1. Getting Ready to Learn MAKING THE TRANSITION (FROM SCHOOL TO UNIVERSITY) CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL STUDENTS USING LEARNING STYLES TO ENHANCE PERFORMANCE the power of love.mp4rahsia bulan kelahiran.jpg

2. OVERVIEW This first topic in this Study Skills module focuses on Making the Transition (from school to university) concentrating on ice-breaking activities, as well as learning styles and characteristics of successful students.

3. MAKING THE TRANSITION (FROM SCHOOL TO UNIVERSITY) Making the move from being in a school/college to university is not an easy task. There is a need for students to make new friends, find out new things and make necessary lifestyle adjustments for them to feel at home in the new surroundings.

4. ICE-BREAKING In this introductory lesson, the instructor should select ice-breaking activities to be used in class. The activity should not take up more than 1 hour of the class time, as the second hour would be needed for Learning Styles and Characteristics of Successful Students.

5. ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS ACTIVITY 1 ICE-BREAKING – getting to know your friends and adjusting to life as a college/university student. ACTIVITY 2 LEARNING STYLES – How aware are they of their own learning styles? and what is the importance of knowing what type of learners do they fall under?

6. ACTIVITY 1 ICE-BREAKING – getting to know your friends and adjusting to life as a college/university student.

7. EXAMPLE ONE ACTIVITY TITLE: BALLOONS Time – 30 mins + (depends on group size) Suggested max. participants – multiples of groups of 8, needs at least 20, will work with very large groups Equipment required – 1 balloon per person, paper & pens, flipchart paper & pens Activity level – Participants will inflate balloons, throw them around the room, catch them and then work in small groups EXPLANATION Give each participant a post card sized piece of paper, and ask them to write down one anxiety that they have about starting at University. On the other side ask them to write one thing that they are looking forward to. Hand out the balloons. Ask the students to put their paper into the balloons then inflate and tie them. Now get everyone together in the middle of the room, throw the balloons into the air, waft them about for a few moments and then have the participants catch the balloons. Split the participants into teams of 4. They then burst the balloons and read the comments people have made about what they are looking forward to. Then working in groups, they explore ways of dealing with the anxieties that students have written down. Feedback solutions at the end, perhaps offering additional reassurance and support as you do so.

8. EXAMPLE TWO ACTIVITY TITLE: PAPER AEROPLANES Time – 20 mins Suggested participants – 20 + Equipment required – Paper Aeroplane templates, lots of different coloured paper Activity level – Participants will make paper aeroplanes, throw them into the air, catch a plane and then work in pairs EXPLANATION This exercise is a good way of randomly pairing up participants; it works well with very large groups. People will throw and then catch a paper aeroplane and then find the other person in the group with the matching plane. The planes will have different animals on them: elephants, zebras, cats etc. You will need to photocopy the planes onto different coloured paper and make sure that you have two of each. For example, the two participants who catch the blue aeroplane with an elephant on it sit down together, so will the pair who catch the green penguins, etc. Therefore, make sure that you produce enough pairs of coloured aeroplanes for all the participants in your group. As they enter the venue, give everyone a paper aeroplane. Ask them to follow the instructions, fold the plane and when everyone is ready all the planes are thrown into the air and caught. Participants will need to find the other person that caught the same plane as themselves, then sit down and answer the questions on the plan

9. Written on the plane are some instructions: Please find out about the person you are sat with. Where do they come from and why did they choose UiTM? What have they enjoyed most so far about being at UiTM? What are they most looking forward to about being at UiTM? What are they most nervous about? What do they miss? Where do they see themselves 10 years from now? Health & Safety Warning There is a theoretical risk of hitting someone in the eye. Warn the group to throw the planes into the air, not at people and to be careful (if you have enough safety glasses to spare, handing them out might add to the event’s comic value), but really people ought to be able to survive this.

10. LEARNING STYLES & CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL STUDENTS After the ice-breaking/“getting to know you” activity, the instructor should lead the students to the next sub-topic. As cliché as it may sound, we must highlight that though students might think that they already know this pretty well, there is plenty more to this then they are actually aware of. This leads to the discussion of ‘Learning Styles’ – How aware are they of their own learning styles? and what is the importance of knowing what type of learners do they fall under?

11. ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS ACTIVITY 2 Ask students to complete the Learning Style Inventory in Figure 1.1A (pg. 10-11 of Van Blerkom – the Reference Book). Alternatively, there is a PDF version (see Appendix 1: PDF Learning Styles Inventory) which can be photocopied and used in class. There is a scoring instructions table which they can refer to upon completing their task. This is to be done individually, however they may be grouped (3-4) to make the whole task more interactive. Instructors can even get them to compare between the group members. Appendix 1 (Learning Styles Inventory_Topic 1).pdf

12. INSTRUCTIONS FOR INSTRUCTORS The instructor can put up the characteristics of the different learning styles, either via PP slides or handouts (pg. 11-16 of Van Blerkom – the Reference Book). The lesson can be summed up by reiterating the importance of knowing our learning styles in order to take the necessary steps to maximize our learning process. The instructor can then end the session with the 8 Steps to College Success as listed below: study skills - Characteristics of Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic Modes pptx.pptx

13. 8 STEPS TO COLLEGE SUCCESS 1. Attend All Classes. One of the best ways to be successful in college is to attend all classes. Although you will be tested on material from the course text, most of the test questions will come from lectures. 2. Become an Active Learner. Unlike high school, in college, you can’t learn all of the material just reading over it a couple of times. You need to write and recite the information to get it into long-term memory. 3. Participate in Class. If you feel a bit uncomfortable participating in class, set a goal to either ask or answer one question during each class. Once you begin participating, you’ll feel more a part of the class and will become more actively involved in the learning process. 4. Get to Know Your Lecturers. Take a few minutes and stop to talk with your lecturer before or after class or during office hours. Ask a question about the material or check on your progress in the course. If you get to know your instructors, you may feel more comfortable asking for help when you need it.

14. 5. Form Study Groups with Friends. Study Groups of about 3-4 people are known to be very effective. However, make sure that you include friends who are serious about doing well in their studies, because only then they will contribute. 6. Stay Up to Date with Your Work. Many new college students have difficulty keeping up with all of the reading that’s assigned in class. If you get behind in your reading, you may never have time to catch up. The workload in college just increases as the semester progresses. Never procrastinate! 7. Be Receptive to Change. If the strategies that you used in high school aren’t working, ask you lecturer or tutor for suggestions for different ways to learn. Even though the strategies that they suggest may not seem like they’ll work, you must be willing to give them a chance. If you don’t make changes in the way you take notes, read your texts or prepare for exams, for example, you won’t see changes in your performance. 8. Work Hard This Semester. Forget about doing all your assignments in the evening. If you’re taking fifteen credits this semester, you’ll need a minimum of thirty hours (two hours outside of class for every hour in class) to do your work. If you want high grades, if you work slowly or if you’re taking difficult courses, you’ll need more time to do your work well.

15. REFERENCES Van Blerkom, D. L. (2009). College Study Skills: Becoming a strategic learner (6th ed.). MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.