Learning Styles

Learning Styles may help you identify the best practices in studying material in a course.  I use the term "study" loosely as many of our preconceived notions about studying are incorrect.  Our engagement with the material is really the key to how we retain it.  How we engage with the material outside of the instructional setting will determine how well we retain that new learning experience.

You can get an idea of your learning style here . You can also get results from the VARK questionnaire. Use both of these results to help identify strategies that might help you "study" the material.  There are an abundance of learning indices out there but the key is to get some strategies to help you with retention.

The handout I consolidated for Learning Styles can be downloaded here.  The learning style listed match the results from the first test but the "terms" have a basic equivalent on the VARK survey.

The Learning Strategies Handout I consolidated can be found here.  This aligns more with the VARK.

I have referenced these videos in previous posts but I will mention them again here.  They have some great tips for general study strategies.

These Next Videos are great on How to Get the Most out of your studying. There are five of these.

Study Skills Revisited.

Let's revisit the idea of study skills. We receive our information in many different ways but we all need to spend time reinforcing what we have learned on our own. 

Here are some basics to try 

1. Take the time to review what you have learned daily. This likely takes 5-10 minutes. Write down or flag areas that require clarification. Ask for clarification the next class. 

2. Use a calendar or agenda to keep track of dates. This helps you prioritize your time. Time management is critical in planning. Many students are involved in activities outside of academics and  taking time to prepare will pay off. The sooner you can do this for yourself the more adept you will be at it when your time becomes a commodity in post secondary studies. 

3. Cramming does not work. The night before a test or evaluation should be spent doing light review using strategies that work for you. Being well rested is the best way to help your brain perform the following day. Late night cram sessions or all day study marathons do not set your brain up for absorption. If you have been reviewing and prioritizing all along you save time. You don't need to study everything for an evaluation. You just need to focus on areas you have not mastered. If you have never reviewed to see what you do and don't understand, then you will waste your time trying to study everything. 

4. Ask for help with study strategies. If you manage time well and review regularity but still struggle then you may need some help with study strategies. There are a plethora of resources out there but your teacher likely has a treasure chest full of ideas. 

Dalhousie university has some interesting resources on study skills. http://www.dal.ca/campus_life/student_services/academic-support/study-skills-and-tutoring/handouts.html

5. Practice discipline during class. Class time is the best time to stay focused and ask questions when the topic is being taught. Often questions can allow a teacher to readdress a topic and approach it in a different way. It also opens the opportunity to explore other aspects of a topic that may enrich and reinforce concepts with the direction the question might drive the discussion. Without timely feedback the teacher will have to assume everything is going well. Try not be distracted by side conversation and the need to socialize with your peers.

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Yes, perhaps knowing  the names of all the immune cells ( to revisit an idea expresses in the previous blog post) is something you may never need to know in your specific discipline in health science. However, the mental practice involved in mastering that knowledge is a skill that WILL be necessary to acquire the specific knowledge and facts that you may HAVE to recall and apply in your job on a daily basis. If you can accomplish mastery of a topic now ( terminology included) then mastery of any future knowledge is attainable. The PROCESS of this mastery is more important than the topic in high school ( although the concepts covered establish a very solid base for your health career future) but the topics themselves are the building blocks we use to master our process. 

Study Skills and Science Based Disciplines

The majority of students in this class claim that they wish to pursue a career in the health field. For the majority of those careers you will have to attend post secondary training. 

There seems to be the impression that students today do not need to acquire facts, details and terminology in this Age of Information. For example, students might think it is not important to know the names of the immune cells when explaining the immune response in humans. Remembering that kind of information is just too hard. Furthermore, I often hear students say that they can't remember "names/terms" and facts. Science has a vocabulary that is necessary for explaining concepts accurately. That is the nature of science.  

There will not be short cuts provided to you when you are learning in post secondary studies. You will be expected, as a professional, to acquire the facts surrounding the concepts you are learning. That includes remembering complex biological pathways and relationships inundated with unique vocabulary.

Acquiring this knowledge is not a matter of being able to do it or not. We all learn in different ways, and at this point, some students still have not figured out how to study. You ALL can acquire this information but you need to know yourself and how you best achieve those results. You should embrace the challenge  and rise to it rather than crumble just because you become uncomfortable with a challenge. So I know you CAN do it. You may not actually know HOW to do it.

Be a responsible and mature student. If you don't know how to study then ask for strategies that might help. The mental exercise of acquiring this scientific knowledge will pay in dividends when you enter post secondary. You should not be looking for ways to reduce the challenge but ways to overcome the challenge. 

So be assured, post secondary success will depend on your ability to master these facts and terminologies because they are integrated with your ability to express your understanding of the concepts. 

I asked several of my former students now studying to be doctors, nurses, dentists, etc. about reference material during evaluations. Here is some of the feedback I received: 

"You definitely need to remember terminology. in biology (not sure if you're looking for more chem/physics) we needed to know terms and hardly ever were able to use "reference material"."

"You need to know your stuff. Immune cells as in macrophage, neutrophils, eosinophils, B-cells, T-cells etc? All good to know. :) The only time I've been allowed a cheat sheet in university is going into a stats exam and the physics exams had a formula sheet"

"I don't remember being able to bring in a reference sheet for a biological class. It was either remember the terminology or be prepared to fail the test..."

"Everything the others have said rings true to my experience. Also remembering the details of common biological pathways (citric acid cycle, photosynthesis, etc.) will benefit a science student in there first two years of study. There is an amount of memorization required in university science classes that a lot of people find surprising/off-putting."

"Creating good study habits before university is helpful. [ I was ] not prepared for the rigorousness of university (although this was my fault)."

"Along with Jenn the only time I was allowed a cheat sheet was for my stats class in university. However, the idea that students don't need to learn certain material unfortunately does not end with high school. Students still expect to be spoon fed answers in university and in my experience in nursing this far are not afraid to voice their opinion and straight up ask for them. It's disappointing and frankly a little scary that people are too lazy to learn the information that is required of their degree. (Slight rant). 

Students should know that learning all you can in high school will only better prepare you for university classes."

In conclusion, we are not preparing you for success if we are giving you shortcuts and ways to facilitate and allow for mental laziness. 

Vitamins...are they Really worth all the fuss and expense?

Most nutritionists will tell you that eating a balanced intake of natural foods will give you ample amounts of the trace vitamins and minerals you require.  However, there are circumstances were supplementation may be required due to conditions that cause vitamin deficiencies or poor uptake.

Here the the link to the video report we watched about Multivitamins.http://www.cbsnews.com/news/multivitamin-researchers-say-case-is-closed-supplements-dont-boost-health/

Here is the actual article from the researchers. http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/stories/vitamin_health_benefits.html

Your task:

You will choose a recent Vitamin research study summarized at Science Daily and email me your reflections based on the following criteria:
Title: (/0.34)
Date Published: (/0.33)
Web Address: (/0.33)
Summary: In your own words, not a regurgitation of the summary on the article provided.  (/2)
Key Interest: This is one aspect of the article you found particularly interesting and why it was. (/3)
Further Study: After reflecting on your reading what other questions would you investigate that were inspired by this article?
(/2)

Good luck and happy reading!