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Academic Strategies Unit 3 Seminar

Learning Styles

General Questions & Weekly News

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Please post any general questions you have.

Weekly Reminders & Announcements

Communication Announcements Instructor’s Phone # Tips for Success

Assignment Grading

All Unit 1 Grades are now posted!

Guidelines for viewing grades are posted in the Announcements area of the course

Unit 2 Discussion grades will be updated by this Friday.

Unit 2 Assignment grades will be updated within one week of the original due date

Comments

I always post comments with ALL GRADES, so please make sure to view my comments as you check your grades!!

Make sure to use my comments as a guide for ongoing IMPROVEMENT in this course!

Viewing Comments

To view the comments I have posted for your Unit 1 Scavenger Hunt Assignment go to the Dropbox, select Unit 1 Assignment, and select the small plus sign (+) located on the left-hand side of the screen. 

To view the comments I have posted for your Unit 1 Discussion work, go to the Gradebook, select Unit 1 Discussion, and select your grade to view my comments.

Unit 3 Assignments

Complete the Unit 3 Reading – Learning Styles Complete the Learning Styles quiz Attend the Unit 3 Discussion Complete the Learning & Study Skills Inventory

(LASSI) Complete the Unit 3 LASSI Inventory Assignment

Unit 3 Reading, Quiz & Discussion

The Unit 3 Reading will focus on Learning Styles and direct you to complete a brief Learning Styles quiz. The quiz will help you to identify your learning styles as Visual, Kinesthetic, Auditory or a combination of two or all three styles.

Make sure to complete the Learning Styles quiz before responding to the Unit 3 Discussion question!!

Please don't confuse the Learning Styles quiz with the LASSI Inventory--these are two separate items! Our focus in the Unit 3 Discussion forum will be on the Learning Styles quiz, not the LASSI Inventory. You will focus on your LASSI Inventory results as you complete the Unit 3 Assignment.

Learning & Study Skills InventoryLASSI

Anxiety Attitude Concentration Information Processing Motivation Online Learning

Strategies

Study Aids Selecting Main Ideas Self-Testing Testing Strategies Time Management

Unit 3 Assignment

Select the LASSI tab under Unit 3 on your Course Menu and complete the LASSI Inventory—make sure to SAVE the scores you receive!

Select the Assignment tab under Unit 3 on your Course Menu to access the Unit 3 template. Assignment instructions are included on the Unit 3 template; review all instructions carefully.

For the Unit 3 Assignment, you will report your scores from the LASSI Inventory on the Unit 3 template and write a short paragraph about what you learned about yourself as you reflected upon the scores you received.

Proofread your work carefully!

Questions?

Learning Styles

Knowing how you learn best can help you to increase your learning potential in any situation.

Learning how you learn—understanding your own learning styles and preferences--really can help you to improve your learning.

4 Elements of Successful Learning

ONE: Teacher attitude/enthusiasm for the subject matter! If the instructor has no interest in the subject, students will most likely lose interest as well. An active, involved instructor, on the other hand, tends to motivate students to want to learn.

TWO: Presentation of material in an interesting, easy to follow manner! If students are bored to death and/or lost or constantly confused, there’s not going to be much learning taking place.

THREE: Student involvement! Students need to have some direct involvement with the subject matter; this makes it real and helps them to get a better handle on what they’re learning.

FOUR: A sense of community and a productive, non-threatening learning environment! Students need to feel as if they are working WITH the group, not against it. They also need to feel as if the instructor is there to guide them, not just reprimand them when they get something wrong.

Learning How You Learn

If you know how you learn best, you can try to APPLY your learning strengths to any learning situation.

Many of us, however, don't really know how we learn because we have not taken time to THINK about learning in this manner.

There are many different ways to learn and all of us have very unique learning styles/preferences.

One way to increase your learning potential is to actually study learning styles and to get to know your own learning styles and strengths.

Questions to THINK about…

???Have you ever been able to picture something in your mind?

???Do you add colors, pictures or doodles to your notes?

???Do you organize yourself and write down every detail of an issue?

???Do you think best when exerting yourself in some strenuous physical activity?

???Do you find you can memorize something when you say it out loud or put in a catchy jingle?

???Do you learn best in a quiet and highly organized atmosphere?

???Do you find yourself reading assignments or notes out loud?

Learning Styles: Visual

Visual learners tend to think in pictures or images; they take in what they hear or read and translate it into images in their brain. This type of learner likes seeing things, highlighting notes and using symbols, pictures and graphs.

Learning Styles: Auditory

Auditory learners like to listen and take in information that is spoken, taped, sung, etc. This type of learner tends to like to talk, sing, listen to music, tell stories and take part in class discussions.

Learning Styles: Kinesthetic

Kinesthetic or hands-on learners like to get directly involved in the learning process by touching, manipulating and feeling whatever they are learning about. This learner works well with examples and illustrations and likes to build models, act things out, go on field trips, talk with others--anything that allows direct involvement in the learning process.

How do YOU learn best? By seeing (visual), hearing (auditory) or doing (kinesthetic)? Are you a combination of two or all three?

How can understanding your own learning styles/preferences help you in this online course?

Should we all have to try to be strong in ALL learning areas, or is it ok to recognize that you have some areas where you are strong and some where you are weak?

It's like swimming. Some do well with backstroke; others with breaststroke. Use the "stroke" that works best for you!!

...different strokes for different folks (lol)

Questions?

The Case of Jayden

Jayden liked school but always got in trouble for getting up and moving around in his high school class.  He would tap his pencil on the desk when he was reading, and when doing his assignments at home he liked to walk around. 

He didn’t like to follow instructions on assignments, but preferred to just get started and do the work.  This caused some problems for him because he sometimes missed important parts of the assignments. 

Jayden is now taking classes online.  He wants to get his degree and earn more money.

Based on just the information from the case study, what is Jayden’s preferred learning style: Visual, Auditory or Kinesthetic? 

What information from the case study helps you to make this selection?

How can Jayden use his learning style to help himself do well with his online education?

In other words, what specific approaches could he take that would allow him to draw upon his kinesthetic (hands-on) strengths?

Let’s say Jayden really doesn’t understand his own learning styles or strengths.

What kinds of questions could Jayden ask himself to help himself understand his own learning styles?

Expand Your Options

Read about other learning styles/approaches Understand what it takes for you to learn Experiment with a few new approaches Expand your options

Why do you think it might be a good idea for all of YOU to try to EXPAND your learning options as well?

The Toolbox Approach

Think of your learning styles/approaches in this manner: What good is a toolbox with only one tool in it?

Put as many tools into your "learning toolboxes" as you can Be prepared for anything that might come your way. This will give you many more options and prepare you to deal with many different

learning situations.

Final Questions?

Thanks for Attending!