Learning Profile

1. There were many themes that were talked about in the textbook. The first one was to Engage and adjust to the college life. You have to learn how to set attainable goals and to motivate yourself. I also learned that you should surround yourself with positive, upbeat people and also learn to overcome your fears. Another theme was how to manage college resources. This includes keeping track of money and possibly receiving financial aid or scholarships. You should also learn to accept criticism, know the college policies so you can follow them, talk with your teachers if you have questions, have good classroom etiquette, and talk with your advisor about your classes and possible transfer issues later on. The book also talked about how students need to prioritize like managing their time and organizing a schedule to fit in all the activities in your life like school, family, sports, work, and hobbies, etc. One of the big lessons was DO NOT procrastinate because it will only lead to more stressful situations. The book also talked about if you want to have better reading skills you need to read more frequently, concentrate more to have better comprehension, and build a stronger vocabulary. Also finding your own learning style was mentioned. If you find your learning style it will help you become a better active learner. Also you should find a note-taking system that works for you like the A, B, C-1, 2, 3 Outline technique, the Cornell Split page system, or to use a mapping system. To help you remember things, you should consider your study environment. You should pick a place that is not too hot, too noisy, too dark, or crowded. You should also get proper sleep, a proper diet, exercise, and have study breaks to help with your memory. The last thing I learned from the book was to develop test taking tactics that work. You need to reduce test anxiety in order to be successful on the exam.

2. I feel that my strengths as a learner are that I am a good listener, I am committed to getting things done, and I pay attention in class and try to understand things. I also take good notes in class, I study the material that will be on the tests the night before the exam, and I try to keep an open mind about everything. Some activities that seem to come easy to me is setting up a note taking system. I have my own way of taking notes in order so that I can understand them when I look back through them. I also am good at getting assignments done on time and to the best of my ability. Some subjects that seem to come easier to me is math and science classes. If there was a new student in class I think that I could help tutor them in math or science classes. I could also help them take notes and tell them my way of taking notes to help for studying, and I could help them work on a study system so they can do better on tests.

3. I feel that my weaknesses as a learner are definitely reading and comprehension along with writing. I wish I could just write freely and easily about topics and subjects and not have to sit and think about it for awhile. I also wish that I could read faster and actually understand what I read when I read it like some other people do. I also wish I didn’t put off studying until the last possible day before the test because it stresses me out and if I didn’t procrastinate like some other people I would be more stress free and maybe do better on the tests. I wish I didn’t get in unmotivated moods to where I don’t feel like studying or doing homework. The subjects that take up most of my time are biology and psychology right now. They have a lot of information to know and remember for the tests. The thing that I need most work with are getting things done before the last possible moment.

4. There were a lot of things that I learned in this class. First off, we did an activity in the book to find out our personality type and what kind of person we were. I ended up being an introvert and seem to keep my feelings inside rather than projecting them. I also found out my learning style in this class. I am a visual learner and seem to learn better from taking notes, looking at charts, and reading graphs. I also learned to set goals weakly so you always have something to achieve each week and to also set long term goals. I also learned with the career/interests assignment that I had a lot of the interests in the medical field. Some things that I know how to do now that I didn’t know how to do before I was in this class was how to navigate through the Butler website. Also to access the library databases from off-campus and to use all the library tools and citation machine. I also learned not to procrastinate. The important realization that I had was learning what steps I have to take to continue moving forward towards my goal of being an audiologist. It is important because it will be my career and I have to know all the steps to get to where I want to be. The important skill that I learned was to work on reading. Through the semester I think my reading progressed and that is something that I will always use throughout the rest of my life.

5. The assignments that I felt were very relevant to this course were the Reading and Comprehension activities that we did in class on the computers. It helped me realize I needed to work harder and more frequently to be at the reading level that I want. I also thought that finding our learning styles was very important. It helps people know how they learn so they can take notes, or read charts and graphs like me because I am a visual learner and all that would help me remember things better when I’m studying. I also thought that the presentation from the Librarian was good too because she really showed us how to navigate through the online databases and other things that I would not have known about. I also like the video about the girl that was binge drinking and she died because it is something that a lot of people can relate to and they need to know that drinking is dangerous. I think all of the assignments and presentations or activities that we did in class were relevant in some way, there were no completely irrelevant activities.

6. The course worked well from my perspective as a learner. Things concerning content that we should keep at all costs is the learning your own personal learning style. It was fun to answer the questions and find out what style fits you best. Nothing should be dropped concerning the content. Of the methods and activities that we did in class, we should keep the binge drinking video because it is very important for everyone to realize what a serious problem this is. Also keep the reading/comprehension activity that we did in class because it helps students realize if they need to work more on their reading skills. Some things that could possible be added are to set different goals each week and at the end of the week write about the goals you set and if you achieved them or not and why. I liked the way that our work is evaluated because we evaluate ourselves for participation along with the teacher evaluates us on if our blogs are complete along with the assignments for the day. I think that you as a teacher did a very good job designing each class period so we always have a new activity to do. I like how we did a lot of activities instead of just doing three for the whole semester. You were always helpful when we needed help or had a question so your conduction of class was also very good. I like the way that you evaluate the class as well.

7. For future students that are planning on taking this course they should know to get the blog assignments done on time and do them as they are assigned so they don’t pile up and you end up doing them all at the end of the semester. The three most important things you should make sure you do is to keep up on your blogs. Also to attend class and participate in the activities for the day. The last thing is to do the homework assigned on the day it was given out so you don't forget about it. The words that you should hang on a sign above your desk to help make it through this course is "Diligence, Focus, Motivation, and Time Management.

8. My experience as a learner in this class has progressed. I have listened to other people's stories and incidences and have learned from them. Some things that I will do differently in my life and work as a result of this class is I will not procrastinate. I will also try to volunteer more and help others if they are in need. I will also start to set more goals for myself and time lines to get the goals accomplished by. I will also have good time management skills so i can schedule things and still have plenty of free time. This class has also made me more people oriented because we get to interact with the other fellow students along with the instructor as well. This class has helped me understand not only myself better, but also everything that is going on around me too.