Learning Profile

1. Okay, I’m going to be honest. I did not read much out of the book and most likely no one else did either. With all the homework due for other classes and then the activities and assignments in this class, there wasn’t a whole lot of time to read. Even though we didn’t read straight out of the book, we did cover most of the topics and pulled a few things out of it. In some ways, that made it more personal and less “by the book”. When it came to the topic of Engage in the text, we introduced ourselves and got to know each other. We also evaluated where we were at in our lives. We discussed change and prioritizing time, all of which falls in the Persist and Prioritize categories. For the Read topic, we used the speed reader program. We did pull the MIS, LEAD, and PAP test out of the Learn topic and learned a little bit about our personalities some of us may not have already known. By brainstorming what we could do for community service and the world, we broadened our views. We looked at our academic plans and discussed academic honesty and integrity. There may not have been a lot of reading, but I would say there was a lot of discussion and thinking.

2. I feel that I am good at studying. I am pretty good at cramming information that I may need or that I may be called upon, such as quizzes, exams, speeches, and general knowledge. I read my information, organize it, and manipulate it in ways that I can understand and remember, and then I use it in anyway I can to help drill it into my brain. For other students, this could be helpful, especially for those who aren’t very good at studying or taking tests. I am also very good at listening and comprehending information that has been said. For other students I think this can be helpful as well. Focus is the key, keeping the mind from wandering and making it sure it stays on track. The statistics for people who don’t listen to a speech, lecture, or sermon is mind blowing high. There are high percentages of people that are thinking about other things, even when it appears that they are listening. I think they could get more out of the class if they were conscious of this, that way they could stop themselves from drifting and focus better. Reading about the material before hand also helps prepare your mind for the subject matter.

3.
I always thought I was a good reader, but I have found that it’s harder for me to read something that doesn’t catch my interest. If I can’t get into it, but I have to read it, I try and slow down and work at comprehending with out it going in one ear and out the other. I also find it hard to read amongst other people, because then there are worries of everyone getting finished before me, and then I’ll feel like I’m holding them back. When we did the speed reader program, for example, there was pressure from the pressing time, fellow readers, and the results of the comprehension scores. That’s when I found that I find it hard to read with others and being on the clock as well. With the speed reader program, however, I learned to read faster and comprehend more, getting the important information out of material. This is very helpful for when I need to read something I really can’t get into or doesn’t strike my interest. Another thing I need to work on is to stop worrying about holding other people back, or the time for that matter, and concentrate on the matter at hand. Situations like that would be a lot easier if I didn’t create that kind of stress.

4.
I’ve always struggled in expressing myself, or talking about myself to people, particularly those that I do not know very well. I like to evaluate people, figure out what they know, where they stand, and how they react towards people or situations. Once I have assessed a person to my comfort, then I can begin to open up and express myself. This class has been hard for me in the fact that it has been demanding upon information of my personal thoughts, feelings, and overall life. I have many thoughts, ideas, feelings, facts, and opinions, but to call upon them at any given moment and share them with someone I do not know has been difficult and, I must confess, scary. With all of the rubric questions and assignments, I have had to force myself to open up a little bit more than I normally would. My insides have been at this constant battle, because not only do I stay away from expressing myself, but I am an achiever as well. I didn’t want to answer the rubric questions because they were personal, yet at the same time I had to in order to achieve. This is not a battle to be won overnight, but I have at least broken the fortress and can work at expressing myself to others that call upon me.

5.
There isn’t a whole lot I can elaborate on this more than I already have. I didn’t find any of the course assignments really that relevant to me. I did think that some of them were interesting, such as the community service. When it came to that assignment, I found it interesting to delve into problems that are not only here in the United States but all over the world as well. I thought it was a good idea to have the group discussions, for each person to come up with a current issue and to figure out what can be done for each issue. When I picked the homeless as a topic, I got to research what was being done about it, think about what that meant to me, and come up with some solutions of my own. One of the topics I found the least meaningful and/or relevant to me was the personality tests. Mostly because it wasn’t anything new to me, I had already taken those tests before and I did not discover anything new about me that I didn’t know before. It was interesting, however, to have everyone write their names on the sheets and see who all fell in what categories.

6.
Again, to be completely honest, I didn’t find the course very helpful. I didn’t really feel in need of any of the material given, but I can see how it can be helpful to others. Yes, it did challenge my personality, but as for what the material was supposed to accomplish I feel were in areas I did not need any help in. Maybe I’m wrong and I just don’t see, and perhaps I might even look back later on in my life and see how the course has made a difference in me as a learner. As for now, though, I can’t elaborate a whole lot on how well it worked for me, but I do think it can work well for others. Even though I didn’t find the class helpful, I would like to comment and make a suggestion for future classes. There’s just too much! With only eight weeks, 1 hour and 2 days a week, there’s not enough time. I think there’s too much work and it should be cut down some. It’s not a major class, and even though I have only taken five other classes, this class has had more work than any other. Putting up who needs to post what on the board was a good idea and I think you should do more of that to keep students on track.

7.
I think I would have to tell students that the time is going to pass by quickly and there is going to be a lot to do. Once you get into the class the first two weeks, you feel like you just started, when really you are already a quarter of the way through. With all of the rubric questions, in class activities, 6 major topic assignments, and the 1600 word learning profile, there’s a lot of work involved that has been crammed into an eight-week session and I would highly advise to be prepared to take it on. When I first came into the class I thought, alright this will be no brainer; it’s just going to be a little class. I was wrong, for it ended up being the hardest class. So I would definitely have to say students who take this class in the future need to be prepared and always stay on top of things. Be prepared to put aside plenty of time for the assignments and be prepared to do a lot of thinking and activities in class. When the major topics are assigned, do them as soon as possible, because otherwise, they’ll build up fast.

8.
Like I stated earlier, nothing has really changed by taking this course. It hasn’t really made any significant difference in my life, but then again maybe I just don’t see that. I do have a new kind of method for reading difficult matter. If I ever find myself reading a piece of uninteresting material, I know a way to read it faster and still be able to comprehend the information, maybe even a little better if I was to read it slower. As for my own battles with expressing or talking about myself to other people, I’ve been working on it for a really long time, since I was about ten years old. This course has just once again challenged that part of my personality, but not so much as to come to a huge breakthrough. Maybe in some ways that has to do with the attitude I carried before the first day of class. Perhaps, if I had wanted to take the course in the first place I would have been more open to the class and looked more at developing and learning from it. Even though this class wasn’t for me, I do think it is a good class and that the instructor was a terrific person.