Content Assessment: Learning Patterns in Action

Some of the scenarios will challenge you to identify times when individuals had to use their critical thinking skills to improvise or “field-fit” their Learning Patterns. 

 Perhaps the plan for doing something didn’t work for some unforeseeable reason, and it was necessary to “think on the spot.” Maybe plans for a day-long outing fell through because of weather, timing, or some attraction being unexpectedly closed, so another outing had to be planned quickly. 


One of the most famous “field-fitters” of all time is the factious TV character from the 1980’s, MacGyver. 

 The things this man could do with a paperclip, Swiss army knife, and duct tape! MacGyver was a highly Technical and Confluent learner because he was able to think of creative, outside the box ways to “field-fit” and solve complex problems to save the day. 

https://youtu.be/TXsO_NKcy7g 

#MacGyver - #Improvising - MacGyver escapes with gas and a lead pipe. (The Human Factor)

  "At the heart of intentional learning is the awareness that you know how to self-regulate the use of your Learning Patterns.  With a conscious effort on your part to know and use each of your Patterns with intention, you’ll be more apt to respond appropriately to situations - and in doing so, grow into a more successful learner." -

Take a minute to reflect on the definition of learning you shared in your Week One introduction. What is learning and how do you know when learning is happening?

"Take a minute to reflect on the definition of learning you shared in your Week One introduction. What is learning and how do you know when learning is happening?" "Remember, learning can be done formally (like taking this class) or informally (learning how to navigate in a new town you’ve moved to). "

Learning to me would be through visual demonstrations is a technique I like to use because then I can see where I need to go in order to get done whatever is on the assignment for the course.

Moreover, I do enjoy verbal and/or oral learning too of which helps me to connect things more conceptually and to be able to come up with more of a vision within my "mind's eye" a lot more.

Nevertheless, visual and oral learning demonstrations are something of which I find works the best for me too because being able to see what I am trying to put together in a more methodical 'step by step' formation visually and also through hearing the words all at once in the same demonstration assists in me also being able to be in "participatory learning."

So, I think most definitely that "participatory learning," is my best ideological learning pattern, then. 

Dr. Johnston, your textbook author, defines learning as:

“Taking in the world around you through your five senses, making sense of it, 

and being able to respond appropriately.” 

What stands out the most in Dr. Johnston’s definition is the word appropriately. 

 We demonstrate learning to others when we give an appropriate response.

The yellow light is where things get interesting and human interpretation plays a role.  We take in the stimulus of a yellow light through our eyes but we each may react a bit differently.   

In truth, our answer should be “it depends” because there are other factors to consider such as the speed and proximity of traffic directly behind you or whether that intersection has a red light camera.

Life isn’t as simple as green and red lights.  We have a lot more yellow lights in our lives and this is what makes life interesting because we all respond differently to the same stimulus.  Do you feel that the image below represents the variety of stimuli bombarding you on a daily basis? 

 

Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org

We have multiple red, green, and yellow lights vying for our attention in the form of family, work, and other responsibilities. 

"In other words, we need to be gritty about getting our kids grittier." -Angela Lee #quotes

Angela Lee Duckworth: Grit: The power of passion and perseverance | TED Talk Subtitles and Transcript | TED.com - "Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint. Our data show very clearly that there are many talented individuals who simply do not follow through on their commitments. In fact, in our data, grit is usually unrelated or even inversely related to measures of talent... something called "growth mindset." This is an idea developed at Stanford University by Carol Dweck, and it is the belief that the ability to learn is not fixed, that it can change with your effort. Dr. Dweck has shown that when kids read and learn about the brain and how it changes and grows in response to challenge, they're much more likely to persevere when they fail, because they don't believe that failure is a permanent condition. We need to take our best ideas, our strongest intuitions, and we need to test them. We need to measure whether we've been successful, and we have to be willing to fail, to be wrong, to start over again with lessons learned. "

Think about it this way…for personal reasons, okay?

"According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 80 percent of adult learners who go back to school graduate with a degree, compared to 50 percent of those students who attend college right after high school. As a nontraditional student, you’re less likely to become distracted by the social scene at your school. You’ve made sacrifices to go back, so you’re less likely to try and skate by with just-passing grades. And you’re more aware of the contacts you’ll need once you graduate, so your networking is more targeted. If you are concerned about community, climate change, or other social issues, you can return to school to learn how to become a community activist or an urban planner. You can learn about new urban living arrangements that are environmentally sound, and participate in activities such as this one for saving adult education. You’ll learn that there are a multitude of subjects available on environmental issues, too, including some that could lead into a career in agriculture or forestry." "You may simply want to take advantage of tax benefits for adult learners. You could qualify for US income tax credits and/or tax deductions including up to $4,000 depending on income. You can contribute to health and social capital outcomes by becoming an adult student. The findings for this report suggests that adult learning has effects on a wide range of outcomes and plays an important role in contributing to the small shifts in attitudes and behaviors that take place during mid adulthood." “As for you and your health, it is now known that the human brain ben­e­fits from envi­ron­ments rich in novel and com­plex stim­uli, and that by actively par­tic­i­pat­ing in soci­ety and tak­ing on per­son­ally rel­e­vant roles, peo­ple find mean­ing and pur­pose, which gives them a rea­son to get up in the morn­ing and pur­sue new challenges. So, go back to school and get some meaning in your life.” - http://adulteducationclasses.org/2012/top-15-reasons-adults-go-back-to-school/

Yup.

Motivation: What motivates me the most to pursue a degree is because I admire how my mom and dad had earned their degrees in their mid-40s. This factor is not only motivational for me, but it also inspires me because it makes me feel as if I am a part of something, while I earn the required credits asked of me in which to earn my degree, finally. My motivation has thus been fueled then by the support of my mom and dad at this stage in my life, and I am very grateful to still have them in my life during this stage in my life still. I plan to have my own business, and I have noticed that there will be a need for me to have a degree in which to even become a manager for a business and/or company. I would like for my business to not only be of service not only to my neighborhood, but to also all the other surrounding potential neighborhoods, but to also be able to have my business be globally world bound to the rest of the world. PURPOSE: My main purpose in seeking a college degree is because I want to own my own business. Primarily, I seek a college degree because it also would make me look credible. Another purpose for me seeking in earning my degree is to just finish up what I have already started so many moons ago. Therefore, my main purpose (and the reason why I am here at Ashford University in the first place) would be for me to then finish what I have started within its entirety so that I would be able to finally own my own business. VALUES: The values that I feel I am demonstrating in regards to me seeking my degree, I feel, can only be vaguely expressed because there lots of them and the list could go on and on. Yet, there are a few major values that I noticed being expressed time and time again, and that value would have to deal more with my moralistic viewpoints; it has to deal with Persistence and loyalty. My attitude to "finish" one thing a time, is another major value that I feel being at Ashford University is being expressed. "Stand for something, or fall for any and everything," is what was repeated to me growing up and so to not complete anything at all in life will mean a person would just do anything but not really doing anything at all because they would be all over the place! DISCIPLINE: Summer is now over and I need to get more disciplined on my studies again, I admit. In consideration of me (maybe) having too much time on my hands, I have decidedly decided to write down my TO-DO lists of things that I can use and utilize in terms of planning the times for my studies. Finally, I have come across noticing a pattern through the lists that I have made, being able to aid and assist in telling me when I need to get my homework in and of which help remind me of whatever tools that I may need in which to help me be successful in this course. Basically, discipline wise, I am willing to make time for when things need to get done as pertaining to this course here at Ashford University. FOCUS: Naturally I suffer from depression and major anxiety on an ongoing basis, but who doesn't? Nonetheless the 'Digital Age' unarguably has been around us for quite some time now, thus creating the new generation as the "Digital Native." Multi-tasking is something that I have done as a child, but I have been diagnosed with A.D.D. already and well I will concur with the author of the text for this course in stating that multi-tasking is extremely counter-productive to learning. All I can admit-tingly say is that the text for this course is very well-written, and that I plan to keep my focus on the subject of this course and on the homework, discussions, quizzes, etc. at hand and as they come as I go as best as I can. READINESS: I have prepared myself to begin my online degree by (at least) setting some time aside to do my homework and course book reading when I can and do. Personally, I think on a more realistic way I need to express how serious I feel even more to my family on my thoughts and feelings are in terms of earning my degree. I have taken online courses before, and so right now I feel fine. Thus, in terms of my financing for my degree, I have been and am still looking for further ways in which I can work on paying off whatever outstanding student loans that I have. Also, in terms of finances, learning how to balance my 'day-to-day' affairs and saving up for emergencies and for travelling are also some factors I am into learning about and applying to what I already know about the topic of: "finance."

Learning Shapes Your FUTURE

Learning is central to who we are as human beings. It affects our sense of self; it shapes how others perceive us. Perhaps most importantly, it may determine our economic future, because it is crucial to finding and maintaining a career path. These words are not just a rationale for pursuing a college degree. A coalition of business, commerce, labor, and educational leaders identifies the "ability to take responsibility for learning" as a subset of one of the four categories that most determine a person's economic success (Equipped for the Future [EFF] Standards, 2001, p. 17). "Virtually each new technology has altered the manner in which people live, connect, and interact. In this way, the age of digital technology is similar to other periods of technological advancement. It, too, requires society to adjust to its effects—increased pace of communication, increased availability of information, increased proximity to one another. However, the age of digital technology is also different, because unlike other technological inventions, digital technology is available to virtually everyone. Because technology has become so accessible, it has influenced how we learn. How has your smartphone, tablet, or other digital device affected how you learn?" (https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUEXP105.13.3/sections/sec1.3)

Learning Shapes Your Future vs. the Degrees of Difficulties

Phase 1 — Read Before You Write Consider the prompt(s) thoroughly. Recognize and underline the question(s) you are being asked. Connect the questions to the week's readings, class discussions, or your notes, as appropriate to the discussion. Reflect and list all the possible responses. Isolate the strongest responses, or arguments, that fit the discussion prompt(s). Phase 2 — Write a Draft Before You Post Open a new Word document for each Discussion Forum post. (Note: You will copy and paste the final draft into the Forum.) Cut and paste the prompt(s) at the top of the Word doc to keep you on task. Begin each paragraph with the strongest response or argument that you isolated in Phase 1. Develop your response(s) by providing examples, quotes, or personal experiences—as appropriate to the discussion—to support your response(s). Review the length and content of your response(s). Having only 1-2 sentences is not substantive. Phase 3 — Review Your Post Before You Submit Did you completely answer each of the questions? If necessary or required, did you use examples from personal experience to illustrate your point? If necessary or required, did you refer to class readings or discussions to demonstrate an understanding of the concepts? Did you proofread your post for typos and misspellings? Are the grammar and punctuation correct? Did you cite any references to the text or other sources used in your discussion posts? Consult the Ashford Writing Center for more information about references and citations. Did you read your post out loud to yourself to make sure it "sounds" clear? Marjorie.Chappell@Faculty.Ashford.edu Learning Objectives By the end of this chapter, you should be able to: List the factors most central to whether students succeed in meeting their educational goals. Define what it means to learn and explain why learning is so important for success. Describe the concept of intentional learning and identify the challenges of learning in the digital age. Describe the characteristics of a science-based theory of learning and explain why it is important to be aware of your personal Learning Patterns. Both work readiness and literacy organizations have articulated what it means to "take responsibility for learning" as an adult. Based on the National Work Readiness Council's (NWRC) (2006) explanation of the workforce credential the list that follows relates the specifics of how to become an intentional learner who takes responsibility for learning: Establish learning goals that are based on an understanding of one's current and future learning needs. Identify own strengths and weaknesses as a learner and seek out opportunities for learning that help build self-concept as a learner. Become familiar with a range of learning strategies to acquire or retain knowledge. Identify and use strategies that are appropriate to goals, task, context, and the resources available for learning. Monitor progress toward goals and modify strategies or other features of the learning situation as necessary to achieve goals. Test out new learning in real-life applications. (Ford, Knight & McDonald-Littelton, 2001, p.62) Learning empowers you in three significant ways: It allows you to gain new knowledge that enables you to understand yourself, others, and life more clearly. It enables you to develop new skills that can be used to increase productivity in your life and in your work. It prepares you to initiate change, allowing you to grow, adapt, and mature. Every time you apply new knowledge or new skills in your workplace, with your family, or within yourself, you are actively learning (Alexander, Clugston, & Tice, 2010, p. 3). Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle. — Plato (via purplebuddhaproject)