Learning Profile

The common themes that we discussed about deal with getting use to the fact we are in college, learning how fast we can read material, found out what type of learning style we have and then thinking about what careers we would like to peruse. For example we did some group activities that made us come together and talk about how high is different from college. We talked about tips that will help us be successful in our college years. Then we took some speed reading tests to show us how fast we can read material. This gave us a chance to see what we need to work on to become a better and faster reader. We also took some personality tests in our book and it showed us our personality and what type of learner we are. The last theme we talked about in class was what career and classes we would want to examine. All of these helped me learn more about myself and made me think what type of major I wanted to go into.
My strengths as a learner are listening in class, and making note cards. If I didn’t do these two things I would be in big trouble. When it comes time for test I look at my notes and go over those. If I still need more help I make note/ flash cards to help me remember the material. I don’t really have any activities that come to me easily. I’m just about average about everything. If I had to help a new student coming in to this class I would help them with keeping their stuff together and making sure they get their work done and handed in on time.
My weaknesses as a learner consist of note taking, being able to hear things once and being able to remember them the next time. I wish that I had the capacities of students who don’t have to study for a test. Math comes easy for them and not having to take notes and being able to remember what the instructor said from the day before. The tasks that give me the most difficulty are not having a review for a test. I like for the teacher to hand out the review a few days before the test that way I can look up the answers and make sure they are right so I can study them for the test. The classes that take up most of my time are math and science. Those are my two least favorite subjects in school and take me longer to do than other subjects. If I had to take math and science in the future I would work on my note taking skills and find someone who will help me understand the material.
When I first came to Butler I didn’t know that we had all the resources that we have. Thanks to Student Connect I know how to use those resources. During these few weeks that we had in Student we learned a lot about ourselves. Not everyone learns the same way, people have different opinions, and we got to work on our reading abilities. When my English teacher gives me a research paper I know how to research my topics. I know more sources to use that I didn’t know before. You can use the Butler website to look up information using the Nixon Library. We took several tests to tell us if we were a visual, sight or touch learner. This helped me because I know how I learn best and will try and use it in my study habits. The most important skill that I learned from this class is resources. If you need help with a subject there is always someone or something that will help you with your problem. This is very significant in your success in college. If you didn’t have any of these sources available for college it would be a major pain.
The most relevant topic that we went over throughout this course was binge drinking. I never knew how serious it has become. It’s such a shame that kids have to die that way leaving their family and friends behind. I think that if kids have to drink to have fun they have a problem. There are so many other things in life that you can have fun with besides drinking their life away. Your brain is still learning and growing up to age 25 so you’re only hurting your chances for your brain to learn. To me I wonder why people would want to drink so much that they make themselves puke. I don’t have any topics that weren’t relevant to me. I learned a lot of new things about me and what I can work on to make myself better.
Student Connect was a good welcome into the college world. It helped me see what Butler had available for students. From all the material that we covered I think that nothing should be dropped. I think that all college students need to learn the material we went over. I think that the class is more beneficial for freshman. During this course we had to take tests and see what types of majors we would be interested in. That helped me see what different types of jobs are out there and we can see how much school it would take. Overall the class to me was a good experience. It was nice not having to have homework in a class but still learn a lot about ourselves and the world around us. It was a laid back atmosphere that made me fell comfortable to ask questions. If I had to teach the class I would keep the same projects that we did but have smaller group discussions. When students get in smaller groups we tend to open up more to those that are around instead of having a whole class to talk to. If it’s a nice day outside I would have class outside. I might highlight more of the information in the book but not make it too boring. Have more hand on activities like we did when we used the lap tops.
In order for incoming students to excel in the class is simple. If you show up for class everyday and listen you will thrive. Some students I think take advantage of not having to have the class everyday. One thing that will get you in trouble in Student Connect would be getting behind. When we have to write six paragraphs you don’t want to put them off until the last minute. If you get down to it and work on the assignment the day it’s given it will cause less headaches later. Make sure that you hand in your rubrics at the end of the day or else you will be marked down as not showing up for class. If you don’t use your time wisely in class that will only hurt you also. You get time in class to work on assignments take advantage of that as much as you can. Student Connect is a class where whatever you put in to it is what you are going to get out of it. If you just sit there and don’t participate in any of the activities you won’t learn a thing. This class is to incorporate yourself as much as you can with the material given each day. If you have a good attitude going into the class you will have a better outcome.
From my experiences that I had in Student Connect I will carry with me not to be afraid to ask questions and say what’s on my mind. This class made me feel more comfortable to tell people what I thought about the topics we talked about in our groups. This will help me later on in life because I won’t be afraid to speak out. I will make sure and use my resources that I have around me. This class made me realize that we have a lot of resources around us that we don’t use. I know now that there are a lot of different people out in the world and will have to be mixed in with them in the work field.

Academic Plan

Ever since I was little I've always wanted to help people and animals. I thought that I wanted to be a Vet. I worked in a Vet Clinic for three years and loved every minute of it. Sometimes at work we had to put down an animal or lose an animal during surgery and it made me sad. The rewards of the job are great because you get to help out people and their "family members". As I got older I realized that trying to get into Vet school would be very tough. I switched my major to a Physical Therapist. My plans for attending Butler for my major is getting all my general education out of the way first. That way when I transfer to another school after two years I won't have to worry about completing those classes. When I transfer to another school I will only have to complete those that are getting closer to my degree. I would want to transfer to a four year school where all my credits were accepted and they had a good program for my major. Another major that I thought about after we took the Career Planning Summary was a Radiologist. Here I would have to take lots of labs and science work here at Butler in order to get me ready for the next level of my major at a University. I haven’t really set what my major is yet. I thought since I don’t know I would try and get a Biology major that way I would have something to fall back on that would get me in any major that I was interested in.

Academic Honesty

You are given a research paper in English class. The first thought that comes to your mind is looking for information on the internet. When using the internet there is a word that you have to be careful about it’s called plagiarism. Plagiarism is a use of someone else’s work as your own. There are some ways that you can go around plagiarism that are simple to use. Cheating is another big problem that people tend to lean towards when it comes to assignments and or tests. I think that when people cheat it’s just plain laziness of not wanting to take the time to do the assignment or study for a test. Cheating is looking on someone else’s paper when taking a test or just copying someone’s assignment and turning it in as your own. Working in groups to solve a assignment can be tricky. The teacher wants each student to turn in a paper of their own. When students have to write a research paper and have to have quotes in a paper can hurt a student. Why, because kids just cut and paste from the internet and try to use someone else’s work as their own. They don't think about citing their sources. Citing your sources is very important in writing because you can get into a lot of trouble if you’re not careful. College professors will kick you out of the class as well as fail you. People don't realize how critical it is. Working in groups on an assignment is another way students get themselves into trouble. The teacher tells each group that they each need to have a copy to hand in not just one. This causes students to make one person do the work and they will copy it down later to make it seem like they did something. The last problem that had been occurring is when students work in study groups. Study groups are designed for students to get together and help each other out with questions they have on assignments or to study for exams. I think that some students take advantage of this great opportunity to have peer teachers. This makes people think they can be lazy and just write down what the other students writing down and not really getting the information. When it comes test time the person who was just writing down the answers won’t get as a good as grade as those who worked hard and did their own work.

Coping with Change

Last year I had to move my senior year because my parents got new jobs in a different town. I would only be moving about an hour and fifteen minutes away from my old town but it would be hard. Every time we had a new kid come visit our school I would think to myself that would stink because you would have to start over with everything. I never thought that new kid would be me. It was hard at first to move but in the end it all worked out ok and made a lot of new friends that made me feel like I had always went to school there.
College is very different from high school. In high school you have 8 different classes throughout the day and go to school from 8:00-3:20. Where as in college you make your own schedule and might only have three classes on one day and two on the other. High school you have a lot more time to learn things and don’t have to try and cram everything in. College you only have a semester to learn things so you have try and learn things faster. You also have more reading assignments outside of class and take more notes without the teacher writing them up on the board. A major change from high school to college is living in the dorms and not having your family and home cooked meals there for you when you want them. Living with someone you have never met before in such a tiny area might be hard for some people. If you get a good roommate it helps out a lot.
Since coming to college I feel more anxiety. I feel like there’s a lot riding on me and I have a lot more stuff to do. I’m always worried about my classes and making sure I have everything done for the next time I go in for class. I also worry about my running because I don’t want to get hurt and not be able to compete in a meet. Staying healthy and getting stronger each day to be able to compete to the best of my ability.
If you have a good attitude about change I think it will be easier for people. If you think that the change in the most horrible thing in the world then it will seem like the most horrible change. Just keep a positive attitude and it will help make change a little bit easier.