This Document Contains Chapters 3 to 5 P.O.W.E.R. Learning Instructor Manual (K. Surman) Chapter 3: Reading and Remembering This resource for Chapter 3 contains the following: 1. Learning outcomes 2. Messages to the student and to the instructor 3. Ideas and concepts 4. Clarifying questions and discussion prompts 5. Using the P.O.W.E.R. learning process in your instruction 6. Activities and assignments for the classroom or online 7. Extending the course content beyond the classroom 8. Additional activities and assignments 9. Connections within the text 1. Learning Outcomes LO3.1 Identify the essential elements of successful reading, and explain how to improve concentration when reading. LO3.2 Demonstrate the use of techniques for memorizing huge amounts of information. LO2.3 Analyze how best to retain what you have read. 2. Messages 2.1 To the student When you consider all of the ways we try to process the world, reading is often overlooked or ignored in favor of speaking, watching, or listening. However, reading allows you to practise your analytical, reflection, and memory skills. It permits disciplined, logical thinking without the haste or noise of classroom discussions. However, the reading skills that worked for you in high school may not be adequate for your postsecondary education. You will be expected to read more information without regular opportunities to review or clarify the reading. You may believe that the readings don’t matter because your professor did not discuss them in class. However, you need to read so that you can connect the readings to the information presented in class. You are expected to piece together the information from the readings on your own. Equally important is the ability to recall information – particularly information that you read. This chapter provides you with ways to enhance your memory skills through the development of organizational structures. Each person has an amazing capacity for memory and we can recall extraordinary amounts of information and detail. We may experience self-doubt when we cannot remember exactly what we want at the moment we need it. The truth is that our level of engagement with a subject is often the key to our ability to recall it. The quotation by John Locke illustrates that it is not enough to merely read; you must also think in order to retain that thought. Therefore, your memory can be improved through use of this chapter’s tools. 2.2 To the instructor The written word, and the ability of our students to comprehend it, is a cornerstone of academic success. One key to enhancing this skill of your students is to have them understand that they still have a great deal to learn about being better readers. Students need to know that instructors expect them to be readers and that there is rarely time to review the reading material in class. These expectations form a major shift in class preparation for your students. It is sometimes hard to convince students that enhancing one’s skills at reading both requires effort and is worth the effort. These skills require conscientious effort to improve, particularly in light of the many different ways that students take in information. Attention span is another focus of this chapter. The increase in diagnoses of attention-deficit disorder (ADD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the accompanying use of medication reflects this concern. This chapter provides the opportunity to slow down and examine some of our fundamental behaviors in a new light. Finally, ways to assist students to improve their ability to recall information are found in this chapter. The goal is not to help students discover new ways to memorize lots of facts and details but to become aware of the factors that influence or improve their recall of experiences and information. The notion of over-learning is discussed – the distinction between surface learning and deep learning. Encourage your students to grasp the notion that the more time and energy spent applying information will directly impact their ability to remember it. 3. Ideas and Concepts Acronym Acrostic Advance organizers Attention span Frontmatter Mnemonics Overlearning Rehearsal SQ3R approach Visualization 4. Clarifying Questions and Discussion Prompts These questions can be used to encourage class discussion, small group work, or individual reflection about the information presented in this chapter. • What have you read recently that was not an academic assignment? • Do you sometimes fall behind in your assigned reading for classes? Have there been negative consequences for not getting the reading done? • Have you ever suffered from or known someone who suffered from a disability that made reading difficult, if not impossible? • Why might you have problems with memory, and how do you deal with these problems? • Can you think of a time when you remembered everything you wanted to recall? What made this possible? • What role does concentration play in your ability to recall or forget information? • How does your striving style affect how you read and remember material? Review the column presented on p. 63 to discuss these linkages. • How does your learning style affect how you read and remember material? • Do you attach powerful emotions to information that you can remember? • List everything you have to read for a job you have or may have had. How much reading are you actually required to do in the workplace? 5. Using the P.O.W.E.R. Learning Process in Your Instruction Here are some ideas for applying this process to this chapter’s content: Prepare: Approach the written word thoughtfully. A common reading assignment is useful in teaching this chapter, e.g. a short article on a topic that is current and pertinent to your campus or a textbook chapter from another class in which many of your students are also enrolled. Organize: Gather the tools of the trade. Have your class divide themselves into groups based on the collaborative technique you select (for a reading activity, three to five students per group is good). Plan to use an entire class for a collaborative reading activity; this is a practical concern as well as an indication of the value you place on reading. Work: Get the most out of your reading. Each group must decide how to tackle their reading assignment and demonstrate the reading technique they used. Allow at least half the class period for this part of the work. With 15 to 20 minutes left in the class, ask one member from each group to demonstrate the technique they used. While the students are working, move from group to group to observe and offer suggestions. Evaluate: Put it into context of what you already know. First, the students need to evaluate whether the reading techniques they applied worked for them and for other members of their group. Did they have enough time to complete the assignment in class? Ask students how they could apply what they learned about reading to another class or another context (e.g. the workplace). How does their technique enhance their ability to remember? Encourage them to write one intention statement to apply to a reading assignment in another class. Allow time the following week for students to report on their progress in this area. Rethink: Get it the second time. Students are often resistant to learning and applying new study skills. Furthermore, most faculty prefer a developmental approach rather than a coercive assignment. Were you comfortable with the chaos that this kind of applied exercise creates in your class? Were your students successful in working collaboratively? What do you need to do to develop this skill so that your class is able to reap the benefits of a working class period? TRY IT! Jot down in your teaching journal the ideas that worked and changes you would make the next time you teach this topic. 6. Activities and Assignments for the Classroom or Online The following activities appear in the textbook and are also available through Connect. Therefore, they can be completed during class time using the textbook or using laptops. They can also be completed online as part of a hybrid or online student success course. Try It! 1: Discover How Advance Organizers Help Have students read the passage and try to remember it five minutes later. Then, give the students some context and ask them to list the key points of the passage. The principle of advance organizers can also be reinforced by showing two minutes from the middle of an obscure (perhaps non-North American) movie. Discuss how difficult it is to understand what is going on without any context. Try It! 2: Create an Advance Organizer Students can use this tool to approach a chapter in a textbook that is required reading for another course. Encourage students to use a chapter on which they may be tested soon. Try It! 3: Discover Your Attention Span Have students perform this exercise consisting of five trials outside of class time. Students will likely make an effort to read longer than usual. This means that students may have an even shorter attention span than indicated by this exercise. Try It! 4: Mark Up a Book Page Have students read the excerpt in Figure 3.2 and use the techniques for marking up a page to highlight its key points. Students can then compare their annotations with others to answer the questions in the exercise. Some students will be efficient mand effective readers. Have these students share their methods and model them in small-group settings or in pairs. Try It! 5: Do-It-Yourself Acronyms and Acrostics Have students work individually and then in a group to figure out acronyms and acrostics for lists of information. Encourage them to discuss mnemonics for information they have learned in the past, and to discuss and develop mnemonics for material in shared courses. 7. Extending the Course Content Beyond the Classroom Here are some ideas that can carry the conversation beyond the chapter activities. Goal: To connect the information to the student’s life. Talk to students who do not think they read anything on their own. Remind them that everything from email to blogs to wikis counts as reading. Explore why the concept of reading in more traditional hard copy modes (books, articles, newspapers) does not appeal to them. A sense of place is important when considering reading assignments and attention span. Making the transition from private to public spaces can be difficult. Encourage students to consider this as they plan their academic work. Consider having students pair up to visit each other’s regular study space. Ask them to report how the space supports or hinders the occupant’s ability to read and remember. Ask students to identify something they can do without thinking. Then ask them to think about how long and why they began the process of learning that information. How long have they spent learning it? How many ways have they practiced it, observed it, thought about it, made mistakes with it, read about it or talked about it. What does this suggest about learning and memory? Visualization is a powerful tool. Most athletes will have used this skill in their sport; ask these students to speak about their use of visualization. GOAL: To connect the information to the programs and practices in the broader academic community. Discuss the elements of technology (e.g., blogs, electronic boards, text messaging, course management systems) used on your campus to remind students of all that is occurring. Of these, which do your students consider the most effective and why? GOAL: To connect to the global society. Take an international incident and have students read about it on various websites. Are the stories different? How so? How do these differences shape their thinking about the event? Compare understandings of an event as portrayed online, on TV, and in a newspaper. Are there substantial differences? Which is more reliable? Why? Culture is the collective memory of a group of people. What ways do societies have for remembering their past and absorbing the lessons of their culture? Ask students to explore this through the lessons of one culture. 8. Additional Activities and Assignments These activities and assignments are listed in order of time required. 8.1 Memory Tray (15 minutes) 8.2 Words and Shapes (20 minutes) 8.3 Using Movies and Clips 8.1 Memory Tray Many students believe that a good memory is something determined at birth, much like whether they have brown or green eyes. Rather, the ability to recall information is a practised habit that can be improved upon. 1. Assemble two trays with approximately 20 items on each tray. Have as many different items as possible. Find a variety of familiar and unfamiliar items. 2. Announce that you have several items that you would like your students to view and attempt to recall. Bring in the tray and give them two minutes to look at the items, and then remove the tray. 3. Ask students to draw the tray and to include as many items as they can recall; they can choose to write the name of the items if they wish, since drawing might take too much time. Give them two minutes for this task. 4. Bring in the tray and assess the success of your class in identifying the items. Were they able to recall all of the items? Which items were they most likely to recall? Can they suggest reasons why? List the strategies that students used to recall the items. 5. Bring in the second tray and allow students to pick the items up, ask questions about them, and move them around on the tray. Give students 5- 10 minutes for this activity. Then, remove the tray. 6. Ask them to draw the second tray and to include as many items as they can recall; they can choose to write the name of some items if they wish since drawing might take too much time. Give them 2-5 minutes for this task. 7. Bring in the second tray and assess the success of your class in identifying the items. Hopefully, they did better in identifying the items because they had more time with the items, familiarity with the task, the ability to reorganize, and ask questions about the items. Can your students suggest these factors? Can they make a connection between these factors and ways to improve their retention of the information they are studying? 8.2 Words and Shapes Ensure you have a way to keep students from seeing the information until you are ready to uncover it in class. Ask students to have a pen and pencil ready but they cannot use them until you tell them to do so. Inform them that you are introducing the topic of memory and this exercise can assist them in understanding the factors involved with their recall. 1. Show them the sheet with words; allow them to view it for 15 seconds. Then, cover the words and tell them to write down as many of the words as they can recall. After a minute or two, ask them the following questions: • How many words were there? • Which words do they believe most people recalled? Why? • How did most people write down the information? (in the same chart form in which they were presented? In a sentence? in a picture?) Can your students generate from this exercise the factors that lead to recall? Are they now able to suggest that recall can be enhanced by grouping, counting, repeating, reviewing, recording, seeing familiar patterns, noting the position, hearing/seeing the unusual, or spending time (15 seconds is not enough time, however). 2. Now, follow the same procedure with the shapes sheet. Give students 45 seconds to look at the shapes before covering them up and asking students to record everything they remember. Then ask students the same questions as before. Did your students view the task of viewing the shapes differently from viewing the words? Did they use more of the memory producing factors to recall this information? How did they change their way of organizing information? Reinforce the idea of organizational constructs and advance organizers. How can you apply the factors that enhance memory to the way you cover information in your classes? Do you see a connection between the methods, frequency, and amount of time you spend on a topic and the ability for your students to recall it? What does this information suggest for a classroom that is focused on learning? WORDS ACTIVITY friends tire on their Did school my have flat a to way morning ? this 8.3 Using Clips and Movies Clips and movies can often illustrate a point better than your words and actions. Consider using films for any of the following reasons: • To promote discussion about a value or theme relevant to postsecondary education and your course • To provide a source of information for your students to practice listening, concentration, note taking, test taking, or other study skills • To accommodate students with different learning styles • To appeal to students who have grown up in a multimedia culture Films provide students with yet another way to sharpen their understanding of how they recall information. They may begin to associate that facts are easier to recall if presented with multiple images of an idea—visually, auditory, and textually. Reading skills can be sharpened through the use of movies based on books. Ask students to compare the film version to the assigned text; acknowledge that you understand that students will often try to watch a film instead of reading the book. Students may need to be warned that significant differences often exist in the telling of a story on film. 9. Connections within the Text This chapter’s ideas link with those of other chapters: • Chapter 1: reading and remembering styles and striving styles are linked • Chapter 2: reading requires time; good readers are flexible regarding reading speed based on the type of material they are reading • Chapter 4: link reading and taking notes • Chapter 5: link reading to taking tests, particularly through the use of advance organizers Chapter 3 “Reading and Remembering” Case Study Answers 1) How would you advise Anjana to prepare for her course reading? Answer: There are a number of things Anjana could do to prepare for her course reading. She should skim through all advance organizers (table of contents, sections headings, overviews, etc) to get an idea what the material will cover and how it connects together. She needs to think of her own knowledge on the subject, so she can later tie this into her readings to help her remember the material. Next, Anjana needs to identify the goals for the reading assignment, along with which key ideas and concepts will be most important in the class. After doing this, creating her own advance organizers of the different sections will give her a better idea of the material, which she can then connect to key ideas. Lastly, she will need to collect all tools, such as highlighters and a dictionary, to use while she reads. 2) How would you suggest Anjana organize her time so she could finish the readings in the allotted four weeks? Answer: Reading takes time and speed-reading does not aid in comprehension of the material. Anjana needs to evaluate her own reading speed and comprehension by timing how long it takes her to read three pages. This will give her a rough idea of how much time will be needed for the assignment. She then needs to estimate her own attention span while reading. By breaking the readings into blocks of time in which she can still remain focused and then calculating how many blocks of time she will need for the complete readings, Anjana can spread the time needed for the reading assignment out over the next four weeks. 3) How might Anjana stay focused on her reading? How might she most effectively use writing as a way to accomplish her task? Answer: Reading in small bites, taking frequent breaks and managing interruptions will help Anjana stay focused on her reading. In addition, writing while reading will help Anjana remain focused and better understand the information. She should write in the margins of the reading materials—citing and rephrasing key points—and use arrows or other visual aids to help her understand the information. 4) What techniques might Anjana use to memorize long lists or other key material from her reading? Answer: A variety of techniques may help Anjana memorize longer lists or materials in her reading. These include; mnemonics, such as acronyms or acrostics; using multiple senses while she reads; and visualization, that is, images used to reinforce certain concepts and terms. 5) In what ways can Anjana use rethinking techniques to improve her understanding of the readings in the packet? Answer: While rethinking the material, Anjana can re-read more difficult or important sections to ensure that she fully understands the concepts involved. By revisiting her margin notes, Anjana can better understand the texts as a whole and transfer the material from her short-term to her long-term memory. P.O.W.E.R. Learning Instructor Manual (K. Surman) Chapter 4: Taking Notes This resource for Chapter 4 contains the following: 1. Learning outcomes 2. Messages to the student and to the instructor 3. Ideas and concepts 4. Clarifying questions and discussion prompts 5. Using the P.O.W.E.R. learning process in your instruction 6. Activities and assignments for the classroom or online 7. Extending the course content beyond the classroom 8. Additional activities and assignments 9. Connections within the text 1. Learning Outcomes LO 4.1 Identify the characteristics of effective notes. LO 4.2 Demonstrate the various methods of note-taking: outlining, the Cornell method, concept mapping, and using a PowerPoint handout. LO 4.3 Demonstrate how to take study notes, which are created for the purpose of reviewing material. 2. Messages 2.1 To the student An active, engaged learner needs and wants to remember information. Often students believe that only when the teacher is talking is it necessary to take notes and sometimes not even then. Class discussions, multimedia presentations, student presentations, readings, and review of notes taken in class for the purposes of studying are all appropriate times for taking notes. Often we associate note taking with classes but clubs, organizations, and workplaces always need individuals who possess this skill. Taking notes allows you to organize your thoughts about someone else’s ideas. When reviewed, your notes provide you with an opportunity to question information in light of your own experiences. Finally, when done conscientiously, taking notes can provide you with a chance to create new knowledge. 2.2 To the instructor Many students are willing and eager to take notes. The issue is not a lack of desire, but a lack of understanding as to what constitutes a good set of notes. In many courses, information comes at a pace that makes it difficult to decipher what is most important. It is not enough to just take notes; students need to take effective notes. Students will not easily or openly embrace note taking as a habit or skill to develop. Students can tell you that they need to learn new study skills but they will have a hard time changing their system and familiar habits. You will have to reinforce this information to get your point across—inspect their notes, treat the activity as an important step in the process of learning, but try not to lose perspective about it. Note taking is an important skill but taking notes does not replace understanding information. Let students know that you are aware that after more than a decade of personalizing their own system for making the grade, a shift in taking notes will not come easily. This is especially true if your students are receiving the grades they want; under these circumstances there is little chance that they will change their habits. However, there are some skills and abilities that can make work easier and the time spent on it shorter. The implementation of an efficient, consistent note taking system is one of these tools. Encourage students to systematically adopt the strategies in this chapter for a month before they decide to return to their old ways. If your class is part of a learning community, this is a good place for making connections between the courses. Your students can learn about note taking in your classroom and then practise the skill in the other classes. In addition, the program in which you teach may have a service learning, work placement, or co-op component. This experience creates a real-world application of academic strategies such as note taking and may bring a relevance to the importance of these skills that the classroom does not provide. Finally, consider your own willingness to write down information when people are speaking; consider role modeling good note taking by writing down information as your students speak. 3. Ideas and Concepts Active listening Concept mapping Cornell method of note-taking Flash cards Hearing Meta-message Outline method of note taking PowerPoint handouts Study notes 4. Clarifying Questions and Discussion Prompts These questions can be used to encourage class discussion, small group work, or individual reflection about the information presented in this chapter. • Why do we take notes? • Do you think that note taking is a good idea? If so, why? • Do you think note taking is a waste of time? If so, why? • How do you take notes? • How do you determine what to write down in your notes? • How would you evaluate your note taking ability? • What connection exists between note taking and academic success? • What do you do during class? How do you concentrate? How do you remember important information shared during class? • What do you look for in your notes when you are preparing for a test? • In what situations would a good note taking system prove useful outside of the academic environment? • What tools do you use and find helpful for taking notes? 5. Using the P.O.W.E.R. Learning Process in Your Instruction Here are some ideas for applying this process to this chapter’s content: Prepare: Consider your goals. Ask your students to identify the instructor’s goals for one of their core courses. Have them link the information that they received during the first class with the information in the course outline and the syllabus. Explain that the core course’s learning outcomes fit within the learning outcomes for the wider program, and that the instructor is responsible for fitting a class into a course that subsequently fits into a program. Students can then see the goals of note taking as fitting into the wider goals of program learning. Ask your students to bring a week’s worth of notes to class from another class. Have them compare these notes to the syllabus from that class, and have them compare their notes to each others’. If you are part of a learning community, ask another instructor’s permission and attend a lecture in another class. Take notes. Use this common experience to compare what was heard and what was written. Challenge students who don’t think that their future professions will require note taking skills. Encourage students to suggest environments outside of school where note taking might be useful. Organize: Get the tools of note-taking together. Have students choose the appropriate writing utensil and notebook that works for them. Discuss the benefits of taking the textbook to class, particularly in light of the preparation activity of fitting note taking into the syllabus. Consider the pros and cons of using a laptop computer to take notes. Also, have them create a written observation of a model student in the other class. In their observation, have them respond to the following: • What tools did the student bring to class? • When did the student arrive to class? • What did this student do during the class lecture? Work: Process – don’t just copy - information. Encourage your students to listen for the key ideas in lectures. Tell them that there is a meta-message, an underlying main idea that the speaker is normally seeking to convey. Discuss the importance of using abbreviations and phrases for note taking, rather than copying down every word the instructor says. Remind students to keep their abbreviations consistent in all their notes. Text messaging has increased the use of abbreviations. How can students use these new abbreviations in class? Describe and demonstrate the four methods for taking notes: the outline method, the Cornell method, concept maps, and PowerPoint handouts in class. Evaluate: Think critically about your notes. The best way to evaluate the effectiveness of notes is after a test. Ask your students to write a brief evaluation of their success on a test in your class, or even better—in another class—based on the notes they took. What do they need to change about their note taking to be successful on future tests? With the notes in hand, have your students work in small groups to determine who has good notes. Create a list of characteristics that all of your students believe to be common in all good notes. Display the notes so that students can see who recorded what information. Rethink: Review your notes shortly after class to activate your memory. Revisit this information in two weeks. Ask your students to pair up and share their notes from another class again—are there differences? What shifts can they determine two weeks later? Four weeks later? Consider giving extra credit to a student who can illustrate a change in their note taking style based on a thoughtful re-evaluation of their earlier style. Make it a practice to have students verbally recount the main points of your class during the last 2 to 3 minutes of each meeting. Encourage students to review their notes prior to each class. TRY IT! Jot down in your teaching journal the ideas that worked and changes you would make the next time you teach this topic. 6. Activities and Assignments for the Classroom or Online The following activities appear in the textbook and are also available through Connect. Therefore, they can be completed during class time using the textbook or using laptops. They can also be completed online as part of a hybrid or online student success course. Try It! 1: Determine Your Listening Style Have students consider the pairs of statements to select the statement that more closely describes their classroom listening style. Consider breaking students up into pairs based on different listening styles. Have each student tell a brief story about something that occurred to them that day. After both parties have shared a story, have them discuss what they remember and how they prioritized information in their partner’s story. Try It! 2: Outline a Lecture The outline form works best with instructors who use it to create their lectures. Consider doing a short lecture on a topic that lends itself to outline note taking to provide students an opportunity to practice. Alternatively, use the reading selection as outline material as presented in Try It 2! Ask students to take notes on a chapter of this text using the outline format. Have students exchange outlines with one another and discuss similarities and differences between students who outlined the same material in different ways. Try It! 3: Evaluate Your Class Notes Have students take a set of notes that they made recently during one of your classes, or in a shared class, and evaluate the notes using the criteria presented here. Ask students to write a paragraph on the topic outlined in their notes. Are they able to formulate the main ideas of the lecture? If so, what aspects of their notes did they find most helpful? If not, what valuable pieces of information were they missing? Alternatively, have students pair up and use the criteria to evaluate their partner’s notes that were made during one of your classes or in a shared class. Try It! 4: Practise Your Note-Taking Skills Have students practise their note taking skills using a method other than outlining as presented in the chapter (Cornell method, concept mapping, PowerPoint handouts). Be prepared to discuss note taking methods that do not work well for your students, and to explore the reasons. 7. Extending the Course Content Beyond the Classroom Here are some ideas that can carry the conversation beyond the chapter activities. Goal: To connect the information to the student’s life. The goal of a postsecondary education is not simply to memorize what is already known. The goal is to think about and question what is known in light of the personal and diverse experiences of your students. Ask your students to identify a passion or concern they have in life Then, have them attend next week’s classes with the following assignment: Take notes and then reread your notes with the following question in mind: What connection is there between my passion or concern and the information presented in my classes? When students begin to realize that they can connect what they are hearing and learning with the things they care about, then taking notes can be an easier task. Ask your students if they have ever read a health professional’s notes about them. How important is accuracy? What would they expect to find? Why might they need to read what the professional wrote? GOAL: To connect the information to the programs and practices in the broader academic community. Identify a specific campus or local event and create a set of questions about the impact of this occurrence. Pair up your students, and have each pair interview different individuals in attendance about their reactions to this event. Have your students write a collaborative article about the event that could be posted as a blog. Tell them that the article will need quotations (this means that they will have to be accurate) and a balanced approach to the topic. Have your students create a workshop on note taking to share with high school students. Consider assigning study groups for students who are registered in the same program. Each member of the study group can take responsibility for analyzing and compiling notes for other members at a specific time during the semester. GOAL: To connect to the global society. The course of history has been changed because someone did not get the right message. Ask your students to research and report on an historical event that resulted from misinformation, inappropriate translation, or some other mistake in sharing knowledge. What role did a person’s notes (or lack thereof) play in this event? 8. Additional Activities and Assignments 8.1 Creating Study Notes from Written Materials The process of making study notes from written material has many similarities with lecture notes, but the advantage of working with written materials is that you can revisit them as many times as necessary. Have students argue with the author, create questions, highlight new or important words, and write their own ideas as they read. This process is particularly valuable for engaging with a course textbook. You may wish to use a textbook or assigned reading from a shared class for this exercise. Encourage students to create such notes based on their learning styles. If they are read/write learners and write their notes in outline form, have them create an outline based on the written material. If they are visual/graphic learners and prefer to create graphics such as concept maps, have them create them now. The point is to produce notes that are consistent with those taken during class lectures. Alternatively, have students practise their study note taking skills using a method presented in the chapter (outlining, Cornell method, concept mapping, PowerPoint handouts) that is unfamiliar to them. 9. Connections within the Text This chapter’s ideas link with those of other chapters: • Chapter 1: note taking and preferred learning/thinking styles and striving styles are linked • Chapter 3: connect note taking to ways to be actively engaged when reading; writing information down makes it easier to remember • Chapter 5: link note taking to preparing for and taking tests • Chapter 6: link note taking to doing research • Chapter 11: to remember what needs to be done on the job requires note taking during meetings, workshops, and offsite events such as conferences; it is critical to hear the main ideas and to question information in light of your priorities and those of your employer’s Chapter 4 “Taking notes Case Study Answers 1) How do you think Jennifer defines “good notetaking”? Answer: Jennifer defines good notetaking as writing down as many of the professor’s words as possible into her notebook. 2) Why does Jennifer's method of notetaking produce such poor results? What is she missing? Answer: Jennifer’s method of notetaking produces poor results because she forgets that the central act of taking notes involves listening and thinking rather than writing. While taking notes, Jennifer dutifully writes down the words but she fails to listen actively, that is, focus on what is being said, making sense of it for herself, and thinking about it in a way that permits it to be recalled accurately. In addition, Jennifer does not have the time to ask the instructor questions during lecture to expand on or clarify confusing points. 3) If you asked Jennifer to summarize the instructor’s main ideas after a class lecture, how successful do you think she would be? Why? Answer: Jennifer would be unsuccessful in remembering the main ideas of the lecture because while she is writing down the instructor’s every word, she is unable to discern the inherent clues a professor may give about the meta-message in his or her lesson. Clues such as key words or phrases, and nonverbal cues alert actively listening students to the instructor’s main points. When Jennifer is completely concentrated on writing, she is unable to pick up on these cues. 4) Do you think it would be easy or hard to study for a final exam using Jennifer's notes? Why? Answer: Most students will note that it would be extremely hard to study with Jennifer’s notes. Her notes now are not only the size of a long reading assignment, which would be daunting to many students, but she has not highlighted the key ideas and points from each lecture and they are lost in the muddle of the rest of her notes. Because of this, students would have little idea what may actually be on the test from not knowing what the instructor emphasized during each lesson. It would be hard to study for a final exam using Jennifer's notes if they are poorly organized, incomplete, or unclear. Well-organized and detailed notes make it easier to review key concepts and locate important information. Clarity is essential for understanding and retention. If her notes lack these qualities, they may not be very effective for studying. 5) Do you think Jennifer evaluates her notes during or after class? Do you think she ever rethinks them? What questions would you ask to help her perform these steps? Answer: No, while taking notes, Jennifer has little time to concentrate and actively think about the words she writes down. With her large amount of notes, reviewing them after every class would take a lot of time—this is verified in the case study when it mentions that she only reviews her notes before tests. Her low test scores, as well, are indicative of not reviewing and rethinking her notes continually. Some questions the students may ask include: “What are the key ideas from the lecture?”; “How can you improve and rewrite your notes?”; “How did the previous lecture fit into the broader themes and goals for the class?”; “Were there any confusing points or ideas?”; “Why were particular points emphasized during the lecture?”; and “How would you structure this material into a concept map or other visual aid?” 6) In general, what advice would you give Jennifer on notetaking? Answer: Students should stress the importance of actively listening versus writing down everything the professor says. Less can be more when it comes to notetaking and Jennifer can improve her notes by listening for key ideas, using shorter sentences and abbreviations, considering the use of an outline for her notes, and focusing on what the instructor writes on the board or displays in a PowerPoint. She should be an active learner, often asking questions about confusing points and visiting with professor outside of class. With her shorter notes, Jennifer can find time to review them both during and after class, and rethink them as test dates approach. I would advise Jennifer to organize her notes with clear headings and bullet points, ensure they are detailed and cover all key points, and focus on clarity for easy review. Summarizing in her own words can help with understanding, and regularly reviewing her notes will reinforce retention. P.O.W.E.R. Learning Instructor Manual (K. Surman) Chapter 5: Taking Tests This resource for Chapter 5 contains the following: 1. Learning outcomes 2. Messages to the student and to the instructor 3. Ideas and concepts 4. Clarifying questions and discussion prompts 5. Using the P.O.W.E.R. learning process in your instruction 6. Activities and assignments for the classroom or online 7. Extending the course content beyond the classroom 8. Additional activities and assignments 9. Connections within the text 1. Learning Outcomes LO 5.1 Employ various strategies to prepare for tests. LO 5.2 Discuss effective strategies for writing tests. LO 5.3 Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your performance on a test. 2. Messages 2.1 To the student Life is a series of tests. The preparation and performance process that you use in school will serve you the rest of your life. Spend the time now to develop and practice a process that encourages you to learn with confidence and joy. Grades on tests reflect the mastery (or lack thereof) of a finite amount of information. Different types of tests can be tackled best through a variety of strategies but techniques for performing well on tests mean nothing without personal integrity. This characteristic reflects your willingness not just to be honest about everything you say and do but also to hold yourself accountable in all matters. Challenging yourself to set an example and expecting the very best of those around you is both a personal and public value. Your preparation process reflects both your character and your integrity. Your knowledge base is evaluated by your performance on tests—in classrooms, the evaluation is a summary of how quickly and logically you can assimilate a variety of facts and thoughts about an abstract situation. After school, the evaluation is based on your demonstration of how information can be applied to very real situations. The ethics you apply in school will reflect those you use beyond the classroom. 2.2 To the instructor Parker Palmer shares that teaching is more than a collection of techniques and tips. It is the embodiment and reflection of the personal integrity of the teacher. This chapter provides an excellent opportunity to discuss the issue of academic integrity and personal character, although it is by no means the only place to have these discussions. We have been inundated with decades of public disclosure of moral failings whether they are corporate, governmental, or personal. Such lapses raise the question: why be honest? Postsecondary students report a high incidence of academic dishonesty from their high school years and many indicate they plan to continue that practice. This cavalier attitude erodes public confidence in the purpose and meaning of an academic credential and bodes poorly for a country’s interactions in a global environment. You can assist your students in their daily work to be honest citizens. Hold them accountable for high quality work and expect them to be able to show you how they created and completed assignments. One of our most important tasks is to model academic integrity with our students and follow up on this issue throughout the course. You may want to discuss your institution’s code of student conduct or academic directives at this time. 3. Ideas and Concepts Academic honesty Cramming Educated guessing Plagiarism Study group Test anxiety 4. Clarifying Questions and Discussion Prompts These questions can be used to encourage class discussion, small group work, or individual reflection about the information presented in this chapter. • How can you improve your test preparation? • What kinds of activities, strategies, thought processes, beliefs, or self-talk do you engage in when you are preparing for a test? • How much time do you spend preparing for tests? • What do you believe is meant by the term “academic integrity”? • How do you really feel about your peers cheating? How do you feel about yourself cheating? • What are the consequences for academic dishonesty at your institution? • Why are tests given? • What does it mean to fail a test? What does it mean to do well on a test? • How do tests truly reflect real-life situations? • How does your striving style affect your test preparation and approach? • How does your learning style affect your test preparation and approach? • How are tests at the postsecondary level similar to or different from tests in high school? • What is the impact of tests on your final grades? • In what careers, and how, are test-taking skills valuable? 5. Using the P.O.W.E.R. Learning Process in Your Instruction Here are some ideas for applying this process to this chapter’s content: Prepare: Prepare to be tested; work on your course work every day; study. Write your syllabus with this chapter in mind. Plan to cover the material in this chapter one to two weeks prior to the first major test/exam in class. Point out this connection to students in the first days of class. Or, if you are part of a learning community, make this a shared assignment with your linked class. Consider building in a pre-test as outlined in Section 8.1. Earlier in the term, perhaps as part of Chapter 3’s activities, students should have assembled a master calendar and written when all of their tests, projects, and assignments were scheduled for the entire term. If you have not assigned this task yet, this is a good time to do it. Organize: Ready yourself the day of the test. Plan to use the Jigsaw activity in Section 8.3 during the class when you teach this information. This means you need to prepare the role expectation guidelines, coded cards, and signs for the classroom so that students will move from the learning group to the teaching group. Ask students to read this chapter prior to coming to class. This may be a good time to mention the physical aspects of test preparation, from sleep, nutrition, and the use of stimulants (e.g. caffeinated and energy drinks) to techniques for dealing with sweaty palms and fluttering stomachs, to the actual location where the test is given and how your students may need to adapt to that setting to be successful. Work: Tackle the test wisely. The Jigsaw learning activity provides an opportunity for all students to learn information and be responsible for sharing their knowledge with others. This work can also be done within study groups. Emphasize the importance of skimming the entire test with the main purpose of balancing time and point totals for each section of the test. Evaluate: Check over your work before handing in the test. The test on this chapter or in your linked class is the ultimate evaluation of how students learned. Rethink: Reflect on what you’ve learned when you get the test back. Provide the post-test survey in Section 8.2 and take time to go over their survey results prior to giving back their tests. Ask them how they would prepare differently for the next test, based on their survey responses and their test grades. If students are receiving the grades they want, they will not change their study behaviors or habits. Have students think of a time that they did not do well on a test. Have them outline how they prepared for that test. If they knew then what they know now, how would their preparation have been different? TRY IT! Jot down in your teaching journal the ideas that worked and changes you would make the next time you teach this topic. 6. Activities and Assignments for the Classroom or Online The following activities appear in the textbook and are also available through Connect. Therefore, they can be completed during class time using the textbook or using laptops. They can also be completed online as part of a hybrid or online student success course. Try It! 1: Complete a Test Preparation Checklist Have students focus their studying for an upcoming test by completing the checklist. When it comes to items like the test format or what will be covered, encourage students to ask their instructor for input. Ask students to identify which types of questions they believe are most effective for each of their courses this term. Encourage them to suggest different preparation styles for different types of questions. Have students link test preparation to striving styles and learning styles. Try It! 2: Form a Study Group Encourage students to form a study group with three to five classmates for an upcoming test, preferably within the same learning community or program. Have students identify the study habits and skills of their group mates. The group can brainstorm on possible test questions, and subsequently meet to discuss answers and to quiz each other. The groups should meet again after the test and distribution of results to debrief on the effectiveness of the group. Have students discuss what they consider the most important criteria when choosing individuals to join a study group. Also, consider discussing how best to handle a study group that is not meeting expectations. Be prepared for students who insist that they study best alone. Although study groups are a great option, solo studying might work best for some students. Before you accept this as a valid reason, however, review the student’s striving and learning styles to ensure that this is an accurate personal assessment. Try It! 3: Measure Your Test-Taking Style Have students check off the statements that apply to them as a way of opening discussions on text anxiety. Encourage those students who have significant test anxiety to tray visualizing before these next test. Model this activity with the class. Consider inviting a guest speaker to address the topic of test anxiety or of visualization. Remind students that the best preparation is to eliminate surprises. Many students assume instructors have all the control in testing situations. Get your students to brainstorm how they can assume some of that control. Try It! 4: Understand Action Verbs in Essay Questions Have students respond to the three questions, paying special attention to the different action verbs that introduce each question. Discuss the different types and lengths of answers that these verbs provoke. Try It! 5: Take a Test on Taking Tests Have students take the test which illustrates every question type discussed in the chapter. Encourage them to employ as many of the test-taking strategies from the chapter as possible. Remember that the test itself is not nearly as important as what students learn about themselves by taking the test. 7. Extending the Course Content Beyond the Classroom Here are some ideas that can carry the conversation beyond the chapter activities. Goal: To connect the information to the student’s life. Ask your students to identify the different ways they have been tested/evaluated/assessed in life. Tell them to think beyond their academic life. What values, actions, behaviors, beliefs are tested by life? In small groups, discuss the concepts of failure and success. How do they recognize failure and success that is not associated with a grade? How will they know if they are successful or failures in the workplace? Many organizations and even countries require its members to learn and be tested on specific information such as history, founding members, codes, and oaths. Have your students ever needed to learn such information for personal reasons? How did they prepare? What feelings and concerns did they have? How was this similar to or different from their experiences with academic tests? Could they transfer this information from a service or social context to an academic one? GOAL: To connect the information to the programs and practices in the broader academic community. Define integrity. Ask students to define the unique role of integrity within the academic community. Is it really necessary? Why or why not? Ask students to identify as many types of cheating as they know. Then, have students place these instances within your institution’s academic integrity code . Consider having students compare your institution’s code to the code of another institution. Are there any similarities or differences among the definitions used by another school? What consequences exist for cheating on postsecondary assignments? Do you believe they are justified? What is a portfolio? How do the contents of a portfolio differ from more traditional assessment tools such as tests and term papers? GOAL: To connect to the global society. The North American educational system relies on several types of tests and assessment methods to suggest that students have learned information. Ask students to compare the educational tests and assessments used in European and/or Asian settings. What are the real tests of knowledge? What events, moments, and policies have tested the abilities of world leaders? How did your students determine success or failure in these terms? Was there agreement among all of your students? What implications does agreement/disagreement have in such circumstances? What differences exist between an individual choosing to cheat on personal taxes and a multi-billion international corporation doing so? Is there such a thing as environmental ethics? How have past generations’ decisions about the planet determined your fate? 8. Additional Activities and Assignments These activities and assignments are listed in order of time required. 8.1 Creating a pre-test (1-2 hours, in and out of class) 8.2 Using a post-test survey (15 minutes, in class) 8.3 Jigsaw (30-45 minutes, in class) 8.1 Pre-Test Create a pre-test with your students for an upcoming test in this course or have them prepare one for another course. A pre-test serves as an organizational strategy for course materials and assignments and provides students with a means for organizing their thinking about course ideas. Possible test questions can be generated from class notes; Chapter 4 cover note taking styles that make this process easier. Step 1: Create a cover sheet for the pre-test with the following information on it: name of course, course code, date of test, name of professor, lists of resources (e.g. textbook, course notes) pertinent to this test, list of key concepts, individuals, etc. Step 2: Create a five-part test for any test coming up in the next few weeks, using the materials listed on the cover sheet. Use different types of questions for them to use in developing this assignment. An example of this would be: Section I 5 short answer questions (2 points each) Section II 10 multiple-choice questions (2 points each) Section III 20 matching questions (1 point each) Section IV 10 true/false questions (1 point each) Section V 4 essay questions—choose 2 to answer (20 points each) The practice of creating a test is studying in and of itself. You can choose to evaluate their pre-tests or simply have them evaluate each other’s pre-tests. The act of taking their own or someone else’s pre-test is simply one more way to refresh their memory of the information. 8.2 Post-Test Survey Use the post-test survey to spark discussion and examination after a test —either yours or one from another class. After a test has been completed, encourage your students to evaluate the strategies they used in preparing for the test. It is particularly useful to complete this survey prior to receiving their test results because it allows them to assess better their intuition about their test performance. If they are not satisfied with their test results, then they have an accounting of the specific set of activities they used and can decide what they might need to do differently in the future. This simple set of questions begins this process. • The easiest part of the test for me was… • The most difficult part of the test for me was… • The mindset (confident, surprised, anxious, etc.) that I had when I took the test was… • The mindset that I had when I completed the test was…. • The study methods I used in preparing for this test included: (check all that apply) o attended all classes o attended all labs o took notes at all lectures and labs o completed all assignments (reading, problem solving, etc.) o completed most of the assignments (reading, problem solving, etc.) o completed a few of the assignments (reading, problem solving, etc.) o created a pre-test o studied with classmates o studied alone o met with my instructor o attended scheduled study sessions o met with a tutor o other (please list): • The number of hours I spent preparing for this test was _________. • What grade do you believe you earned on this test? • (After you have received your test back): What grade did you receive? • How would you prepare for the next test? What changes would you make? 8.3 Jigsaw Sometimes it helps to model the active review of information in the classroom. Jigsawing is an exercise used by educators to illustrate the results of collaborative learning. The premise is simple: divide into groups, have each group develop expert knowledge for one aspect of an assignment, then have a representative member from each of the first groups meet together in a second group to share the expert knowledge of all aspects. This provides a complete review of the information and gives every student a chance to participate. Another reason for using this particular strategy is that is supports the notion of shared responsibility for learning. Step 1: Assign a common reading, viewing of a clip, or attendance at a discussion or presentation. Step 2: During class, place students in groups and assign a specific, different set of questions or concepts for each group to answer and master. Allow your students to spend up to 10 minutes developing answers or definitions about their topic. Make it clear that each member of the group must know as much as every other member of the group since they will be “lone representatives” in the next phase of this activity. Step 3: After a specific amount of time, reconfigure your groups so that one representative from each of the first groups is a member of the second group. Give them a specified amount of time to share what they know. Let them know that they will be evaluated at the end of this group work. Step 4: You should now evaluate your students. Tests, written assignments, or open class discussion are ways to determine how much information your students understood. 9. Connections within the Text This chapter’s ideas link with those of other chapters: • Chapter 1: test taking and preferred learning/thinking styles and striving styles are linked • Chapter 2: preparing for tests requires the use of a master calendar and other time management tools • Chapter 4: link note taking to preparing for and taking tests • Chapter 6: link note taking to doing research • Chapter 10: connect test preparation to stress reduction • Chapter 11: test taking is connected to work-related tasks and expectations Chapter 5 “Taking Tests” Case Study Answers 1) What mistakes did Janelle make in her test preparation that probably harmed her performance? Answer: Janelle made two large mistakes: she did not know beforehand what type of test she was preparing for, and instead of consistently reviewing her notes weeks before the test date, she crammed all of her studying into the day before and of the test. 2) What mistakes did Janelle make during the test that hurt her? Answer: Janelle failed to read the test instructions carefully and therefore did not know the total number of questions included or how the points were distributed across the different parts. If she had reviewed these two areas, she would have known to budget more time for the essay part of the test and not spend the larger portion of her time on the harder multiple-choice questions. 3) What was right about Janelle's initial approach to the test? Answer: It was good that Janelle was confident as she entered the test, and that she had reviewed the key terms and concepts beforehand. 4) What should Janelle have done differently in calculating the amount of time to devote to each portion of the test? Why? Answer: Janelle should have looked at the point distribution before taking the test and allocated twice the amount of time for the essay question as she did for the multiple-choice questions, with a bit of time left at the end to double-check her answers. She needed double the amount of time for the essay question because it was worth twice as many points as the multiple-choice portion. 5) What specific strategies would have helped Janelle with the multiple-choice questions? What strategies could she have used on the essay? Answer: While doing the multiple choice portion, Janelle should have first answered the easier questions without hesitating over the more difficult questions. This would have given her confidence in her work and a minimally acceptable grade, in the very least. While doing the essay, Janelle should have first read carefully through the question, highlighting any key action words and making sure to understand all portions of the question. She should then create a quick outline of her essay answer complete with all the key words and terms she needs to include. 6) If you were in Janelle's shoes, what would you do with only 10 minutes left in the test? Answer: Student answers may vary but they should respond that Janelle take a few deep breaths and plan a strategy for the time remaining. This allows her to combat any feelings of panic and make the most out of the time left. For the essay question, she should write out an outline for each answer or any key words that come to mind as she may be able to earn partial credit for these answers. For the multiple-choice questions, an educated guess is often better than leaving answers blank. If I were in Janelle's shoes with only 10 minutes left in the test, I would prioritize my remaining time effectively. Here's what I would do: Review Marked Questions: Quickly go back to any questions I marked for review. I would spend a brief moment on each to see if I can recall or deduce the correct answer. Answer All Questions: Ensure that all questions are answered, as leaving questions blank guarantees no points, whereas a guessed answer has a chance of being correct. For multiple-choice questions, I would eliminate any obviously incorrect options to improve my chances. Time Management: Allocate the remaining time to questions that are worth more points or seem easier to complete quickly. Stay Calm and Focused: Maintain composure to maximize clarity of thought and avoid making hasty errors. Review Answers: If time permits, quickly review the answers to ensure they are filled in correctly and make any necessary corrections. These strategies would help make the most out of the final 10 minutes of the test. Instructor Manual for POWER Learning and Your Life: Essentials of Student Success Robert S.Feldman 9780073375205
Download
Close
Close
