Getting Ready To Learn

What are the differences between school and university?

Leaving secondary school and entering a university is a big adjustment for many students. If a student is aware of some of these differences, they will be better prepared for the changes 
in attitudes and behaviours necessary for success. Some of the differences between high school and university are as follows:

• Classes are usually larger than those in secondary school and there are many more students on the university campus.
• Students are responsible for making their own class schedules and following them conscientiously.
• Instruction is primarily through lecture format with students taking notes independently.
• Student progress and attendance is not generally closely monitored by instructors.
• Students need to be self-directed and are expected to be independent.
• There is, generally, less ongoing contact with instructors and less individual attention unless initiated by students.
• There are fewer hours of in-class time and many more hours of homework and independent study per course.
• Classes may have a lab or tutorial session located in a different room or building, and may be facilitated by a teaching assistant.
• Course textbooks or required readings are not provided by the University; they must be purchased from a bookstore or borrowed from a library.

Characteristics of successful students

• Accept Responsibility. You see yourself as primarily responsible for your outcomes and experiences.
• Are Self-Motivated. You find purpose in what you do by discovering personally meaningful goals and dreams.
• Master Self-Management. You plan and take action in pursuit of your goals and dreams.
• Are Interdependent. You build mutually supportive relationships that help you achieve your goals and dreams (while helping others do the same).
• Have Self-Awareness. You consciously think, believe, and behave in ways that keep you on course.
• Believe in Life-Long Learning. You look for lessons in all of your experiences.
• Have High EQ's (Emotional Intelligence). You accept your emotions, but you manage them in support of your goals and dreams.
• Believe in Yourself. You see yourself as a capable, lovable, and unconditionally worthy human being.
• Learning Styles Inventory- Study Skills

It clearly shows that everyone has their own way of learning. Technically, an individual's learning style refers to the preferential way in which the student absorbs, processes, comprehends and retains informations.

As the result shown above, for my own learning styles are more into kinesthetic and auditory which it takes the same amount in both of it. Basically, kinesthetic learner is a person who needs body movement and hands-on work.

•  The need to move.
•  The wiggle, tap, swing their legs, bounce, and often just can't seem to sit still.
•  They learn through their bodies and their sense of touch
•  The have excellent "physical" memory - they learn quickly and permanently what they do as they are learning.
•  Kinesthetic Learners are often gifted in athletics, dancing and other physical activities.
•  They are generally very coordinated and have an excellent sense of their body in space of body timing. They have great hand-eye coordination and quick reactions.

Next, for auditory learner, it is a student who tend to retain information more thoroughly when the information is reinforced through sound. Auditory learning methods could include anything from using musical notes to memorize lists, to use voice recordings or chants to memorize history terms.

You may be an auditory learner if you are someone who :

• Likes to read self out loud.
• Not afraid to speak in class
• Likes oral reports
• Is good at explaining
• Tends to repeat things a few things as you listen to another person speak.
• Remembers names
• Notice sound effects in movies