Michigan Tutorial Association 32nd Connections Conference Friday, October 24, 2014 at the Delta Coll
Genius Lab: Apps for Academic Success
Presenters: Jeffrey Keson and Mariana Naddaf from Grand Valley State University.
You can follow them on twitter @GVSUSASC
Any student entering college after the year 2000 is regarded as a Millennial Student. They are also regarded as the Tech Savvy Generation. It then makes sense to use the technology of this time such as apps to reach out to students. This simply changes the form of interaction. The future of education is definitely changing. These apps enhance better productivity based on organization, time management, studying & learning, and life coaching.
The various apps introduced are:
Genius Scan: It's simply a scanner in your pocket. Available on Android and Apple.
Learnist: Database of information. It can be used for research. Available on Android, Apple and the web.
Unstuck: It's a good app to use during SI sessions. Helps people feel unstuck based on good counseling. It's regarded as in-the-moment digital coach. :)
Penultimate: It's a Handwriting app that connects to Evernote. Good app for note-taking and unfortunately only available on Apple (iPad only).
Evernote: It's simply a workspace for daily projects. Keeps everything together and you can sync across all devices. Cool for note-taking and presentations. Available on Android, Apple and Web.
Quizlet: It's very good for tutors. Tutors can create flashcards and quiz reviews. It simply aids studying. Available on Android, Apple and Web. Another good Web application is Kahoot!
Trello: It can be used for organizing group projects. It has a visual To-Do board (Group work). Available on Android, Apple and Web.
Khan Academy: You can find videos on learning specific topics. Available on Android, Apple and Web.
The idea of Genuis Lab which was started FALL 2014 with a slogan "2 New Apps, Every Week", is to find apps that enhance learning.
In order to catch the attention of students, they used the words: "Checkout my session. I have Candy!" :)
The goal is to help students find the main connection to campus and success.
Keynote Speaker Dr. Chew: "Developing A Successful Mindset for Learning"
You can follow him on twitter @SChewPsych
He has won several awards in teaching. His presentation was deeply insightful and it was obvious that he talks the talk and walks the walk :).
You can find great materials on his site on how to get the most out of studying.
Some hints from his talk:
Understanding a mental model about how students learn can help in framing a good pedagogical pattern of teaching.
Exploring the study progress of students is very important.
Note cards promote memorization and he claims that knowledge is composed of isolated facts that empower people.
An interesting aspect of his talk was on paying close attention to the material as you study. We played a game about Perceptual Judgement Task. A list of 24 words was read and you checked "YES" if you found the word pleasant, else "NO". After the 24 words have been read, you are asked to recall as many of the words from memory as you can.
He then asked the question below:
Which of the following is the MOST important ingredient for successful learning?
The intention and desire to learn.
Paying close attention to the material as you study.
Learning in a way that matches your personal learning style.
The time you spend studying.
What you think about while studying.
Principles versus Recipe: No recipe is universal. Principles are more valuable because they are adaptive.
Then we played another game on Unitasking versus Multitasking. It was obvious that most people perform better when they unitask than multitask.
Levels of Processing:
Deep Processing versus Shallow Processing
Deep processing focuses on subjective meaning. Relating new information to prior knowledge. Making information personally meaningful.
Shallow processing focuses on meaningless aspects of concepts, such as spelling, appearance and sound; memorization of facts, and thoughtlessly saying information over and over.
Note taking: He suggested that it is best to record less than half of what is said in a lecture. Understanding is not about writing all that the Instructor says. Note taking and highlighting only help when one uses them for review.
When in a lecture, one should endeavor to avoid any form of distraction. He mentioned that there is no such thing as a momentary distraction.
He concluded his talk with the works of Graham Nuthall's. "Three is the magic number". The rule of three.
Successive students must have a proper mindset for learning.
Around Delta College Planetarium in Bay City
Creating an Academic Coaching Program
Presenter: Dr. Helem E. Woodman
Students like stories.
Share challenges that students have.
Icebreaker Activity:
K: What do you know about coaching?
L: What have you learned about coaching?
W: What do you want to know more about coaching?
Academic Coaching Defined:
For success, we must explore:
Study skills
Academic & social balance
Time management
Goal setting
Organization
Connecting with resources
Motivation
Test taking strategies
A Comparison between Coaching, Mentoring and Tutoring.
Problem solving and development:
Coaching: Relationship has a set duration.
Mentoring: On-going relationship.
Tutoring: Direct relationship.
Creating a Program Plan
Collaborating with student body organizations, campus departments.
Have a timeline when creating a program plan. Clearly itemize the program components, budget, advertising etc.
She mentioned that as tutors, it is an opportunity to make change.
Marketing strategies:
"The key is not the will to win. Everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important."
Staffing and Training
Training tips: Study skills strategies (note taking, time management, goal setting, memory, reading, discussions)
Education is life. It involves growth, development and training.
She further talked about recognition & praise, motivation, stress management (mindfulness meditation), questioning, active listening and role playing.
In concluding her session, she shared the material "Julian Treasure: 5 ways to listen better".
Always remember that as a tutor, you are a champion and every student needs a champion. :)
Helping Students Create Realistic Goals
The process of setting goals allows students to choose where they want to go in school and what they want to achieve.
Goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely.
Develop a plan and have the skills to achieve it.
The remaining part of the talk was focused on how to create SMART goals.
Specific
Measureable
Attainable or Achievable
Relevant
Time-sensitive or Tangible
The material below is taken from this site.
Creating S.M.A.R.T. Goals
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely
Specific: A specific goal has a much greater chance of being accomplished than a general goal. To set a specific goal you must answer the six “W” questions:
Who: Who is involved?
What: What do I want to accomplish?
Where: Identify a location.
When: Establish a time frame.
Which: Identify requirements and constraints.
Why: Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.
EXAMPLE: A general goal would be, “Get in shape.” But a specific goal would say, “Join a health club and workout 3 days a week.”
Measurable - Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set.
When you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs you on to continued effort required to reach your goal.
To determine if your goal is measurable, ask questions such as……
How much? How many?
How will I know when it is accomplished?
Attainable – When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them. You begin seeing previously overlooked opportunities to bring yourself closer to the achievement of your goals.
You can attain almost any goal you set when you plan your steps wisely and establish a time frame that allows you to carry out those steps. Goals that may have seemed far away and out of reach eventually move closer and become attainable, not because your goals shrink, but because you grow and expand to match them. When you list your goals you build your self-image. You see yourself as worthy of these goals, and develop the traits and personality that allow you to possess them.
Realistic- To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective toward which you are both willing and able to work. A goal can be both high and realistic; you are the only one who can decide just how high your goal should be. But be sure that every goal represents substantial progress.
A high goal is frequently easier to reach than a low one because a low goal exerts low motivational force. Some of the hardest jobs you ever accomplished actually seem easy simply because they were a labor of love.
Timely – A goal should be grounded within a time frame. With no time frame tied to it there’s no sense of urgency. If you want to lose 10 lbs, when do you want to lose it by? “Someday” won’t work. But if you anchor it within a timeframe, “by May 1st”, then you’ve set your unconscious mind into motion to begin working on the goal. Your goal is probably realistic if you truly believe that it can be accomplished. Additional ways to know if your goal is realistic is to determine if you have accomplished anything similar in the past or ask yourself what conditions would have to exist to accomplish this goal.
T can also stand for Tangible – A goal is tangible when you can experience it with one of the senses, that is, taste, touch, smell, sight or hearing.
When your goal is tangible you have a better chance of making it specific and measurable and thus attainable.
Members of Wayne State University Academic Success Center
