College Learning Strategies Spring 2018

One of the things I hear most commonly from first-year college students is, "I am just not a good test taker".  Do you consider yourself a good test taker?  Why or why not?  Please give me examples.  If you say you are a great test taker...what makes you say so?  As you will find next week- being a good test taker involves more than just good test scores. 

The reading for this week brought the belief in "learning styles" into question.  What do you think?  Please explain your answer with examples from the reading.  Do you have a particular learning style?  Please explain.  Finally, how have you adapted your ways of reading and preparing for tests in college? Do you believe that there is a way you learn best? How have you adapted when you have had a "mismatch" with a professor's instructional style. Please post or email your responses by Wednesday of this week.

We starting discussing paper topics at the end of last week's meeting.  Now that you have had a week to think about what you might want to write, tell us a bit more about it.  Specifically, tell us: What do you intend to argue?  Be very specific.   What is some preliminary evidence?  How are you going to back up your claims? Where are going to find your evidence?  How do you know you can trust the sources?\ Please share your ideas and comment on the posts of your classmates.  Please make this post some time between now and our 2/19 meeting.

Remember the "bonus blocks" on the syllabus?  Well this month is a great time to earn some points.  Part of being a successful college student is being actively engaged in the campus community and beyond.  Please think about taking advantage of some of the excellent learning opportunities that are happening outside of the classroom this month. Black History Month events Anyone who attends the Ilyasah Shabazz event on Monday at 6:30 will get credit for attending a class.  If you have missed a class or miss a class in the future this will make up for it.  If anyone is interested in leading a discussion about Dr. Shabazz's visit/lecture you will receive 100 bonus points for the semester. 

Great job plowing through our time together last night.  I was especially impressed with some of the work you did digging through the primary sources to come to some conclusions that were- for the most part- right on the money.  This week- take a look at the " 168 Budget " assignment and post a response here.  Be as thorough as you can.  What budget cuts have you had to make since starting college?  What activities are too important to cut?  Which "non-essential" obligations can be trimmed to make college fit in your 168 hours.  Remember...there are only 168 hours in your budget!

Welcome aboard!  This blog will serve a space where we can expand on topics that we discuss in class with some "low stakes" writing.   For this week, please write a bit about why you are taking this course and what you would like to gain in our time together.  Try to be as specific as you can.  I am going to do my best to be sure that this course is useful for ALL of you.  This response will help me do that.