Angela Zaugg

This module reminds me that adult learners, especially, need to know the reason for learning something.  They will be more motivated to learn if they understand the connection between what they are learning in a classroom and how they can use it in their lives/careers.  Carl Rogers theroy of experiential learning lends itself well to the professional program that I provide instruction for, because it is very focused on learning by doing.

I am quite familiar with Erikson's work, but have not studied the work of Levinson or Havighurst as much.  As an instructor, it may help to understand what stages of life and human development our students are in, as well as what stage we are in, to better understand and accommodate to the pressing needs and issues of our students and improve the learning experience and their chance to succeed with their education.

I find that because adult learners have a clear sense of why they are taking the class, and prior experience and knowledge in how to successfully pass a college-level course, they are motivated learners, hard working, and well-engaged in course content.  They do, however, require some additional flexibility at times, because they have outside obligations like work and family that also require their time and attention.

This module provided a clear, step-by-step process for problem solving.  1) Define the problem, which requires research to determine the scope of the problem and whether or not it can be resolved; 2) Compile potential solutions, which also requires research, and then determining the most appropriate solution, given the various variables and constraints that will impact the situation;  3) Develop a plan of action - determine what the intervention will be, and then 4) Evaluate the results.  As an instructor, I can assist my students through all of these steps to come up with an effective solution.  I think students… >>>

As an instructor, it is important for me to understand the various types of intelligence and seek to understand the types of intelligence that my students use so I can provide learning opportunities that tap into those types of intelligence to make their learnig more applicable.  I think emotional intelligence and reflective thinking go hand in hand: it's the ability to recognize that your thinking and assumptions aren't the only way to solve a problem.  It requires the humility to be willing to secure additional information from other sources before making a decision.  In the real world, it often requires… >>>

The concept of discipline - the investment of time, effort, and application stood out to me the most.  I think this attribute is what sets successful students apart from unsuccessful students.  If we can help develop this skill in our students, I believe they can learn to apply the right amount of effort to achieve any goal.  The other thing to consider, is that judgment, another important component of critical thinking, is developed through extensive experience.  This is something our students usually don't have at the outset in our particular field of study, and it is through providing opportunities to… >>>

In my profession, we often refer to critical decision making, which would imply that a person in our profession is thinking critically (and because we work in health care, thinking ethically) before making a judgment call about how to help a person reach their health goals.  This requires that we not only make decisions based on our previous knowledge and training, but also seek out the most current information based on various levels of research and study.  This allows us to base our decisions on fact and not rely so much on the potentila short-comings of our current knowledge and… >>>

This section was a good reminder of various learning strategies that can be used to both decode and recode information.  I find graphic organizers, guided notes, and mnemonics to be helpful when I am learning new material.  I think my role as instructor is to be aware of and observe students to determine if they need assistance with "learning how to learn", at which point, I can demonstrate and/or use some of these strategies in the classroom so students can incorporate the ones that might work well for their learning style.

I have previously used content pre-tests, and I think they are useful in demonstrating to the students what they will learn over the course of the semester, however, I think a pretest based on student attitudes might be more telling, in so far as being able to determine how to reach students and show them how what they are gonig to learn during the course can be applied to their lives and help them meet their career goals.

I think it is important as an educator to become practiced at using your observation skills in combination with your knowledge of the various types of learning preferences and intelligences, to provide a variety of instructional strategies in order to more effectively reach and teach your students.  I think the first, most important step is to discover and better understand your own preferences/intelligences, if you haven't already, in order to have a better appreciation for how being able to effectively use strategies attuned to your strengths, benefits your ability to learn.