Independent Learning Strategies... advanced
Topic: Independent Learning Strategies 4 cr. Mentor: Rounds, Chris
Level: Advanced Liberal Indicator: Liberal
Gen Ed: Select Gen Ed Area
Books:
Jerold W. Apps, Study Skills for Today's College Student
M. Neil Browne and
Stuart M. Keeley Asking the Right Questions: A Guide
to Critical Thinking
Diana Hacker, A Writer's Reference
B. Learning Activities:
Mentor Christopher Rounds will be the tutor for this study. The study will focus on enhancing an array of skills central to students' success as independent learners. We'll do a significant amount of reading around the themes of adult learning, critical reading and thinking, research and writing. In the first stage of this study participants will submit an Independent Learning Situation Audit and a response essay to the Apps text. The tutor's emphasis in reviewing this essay will be on improving writing style, encouraging the exploration of issues in depth, and moving from descriptive toward analytical and interpretive writing.
The second stage of our study will focus on critical reading, discovering and analyzing resources, and strategies for planning and implementing a research project. Participants will familiarize themselves with the resources available in a research library. Essays will focus on critical reading and the stage will conclude with the submission of a project proposal and working bibliography.
In the third and final stage participants will carry out a modest research project, discuss their project with the group, and complete an appropriately documented project essay of approximately ten (10) pages (about 2,500 words) plus bibliography.
A detailed Study Guide will be provided to students enrolling in this study.
C. Methods and Criteria for Evaluation:
This study can be engaged in at either the introductory or the advanced level. Students can decide to change the level of their engagement in the contract (with their mentor's approval) at any time before the submission of the final project.
The short essays, bibliography and project essay described above, coupled with participation in study group meetings, will provide the evidence upon which an evaluation of each student will be based. Emphasis in evaluation will be on evidence of growth and new learning acquired throughout the study, culminating in the research essay. Particular attention will be paid to the student's willingness and ability to engage seriously with the issues raised and to capture relevant thoughts and issues in coherent prose. Those seeking advanced level credit should demonstrate an ability to integrate information from a wide range of sources and to respond to readings thoughtfully and analytically. Research projects should demonstrate the student's ability to weigh evidence from multiple sources, acknowledge the existence of multiple perspectives and draw conclusions that are consistent with the evidence presented. Our emphasis, at both the introductory and advanced levels, will be on understanding learning as a process, on acknowledging and appreciating the different approaches individuals may take to this process, and on expanding effective access to a wide range of learning resources.