The very first assignment we were given was a learning inventory self assessment quiz. For our final project we are to do the quiz over again and see how our results have changed.
Old vs New results: 1 most important, 9 least important.
OLD New
Critical thinking 1 2
Problem solving 2 4
Resource management- internal 3 8
Goal setting 4 7
Motivation 5 6
Metacognition 6 3
Resource management-external 7 9
Note taking 8 1
Attention and memory 9 5
My new list is completely different then my first list. I came into this class thinking that I perfected my learning strategies already. But by the end of this course, i came to realize that sometimes old methods are not always right.
Things i thought i didn't need work on, actually were hurting me, like note-taking. I thought i took great notes, but really was just copying word for word what the teacher had said and not really listening. Now i can take brief notes and go come and make longer more elaborate ones if i feel it necessary.
I have completely understood the importance of an appropriate study and homework area.
My motivation and goal setting has improve greatly after seeing my stress decrease when i plan and study properly.
I learned ALOT about my learning strategies and i feel that i have improved on alot and i will now carry my new habits into next semester!
Monday, December 10, 2007
Teaching to Learn
For this optional project we were to prepare a power point presentation and present it to someone. Since i do not know how to do power point very well, and my cousin needed help with his grade 9 math I decided to just help him out last night.
He actually called me about a week ago saying he was not doing well in his math class and needed me to help him so he can pass his midterm.
Preparation
I picked up his text book and the notes he had taken in class and took them home with me on Friday. Friday night and Saturday afternoon i looked over his notes and had to reteach my self so of the things I have forgotten since I was in high school. I made my own notes and wrote down some good examples and practice questions from inside the text book.
Teaching
I understand that everyone learns differently. Some people learn visually( by seeing demonstrations, diagrams...ect) and others can just listen to the explanation and understand. Dalenos teacher was teaching the class as more of an audit thing, so I decided to try a different method to see if he could grasp it a little better. I tutored him for about 2hours on Sunday night after my family dinner.
Outcome and Thoughts
Daleno is a visual learner as i suspected, so the one on one time he got with a "teacher" helped him get the extra explanations that he required. By the end of the session he felt more confident and we have worked out a schedule where i can help him at least once a week.
This optional project helped me take a broader look at different ways of learning. I already use different methods in different classes, my methods for math and my methods for English are totally different, but i now get the concept that if i am truly not understanding a class or a topic, i just need to look at it with a different view and try another method.
He actually called me about a week ago saying he was not doing well in his math class and needed me to help him so he can pass his midterm.
Preparation
I picked up his text book and the notes he had taken in class and took them home with me on Friday. Friday night and Saturday afternoon i looked over his notes and had to reteach my self so of the things I have forgotten since I was in high school. I made my own notes and wrote down some good examples and practice questions from inside the text book.
Teaching
I understand that everyone learns differently. Some people learn visually( by seeing demonstrations, diagrams...ect) and others can just listen to the explanation and understand. Dalenos teacher was teaching the class as more of an audit thing, so I decided to try a different method to see if he could grasp it a little better. I tutored him for about 2hours on Sunday night after my family dinner.
Outcome and Thoughts
Daleno is a visual learner as i suspected, so the one on one time he got with a "teacher" helped him get the extra explanations that he required. By the end of the session he felt more confident and we have worked out a schedule where i can help him at least once a week.
This optional project helped me take a broader look at different ways of learning. I already use different methods in different classes, my methods for math and my methods for English are totally different, but i now get the concept that if i am truly not understanding a class or a topic, i just need to look at it with a different view and try another method.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Test Taking
For an optional project were were assigned to read chapter 11, Test Taking, and asses our normal test taking strategies, evaluate them and then try some of the method and tips from inside the chapter.
Usual Methods
When ever i would have a test i would usually start studying 2 days before the test. I would sit down in my living room with my family while they watches TV and i would look over my notes. I am a memorizor, so i would just read the notes over and over again until I could recall them with out having to look at the text book.
Evaluation
I have always done fairly well on tests. But i find my stress levels are very high, due to going into test not knowing the material and understanding it, but just memorization. My confident would be very low. I decided to try a couple of new methods i got from the text book.
What I did
I decided i would try my new methods on my Biology test on December 7. I went home after each class and looked at my notes, which i learned to do from another assignment. I made my own notes, and wrote out potential questions that could be on a test from what we learned that day. I started studying on the Sunday ( my test was the following Friday). I would go home and relax for a bit so my mind had time to be calm and prepare to be in study mode, i would then go into my room and shut the door. I never once had the TV on but sometimes i would have very low music in the background. I would study for 30 Min's and then take a 10 min break, so my brain didn't over load. I used the questions i had made from my notes and answered them.
My Results
I felt less stressed because i was more confident. I knew the material because i took the time to teach my self the processes instead of just trying to memorize them.
I feel i did very well on my test.
For the future i know now the i am not unable to teach my self thing, i just need to take the appropriate amount of time and effort. I will also study in rooms where my attention will not be attracted somewhere else.
Usual Methods
When ever i would have a test i would usually start studying 2 days before the test. I would sit down in my living room with my family while they watches TV and i would look over my notes. I am a memorizor, so i would just read the notes over and over again until I could recall them with out having to look at the text book.
Evaluation
I have always done fairly well on tests. But i find my stress levels are very high, due to going into test not knowing the material and understanding it, but just memorization. My confident would be very low. I decided to try a couple of new methods i got from the text book.
What I did
I decided i would try my new methods on my Biology test on December 7. I went home after each class and looked at my notes, which i learned to do from another assignment. I made my own notes, and wrote out potential questions that could be on a test from what we learned that day. I started studying on the Sunday ( my test was the following Friday). I would go home and relax for a bit so my mind had time to be calm and prepare to be in study mode, i would then go into my room and shut the door. I never once had the TV on but sometimes i would have very low music in the background. I would study for 30 Min's and then take a 10 min break, so my brain didn't over load. I used the questions i had made from my notes and answered them.
My Results
I felt less stressed because i was more confident. I knew the material because i took the time to teach my self the processes instead of just trying to memorize them.
I feel i did very well on my test.
For the future i know now the i am not unable to teach my self thing, i just need to take the appropriate amount of time and effort. I will also study in rooms where my attention will not be attracted somewhere else.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Dental Office Interview
Who:
The person I chose to interview was my mom. She is a medical secretary at a dental office. The profession I would like to get into is dental hygiene, so I thought since she is in the office everyday she would be a great interviewee.
Summary of my interview:
-The most important vocational skills-
"I deal with alot of people everyday. of every race, age and religion... everyone needs their teeth cleaned! So you have to be friendly and understanding to different peoples different needs. When people come in they are sometimes scared and anxious so you will have to be clam and confident in order to sooth them. You have to be a real people person!"
-The importance of generic skills such as written communication, interpersonal communication, math, use of computers, and problem solving and decision-making.-
"Listening inattentively is a MUST for this job. You have to be able to listen to the dentist and understand exactly what he wants you to do. People skills are important. learning to following instructions exactly the way they are given.
-The things you should do outside of college to increase your chances of getting hired after you graduate-
"Volunteer work is a great asset to have when applying to any job really. But mostly if you want to get into a dental office, volunteer with young kids and older people. As well as you can try and get into a dental office and watch for a day to get to know the doctors and other hygienists."
My Thoughts
After interviewing my mom, I had a greater understanding of how the office is run. She gave me great ideas on how to succeed in getting a job at an office. This summer i now plan on volunteering in a nursing home to get experience with older people. I also spent the morning with her at her office today and got at look at what i will be doing as a career!
The person I chose to interview was my mom. She is a medical secretary at a dental office. The profession I would like to get into is dental hygiene, so I thought since she is in the office everyday she would be a great interviewee.
Summary of my interview:
-The most important vocational skills-
"I deal with alot of people everyday. of every race, age and religion... everyone needs their teeth cleaned! So you have to be friendly and understanding to different peoples different needs. When people come in they are sometimes scared and anxious so you will have to be clam and confident in order to sooth them. You have to be a real people person!"
-The importance of generic skills such as written communication, interpersonal communication, math, use of computers, and problem solving and decision-making.-
"Listening inattentively is a MUST for this job. You have to be able to listen to the dentist and understand exactly what he wants you to do. People skills are important. learning to following instructions exactly the way they are given.
-The things you should do outside of college to increase your chances of getting hired after you graduate-
"Volunteer work is a great asset to have when applying to any job really. But mostly if you want to get into a dental office, volunteer with young kids and older people. As well as you can try and get into a dental office and watch for a day to get to know the doctors and other hygienists."
My Thoughts
After interviewing my mom, I had a greater understanding of how the office is run. She gave me great ideas on how to succeed in getting a job at an office. This summer i now plan on volunteering in a nursing home to get experience with older people. I also spent the morning with her at her office today and got at look at what i will be doing as a career!
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Time Managment Option
I decided to do this project the week ending November 24, 2007.
Preparation and Follow Through:
For this project I took an agenda and made a daily list of to-do's. I wrote down my school schedule, work schedule, personal and social times and homework and assignments i need to get done. I color coded the tasks so i could take a visual look at which aspect of my life was dominating or lacking. As the week went on I updated my agenda according to my actions. I added times of how long I studied.
My Conclusion:
After my week was done because I colour coded I could visually see that work was dominating my schedule. It is what took up most of my time. Next after that was in class time and personal time. The least amount of time spend on was for studying and homework.
I noticed that when i first made my schedule on the Sunday I added alot of homework and studying times, but as those times came up I usually erased the time slot and added personal or social time.
I liked doing this project because it made me take a visual look at my schedule as a student. After looking back on the schedule I had made and then the one that i adjusted i could see my priorities need to change if i want to succeed in my school work!
Preparation and Follow Through:
For this project I took an agenda and made a daily list of to-do's. I wrote down my school schedule, work schedule, personal and social times and homework and assignments i need to get done. I color coded the tasks so i could take a visual look at which aspect of my life was dominating or lacking. As the week went on I updated my agenda according to my actions. I added times of how long I studied.
My Conclusion:
After my week was done because I colour coded I could visually see that work was dominating my schedule. It is what took up most of my time. Next after that was in class time and personal time. The least amount of time spend on was for studying and homework.
I noticed that when i first made my schedule on the Sunday I added alot of homework and studying times, but as those times came up I usually erased the time slot and added personal or social time.
I liked doing this project because it made me take a visual look at my schedule as a student. After looking back on the schedule I had made and then the one that i adjusted i could see my priorities need to change if i want to succeed in my school work!
Multiple Learning Stratigies
For this optional project i had to pick a class and try a new learning strategy.
What and Why?
I decided to try this method in Biology while learning the process of cell division, MITOSIS!
I chose to do it on Mitosis because it is a long process that has many steps, and i knew that it would take some time to memorize/understand the whole process.
What I did:
1) In our first class we learned about the first step of Mitosis, which is Interphase. i took notes throughout class and looked at the diagram in our text book.
2) During our break i took the time to highlight any important sections he mentioned and then i underline anything i was a little confused about.
3) When i got home that night, after dinner, i took out my notes and put then into my own words. Doing t his i was able to learn it better because i was teaching my self. When i teach myself i have to be in a quite place and be alone because i talk to myself and coach my self through the tutorial.
4) After i felt that i was able to go through all of interphase without the help of my notes, i then quizzed my self with some questions i have written done earlier when i underline in class. if i could answer the questions without having to refer back to my book, i knew i was on the right track!
The next Biology class i had we learned the other steps of Mitosis and i repeated the same steps as i did for Interphase.
My outcome
I believe that this helped me ALOT! because there are 8 steps involved in cell division, it takes the brain along time to soak in all of the information. And by lengthen out my studying time it helped my not only memorize the steps but learn them as well!
On my test i wrote i received an A and i was able to recall all of the information that i learned with this new strategy!
This is a very useful strategy to use when i am trying to learn a lengthy process and i found all the work that i out into this strategy paid off in the end!
What and Why?
I decided to try this method in Biology while learning the process of cell division, MITOSIS!
I chose to do it on Mitosis because it is a long process that has many steps, and i knew that it would take some time to memorize/understand the whole process.
What I did:
1) In our first class we learned about the first step of Mitosis, which is Interphase. i took notes throughout class and looked at the diagram in our text book.
2) During our break i took the time to highlight any important sections he mentioned and then i underline anything i was a little confused about.
3) When i got home that night, after dinner, i took out my notes and put then into my own words. Doing t his i was able to learn it better because i was teaching my self. When i teach myself i have to be in a quite place and be alone because i talk to myself and coach my self through the tutorial.
4) After i felt that i was able to go through all of interphase without the help of my notes, i then quizzed my self with some questions i have written done earlier when i underline in class. if i could answer the questions without having to refer back to my book, i knew i was on the right track!
The next Biology class i had we learned the other steps of Mitosis and i repeated the same steps as i did for Interphase.
My outcome
I believe that this helped me ALOT! because there are 8 steps involved in cell division, it takes the brain along time to soak in all of the information. And by lengthen out my studying time it helped my not only memorize the steps but learn them as well!
On my test i wrote i received an A and i was able to recall all of the information that i learned with this new strategy!
This is a very useful strategy to use when i am trying to learn a lengthy process and i found all the work that i out into this strategy paid off in the end!
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Recommendation Letter
Dear Future Students:
Strategies for success is an optional course but as my schedule turned out to be full, it was the only option I had. I came into the class unexcited and close minded. I thought "I have been in school since I was 5 years old, I know what my learning techniques are so I do not need to take a course like this one..." But to my surprise this course actually had a big payoff for me.
I have learned many new strategies that i will take with me throughout the rest of my college years!
I have always gotten good grades so i assumed the techniques i was using must be the best, but as to my surprise they were actually bad habits. This class showed me that iIam a person that memorize everything, I didn't usually care if I knew what I was reading all that mattered to me what that i could memorize it word for word. After reading a few chapters and doing a few "new technique" assignments Tim gave us I saw that i felt less stressed and more confident when i took the time to learn what i was reading rather then just memorizing it.
My favorite lesson i will definitely take with me all through school is the Multiple learning strategy assignment we did. I had to take notes and then review them daily. I found it helped my ALOT when it came to learning long processes!
I feel less stressed when it comes to school. I lengthen out my studying times, rather then cramming and I am doing very well in school!
I defiantly believe that this course should not only be an optional course but a mandatory one!
Shawna Langlois
Strategies for success is an optional course but as my schedule turned out to be full, it was the only option I had. I came into the class unexcited and close minded. I thought "I have been in school since I was 5 years old, I know what my learning techniques are so I do not need to take a course like this one..." But to my surprise this course actually had a big payoff for me.
I have learned many new strategies that i will take with me throughout the rest of my college years!
I have always gotten good grades so i assumed the techniques i was using must be the best, but as to my surprise they were actually bad habits. This class showed me that iIam a person that memorize everything, I didn't usually care if I knew what I was reading all that mattered to me what that i could memorize it word for word. After reading a few chapters and doing a few "new technique" assignments Tim gave us I saw that i felt less stressed and more confident when i took the time to learn what i was reading rather then just memorizing it.
My favorite lesson i will definitely take with me all through school is the Multiple learning strategy assignment we did. I had to take notes and then review them daily. I found it helped my ALOT when it came to learning long processes!
I feel less stressed when it comes to school. I lengthen out my studying times, rather then cramming and I am doing very well in school!
I defiantly believe that this course should not only be an optional course but a mandatory one!
Shawna Langlois
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