1. Learning Styles/LASSI Inventory Introduction to Unit 3 Dr. Dora Tech Support 1-866-522-7747 1

2. What is new with you?  Do you have any weekly news to share? 2

3. Welcome to Unit 3 3

4. Some Reminders before we begin: Student Behaviors  Be prompt  Be ready to learn when class begins.  Be prepared  Have materials with you and know due dates.  Be a polite and positive participant  Write in a normal tone of “voice,” and listen attentively.  Be productive  Turn in work on time, and always do your best.  Be a problem solver  Correct problems quickly and peacefully before they escalate. 4

5. Show Respect  Value yourself. Be honest and ethical, and practice strong moral values  Treat all members of the college community and all others with politeness and respect  Honor the ideas and opinions of others  Offer to help- Feel free to answer questions from classmates!  Be responsible  Always seek solutions; don’t complain… 5

6. Responsibility for Coursework  Bring notebook, planner, and appropriate writing tools to class (highlighters for notes)  Know due dates, and submit all coursework on time or before. 6

7. The topic this week: Learning Styles You will identify how you best learn and study online. With this knowledge, it will be easier for you to transition back into school and be successful. Identify your learning style and understand how it affects your experiences. Identify your study strategies.  Unit 3 LASSI Score Reports: SAVE your LASSI scores. Make sure to check the “LASSI Results” area in Unit 3 to ensure you have actually completing the LASSI! 7

8. This week we will concentrate on learning styles and strengths…  Different people have different ways of learning and retaining information. Some prefer to hear the information, some prefer to see the information, and some prefer to “do” it. This week you will see how the way you would put a bike together can indicate your learning style. One task for unit 3 will be taking a survey on learning styles. There are now TWO quiz options built into the course! Students may select either option—results should be the same. 8

9. REMEMBER…  Your professor always posts comments with ALL Assignments, so please make sure to view the comments as you check your grades!!!  Make sure to use the comments as a guide for ongoing IMPROVEMENT in this course!  I want you to improve each week so by the end, you are all getting the highest grades! Can you do it? 9

10. How do I view your feedback?  To view the comments posted for your Assignments go to the Dropbox, select Unit Assignment, and select the small plus sign (+) located on the left-hand side of the screen.  To view the comments posted for your Unit Discussion work, go to the Gradebook, select Unit Discussion, and select your grade to view my comments.  Clear? 10

11. What are the tasks for your to- do list this week?  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 11

12. Does this help you understand? 12

13. How to Promote Lifelong Learning by understanding your Learning Style/Strengths You can develop lifelong learning traits:  By showing curiosity about human nature and how the world works.  By seeking and embracing diversity/differences.  By persisting in seeking out new solutions.  By using your unique talents and intelligence to promote positive change.  By learning and applying technology tools to solve problems. 13

14. Knowing your learning is crucial to success. An individual's learning style can play a critical role in your personal and professional development. Have you given much thought to your learning style?  Do you organize yourself and write down every detail of an issue? 14

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16. To recap…  These are the objectives for this week’s learning:  Define your own learning style  Discuss how knowing your own learning style will help you achieve your personal and professional goals  Discuss how evaluating skills such as emotional intelligence can help you perform to your potential  Take the LASSI 16

17. Learning Styles/ Strengths  This week, the learning style website talks about visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning. If you are visual, you probably concentrate on what you see and recall a picture in your mind when you think of an event or bit of information  If you are auditory, sound is your asset. What you hear, you recall vividly. If a person tells you something, you will never forget it! 17

18. Kinesthetic Learner…  A kinesthetic learner feels the lesson in the body. This learner recalls every step taken in a lab experiment (for example) and can retrace the actions.  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. 18

19. Which one is best??? Many have a combination of all three. 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?  No matter what you score, you are a winner! 19

20. Well…  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) 20

21. We all have our strengths and lesser strengths!  Right now I need your attention. I want you all to pay attention to this question.  Ready? 21

22. When I say the word “horse” …what do you experience? 22

23. Did a picture of a horse pop into your mind? V… 23

24. Did you hear the clip clop of the hooves or hear the horse whinny?  A… 24

25. Did you feel yourself riding the horse or feeding the horse an apple?  K… 25

26. What Does This All Mean ?  Your response may help you to determine whether you have strengths in the visual (V), auditory (A), or kinesthetic (K) areas. Some have aptitudes in all three or a combination of two learning style modes. What do you think of this fun exercise? I hope this was a great way to make a point clear. 26

27. To recap…  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. 27

28. Can knowing my learning style help?  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. 28

29. This week you will take the LASSI We realize that many students have been out of school for some time. Taking the LASSI will help you identify how you best learn and study online. With this knowledge, it will be easier for you to transition back into school and be successful.  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. 29

30. Guide your future growth.  In many different ways as we will see throughout this course…  Knowing the most about yourself including how you learn most effectively can only enhance your university experience, right?  Make your own choices! 30

31. I would like to review some of the stress and time management tips we discussed last week… Remember how learning styles, stress & time management intersect.  Do you have a healthy balance in life? How do you manage stress?  How can self-awareness help me you deal with stress?  Can you gain a new perspective on it? Can you develop a logical plan for dealing with it? 31

32. 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. 32

33. So, can stress be positive and negative? Remember, the most commonly accepted definition of stress (mainly attributed to Richard S Lazarus) is that  … stress is a condition or feeling experienced when a person perceives that demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilize.  http://www.stress.orghttp://www.stress.org 33

34. Stress is necessary to life!  Stress is an unavoidable consequence of life. As Hans Selye (who coined the term as it is currently used) noted, "Without stress, there would be no life." 34

35. “Bad” Stress and “Good” Stress  “Stress is often good: it's energizing, motivating, and even lifesaving at times. The human stress response fuels us for athletic events, "pressures" us to earn money for food and movies, and yanks us out of harm's way when a car is coming at us at 60 M.P.H.  Gravity is also stress, but it allows us to walk around without getting caught in trees, power lines, and airplane propellers. 35

36. STRESS………………….. 36

37. Some Tips For Distress:  1. Do a reality check. Use your critical thinking skills to assess whether you need more information and if your information is accurate.  2. Turn negative worries into positive action. Is there something you can do about the situation that will resolve the problem?  3. Journal or write about your worries. Get your worries out of your head and onto paper. This may give you a new perspective.  Bacher, R. (2004). What's so good about worry. Ladies' Home Journal,, 106-109. 37

38. Research in these areas may help to explain how stress can contribute to depression, anxiety and its diverse effects on the gastrointestinal tract, skin and other organs. And good stress keeps us healthy… Depression 38 Anxiety Healthy/Vital

39. So what can we do? What are some of the ways to reduce stress or cope constructively?  With 24-hour news coverage, Internet reports, internal negative thinking and even our own gossip at the office, the tensions, in fact, seem not at all far off. 39

40. How can you limit the affect of the news?  All that information can be overwhelming, even if you may be turning to the news initially as a coping mechanism.  Too much exposure, even indirectly, to violence, destruction and death can build on underlying fear and insecurity. 40

41. To avoid overload… Filter the type and amount of information you view or read. Monitor your reactions to news coverage. When the stress, sadness or anxiety begins, change activities.  If you normally watch the evening news, don't spend the rest of the evening reviewing news sites on the Internet. If early morning newscasts get your day off to a sad start, listen to music or an audio book on the way to work, instead. 41

42. Find outlets that are personally meaningful…  Curb your negative thinking which is a habit!  Don’t bring others down by constantly complaining  Think optimistically  Allowing yourself to have some fun despite worldwide turmoil is vital to health and well being.  Strive for excellence; not perfection! 42

43. Which one are you? 43

44. Listen to what bestselling author Dr. Harriet Braiker says…  "Dr. Harriet B. Braiker is a practicing clinical psychologist and management consultant  She is frequently quoted as having said,  "Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing." Write this on a sticky note and place in a prominent area where you can see it every day 44

45. Perfectionism…  “In more than 20 years of research, he and his colleagues--particularly psychologist Gordon Flett, PhD--have found that perfectionism correlates with depression, anxiety, eating disorders and other mental health problems.  This summer, several new studies were published that help explain how perfectionism can contribute to psychopathology.”  Please jot down this important website and read the article in its entirety: http://www.apa.org/monitor/nov03/manyfac es.html http://www.apa.org/monitor/nov03/manyfac es.html 45

46. Nurture yourself physically, emotionally, spiritually  Taking time to eat well-balanced meals, to get exercise and to get sufficient rest helps you feel better about yourself. 46

47. Can exercise help?  Can exercise and physical activity can reduce stress. Eating well can help you feel more in control of your life. When you tend to your own needs, you're better able to cope with stressful events around you.  Will taking a break from distressing news and participating in activities that offer pleasure and joy help? Absolutely… 47

48. Physical Activity is Good! 48

49. What about positive psychology?  Is your glass half-empty or half-full? How you answer this age-old question may reflect your outlook on life and whether you're optimistic or pessimistic.  See the www.authentichappiness.orgwww.authentichappiness.org if you are interested in learning more. 49

50. Think about it 50

51. Need an attitude adjustment?  The most important tip to remember…  We can think positively or negatively  Our attitude affects our behavior and behavior affects attitude  We are what we think. Remember my quote?  We have choices: either be passive or act to make changes 51

52. Let’s go over our case study!  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. 52

53. Think about these questions  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? 53

54. So…  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?  Think about Jayden as you read this week! 54

55. Think about your toolbox of ideas!  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. 55

56. QUESTIONS??? 56

57. Dora Finamore, dfinamore@kaplan.edu 57

58. Any questions class???  I look forward to our discussion board postings this week  Remember to contact me when and if you need help  Keep up the great effort and the grades will follow!!! 58

59. We have come to the end of our class!  I hope you enjoy your week!  I wanted to remind you to get your work in early especially with the holiday break  Have a safe and happy holiday!  Thanks for being here…  Take time to be with loved ones and friends!  dfinamore@kaplan.edu 59