Dr. Kenneth J. Sufka begins the 6th rule of his book The A Game by describing a conversation he had with the son of a friend of his named Jimmy. Jimmy had not been in college for long and was asking Dr. Sufka for tips on studying. Dr. Sufka asks Jimmy a series of questions such as what does he do during study sessions, how often does he look over his notes, and how does he know when he has learned the material. Jimmy gives adequate answers, but Dr. Sufka goes on to explain that Jimmy is probably not understanding his test material as thoroughly as he should be by asking Jimmy if he knows exactly what a penny looks like. He does not, even though he has seen a penny numerous times. Dr. Sufka uses this example to explain that, while many students re-read their …show more content…
Sufka provides is a technique called concept mapping. Dr. Sufka states, “Concept mapping is a strategy people use to organize and make sense of knowledge much like road maps. . .” Concept mapping takes broad topics and organizes smaller pieces of information that are included within those topics while also presenting how are related to one another. A 2008 study revealed that students who produced concept maps had better test scores than students who did not. Another technique Dr. Sufka advises to develop learning objectives is called four-question reflective learning. In four-question reflective learning, students answer four questions about their learning objectives. The answers to these questions include identifying important concepts theories or ideas, explaining why these concepts are important, explaining how these concepts apply in real world scenarios, and identifying unanswered questions. Lastly, Dr. Sufka lists a technique called notation reduction that he learned from one of his own professors. Notation reduction requires students to take lecture notes and summarize them on a single sheet of notebook paper. Students should be able to further condense these notes onto a
Education” by Russell Baker, the author argued that many student futures are based off of a test score - whether that test is a state-regulated test or a test required for admission to college. Society measures what we learn by tests and schools receive more funding for better scores. Baker explained that many students base their intelligence on these test scores, and many institutions focus on test scores more than anything else. However, every student learns that their education and their future is based off of the score that they receive on tests. Baker said that this is “[a period that a child] learns that success come from telling testers what they want to hear” (225). Teachers don’t teach the content but teach students how to make educational guesses. I considered myself to be “dumb” because I did not get a satisfactory score on the ACT. Therefore, I didn’t think I would be a good candidate for college because I would not receive personal funding in the form of scholarships and I didn’t know whether or not I would be accepted into college. This score convinced me that I would not be able to complete college work and that I would only have a future working minimum wage jobs. However, I realized that I was smarter than my test score told me that I was. In the end, the author and I both agreed that students should not be subjugated by the scores provided by an invisible
The first suggestion Leamnson offers to progress learning is to make notes instead of “copying what’s on a chalkboard or being projected on a screen” (3). The essence of Leamnson’s argument is that instead of simply jotting down everything the
...s not solely about rote memorization and the three R's or anything else that can be tested with a bubble sheet test. Learning is about growing as a person and gaining meaningful experiences. This is the type of education students receive from Frederick Douglass.
I’ve read a book called “ The A Game” by prof. Kenneth J. Sufka. The book is about steps and advices to get a better grade in college. It is a very useful book to help you to succeed in your college life. The book includes nine rules, such as never sit in the cheap seats, come to class prepared, get spaced out, and go to class always. Also, it shows the bad habits that students usually do and how they can change these habits, so the author called it a game changer. I think rule #1, which is come to class always, is related to me, so I will explain it, give an example, and clarify how the game-changer can affect student.
Developing studying skills that incorporate testing myself will take the ease of being overwhelmed, as well as help with concentration, and becoming more comfortable and confident. Practicing recalling information over time will help in recalling for an actual assessment, by retaking study guides, and creating at home pre-test. 3The information provided by Karpicke and Roediger can me as an educator and other educators by considering various methods of learning. Using test as an instrument of learning rather than solely an assessment on knowledge can be essential in helping students’ learning effectiveness. Since the experiment showed that the learning conditions where retrieval was repeated caused students to have 80% of the pairs recalled compared to the 33% of where retrieval was not practice shows that testing can be used as a tool of learning. In my classroom I would implement take pre-test for homework and/or extra credit assignments, as well as implement classroom activities such as games where testing occurs in a communal group setting. Retrieval is easier when related pieces of information are stored in close association with one another (Ormord p. 212). Therefore, I would have students get in pairs and test each other on the information as soon as the lesson is over as a form of review and test
How the subject and information is presented to students during class. Not all students learn the same way. Some people are visual learners, while others are auditory learners. Therefore, some students only need an alternate explanation of the same material to understand it. This might be why some students need tutoring, because they didn’t understand the material when the teacher explained
Setting Goals and Objectives for Learning. The teacher utilizes a standards-based method to teaching integrated with the state and local curriculum and establishes goals and objectives that depict what students will learn (West Virginia Department of Education, 2010).
There are many various issues about the education system which are controversial today. One of these common issues nowadays are schools concentrating on raising standards to evaluate knowledge for students. Many students have been working extremely hard just to achieve higher scores on tests. However, asking students to do many difficult tasks in their studies, is really not helpful now, is it? That is why Alfie Kohn wrote the article, “Confusing Harder with Better”, showing his dissatisfaction with the current educational system. In the article, he complains against “raising the bar”, meaning since they raised standards, teachers are making students memorize facts for tests instead of engaging intellectually with them. In other words, with
In order to be an effective teacher there needs to be an understanding that we all learn differently, this means that no single teaching strategy is effective for all students/learners all the time. This makes teaching a complex process because you need to understand and meet the requirements of all of your learners. Students learn best when they aren’t asked to simply memorise information but when they form their own understandings of what is being taught. When a student has successfully learnt a new idea they are able to then intergrate this information with their previously learnt information and make sense of it. To be an effective teacher you need to work jointly with students to asses where they are at, be able to give feedback on how the student is going and ensure that they are understanding the lesson (Killen, 2013) According to Lovat and Smith (2003) students learning must result in a change in a student’s understanding of the information being taught. In order to show understanding they must be able to share this information with others and want to learn more (Killen, 2013). In order to have a deeper understanding of what is being taught they need to be aware of the relationship that exists between what they knew previously and the new information that is being learned (Killen, 2013).. Students need to be given goals that they can achieve in order to feel a sense of mastery over their own learning, this gives students motivation that they are able to complete tasks and to keep going.
“A learning style is a way of learning and refers to the way that you learn new information” (2). Most people have one preferred learning style and perform to a lesser standard when learning in a different style than what they’re used to. Nowadays, children are told to take a quiz in school to determine what their preferred learning style is, but after a few years, not many of these children remember what their preferred learning style is, or even if they do, they don’t apply it to their learning.
I will help my students make connections, and acquire knowledge that can be applied in meaningful ways. In addition to the internet lesson plan, there is also a writing strategy video attached. This artifact fits perfectly for standard #8 because different instructional methods are used, including reading, games, and other small activities, to help the student reach the goal of improved phonics skills and fluency. I chose Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory and Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger, Communities of Practice. Bndura’s theory works with both cognitive and behavioral frameworks that embrace attention, memory and motivation. His theory of learning suggests that people learn within a social context, and that learning is facilitated through concepts such as modeling, observational learning and imitation. As an educator it is important to know your student’s learning styles, as well as their background. I will develop my lessons using a variety of instructional strategies to encourage learners to develop a deeper understanding of content areas and their connections, while building skills to apply knowledge in meaningful
Games have been used as a learning tool dating back to the Middle Ages with using Chess to teach noblemen war strategies and scholars argued that old methods of learning functioned off of verbal play. Though games have been integrated into learning for such a long time, it wasn’t until around the mid twentieth century that a tie between games and learning began to be recognized by the public. Many scholars reporting on how games play a vital part in learning; Jean Piaget, the Swiss psychologist, connected a child’s moral judgement development to their ability to understand game rules (“History of Games & Learning | Institute of Play,” n.d.). Two analysts, A.M. Mood and R.D. Specht (1954), released the paper, “Gaming as a Technique of Analysis.” Which found: “A virtue of gaming that is sometimes overlooked by those seeking grander goals is its unparalleled advantages in training and educational programs. A game can easily be made fascinating enough to put over the dullest facts. To sit down and play through a game is to be convinced as by no argument, however persuasively
Two of the most important study skills are setting goals and taking notes. A student may set a time goal, such as studying a few hours a week; set a general goal, such as trying to study hard and stay on schedule; set a specific performance goal, such as getting at least 80% of the homework problems correct. Another important study skill is taking notes. Students generally make two kinds of mistakes in taking notes. One is to try to write down everything the instructor says, which leads to confusing notes. The other is to copy concepts that they do not understand but hope to learn by memorization. Good notes are compromised of the following: 1) written information summarized in your own words; 2) outline the important concepts; 3) try to associate the lecture notes with the material text; 4) asking yourself questions and making up questions from the notes.
Thought out our lives, we are faced with many different learning experiences. Some of these experiences have made a better impact than others. This can be attributed to everyone’s different multiple intelligences or learning styles. A persons learning style is the method though which they gain information about their environment. As a teacher, it is our responsibility to know these styles, so we can reach each of our students and use all of the necessary methods.
To achieve my academic goals, I have to maintain a good understanding of the syllabus and results in my studies by keeping up with the schedule as well as preventing procrastination. In addition, I have to view this learning process as the journey of equipping knowledge, unlike my view for the high school examinations, merely memorising and studying for 10As.