must always be attentive to get the first hand information from the teacher. Teaching and learning becomes very hard when learners do not concentrate by paying attention to what the teacher is explaining. For the serious students, learning becomes enjoyable and they do not get confused.

According to Chemkar and Weiss (1999), learners must not just sit down and listen, but they must involve themselves in some other activities such as reading, writing, discussing or solving problems. Basically, they must be very active and concentrate on what they are doing. These techniques are very essential because they have a great impact to the learners.

Students always support learning that is active than the traditional lecture methods because they master the content well and aids in the development of most skills such as writing and reading. So methods that enhance active learning motivate the learners since they also get more information from their fellow learners through discussions.

Students engage themselves in discussion groups or class presentations to break the monotony of lecture method of learning. Learning is a two way process and so both the teacher and the student must be involved.

Active learning removes boredom in the class and the students get so much involved thus improving understanding. This arouses the mind of the student leading to more concentration. During a lecture, the student should write down some of the important points that can later be expounded on.

Involvement in challenging tasks by the learners is so much important. The task should not be very difficult but rather it should just be slightly above the learner’s level of mastery. This makes the learner to get motivated and instills confidence. It leads to success of the learner due to the self confidence that aids in problem solving.

For instance, when a learner tackles a question that deemed hard and gets the answer correct, it becomes the best kind of encouragement ever. The learner gets the confidence that he can make it and this motivates him to achieve even more.

This kind of encouragement mostly occurs to the quick learners because the slow learners fail in most cases. This makes the slow learners fear tackling many problems. So, the concept might not apply to all the learners but for the slow learners who are determined, they can always seek for help incase of such a problem.

Moreover, another concept held by students is repetition because, the most essential factor in learning is efficient time in a task. For a student to study well he or she should consider repetition, that is, looking at the same material over and over again.

For instance, before a teacher comes for the lesson, the student can review notes and then review the same notes after the teacher gets out of class. So, the student reviews the notes many times thus improving the understanding level (Felder & Brent 1996). This simplifies revising for an exam because the student does not need to cram for it.

Reviewing the same material makes teaching very easy since the teacher does not need to go back to the previous material and start explaining again. It becomes very hard for those students who do not review their work at all because they do not understand the teacher well and are faced by a hard time when preparing for examinations.

Basically, learning requires quite enough time so that it can be effective. It also becomes a very big problem for those who do not sacrifice their time in reviews.

Acquisition of the main points improves understanding of the material to the student. Everything that is learnt or taught may not be of importance. Therefore, the student must be very keen to identify the main points when learning. These points should be written down or underlined because they become useful when reviewing notes before doing an exam. It helps in saving time and leads to success.

For those students who do not pay attention, it becomes very difficult for them to highlight the main points. They read for the sake of it and make the teacher undergo a very hard time during teaching. To overcome this problem, the students must be taught how to study so that learning can be effective.

Cooperative learning is also another concept held by the students. It is more detailed than a group work because when used properly, it leads to remarkable results. This is very encouraging in teaching and the learning environment as well.

The students should not work with their friends so that learning can be productive, instead every group should have at least one top level student who can assist the weak students. The groups assist them in achieving academic as well as social abilities due to the interaction. This learning concept benefits the students more because, a fellow student can explain a concept in a better way than how the teacher can explain in class.

Assignments are then given to these groups through a selected group leader (Felder& Brent 1996). Every member must be active in contributing ideas and respect of one’s ideas is necessary. It becomes very easy for the teacher to mark such kind of assignments since they are fewer than marking for each individual.

Learning becomes enjoyable because every student is given a chance to express his or her ideas freely and in a constructive manner. Teaching is also easier because the students encounter very many new ideas during the discussions. Some students deem it as time wastage but it is necessary in every discipline.

Every group member should be given a chance to become the group’s facilitator whose work is to distribute and collect assignments. Dormant students are forced to become active because every group member must contribute his or her points. Cooperative learning is a concept that requires proper planning and organization.

Completion of assignments is another student held learning concept. Its main aim is to assist the student in knowing whether the main concepts in a certain topic were understood. This acts as a kind of self evaluation to the student and also assists the teacher to know whether the students understood a certain topic. The assignments must be submitted to the respective teacher for marking.

Those students who are focused follow the teacher after the assignments have been marked for clarification purposes. This enhances learning and the student understands better. Many students differ with this idea because they do not like relating with the teacher (Marton &Beaty 1993). This leads to very poor grades since communication is a very essential factor in learning.

Teaching becomes easier and enjoyable when there is a student- teacher relationship. Assignment corrections are necessary to both the student and the teacher since the student comprehends the right method of solving a certain problem that he or she could not before.

Lazy students who do not do corrections make teaching hard for the teacher because they make the other students to lag behind. Learning may also become ineffective for them due to low levels of understanding.

Acquisition of facts is still another student held concept that aims at understanding reality. Students capture the essential facts so that they can understand how they suit in another context. Many students fail to obtain the facts because they think that they can get everything taught in class or read from books.

When studying, the student must clearly understand the topic so that he or she can develop a theme. This helps in making short notes by eliminating unnecessary information. So, the facts must always be identified and well understood in order to apply them where necessary. Teaching becomes easier when the facts are well comprehended by the students because it enhances effective learning.

Effective learning occurs when a student possesses strong emotions. A strong memory that lasts for long is linked with the emotional condition of the learner. This means that the learners will always remember well when learning is incorporated with strong emotions. Emotions develop when the students have a positive attitude towards learning (Marton& Beaty 1993).

This is because they will find learning enjoyable and exciting unlike those with a negative attitude who will find learning boring and of no use to them. Emotions affect teaching since a teacher will like to teach those students with a positive attitude towards what he is teaching rather than those with a negative attitude.

The positive attitude leads to effective learning because the students get interested in what they are learning and eventually leads to success. Learning does not become effective where students portray a negative attitude since they are not interested thus leading to failure.

Furthermore, learning through hearing is another student held concept. This concept enables them to understand what they hear thus calling for more attention and concentration. They prefer instructions that are given orally and are very keen but they also participate by speaking. Teaching becomes very enjoyable since the students contribute a lot through talking and interviewing.

Learning occurs effectively because the students involve themselves in oral reading as well as listening to recorded information. In this concept, learning is mostly enhanced by debating, presenting reports orally and interviewing people. Those students who do not prefer this concept as a method of learning do not involve themselves in debates or oral discussions but use other learning concepts.

Learners may also use the concept of seeing to understand better. This makes them remember what they saw and most of them prefer using written materials (Van Rosum & Schenk 1984). Unlike the auditory learners who grasp the concept through hearing, visual learners understand better by seeing.

They use their sight to learn and do it quietly. They prefer watching things like videos and learn from what they see. Learning occurs effectively since the memory is usually connected with visual images. Teaching becomes very easy when visual images are incorporated. They include such things like pictures, objects, graphs.

A teacher can use charts during instruction thus improving the students’ understanding level or present a demonstration for the students to see. Diagrams are also necessary because most students learn through seeing.

Use of visual images makes learning to look real and the student gets the concept better than those who learn through imaginations. This concept makes the students to use text that has got many pictures, diagrams, graphics, maps and graphs.

In learning students may also use the tactile concept whereby they gain knowledge and skills through touching. They gain knowledge mostly through manipulative. Teaching becomes more effective when students are left to handle equipments for themselves for instance in a laboratory practical. Students tend to understand better because they are able to follow instructions (Watkins & Regmy 1992).

After applying this concept, the students are able to engage themselves in making perfect drawings, making models and following procedures to make something. Learning may not take place effectively to those students who do not like manipulating because it arouses the memory and the students comprehends the concept in a better way.

Learning through analysis is also another concept held by students because they are able to plan their work in an organized manner which is based on logic ideas only. It requires individual learning and effective learning occurs when information is given in steps. This makes the teacher to structure the lessons properly and the goals should be clear.

This method of organizing ideas makes learning to become effective thus leading to success and achievement of the objectives. Analysis improves understanding of concepts to the learners (Watkins & Regmy 1992). They also understand certain procedures used in various topics because they are sequential.

Teaching and learning becomes very hard for those students who do not know how to analyze their work. Such students learn in a haphazard way thus leading to failure.

If all the learning concepts held by students are incorporated, then remarkable results can be obtained. A lot information and knowledge can be obtained through learning as long as the learner uses the best concepts for learning. Learners are also different because there are those who understand better by seeing while others understand through listening or touching.

So, it is necessary for each learner to understand the best concept to use in order to improve the understanding level. For the slow learners, extra time should be taken while studying and explanations must be clear to avoid confusion. There are also those who follow written instructions better than those instructions that are given orally. Basically, learners are not the same and so require different techniques.

Reference List

Benson, A., & Blackman, D., 2003. Can research methods ever be interesting? Active Learning in Higher Education, Vol. 4, No. 1, 39-55.

Chermak, S., & Weiss, A., 1999. Activity-based learning of statistics: Using practical applications to improve students’ learning. Journal of Criminal Justice Education , Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 361-371.

Felder, R., & Brent, R., 1996. Navigating the bumpy road to student-centered instruction. College Teaching , Vol. 44, No. 2, pp. 43-47.

Marton, F. & Beaty, E., 1993. Conceptions of learning. International Journal of Educational Research , Vol. 19, pp. 277-300.

Van Rossum, E., & Schenk, S., 1984. The relationship between learning conception, study strategy and learning outcome. British Journal of Educational Psychology , Vol. 54, No.1, pp. 73-85.

Watkins, D., & Regmy, M., 1992. How universal are student conceptions of learning? A Nepalese investigation. Psychologia , Vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 101-110.

What Is Learning? FAQ

• Why Is Learning Important? Learning means gaining new knowledge, skills, and values, both in a group or on one’s own. It helps a person to develop, maintain their interest in life, and adapt to changes.
• Why Is Online Learning Good? Online learning has a number of advantages over traditional learning. First, it allows you to collaborate with top experts in your area of interest, no matter where you are located geographically. Secondly, it encourages independence and helps you develop time management skills. Last but not least, it saves time on transport.
• How to Overcome Challenges in Online Learning? The most challenging aspects of distant learning are the lack of face-to-face communication and the lack of feedback. The key to overcoming these challenges is effective communication with teachers and classmates through videoconferencing, email, and chats.
• The Benefits and Issues in Bilingual Education
• Benefits of Online College
• Apple’s iBook Using in Schools
• Students in School: Importance of Assessment Essay
• Instructional Plan in Writing for Learners With Disabilities
• Concept of Learning Geometry in School
• Distance Learning OL and Interactive Video in Higher Education
• Taxonomy of Learning Objectives
• Importance of social interaction to learning
• Comparing learning theories
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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8 Overcoming Challenges College Essay Examples

The purpose of the Overcoming Challenges essay is for schools to see how you might handle the difficulties of college. They want to know how you grow, evolve, and learn when you face adversity. For this topic, there are many clichés , such as getting a bad grade or losing a sports game, so be sure to steer clear of those and focus on a topic that’s unique to you. (See our full guide on the Overcoming Challenges Essay for more tips).

These overcoming challenges essay examples were all written by real students. Read through them to get a sense of what makes a strong essay. At the end, we’ll present the revision process for the first essay and share some resources for improving your essay.

Please note: Looking at examples of real essays students have submitted to colleges can be very beneficial to get inspiration for your essays. You should never copy or plagiarize from these examples when writing your own essays. Colleges can tell when an essay isn’t genuine and will not view students favorably if they plagiarized. 

Essay 1: Becoming a Coach

“Advanced females ages 13 to 14 please proceed to staging with your coaches at this time.” Skittering around the room, eyes wide and pleading, I frantically explained my situation to nearby coaches. The seconds ticked away in my head; every polite refusal increased my desperation.

Despair weighed me down. I sank to my knees as a stream of competitors, coaches, and officials flowed around me. My dojang had no coach, and the tournament rules prohibited me from competing without one.

Although I wanted to remain strong, doubts began to cloud my mind. I could not help wondering: what was the point of perfecting my skills if I would never even compete? The other members of my team, who had found coaches minutes earlier, attempted to comfort me, but I barely heard their words. They couldn’t understand my despair at being left on the outside, and I never wanted them to understand.

Since my first lesson 12 years ago, the members of my dojang have become family. I have watched them grow up, finding my own happiness in theirs. Together, we have honed our kicks, blocks, and strikes. We have pushed one another to aim higher and become better martial artists. Although my dojang had searched for a reliable coach for years, we had not found one. When we attended competitions in the past, my teammates and I had always gotten lucky and found a sympathetic coach. Now, I knew this practice was unsustainable. It would devastate me to see the other members of my dojang in my situation, unable to compete and losing hope as a result. My dojang needed a coach, and I decided it was up to me to find one.

I first approached the adults in the dojang – both instructors and members’ parents. However, these attempts only reacquainted me with polite refusals. Everyone I asked told me they couldn’t devote multiple weekends per year to competitions. I soon realized that I would have become the coach myself.

At first, the inner workings of tournaments were a mystery to me. To prepare myself for success as a coach, I spent the next year as an official and took coaching classes on the side. I learned everything from motivational strategies to technical, behind-the-scenes components of Taekwondo competitions. Though I emerged with new knowledge and confidence in my capabilities, others did not share this faith.

Parents threw me disbelieving looks when they learned that their children’s coach was only a child herself. My self-confidence was my armor, deflecting their surly glances. Every armor is penetrable, however, and as the relentless barrage of doubts pounded my resilience, it began to wear down. I grew unsure of my own abilities.

Despite the attack, I refused to give up. When I saw the shining eyes of the youngest students preparing for their first competition, I knew I couldn’t let them down. To quit would be to set them up to be barred from competing like I was. The knowledge that I could solve my dojang’s longtime problem motivated me to overcome my apprehension.

Now that my dojang flourishes at competitions, the attacks on me have weakened, but not ended. I may never win the approval of every parent; at times, I am still tormented by doubts, but I find solace in the fact that members of my dojang now only worry about competing to the best of their abilities.

Now, as I arrive at a tournament with my students, I close my eyes and remember the past. I visualize the frantic search for a coach and the chaos amongst my teammates as we competed with one another to find coaches before the staging calls for our respective divisions. I open my eyes to the exact opposite scene. Lacking a coach hurt my ability to compete, but I am proud to know that no member of my dojang will have to face that problem again.

This essay begins with an in-the-moment narrative that really illustrates the chaos of looking for a coach last-minute. We feel the writer’s emotions, particularly their dejectedness, at not being able to compete.

Through this essay, we can see how gutsy and determined the student is in deciding to become a coach themselves. The writer shows us these characteristics through their actions, rather than explicitly telling us: To prepare myself for success as a coach, I spent the next year as an official and took coaching classes on the side.

One area of improvement of this essay would be the “attack” wording. The author likely uses this word as a metaphor for martial arts, but it feels too strong to describe the adults’ doubt of the student’s abilities as a coach, and can even be confusing at first.

Still, we see the student’s resilience as they are able to move past the disbelieving looks to help their team. The essay is kept real and vulnerable, however, as the writer admits having doubts: Every armor is penetrable, however, and as the relentless barrage of doubts pounded my resilience, it began to wear down. I grew unsure of my own abilities.

The essay comes full circle as the author recalls the frantic situations in seeking out a coach, but this is no longer a concern for them and their team. Overall, this essay is extremely effective in painting this student as mature, bold, and compassionate.

Essay 2: Starting a Fire

Was I no longer the beloved daughter of nature, whisperer of trees? Knee-high rubber boots, camouflage, bug spray—I wore the garb and perfume of a proud wild woman, yet there I was, hunched over the pathetic pile of stubborn sticks, utterly stumped, on the verge of tears. As a child, I had considered myself a kind of rustic princess, a cradler of spiders and centipedes, who was serenaded by mourning doves and chickadees, who could glide through tick-infested meadows and emerge Lyme-free. I knew the cracks of the earth like the scars on my own rough palms. Yet here I was, ten years later, incapable of performing the most fundamental outdoor task: I could not, for the life of me, start a fire. 

Furiously I rubbed the twigs together—rubbed and rubbed until shreds of skin flaked from my fingers. No smoke. The twigs were too young, too sticky-green; I tossed them away with a shower of curses, and began tearing through the underbrush in search of a more flammable collection. My efforts were fruitless. Livid, I bit a rejected twig, determined to prove that the forest had spurned me, offering only young, wet bones that would never burn. But the wood cracked like carrots between my teeth—old, brittle, and bitter. Roaring and nursing my aching palms, I retreated to the tent, where I sulked and awaited the jeers of my family. 

Rattling their empty worm cans and reeking of fat fish, my brother and cousins swaggered into the campsite. Immediately, they noticed the minor stick massacre by the fire pit and called to me, their deep voices already sharp with contempt. 

“Where’s the fire, Princess Clara?” they taunted. “Having some trouble?” They prodded me with the ends of the chewed branches and, with a few effortless scrapes of wood on rock, sparked a red and roaring flame. My face burned long after I left the fire pit. The camp stank of salmon and shame. 

In the tent, I pondered my failure. Was I so dainty? Was I that incapable? I thought of my hands, how calloused and capable they had been, how tender and smooth they had become. It had been years since I’d kneaded mud between my fingers; instead of scaling a white pine, I’d practiced scales on my piano, my hands softening into those of a musician—fleshy and sensitive. And I’d gotten glasses, having grown horrifically nearsighted; long nights of dim lighting and thick books had done this. I couldn’t remember the last time I had lain down on a hill, barefaced, and seen the stars without having to squint. Crawling along the edge of the tent, a spider confirmed my transformation—he disgusted me, and I felt an overwhelming urge to squash him. 

Yet, I realized I hadn’t really changed—I had only shifted perspective. I still eagerly explored new worlds, but through poems and prose rather than pastures and puddles. I’d grown to prefer the boom of a bass over that of a bullfrog, learned to coax a different kind of fire from wood, having developed a burn for writing rhymes and scrawling hypotheses. 

That night, I stayed up late with my journal and wrote about the spider I had decided not to kill. I had tolerated him just barely, only shrieking when he jumped—it helped to watch him decorate the corners of the tent with his delicate webs, knowing that he couldn’t start fires, either. When the night grew cold and the embers died, my words still smoked—my hands burned from all that scrawling—and even when I fell asleep, the ideas kept sparking—I was on fire, always on fire.

This essay is an excellent example because the writer turns an everyday challenge—starting a fire—into an exploration of her identity. The writer was once “a kind of rustic princess, a cradler of spiders and centipedes,” but has since traded her love of the outdoors for a love of music, writing, and reading. 

The story begins in media res , or in the middle of the action, allowing readers to feel as if we’re there with the writer. One of the essay’s biggest strengths is its use of imagery. We can easily visualize the writer’s childhood and the present day. For instance, she states that she “rubbed and rubbed [the twigs] until shreds of skin flaked from my fingers.”

The writing has an extremely literary quality, particularly with its wordplay. The writer reappropriates words and meanings, and even appeals to the senses: “My face burned long after I left the fire pit. The camp stank of salmon and shame.” She later uses a parallelism to cleverly juxtapose her changed interests: “instead of scaling a white pine, I’d practiced scales on my piano.”

One of the essay’s main areas of improvement is its overemphasis on the “story” and lack of emphasis on the reflection. The second to last paragraph about changing perspective is crucial to the essay, as it ties the anecdote to larger lessons in the writer’s life. She states that she hasn’t changed, but has only shifted perspective. Yet, we don’t get a good sense of where this realization comes from and how it impacts her life going forward. 

The end of the essay offers a satisfying return to the fire imagery, and highlights the writer’s passion—the one thing that has remained constant in her life.

Essay 3: Last-Minute Switch

The morning of the Model United Nation conference, I walked into Committee feeling confident about my research. We were simulating the Nuremberg Trials – a series of post-World War II proceedings for war crimes – and my portfolio was of the Soviet Judge Major General Iona Nikitchenko. Until that day, the infamous Nazi regime had only been a chapter in my history textbook; however, the conference’s unveiling of each defendant’s crimes brought those horrors to life. The previous night, I had organized my research, proofread my position paper and gone over Judge Nikitchenko’s pertinent statements. I aimed to find the perfect balance between his stance and my own.

As I walked into committee anticipating a battle of wits, my director abruptly called out to me. “I’m afraid we’ve received a late confirmation from another delegate who will be representing Judge Nikitchenko. You, on the other hand, are now the defense attorney, Otto Stahmer.” Everyone around me buzzed around the room in excitement, coordinating with their allies and developing strategies against their enemies, oblivious to the bomb that had just dropped on me. I felt frozen in my tracks, and it seemed that only rage against the careless delegate who had confirmed her presence so late could pull me out of my trance. After having spent a month painstakingly crafting my verdicts and gathering evidence against the Nazis, I now needed to reverse my stance only three hours before the first session.

Gradually, anger gave way to utter panic. My research was fundamental to my performance, and without it, I knew I could add little to the Trials. But confident in my ability, my director optimistically recommended constructing an impromptu defense. Nervously, I began my research anew. Despite feeling hopeless, as I read through the prosecution’s arguments, I uncovered substantial loopholes. I noticed a lack of conclusive evidence against the defendants and certain inconsistencies in testimonies. My discovery energized me, inspiring me to revisit the historical overview in my conference “Background Guide” and to search the web for other relevant articles. Some Nazi prisoners had been treated as “guilty” before their court dates. While I had brushed this information under the carpet while developing my position as a judge, i t now became the focus of my defense. I began scratching out a new argument, centered on the premise that the allied countries had violated the fundamental rule that, a defendant was “not guilty” until proven otherwise.

At the end of the three hours, I felt better prepared. The first session began, and with bravado, I raised my placard to speak. Microphone in hand, I turned to face my audience. “Greetings delegates. I, Otto Stahmer would like to…….” I suddenly blanked. Utter dread permeated my body as I tried to recall my thoughts in vain. “Defence Attorney, Stahmer we’ll come back to you,” my Committee Director broke the silence as I tottered back to my seat, flushed with embarrassment. Despite my shame, I was undeterred. I needed to vindicate my director’s faith in me. I pulled out my notes, refocused, and began outlining my arguments in a more clear and direct manner. Thereafter, I spoke articulately, confidently putting forth my points. I was overjoyed when Secretariat members congratulated me on my fine performance.

Going into the conference, I believed that preparation was the key to success. I wouldn’t say I disagree with that statement now, but I believe adaptability is equally important. My ability to problem-solve in the face of an unforeseen challenge proved advantageous in the art of diplomacy. Not only did this experience transform me into a confident and eloquent delegate at that conference, but it also helped me become a more flexible and creative thinker in a variety of other capacities. Now that I know I can adapt under pressure, I look forward to engaging in activities that will push me to be even quicker on my feet.

This essay is an excellent example because it focuses on a unique challenge and is highly engaging. The writer details their experience reversing their stance in a Model UN trial with only a few hours notice, after having researched and prepared to argue the opposite perspective for a month. 

Their essay is written in media res , or in the middle of the action, allowing readers to feel as if we’re there with the writer. The student openly shares their internal thoughts with us — we feel their anger and panic upon the reversal of roles. We empathize with their emotions of “utter dread” and embarrassment when they’re unable to speak. 

From the essay, we learn that the student believes in thorough preparation, but can also adapt to unforeseen obstacles. They’re able to rise to the challenge and put together an impromptu argument, think critically under pressure, and recover after their initial inability to speak. 

Essay 4: Music as a Coping Mechanism

CW: This essay mentions self-harm.

Sobbing uncontrollably, I parked around the corner from my best friend’s house. As I sat in the driver’s seat, I whispered the most earnest prayer I had ever offered.

Minutes before, I had driven to Colin’s house to pick up a prop for our upcoming spring musical. When I got there, his older brother, Tom, came to the door and informed me that no one else was home. “No,” I corrected, “Colin is here. He’s got a migraine.” Tom shook his head and gently told me where Colin actually was: the psychiatric unit of the local hospital. I felt a weight on my chest as I connected the dots; the terrifying picture rocked my safe little world. Tom’s words blurred as he explained Colin’s self-harm, but all I could think of was whether I could have stopped him. Those cuts on his arms had never been accidents. Colin had lied, very convincingly, many times. How could I have ignored the signs in front of me? Somehow, I managed to ask Tom whether I could see him, but he told me that visiting hours for non-family members were over for the day. I would have to move on with my afternoon.

Once my tears had subsided a little, I drove to the theater, trying to pull myself together and warm up to sing. How would I rehearse? I couldn’t sing three notes without bursting into tears. “I can’t do this,” I thought. But then I realized that the question wasn’t whether I could do it. I knew Colin would want me to push through, and something deep inside told me that music was the best way for me to process my grief. I needed to sing.

I practiced the lyrics throughout my whole drive. The first few times, I broke down in sobs. By the time I reached the theater, however, the music had calmed me. While Colin would never be far from my mind, I had to focus on the task ahead: recording vocals and then producing the video trailer that would be shown to my high school classmates. I fought to channel my worry into my recording. If my voice shook during the particularly heartfelt moments, it only added emotion and depth to my performance. I felt Colin’s absence next to me, but even before I listened to that first take, I knew it was a keeper.

With one of my hurdles behind me, I steeled myself again and prepared for the musical’s trailer. In a floor-length black cape and purple dress, I swept regally down the steps to my director, who waited outside. Under a gloomy sky that threatened to turn stormy, I boldly strode across the street, tossed a dainty yellow bouquet, and flashed confident grins at all those staring. My grief lurched inside, but I felt powerful. Despite my sadness, I could still make art.

To my own surprise, I successfully took back the day. I had felt pain, but I had not let it drown me – making music was a productive way to express my feelings than worrying. Since then, I have been learning to take better care of myself in difficult situations. That day before rehearsal, I found myself in the most troubling circumstances of my life thus far, but they did not sink me because I refused to sink. When my aunt developed cancer several months later, I knew that resolution would not come quickly, but that I could rely on music to cope with the agony, even when it would be easier to fall apart. Thankfully, Colin recovered from his injuries and was home within days. The next week, we stood together on stage at our show’s opening night. As our eyes met and our voices joined in song, I knew that music would always be our greatest mechanism for transforming pain into strength.

This essay is well-written, as we can feel the writer’s emotions through the thoughts they share, and visualize the night of the performance through their rich descriptions. Their varied sentence length also makes the essay more engaging.

That said, this essay is not a great example because of the framing of the topic. The writer can come off as insensitive since they make their friend’s struggle about themself and their emotions (and this is only worsened by the mention of their aunt’s cancer and how it was tough on them ). The essay would’ve been stronger if it focused on their guilt of not recognizing their friend’s struggles and spanned a longer period of time to demonstrate gradual relationship building and reflection. Still, this would’ve been difficult to do well.

In general, you should try to choose a challenge that is undeniably your own, and you should get at least one or two people to read your essay to give you candid feedback.

Essay 5: Dedicating a Track

“Getting beat is one thing – it’s part of competing – but I want no part in losing.” Coach Rob Stark’s motto never fails to remind me of his encouragement on early-morning bus rides to track meets around the state. I’ve always appreciated the phrase, but an experience last June helped me understand its more profound, universal meaning.

Stark, as we affectionately call him, has coached track at my high school for 25 years. His care, dedication, and emphasis on developing good character has left an enduring impact on me and hundreds of other students. Not only did he help me discover my talent and love for running, but he also taught me the importance of commitment and discipline and to approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running. When I learned a neighboring high school had dedicated their track to a longtime coach, I felt that Stark deserved similar honors.

Our school district’s board of education indicated they would only dedicate our track to Stark if I could demonstrate that he was extraordinary. I took charge and mobilized my teammates to distribute petitions, reach out to alumni, and compile statistics on the many team and individual champions Stark had coached over the years. We received astounding support, collecting almost 3,000 signatures and pages of endorsements from across the community. With help from my teammates, I presented this evidence to the board.

They didn’t bite. 

Most members argued that dedicating the track was a low priority. Knowing that we had to act quickly to convince them of its importance, I called a team meeting where we drafted a rebuttal for the next board meeting. To my surprise, they chose me to deliver it. I was far from the best public speaker in the group, and I felt nervous about going before the unsympathetic board again. However, at that second meeting, I discovered that I enjoy articulating and arguing for something that I’m passionate about.

Public speaking resembles a cross country race. Walking to the starting line, you have to trust your training and quell your last minute doubts. When the gun fires, you can’t think too hard about anything; your performance has to be instinctual, natural, even relaxed. At the next board meeting, the podium was my starting line. As I walked up to it, familiar butterflies fluttered in my stomach. Instead of the track stretching out in front of me, I faced the vast audience of teachers, board members, and my teammates. I felt my adrenaline build, and reassured myself: I’ve put in the work, my argument is powerful and sound. As the board president told me to introduce myself, I heard, “runners set” in the back of my mind. She finished speaking, and Bang! The brief silence was the gunshot for me to begin. 

The next few minutes blurred together, but when the dust settled, I knew from the board members’ expressions and the audience’s thunderous approval that I had run quite a race. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough; the board voted down our proposal. I was disappointed, but proud of myself, my team, and our collaboration off the track. We stood up for a cause we believed in, and I overcame my worries about being a leader. Although I discovered that changing the status quo through an elected body can be a painstakingly difficult process and requires perseverance, I learned that I enjoy the challenges this effort offers. Last month, one of the school board members joked that I had become a “regular” – I now often show up to meetings to advocate for a variety of causes, including better environmental practices in cafeterias and safer equipment for athletes.

Just as Stark taught me, I worked passionately to achieve my goal. I may have been beaten when I appealed to the board, but I certainly didn’t lose, and that would have made Stark proud.

While the writer didn’t succeed in getting the track dedicated to Coach Stark, their essay is certainly successful in showing their willingness to push themselves and take initiative.

The essay opens with a quote from Coach Stark that later comes full circle at the end of the essay. We learn about Stark’s impact and the motivation for trying to get the track dedicated to him.

One of the biggest areas of improvement in the intro, however, is how the essay tells us Stark’s impact rather than showing us: His care, dedication, and emphasis on developing good character has left an enduring impact on me and hundreds of other students. Not only did he help me discover my talent and love for running, but he also taught me the importance of commitment and discipline and to approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running.

The writer could’ve helped us feel a stronger emotional connection to Stark if they had included examples of Stark’s qualities, rather than explicitly stating them. For example, they could’ve written something like: Stark was the kind of person who would give you gas money if you told him your parents couldn’t afford to pick you up from practice. And he actually did that—several times. At track meets, alumni regularly would come talk to him and tell him how he’d changed their lives. Before Stark, I was ambivalent about running and was on the JV team, but his encouragement motivated me to run longer and harder and eventually make varsity. Because of him, I approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running.

The essay goes on to explain how the writer overcame their apprehension of public speaking, and likens the process of submitting an appeal to the school board to running a race. This metaphor makes the writing more engaging and allows us to feel the student’s emotions.

While the student didn’t ultimately succeed in getting the track dedicated, we learn about their resilience and initiative: I now often show up to meetings to advocate for a variety of causes, including better environmental practices in cafeterias and safer equipment for athletes.

Overall, this essay is well-done. It demonstrates growth despite failing to meet a goal, which is a unique essay structure. The running metaphor and full-circle intro/ending also elevate the writing in this essay.

Essay 6: Body Image

CW: This essay mentions eating disorders.

I press the “discover” button on my Instagram app, hoping to find enticing pictures to satisfy my boredom. Scrolling through, I see funny videos and mouth-watering pictures of food. However, one image stops me immediately. A fit teenage girl with a “perfect body” relaxes in a bikini on a beach. Beneath it, I see a slew of flattering comments. I shake with disapproval over the image’s unrealistic quality. However, part of me still wants to have a body like hers so that others will make similar comments to me.

I would like to resolve a silent issue that harms many teenagers and adults: negative self image and low self-esteem in a world where social media shapes how people view each other. When people see the façades others wear to create an “ideal” image, they can develop poor thought patterns rooted in negative self-talk. The constant comparisons to “perfect” others make people feel small. In this new digital age, it is hard to distinguish authentic from artificial representations.

When I was 11, I developed anorexia nervosa. Though I was already thin, I wanted to be skinny like the models that I saw on the magazine covers on the grocery store stands. Little did I know that those models probably also suffered from disorders, and that photoshop erased their flaws. I preferred being underweight to being healthy. No matter how little I ate or how thin I was, I always thought that I was too fat. I became obsessed with the number on the scale and would try to eat the least that I could without my parents urging me to take more. Fortunately, I stopped engaging in anorexic behaviors before middle school. However, my underlying mental habits did not change. The images that had provoked my disorder in the first place were still a constant presence in my life.

By age 15, I was in recovery from anorexia, but suffered from depression. While I used to only compare myself to models, the growth of social media meant I also compared myself to my friends and acquaintances. I felt left out when I saw my friends’ excitement about lake trips they had taken without me. As I scrolled past endless photos of my flawless, thin classmates with hundreds of likes and affirming comments, I felt my jealousy spiral. I wanted to be admired and loved by other people too. However, I felt that I could never be enough. I began to hate the way that I looked, and felt nothing in my life was good enough. I wanted to be called “perfect” and “body goals,” so I tried to only post at certain times of day to maximize my “likes.” When that didn’t work, I started to feel too anxious to post anything at all.  

Body image insecurities and social media comparisons affect thousands of people – men, women, children, and adults – every day. I am lucky – after a few months of my destructive social media habits, I came across a video that pointed out the illusory nature of social media; many Instagram posts only show off good things while people hide their flaws. I began going to therapy, and recovered from my depression. To address the problem of self-image and social media, we can all focus on what matters on the inside and not what is on the surface. As an effort to become healthy internally, I started a club at my school to promote clean eating and radiating beauty from within. It has helped me grow in my confidence, and today I’m not afraid to show others my struggles by sharing my experience with eating disorders. Someday, I hope to make this club a national organization to help teenagers and adults across the country. I support the idea of body positivity and embracing difference, not “perfection.” After all, how can we be ourselves if we all look the same?

This essay covers the difficult topics of eating disorders and mental health. If you’re thinking about covering similar topics in your essay, we recommend reading our post Should You Talk About Mental Health in College Essays?

The short answer is that, yes, you can talk about mental health, but it can be risky. If you do go that route, it’s important to focus on what you learned from the experience.

We can see that the writer of this essay has been through a lot, and a strength of their essay is their vulnerability, in excerpts such as this: I wanted to be admired and loved by other people too. However, I felt that I could never be enough. I began to hate the way that I looked, and felt nothing in my life was good enough. I wanted to be called “perfect” and “body goals,” so I tried to only post at certain times of day to maximize my “likes.”

The student goes on to share how they recovered from their depression through an eye-opening video and therapy sessions, and they’re now helping others find their self-worth as well. It’s great that this essay looks towards the future and shares the writer’s goals of making their club a national organization; we can see their ambition and compassion.

The main weakness of this essay is that it doesn’t focus enough on their recovery process, which is arguably the most important part. They could’ve told us more about the video they watched or the process of starting their club and the interactions they’ve had with other members.

Still, this essay shows us that this student is honest, self-aware, and caring, which are all qualities admissions officer are looking for.

Essay 7: Health Crisis

Tears streamed down my face and my mind was paralyzed with fear. Sirens blared, but the silent panic in my own head was deafening. I was muted by shock. A few hours earlier, I had anticipated a vacation in Washington, D.C., but unexpectedly, I was rushing to the hospital behind an ambulance carrying my mother. As a fourteen-year-old from a single mother household, without a driver’s license, and seven hours from home, I was distraught over the prospect of losing the only parent I had. My fear turned into action as I made some of the bravest decisions of my life. 

Three blood transfusions later, my mother’s condition was stable, but we were still states away from home, so I coordinated with my mother’s doctors in North Carolina to schedule the emergency operation that would save her life. Throughout her surgery, I anxiously awaited any word from her surgeon, but each time I asked, I was told that there had been another complication or delay. Relying on my faith and positive attitude, I remained optimistic that my mother would survive and that I could embrace new responsibilities.

My mother had been a source of strength for me, and now I would be strong for her through her long recovery ahead. As I started high school, everyone thought the crisis was over, but it had really just started to impact my life. My mother was often fatigued, so I assumed more responsibility, juggling family duties, school, athletics, and work. I made countless trips to the neighborhood pharmacy, cooked dinner, biked to the grocery store, supported my concerned sister, and provided the loving care my mother needed to recover. I didn’t know I was capable of such maturity and resourcefulness until it was called upon. Each day was a stage in my gradual transformation from dependence to relative independence.

Throughout my mother’s health crisis, I matured by learning to put others’ needs before my own. As I worried about my mother’s health, I took nothing for granted, cherished what I had, and used my daily activities as motivation to move forward. I now take ownership over small decisions such as scheduling daily appointments and managing my time but also over major decisions involving my future, including the college admissions process. Although I have become more independent, my mother and I are inseparably close, and the realization that I almost lost her affects me daily. Each morning, I wake up ten minutes early simply to eat breakfast with my mother and spend time with her before our busy days begin. I am aware of how quickly life can change. My mother remains a guiding force in my life, but the feeling of empowerment I discovered within myself is the ultimate form of my independence. Though I thought the summer before my freshman year would be a transition from middle school to high school, it was a transformation from childhood to adulthood.

This essay feels real and tells readers a lot about the writer. To start at the beginning, the intro is 10/10. It has drama, it has emotions, and it has the reader wanting more.

And, when you keep going, you get to learn a lot about a very resilient and mature student. Through sentences like “I made countless trips to the neighborhood pharmacy, cooked dinner, biked to the grocery store, supported my concerned sister, and provided the loving care my mother needed to recover” and “Relying on my faith and positive attitude, I remained optimistic that my mother would survive and that I could embrace new responsibilities,” the reader shows us that they are aware of their resilience and maturity, but are not arrogant about it. It is simply a fact that they have proven through their actions!

This essay makes us want to cheer for the writer, and they certainly seem like someone who would thrive in a more independent college environment.

Essay 8: Turned Tables

“You ruined my life!” After months of quiet anger, my brother finally confronted me. To my shame, I had been appallingly ignorant of his pain.

Despite being twins, Max and I are profoundly different. Having intellectual interests from a young age that, well, interested very few of my peers, I often felt out of step in comparison with my highly-social brother. Everything appeared to come effortlessly for Max and, while we share an extremely tight bond, his frequent time away with friends left me feeling more and more alone as we grew older.

When my parents learned about The Green Academy, we hoped it would be an opportunity for me to find not only an academically challenging environment, but also – perhaps more importantly – a community. This meant transferring the family from Drumfield to Kingston. And while there was concern about Max, we all believed that given his sociable nature, moving would be far less impactful on him than staying put might be on me.

As it turned out, Green Academy was everything I’d hoped for. I was ecstatic to discover a group of students with whom I shared interests and could truly engage. Preoccupied with new friends and a rigorous course load, I failed to notice that the tables had turned. Max, lost in the fray and grappling with how to make connections in his enormous new high school, had become withdrawn and lonely. It took me until Christmas time – and a massive argument – to recognize how difficult the transition had been for my brother, let alone that he blamed me for it.

Through my own journey of searching for academic peers, in addition to coming out as gay when I was 12, I had developed deep empathy for those who had trouble fitting in. It was a pain I knew well and could easily relate to. Yet after Max’s outburst, my first response was to protest that our parents – not I – had chosen to move us here. In my heart, though, I knew that regardless of who had made the decision, we ended up in Kingston for my benefit. I was ashamed that, while I saw myself as genuinely compassionate, I had been oblivious to the heartache of the person closest to me. I could no longer ignore it – and I didn’t want to.

We stayed up half the night talking, and the conversation took an unexpected turn. Max opened up and shared that it wasn’t just about the move. He told me how challenging school had always been for him, due to his dyslexia, and that the ever-present comparison to me had only deepened his pain.

We had been in parallel battles the whole time and, yet, I only saw that Max was in distress once he experienced problems with which I directly identified. I’d long thought Max had it so easy – all because he had friends. The truth was, he didn’t need to experience my personal brand of sorrow in order for me to relate – he had felt plenty of his own.

My failure to recognize Max’s suffering brought home for me the profound universality and diversity of personal struggle; everyone has insecurities, everyone has woes, and everyone – most certainly – has pain. I am acutely grateful for the conversations he and I shared around all of this, because I believe our relationship has been fundamentally strengthened by a deeper understanding of one another. Further, this experience has reinforced the value of constantly striving for deeper sensitivity to the hidden struggles of those around me. I won’t make the mistake again of assuming that the surface of someone’s life reflects their underlying story.

Here you can find a prime example that you don’t have to have fabulous imagery or flowery prose to write a successful essay. You just have to be clear and say something that matters. This essay is simple and beautiful. It almost feels like having a conversation with a friend and learning that they are an even better person than you already thought they were.

Through this narrative, readers learn a lot about the writer—where they’re from, what their family life is like, what their challenges were as a kid, and even their sexuality. We also learn a lot about their values—notably, the value they place on awareness, improvement, and consideration of others. Though they never explicitly state it (which is great because it is still crystal clear!), this student’s ending of “I won’t make the mistake again of assuming that the surface of someone’s life reflects their underlying story” shows that they are constantly striving for improvement and finding lessons anywhere they can get them in life.

Where to Get Your Overcoming Challenges Essays Edited

Do you want feedback on your Overcoming Challenges essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays. 

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

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Greater Good Science Center • Magazine • In Action • In Education

How to Be a Lifelong Learner

People around the world are hungry to learn. Instructor Barbara Oakley discovered this when her online course “ Learning How to Learn ”—filmed in her basement in front of a green screen—attracted more than 1.5 million students.

Part of the goal of her course—and her new book, Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover Your Hidden Potential —is to debunk some of the myths that get in the way of learning, like the belief that we’re bad at math or too old to change careers. These are just artificial obstacles, she argues. 

“People can often do more, change more, and learn more—often far more—than they’ve ever dreamed possible. Our potential is hidden in plain sight all around us,” Oakley writes.

She should know: Throughout her early schooling, she flunked math and science classes and resisted family pressure to pursue a science degree. Today? She’s a professor of engineering at Oakland University, after many different jobs in between.

Her book aims to help readers discover their hidden potential, by offering them both the tools and the inspiration to transform themselves through learning. 

The benefits of lifelong learning

Besides being fun, Oakley explains, continued learning can serve us well in the workforce. Many professionals today are engaging in a practice called “second-skilling”: gaining a second area of expertise, whether it’s related to their work (like a marketer learning programming) or completely different (a fundraiser training to be a yoga instructor).

When we lose our job, or work just starts to feel unsatisfying, having other skills can give us more choice and flexibility. We can quit our job and find a new one, of course, but we can also choose to move horizontally within the same organization, taking on different responsibilities.

Mindshift tells the story of one Dutch university employee who enriched her career thanks to her passion for online video gaming. Though she didn’t necessarily think of that as a “second skill,” it ended up benefitting her (and her employer) greatly: She became community manager of the university’s online courses, devising strategies to keep digital interactions civil just as she had done in the gaming world. This goes to show, Oakley writes, that we can never tell where our expertise will lead us or where it will come in handy.

Keeping our brains active and engaged in new areas also has cognitive benefits down the line. According to one study , people who knit, sew, quilt, do plumbing or carpentry, play games, use computers, or read have greater cognitive abilities as they age. Other research found that the more education you have , or the more cognitively stimulating activity you engage in , the lower your risk of Alzheimer’s.

Learning could even extend your life. People who read books for more than 3.5 hours a week are 23 percent less likely to die over a 12-year period—a good reason to keep cracking books after college!

Learn how to learn

Whether you’re inspired to learn woodworking or web development, Mindshift offers many tips that can make your learning more efficient and enjoyable.

Focus (and don’t focus). In order to absorb information, our brains need periods of intense focus followed by periods of mind-wandering , or “diffuse attention,” Oakley explains. So, learners will actually retain more if they incorporate time for rest and relaxation to allow this processing to happen. Perhaps that’s why aficionados love the Pomodoro technique , which recommends 25-minute bursts of work followed by five-minute breaks. 

We should also experiment with different levels of background noise to achieve optimal focus, Oakley advises. Quiet promotes deeper focus, while minor distractions or background noise—like what you’d find at a cafe—may encourage more diffuse attention and creative insight . (While your favorite music could help you get in the zone, music that’s loud, lyrical , or displeasing might be a distraction.)

Practice efficiently. Neuroscience research is now exploring what learning looks like in the brain—and it’s bad news for those of us who loved to cram in college. Apparently the brain can only build so many neurons each night , so regular, repeated practice is crucial.

Oakley recommends learning in “chunks”—bite-sized bits of information or skills, such as a passage in a song, one karate move, or the code for a particular technical command. Practicing these regularly allows them to become second nature, freeing up space in our conscious mind and working memory so we can continue building new knowledge. (If this doesn’t happen, you may have to select a smaller chunk.)

It also helps to practice in a variety of ways, at a variety of times. To understand information more deeply, Oakley recommends actively engaging with it by teaching ourselves aloud or creating mindmaps —web-like drawings connecting different concepts and ideas. We can also try practicing in our downtime (in line at Starbucks or in the car commuting, for example), and quickly reviewing the day’s lessons before going to sleep.

Exercise. One of the most surprising—and easiest—ways to supercharge our learning is to exercise. Physical activity can actually help us grow new brain cells and neurotransmitters ; it’s also been shown to improve our long-term memory and reverse age-related declines in brain function. In fact, walking for just 11 minutes a day is enough to reap some benefits.

While clearly informed by neuroscience, Mindshift focuses more on telling stories than explaining research—which makes it a fast read. After hearing so many tales of curiosity and transformation, you yourself may be inspired to pick up that random hobby you’ve fantasized about, or take one of many college-level courses now available online for free (like our very own Science of Happiness course ). Me? The one I signed up for starts next week.

About the Author

Kira M. Newman

Kira M. Newman is the managing editor of Greater Good . Her work has been published in outlets including the Washington Post , Mindful magazine, Social Media Monthly , and Tech.co, and she is the co-editor of The Gratitude Project . Follow her on Twitter!

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Lifelong Learning: How to Continuously Learn and Grow

O nly in my lifetime, we’ve gone from clunky, twisty cord phones to answering machines to pagers to brick-like cell phones to smartphones to watches that can tell me what flavor of garbage I had for lunch last weekend.

Progress is accelerating—technological progress, cultural progress, informational progress. The change between 2015 and 2020 is far greater than the change between 1995 and 2000. On the one hand, this progress is incredible. Our lives are improving and changing at an astounding pace. But on the other hand, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, burnt out, and left behind.

Learning to Learn

It’s because of this acceleration of progress that I believe developing the ability to learn quickly and efficiently is more important today than ever before. When information becomes virtually infinite, then the advantages of learning and processing information in impactful ways grow exponentially. Not only are you using the same information better, but you’re able to discover, comprehend, and synthesize far more information than others and do it at a far faster rate.

This ability to learn quickly and self-sufficiently has a compounding effect as well, driving an even greater division in results. The more you learn now, the better you will be able to learn and process new experiences in the future. Therefore, if you develop the ability to learn well—that is, if you learn how to learn—you have more opportunities than ever before to accrue huge, compounding results.

One way to think of the stratification in society at the moment is that there is a growing gap between those who learn well and quickly and those who do not. That gap comes in many guises, not just income gaps, but also gaps in health, well-being, divorce rates, addictions, and so on.

Perhaps the most important subject of all is simply helping people learn how to learn, to increase our capacity to synthesize new information. As we continue to fly up the ever-steepening curve of progress, the mental and emotional skills of mastering yourself will only compound and continue to pay dividends throughout the 21st century.

Some tips to becoming a lifelong learner:

• Become an information omnivore
• Regularly challenge your assumptions
• Get good at screening out bad/useless information

Get Your Shit Together — Here’s How

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1. Become an Information Omnivore

Like everything, we tend to fall into informational habits and comfort zones that keep us digesting the same type of thing over and over. Try this: wherever you get your news , try getting your news from completely different sources (preferably sources with different views) for the next month. Just see what happens.

One thing that will help your ability to digest information from anywhere is to constantly ask yourself how ideas and concepts relate to one another. I primarily write and think about psychology. But I often read economics, anthropology, sociology, and political science because they tie into psychological concepts all the time. Seeing those tie-ins makes those other subjects more interesting for me.

Ultimately, the goal should be to cultivate a habit of ingesting information from a wide variety of sources and mediums—long- and short-form, print, video, and audio—and use them to compare and contrast the ideas to each other.

2. Regularly Challenge Your Assumptions

A good habit is to actively seek out thinkers or books or ideas that actively contradict your current beliefs . Doing this is emotionally taxing, but if you’re able to do it, one of two things will happen: you’ll either a) discover an area in which you’re wrong , or b) you will improve the arguments for your own ideas. There’s literally no downside to challenging your own ideas and beliefs.

This is especially important because as humans, our default state is to simply regurgitate and rehash what we already believe. We like our little ideological bubbles. We would stay in them forever if we could (and some people do). Actively work to break your own bubble.

Another exercise I do sometimes is journaling, but instead of talking about my day or my ideas, I simply list out some things that are particularly important to me and then I challenge myself to write counter-arguments to each one. Maybe I believe I’m very successful at building online content, so I’ll write that down and start challenging that idea. Sometimes the challenges just seem like a silly exercise, but sometimes you start poking holes in your own bullshit. There have been many times where I’ve changed my own mind on something in this way.

3. Get Good at Screening for Bad Information

It’s sad to say, but with the internet, the world has become flooded in bad and/or useless information. As consumers, we must be ruthless in our consumption habits . If something is not good or useful within the first 10% of it, skip it. Life is too short. And there’s way too much good info out there.

Keep in mind, “good” is not necessarily the same thing as “enjoyable.” There are many unenjoyable things out there that are incredibly useful. You must always ask yourself, “Is this useful? Is finishing this book/movie/article/podcast going to be useful for my goals?”

If not, then cut it.

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• 5 Principles for Making Better Life Decisions
• How to Read Faster and Retain More 
• Why I’m Wrong About Everything (And So Are You)
• Why You Can’t Trust Yourself
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What Having a “Growth Mindset” Actually Means

• Carol Dweck

Debunking three common misconceptions.

Scholars are deeply gratified when their ideas catch on. And they are even more gratified when their ideas make a difference — improving motivation, innovation, or productivity, for example. But popularity has a price: People sometimes distort ideas and therefore fail to reap their benefits. This has started to happen with my research on “growth” versus “fixed” mindsets among individuals and within organizations.

• CD Carol Dweck is the Lewis & Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford University and the author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success .

Partner Center

Learning to Live Together as Key to Our Future

We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.

by Darla Deardoff

When we look to the futures of education, one key question that must be addressed is this:  What does it mean to live together?  This question has been at the heart of much of UNESCO’s work over the recent decades 1 , particularly in exploring what it means to have peace begin in the minds of all of us. This question becomes even more crucial to answer given the divides and inequities that were exacerbated by the pandemic.  It becomes more important than ever to learn to live together and respect differences found in our multicultural societies today.  Yet, what does this really mean as we imagine the futures of education, particularly in translating theory into practice?  To date, it has been natural for educators to focus on knowledge, learning, teaching, activities and experiences for individual learners.   Within the current literature on intercultural and global competence 2 , definitions focus on knowledge, skills, and attitudes of individuals. Likewise, global citizenship education often explores very similar knowledge, skills, and attitudes.  Increasingly, there is research about social-emotional learning, emotional intelligence, and discussion around empathy.  What seems to be missing in all of this, is perhaps how we view others and how we view ourselves in relation to others and to the planet, as we delve more deeply into what it means to live together 3 .  

What if we viewed others through the lens of neighbour, both our local and global neighbours?  This could shift our way of thinking about global citizenship, making it more real in our everyday living.  Being good neighbors to each other means to care for one another and the earth, to respond to each other through kindness, to understand that we are all in this together, that what we do impacts each other and to thrive, we need our neighbours to thrive and we need the planet to thrive.  Being good neighbours may even mean implementing a pedagogy of love 4 in education, as suggested by Souza and Muniandy in a UNESCO publication entitled “The Heart of Education: Learning to Live Together” (2014), in which love, justice and compassion are argued to be the building blocks for learning to live together. 

To further explore this question of utilizing a neighbour lens in education, we can draw from the humanistic value of ubuntu, originating in Southern Africa, which sees humanity as bound together.  Desmond Tutu explains this term in the following way:

“Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can’t exist as a human being in isolation.  It speaks about our interconnectedness.  You can’t be human all by yourself, and when you have this quality –ubuntu - you are known for your generosity.  We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole world.  When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity.” 

Similar concepts exist, such as kizuna (Japanese), siratulrahim (Malay), alli kawsay, nandereko and buen vivir (Andean).  These concepts go a step further to a deeper identity of an interconnected human being living within community, thus resulting in a paradigm shift from “me” to “we,” a shift that was emphasized during the pandemic.  It becomes imperative that we move beyond an “us” versus “them” mindset to seeing the common humanity of all.  How can future education efforts reframe education as a “we” approach that emphasizes community – or even as Martin Luther King Jr, said “the beloved community?”  Mungi Ngomane (2020) writes about living everyday ubuntu in community by implementing several actions: seeing ourselves in others; choosing to see the wider perspective; putting ourselves in the shoes of others; believing in the good of everyone; embracing our diversity; seeking out ways to connect; remembering the power of forgiveness; and acknowledging reality. What would a future curriculum look like that incorporates these types of actions? And how might the world be different if each of us lived out these actions every day? Perhaps we would then make progress in learning how to live together. 

Learning to live together means that a priority is given to the key intercultural competencies that must be taught, integrated, and nurtured in ways that are not currently happening. Intercultural competencies have been defined broadly as effective and appropriate communication and behaviour across difference, involving such key aspects as listening for understanding, respect, empathy, curiosity, openness, and adaptability, which are crucial for developing both greater awareness as well as deeper relationships (Deardorff, 2020).  UNESCO (2013) defines intercultural competences as “abilities to adeptly navigate complex environments marked by a growing diversity of peoples, cultures, and lifestyles” (p. 5) and has asserted that “UNESCO remains more than ever committed to raise awareness on intercultural competences, ensuring that they are studied, taught, and promoted…” (p. 6).  Such an intercultural focus in education becomes even more imperative with the increasing divides faced within and between societies and as technologies give rise to deeper questions such as what it means to even be human.  Returning to such basic skills as listening can be a crucial starting point – what does it mean to truly listen for understanding? This deeper listening for understanding is not done nearly enough in current society where we as humans too naturally and eagerly listen for response or judgment, focusing more on ourselves than on seeking true understanding.  What changes could occur in the world if more of us focused on this deeper listening for understanding[5]?  How could such a basic yet crucial skill be integrated throughout lifelong education? 

There are many other opportunities and possibilities within formal, non-formal and informal education to intentionally address and integrate these crucial intercultural competencies that are needed in learning to live together.  As we seek to transform education, let’s embrace this opportunity to rethink and reimagine what it means to truly care for each other and this planet we share, through building deeper relationships as local and global neighbours and through living in authentic community as we re-commit to learning to live together peacefully with all. 

The ideas expressed here are those of the authors; they are not necessarily the official position of UNESCO and do not commit the Organization.

Dr. Darla K. Deardorff is Executive Director of the Association of International Education Administrators, a leadership organization. She is chairholder of the UNESCO Chair of Intercultural Competence at Stellenbosch University and a research fellow at Duke University, as well as founding president of the World Council on Intercultural and Global Competence. She has authored a dozen books and 60+ articles on topics related to international education, intercultural competence and global leadership.  She can be reached through LinkedIn. 

Deardorff, D. K. (2006). Identification and assessment of intercultural competence as a student outcome of internationalization . Journal of Studies in International Education, 10 (3), 241–266.

Deardorff, D. K. (2017). Cross‐cultural competence. The International Encyclopedia of Intercultural Communication , 1–6.

Deardorff, D. K. (2020). Manual for developing intercultural competencies: Story circles . Paris: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). 

OECD. (2020).  PISA 2018 results: Are students ready to thrive in an interconnected world? Volume VI.   Paris: OECD.

Ngomane, M. (2020) .  Everyday ubuntu.   London: Penguin.

Reimers, F. M. (2017). Empowering students to improve the world in sixty lessons. North Charleston: CreateSpace 

Souza, P. D., & Muniandy, B. (2014). The heart of education is the education of the heart.  In T he heart of education: learning to live together; selected papers presented at the 16th UNESCO-APEID International Conference.   Paris: UNESCO

UNESCO.  (2013)  Intercultural competences .  Paris: UNESCO

UNESCO. (2014). T he heart of education: learning to live together; selected papers presented at the 16th UNESCO-APEID International Conference.   Paris: UNESCO

[1] See UNESCO, 2013, 2014. 

[2] Deardorff, 2006, 2017; Reimers, 2017; OECD, 2020

[3] Recognizing that UNESCO’s exploration of “learning to live together” is quite complex encompassing “…many issues at the individual, institutional, national and international levels, such as learning to live with oneself, with others and with nature; value education; education for international understanding; education for global citizenship; intercultural education; inclusive education; peace education; education for social cohesion; conflict prevention and resolution; post-disaster education; education for youth empowerment and so on” (UNESCO, 2014).

[4] Pedagogy of love is defined by Souza and Muniandy (2014) as “as the art and science of percolating love into every aspect of teaching and learning such that the learner’s world is transformed into a place where respect for one and all and their ways of life, becomes the core of social living”

[5] See the work UNESCO has been doing on an intercultural methodology called Story Circles which focuses on listening for understanding as a key intercultural competence, available through an open access manual in 5 languages (insert link), Manual on Developing Intercultural Competencies: Story Circles.  UNESCO has also integrated Story Circles into its Global Citizenship Development work (insert link to the UNESCO guide on Taking It Local) Understanding GCED in Asia-Pacific Pacific: a how-to guide for ‘Taking It Local’ - UNESCO Digital Library

Futures of Education

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The Beginner's Guide to Writing an Essay | Steps & Examples

An academic essay is a focused piece of writing that develops an idea or argument using evidence, analysis, and interpretation.

There are many types of essays you might write as a student. The content and length of an essay depends on your level, subject of study, and course requirements. However, most essays at university level are argumentative — they aim to persuade the reader of a particular position or perspective on a topic.

The essay writing process consists of three main stages:

• Preparation: Decide on your topic, do your research, and create an essay outline.
• Writing : Set out your argument in the introduction, develop it with evidence in the main body, and wrap it up with a conclusion.
• Revision:  Check your essay on the content, organization, grammar, spelling, and formatting of your essay.

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Table of contents

Essay writing process, preparation for writing an essay, writing the introduction, writing the main body, writing the conclusion, essay checklist, lecture slides, frequently asked questions about writing an essay.

The writing process of preparation, writing, and revisions applies to every essay or paper, but the time and effort spent on each stage depends on the type of essay .

For example, if you’ve been assigned a five-paragraph expository essay for a high school class, you’ll probably spend the most time on the writing stage; for a college-level argumentative essay , on the other hand, you’ll need to spend more time researching your topic and developing an original argument before you start writing.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Before you start writing, you should make sure you have a clear idea of what you want to say and how you’re going to say it. There are a few key steps you can follow to make sure you’re prepared:

• Understand your assignment: What is the goal of this essay? What is the length and deadline of the assignment? Is there anything you need to clarify with your teacher or professor?
• Define a topic: If you’re allowed to choose your own topic , try to pick something that you already know a bit about and that will hold your interest.
• Do your research: Read  primary and secondary sources and take notes to help you work out your position and angle on the topic. You’ll use these as evidence for your points.
• Come up with a thesis:  The thesis is the central point or argument that you want to make. A clear thesis is essential for a focused essay—you should keep referring back to it as you write.
• Create an outline: Map out the rough structure of your essay in an outline . This makes it easier to start writing and keeps you on track as you go.

Once you’ve got a clear idea of what you want to discuss, in what order, and what evidence you’ll use, you’re ready to start writing.

The introduction sets the tone for your essay. It should grab the reader’s interest and inform them of what to expect. The introduction generally comprises 10–20% of the text.

1. Hook your reader

The first sentence of the introduction should pique your reader’s interest and curiosity. This sentence is sometimes called the hook. It might be an intriguing question, a surprising fact, or a bold statement emphasizing the relevance of the topic.

Let’s say we’re writing an essay about the development of Braille (the raised-dot reading and writing system used by visually impaired people). Our hook can make a strong statement about the topic:

The invention of Braille was a major turning point in the history of disability.

2. Provide background on your topic

Next, it’s important to give context that will help your reader understand your argument. This might involve providing background information, giving an overview of important academic work or debates on the topic, and explaining difficult terms. Don’t provide too much detail in the introduction—you can elaborate in the body of your essay.

3. Present the thesis statement

Next, you should formulate your thesis statement— the central argument you’re going to make. The thesis statement provides focus and signals your position on the topic. It is usually one or two sentences long. The thesis statement for our essay on Braille could look like this:

As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness.

4. Map the structure

In longer essays, you can end the introduction by briefly describing what will be covered in each part of the essay. This guides the reader through your structure and gives a preview of how your argument will develop.

The invention of Braille marked a major turning point in the history of disability. The writing system of raised dots used by blind and visually impaired people was developed by Louis Braille in nineteenth-century France. In a society that did not value disabled people in general, blindness was particularly stigmatized, and lack of access to reading and writing was a significant barrier to social participation. The idea of tactile reading was not entirely new, but existing methods based on sighted systems were difficult to learn and use. As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness. This essay begins by discussing the situation of blind people in nineteenth-century Europe. It then describes the invention of Braille and the gradual process of its acceptance within blind education. Subsequently, it explores the wide-ranging effects of this invention on blind people’s social and cultural lives.

Write your essay introduction

The body of your essay is where you make arguments supporting your thesis, provide evidence, and develop your ideas. Its purpose is to present, interpret, and analyze the information and sources you have gathered to support your argument.

Length of the body text

The length of the body depends on the type of essay. On average, the body comprises 60–80% of your essay. For a high school essay, this could be just three paragraphs, but for a graduate school essay of 6,000 words, the body could take up 8–10 pages.

Paragraph structure

To give your essay a clear structure , it is important to organize it into paragraphs . Each paragraph should be centered around one main point or idea.

That idea is introduced in a  topic sentence . The topic sentence should generally lead on from the previous paragraph and introduce the point to be made in this paragraph. Transition words can be used to create clear connections between sentences.

After the topic sentence, present evidence such as data, examples, or quotes from relevant sources. Be sure to interpret and explain the evidence, and show how it helps develop your overall argument.

Lack of access to reading and writing put blind people at a serious disadvantage in nineteenth-century society. Text was one of the primary methods through which people engaged with culture, communicated with others, and accessed information; without a well-developed reading system that did not rely on sight, blind people were excluded from social participation (Weygand, 2009). While disabled people in general suffered from discrimination, blindness was widely viewed as the worst disability, and it was commonly believed that blind people were incapable of pursuing a profession or improving themselves through culture (Weygand, 2009). This demonstrates the importance of reading and writing to social status at the time: without access to text, it was considered impossible to fully participate in society. Blind people were excluded from the sighted world, but also entirely dependent on sighted people for information and education.

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The conclusion is the final paragraph of an essay. It should generally take up no more than 10–15% of the text . A strong essay conclusion :

• Returns to your thesis
• Ties together your main points
• Shows why your argument matters

A great conclusion should finish with a memorable or impactful sentence that leaves the reader with a strong final impression.

What not to include in a conclusion

To make your essay’s conclusion as strong as possible, there are a few things you should avoid. The most common mistakes are:

• Including new arguments or evidence
• Undermining your arguments (e.g. “This is just one approach of many”)
• Using concluding phrases like “To sum up…” or “In conclusion…”

Braille paved the way for dramatic cultural changes in the way blind people were treated and the opportunities available to them. Louis Braille’s innovation was to reimagine existing reading systems from a blind perspective, and the success of this invention required sighted teachers to adapt to their students’ reality instead of the other way around. In this sense, Braille helped drive broader social changes in the status of blindness. New accessibility tools provide practical advantages to those who need them, but they can also change the perspectives and attitudes of those who do not.

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Checklist: Essay

My essay follows the requirements of the assignment (topic and length ).

My introduction sparks the reader’s interest and provides any necessary background information on the topic.

My introduction contains a thesis statement that states the focus and position of the essay.

I use paragraphs to structure the essay.

I use topic sentences to introduce each paragraph.

Each paragraph has a single focus and a clear connection to the thesis statement.

I make clear transitions between paragraphs and ideas.

My conclusion doesn’t just repeat my points, but draws connections between arguments.

I don’t introduce new arguments or evidence in the conclusion.

I have given an in-text citation for every quote or piece of information I got from another source.

I have included a reference page at the end of my essay, listing full details of all my sources.

My citations and references are correctly formatted according to the required citation style .

My essay has an interesting and informative title.

I have followed all formatting guidelines (e.g. font, page numbers, line spacing).

Your essay meets all the most important requirements. Our editors can give it a final check to help you submit with confidence.

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An essay is a focused piece of writing that explains, argues, describes, or narrates.

In high school, you may have to write many different types of essays to develop your writing skills.

Academic essays at college level are usually argumentative : you develop a clear thesis about your topic and make a case for your position using evidence, analysis and interpretation.

The structure of an essay is divided into an introduction that presents your topic and thesis statement , a body containing your in-depth analysis and arguments, and a conclusion wrapping up your ideas.

The structure of the body is flexible, but you should always spend some time thinking about how you can organize your essay to best serve your ideas.

Your essay introduction should include three main things, in this order:

• An opening hook to catch the reader’s attention.
• Relevant background information that the reader needs to know.
• A thesis statement that presents your main point or argument.

The length of each part depends on the length and complexity of your essay .

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

• It gives your writing direction and focus.
• It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

A topic sentence is a sentence that expresses the main point of a paragraph . Everything else in the paragraph should relate to the topic sentence.

At college level, you must properly cite your sources in all essays , research papers , and other academic texts (except exams and in-class exercises).

Add a citation whenever you quote , paraphrase , or summarize information or ideas from a source. You should also give full source details in a bibliography or reference list at the end of your text.

The exact format of your citations depends on which citation style you are instructed to use. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .

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10 Lines, 100, 150, 200 & 700 Word Essay on Learning and Growing Together in English and Hindi

Table of Contents

100 Word Essay on Learning and growing together in English

Introduction:.

Human development is fundamentally about learning and growing together. It is through the process of learning and growing together that we gain knowledge, skills, and experiences that enable us to thrive and succeed in life.

Learning and growing together involves collaborating with others, sharing ideas, and supporting each other in our individual growth. It is a process that is enriched by diversity, as we can benefit from the unique perspectives and experiences of others. By learning and growing together, we can also build stronger relationships and create a sense of community and belonging.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, learning and growing together is essential for personal and collective growth. By embracing this process, we can develop a deeper understanding of ourselves and the world around us, and create a more connected and supportive society.

200-Word Essay Learning and growing together in English

Learning and growing together can be a rewarding and enriching experience for individuals and communities. As we learn from each other and share our experiences, we gain various perspectives and insights that can help us to expand our understanding of the world around us. This, in turn, can help us to grow and develop as individuals and as a society.

In a learning and growing together environment, individuals are encouraged to share their knowledge and experiences and to pay attention to the perspectives of others. This creates a supportive and inclusive atmosphere where everyone feels valued and respected.

When we learn and grow together, we also foster a sense of connection and community. By working towards common goals and supporting each other, we can build strong, lasting bonds that can help us navigate challenges and overcome obstacles.

In addition to the personal and social benefits, learning and growing together can also have a positive impact on our collective well-being. By working together and sharing our knowledge and experiences, we can develop solutions to problems and create positive change in our communities.

In conclusion, learning and growing together is a powerful and transformative process that can have a profound impact on individuals and communities. By fostering a supportive and inclusive environment, we can learn from each other, grow and develop, and work together to create a better future for all.

700 Word Essay Learning and growing together in English

In today’s interconnected world, learning and growing together are more critical than ever. As individuals, we have access to a vast array of knowledge and experiences through technology and global communication. By embracing the opportunity to learn from each other, we can expand our own understanding and develop a deeper appreciation for the diversity of perspectives that exist within our communities.

Furthermore, as we learn and grow together, we also have the ability to support and encourage one another in our personal and professional endeavors. By sharing our experiences and providing constructive feedback, we can help each other overcome challenges and reach our full potential.

In short, learning and growing together allows us to not only improve ourselves but also to contribute to the betterment of our communities and the world as a whole. By embracing this opportunity, we can create a brighter future for all.

Learning and growing together can have many benefits, both for individuals and for communities. One of the main benefits of studying and developing with others is that it can foster a sense of connection and community among those involved. When people learn and grow together, they have the opportunity to share their experiences and knowledge with one another. This can help to create a sense of belonging and support.

Additionally, learning and growing together can help individuals develop new skills and knowledge. By working with others and learning from their experiences, individuals can gain various perspectives and insights that can help them to improve and expand their own abilities. This can be particularly beneficial for those who are looking to develop their careers or pursue new interests.

Furthermore, learning and growing together can also promote innovation and creativity. When individuals come together to learn and grow, they have the opportunity to collaborate and share ideas. This can lead to the development of new and creative solutions to challenges and problems. This can be beneficial for businesses and organizations looking to stay competitive and drive innovation.

In conclusion, learning and growing together can have many benefits, both for individuals and for communities. By fostering a sense of connection and community, promoting skill development, and encouraging innovation and creativity, learning and growing together can help individuals and communities thrive and succeed.

Conclusion,

In conclusion, learning and growing together are essential for personal and societal development. By embracing various experiences and perspectives, we can expand our understanding of the world and improve our ability to work towards common goals.

By supporting each other’s growth and fostering a culture of continuous learning, we can create a more inclusive and thriving community. By embracing change and seeking out opportunities to learn and grow together, we can unlock our full potential and create a brighter future for ourselves and those around us.

Paragraph on learning and growing together

Learning and growing together is a process that involves individuals or groups working together to acquire new knowledge, skills, and abilities. This can happen in a variety of settings, such as schools, workplaces, communities, or even in personal relationships. When people come together to learn and grow, they can share their diverse perspectives, experiences, and expertise. This can lead to a richer and more comprehensive understanding of a subject or situation. Additionally, being part of a supportive and collaborative learning environment can provide motivation and encouragement, helping individuals to push themselves and reach their full potential. Ultimately, learning and growing together can foster stronger connections and collaboration, leading to a more dynamic and thriving community.

10 lines on learning and growing together in English

• Learning and growing together is a collaborative process that involves individuals sharing their knowledge and experiences to help each other grow.
• This type of learning can be more effective than traditional methods because it allows people to learn from each other’s diverse perspectives and experiences.
• By learning and growing together, individuals can support each other’s personal and professional development, leading to a more cohesive and productive team.
• When individuals are committed to learning and growing together, they can create a positive feedback loop where their collective growth leads to even more learning and growth.
• In order to foster learning and growth together, it’s imperative to create a safe and inclusive environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing and collaborating.
• This can be achieved through regular check-ins, open communication, and active listening, as well as providing support and resources to help individuals grow.
• As individuals learn and grow together, they can develop stronger bonds and build a stronger sense of community, which can lead to increased motivation and engagement.
• In addition to personal and professional development, learning and growing together can also lead to increased innovation and creativity. This is because individuals are able to share and build on each other’s ideas.
• By prioritizing learning and growth together, organizations can create a culture of continuous learning and development, which can ultimately lead to better outcomes and improved performance.
• In the end, learning and growing together is not just about individual development, but about creating a collective culture of growth and innovation that benefits everyone.

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May 8, 2024

The Diversity Essay: How to Write an Excellent Diversity Essay

What is a diversity essay in a school application? And why does it matter when applying to leading programs and universities? Most importantly, how should you go about writing such an essay?

Diversity is of supreme value in higher education, and schools want to know how every student will contribute to the diversity on their campus. A diversity essay gives applicants with disadvantaged or underrepresented backgrounds, an unusual education, a distinctive experience, or a unique family history an opportunity to write about how these elements of their background have prepared them to play a useful role in increasing and encouraging diversity among their target program’s student body and broader community.

The purpose of all application essays is to help the adcom better understand who an applicant is and what they care about. Your essays are your chance to share your voice and humanize your application. This is especially true for the diversity essay, which aims to reveal your unique perspectives and experiences, as well as the ways in which you might contribute to a college community.

In this post, we’ll discuss what exactly a diversity essay is, look at examples of actual prompts and a sample essay, and offer tips for writing a standout essay. 

In this post, you’ll find the following: 

What a diversity essay covers

How to show you can add to a school’s diversity, why diversity matters to schools.

• Seven examples that reveal diversity

Sample diversity essay prompts

How to write about your diversity.

• A diversity essay example

Upon hearing the word “diversity” in relation to an application essay, many people assume that they will have to write about gender, sexuality, class, or race. To many, this can feel overly personal or irrelevant, and some students might worry that their identity isn’t unique or interesting enough. In reality, the diversity essay is much broader than many people realize.

Identity means different things to different people. The important thing is that you demonstrate your uniqueness and what matters to you. In addition to writing about one of the traditional identity features we just mentioned (gender, sexuality, class, race), you could consider writing about a more unusual feature of yourself or your life – or even the intersection of two or more identities.

Consider these questions as you think about what to include in your diversity essay:

• Do you have a unique or unusual talent or skill?
• Do you have beliefs or values that are markedly different from those of the people around you? 
• Do you have a hobby or interest that sets you apart from your peers? 
• Have you done or experienced something that few people have? Note that if you choose to write about a single event as a diverse identity feature, that event needs to have had a pretty substantial impact on you and your life. For example, perhaps you’re part of the 0.2% of the world’s population that has run a marathon, or you’ve had the chance to watch wolves hunt in the wild.
• Do you have a role in life that gives you a special outlook on the world? For example, maybe one of your siblings has a rare disability, or you grew up in a town with fewer than 500 inhabitants.

If you are an immigrant to the United States, the child of immigrants, or someone whose ethnicity is underrepresented in the States, your response to “How will you add to the diversity of our class/community?” and similar questions might help your application efforts. Why? Because you have the opportunity to show the adcom how your background will contribute a distinctive perspective to the program you are applying to.

Of course, if you’re not underrepresented in your field or part of a disadvantaged group, that doesn’t mean that you don’t have anything to write about in a diversity essay.

For example, you might have an unusual or special experience to share, such as serving in the military, being a member of a dance troupe, or caring for a disabled relative. These and other distinctive experiences can convey how you will contribute to the diversity of the school’s campus.

Maybe you are the first member of your family to apply to college or the first person in your household to learn English. Perhaps you have worked your way through college or helped raise your siblings. You might also have been an ally to those who are underrepresented, disadvantaged, or marginalized in your community, at your school, or in a work setting. 

As you can see, diversity is not limited to one’s religion, ethnicity, culture, language, or sexual orientation. It refers to whatever element of your identity distinguishes you from others and shows that you, too, value diversity.

The diversity essay provides colleges the chance to build a student body that includes different ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, backgrounds, interests, and so on. Applicants are asked to illuminate what sets them apart so that the adcoms can see what kind of diverse views and opinions they can bring to the campus.

Admissions officers believe that diversity in the classroom improves the educational experience of all the students involved. They also believe that having a diverse workforce better serves society as a whole.

The more diverse perspectives found in the classroom, throughout the dorms, in the dining halls, and mixed into study groups, the richer people’s discussions will be.

Plus, learning and growing in this kind of multicultural environment will prepare students for working in our increasingly multicultural and global world.

In medicine, for example, a heterogeneous workforce benefits people from previously underrepresented cultures. Businesses realize that they will market more effectively if they can speak to different audiences, which is possible when members of their workforce come from various backgrounds and cultures. Schools simply want to prepare graduates for the 21st century job market.

Seven examples that reveal diversity

Adcoms want to know about the diverse elements of your character and how these have helped you develop particular  personality traits , as well as about any unusual experiences that have shaped you.

Here are seven examples an applicant could write about:

1. They grew up in an environment with a strong emphasis on respecting their elders, attending family events, and/or learning their parents’ native language and culture.

2. They are close to their grandparents and extended family members who have taught them how teamwork can help everyone thrive.

3. They have had to face difficulties that stem from their parents’ values being in conflict with theirs or those of their peers.

4. Teachers have not always understood the elements of their culture or lifestyle and how those elements influence their performance.

5. They have suffered discrimination and succeeded despite it because of their grit, values, and character.

6. They learned skills from a lifestyle that is outside the norm (e.g., living in foreign countries as the child of a diplomat or contractor; performing professionally in theater, dance, music, or sports; having a deaf sibling).

7. They’ve encountered racism or other prejudice (either toward themselves or others) and responded by actively promoting diverse, tolerant values.

And remember, diversity is not about who your parents are.  It’s about who you are  – at the core.

Your background, influences, religious observances, native language, ideas, work environment, community experiences – all these factors come together to create a unique individual, one who will contribute to a varied class of distinct individuals taking their place in a diverse world.

The best-known diversity essay prompt is from the  Common App . It states:

“Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.”

Some schools have individual diversity essay prompts. For example, this one is from  Duke University :

“We believe a wide range of personal perspectives, beliefs, and lived experiences are essential to making Duke a vibrant and meaningful living and learning community. Feel free to share with us anything in this context that might help us better understand you and what you might bring to our community.” 

And the  Rice University application includes the following prompt:

“Rice is strengthened by its diverse community of learning and discovery that produces leaders and change agents across the spectrum of human endeavor. What perspectives shaped by your background, experiences, upbringing, and/or racial identity inspire you to join our community of change agents at Rice?”

In all instances, colleges want you to demonstrate how and what you’ll contribute to their communities.

Your answer to a school’s diversity essay question should focus on how your experiences have built your empathy for others, your embrace of differences, your resilience, your character, and your perspective.

The school might ask how you think of diversity or how you will bring or add to the diversity of the school, your chosen profession, or your community. Make sure you answer the specific question posed by highlighting distinctive elements of your profile that will add to the class mosaic every adcom is trying to create. You don’t want to blend in; you want to stand out in a positive way while also complementing the school’s canvas.

Here’s a simple, three-part framework that will help you think of diversity more broadly:

Who are you? What has contributed to your identity? How do you distinguish yourself? Your identity can include any of the following: gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability, religion, nontraditional work experience, nontraditional educational background, multicultural background, and family’s educational level.

What have you done? What have you accomplished? This could include any of the following: achievements inside and/or outside your field of study, leadership opportunities, community service, internship or professional experience, research opportunities, hobbies, and travel. Any or all of these could be unique. Also, what life-derailing, throw-you-for-a-loop challenges have you faced and overcome?

How do you think? How do you approach things? What drives you? What influences you? Are you the person who can break up a tense meeting with some well-timed humor? Are you the one who intuitively sees how to bring people together? 

Read more about this three-part framework in Episode 193 of Accepted’s Admissions Straight Talk podcast or listen wherever you get your favorite podcast s.

Think about each question within this framework and how you could apply your diversity elements to your target school’s classroom or community. Any of these elements can serve as the framework for your essay.

Don’t worry if you can’t think of something totally “out there.” You don’t need to be a tightrope walker living in the Andes or a Buddhist monk from Japan to be able to contribute to a school’s diversity!

And please remember, the examples we have offered here are not exhaustive. There are many other ways to show diversity!

All you need to do to be able to write successfully about how you will contribute to the diversity of your target school’s community is examine your identity, deeds, and ideas, with an eye toward your personal distinctiveness and individuality. There is only one  you .

Take a look at the sample diversity essay in the next section of this post, and pay attention to how the writer underscores their appreciation for, and experience with, diversity. 

A diversity essay sample

When I was starting 11th grade, my dad, an agricultural scientist, was assigned to a 3-month research project in a farm village in Niigata (northwest Honshu in Japan). Rather than stay behind with my mom and siblings, I begged to go with him. As a straight-A student, I convinced my parents and the principal that I could handle my schoolwork remotely (pre-COVID) for that stretch. It was time to leap beyond my comfortable suburban Wisconsin life—and my Western orientation, reinforced by travel to Europe the year before. 

We roomed in a sprawling farmhouse with a family participating in my dad’s study. I thought I’d experience an “English-free zone,” but the high school students all studied and wanted to practice English, so I did meet peers even though I didn’t attend their school. Of the many eye-opening, influential, cultural experiences, the one that resonates most powerfully to me is experiencing their community. It was a living, organic whole. Elementary school kids spent time helping with the rice harvest. People who foraged for seasonal wild edibles gave them to acquaintances throughout the town. In fact, there was a constant sharing of food among residents—garden veggies carried in straw baskets, fish or meat in coolers. The pharmacist would drive prescriptions to people who couldn’t easily get out—new mothers, the elderly—not as a business service but as a good neighbor. If rain suddenly threatened, neighbors would bring in each other’s drying laundry. When an empty-nest 50-year-old woman had to be hospitalized suddenly for a near-fatal snakebite, neighbors maintained her veggie patch until she returned. The community embodied constant awareness of others’ needs and circumstances. The community flowed!

Yet, people there lamented that this lifestyle was vanishing; more young people left than stayed or came. And it wasn’t idyllic: I heard about ubiquitous gossip, long-standing personal enmities, busybody-ness. But these very human foibles didn’t dam the flow. This dynamic community organism couldn’t have been more different from my suburban life back home, with its insular nuclear families. We nod hello to neighbors in passing. 

This wonderful experience contained a personal challenge. Blond and blue-eyed, I became “the other” for the first time. Except for my dad, I saw no Westerner there. Curious eyes followed me. Stepping into a market or walking down the street, I drew gazes. People swiftly looked away if they accidentally caught my eye. It was not at all hostile, I knew, but I felt like an object. I began making extra sure to appear “presentable” before going outside. The sense of being watched sometimes generated mild stress or resentment. Returning to my lovely tatami room, I would decompress, grateful to be alone. I realized this challenge was a minute fraction of what others experience in my own country. The toll that feeling—and being— “other” takes on non-white and visibly different people in the US can be extremely painful. Experiencing it firsthand, albeit briefly, benignly, and in relative comfort, I got it.

Unlike the organic Niigata community, work teams, and the workplace itself, have externally driven purposes. Within this different environment, I will strive to exemplify the ongoing mutual awareness that fueled the community life in Niigata. Does it benefit the bottom line, improve the results? I don’t know. But it helps me be the mature, engaged person I want to be, and to appreciate the individuals who are my colleagues and who comprise my professional community. I am now far more conscious of people feeling their “otherness”—even when it’s not in response to negative treatment, it can arise simply from awareness of being in some way different.

What did you think of this essay? Does this middle class Midwesterner have the unique experience of being different from the surrounding majority, something she had not experienced in the United States? Did she encounter diversity from the perspective of “the other”? 

Here a few things to note about why this diversity essay works so well:

1. The writer comes from “a comfortable, suburban, Wisconsin life,” suggesting that her background might not be ethnically, racially, or in any other way diverse.

2. The diversity “points” scored all come from her fascinating experience of having lived in a Japanese farm village, where she immersed herself in a totally different culture.

3. The lessons learned about the meaning of community are what broaden and deepen the writer’s perspective about life, about a purpose-driven life, and about the concept of “otherness.” 

By writing about a time when you experienced diversity in one of its many forms, you can write a memorable and meaningful diversity essay.

Working on your diversity essay?

Want to ensure that your application demonstrates the diversity that your dream school is seeking?  Work with one of our admissions experts . This checklist includes more than 30 different ways to think about diversity to jump-start your creative engine.

Dr. Sundas Ali has more than 15 years of experience teaching and advising students, providing career and admissions advice, reviewing applications, and conducting interviews for the University of Oxford’s undergraduate and graduate programs. In addition, Sundas has worked with students from a wide range of countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, India, Pakistan, China, Japan, and the Middle East. Want Sundas to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch! 

Related Resources:

• Different Dimensions of Diversity , podcast Episode 193
• What Should You Do If You Belong to an Overrepresented MBA Applicant Group?
• Fitting In & Standing Out: The Paradox at the Heart of Admissions , a free guide

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