The following suggestions apply to all of my courses, but they should also be useful in other outcomes-oriented courses, and for most courses at UW Bothell.

There are certain basic ingredients that are necessary for success in most courses: sufficient time, energy, and focus. But different courses require different types of learning processes to take place in order to achieve the desired outcomes. Because of this, while sufficient time, energy, and focus is necessary, it does not guarantee success. In fact, some students may devote less of these resources than others (who may feel they hare doing a lot of work) and yet have greater success, because they are not aware of the most effective strategies for learning. Part of this awareness comes from understanding what is required in the course; part comes from the student's own psychological, educational and cultural background combined with their inherent abilities: what is known as their "learning styles." This page is provided to help you comprehend both and to create strategies that will most efficiently enable you to become a successful learner in this course. By my definition, a successful learner masters all of the outcomes of the course (which should have a strong correlation with his or her final grade) AND is equipped to make use of these learning outcomes in other learning environments, both as part of his or her formal education and beyond.

To learn more about what learning styles are, click here.

In an outcomes-oriented course, you are most likely to gain a grade equal or exceeding your expectations if you concentrate on the learning processes needed to attain the assessed outcomes. You should use each evaluation you receive (both comments and grades) on an assessed assignment primarily as an indication of your level of proficiency, and secondarily (if at all) as an indication of where you stand relative to your final grade. By seeking to learn from the comments and grade, you are much more likely to be succeed as a learner, and to have that success indicated on the assessed assignments. The best strategy for accomplishing this contains three steps:

1. Review your learning strategies. Consider the following:

• Your own learning styles and personal situation (stress, lack of blocks of study time, lack of interest in the course material, etc.)
• The amount of time, energy, and focus you devoted versus what was necessary.
• The degree you read and understood the instructor's instructions and suggestions regarding the learning process.
• The degree you used all available resources, including examples, supplements, personnel (Writing Center, instructor) when needed, etc.?

2. Review the assignment, your performance, the comments and grade. Consider the following

• Your understanding of the specific instructions and expectations of the assignment.
• The criteria for the comments and grade given by the instructor in relation to your performance, and what the comments and grade reveal about your strengths and weaknesses in relation to the course outcomes.
• What your performance reflects about your strengths and weaknesses from your own perspective.

3. Based on your own review and assessment, is there anything you would suggest to the instructor that he might improve (either in the way the material is presented, the teaching and learning processes, the assignment itself, or the grading criteria and implementation)? I am always eager to hear any suggestions, and will act upon them if I believe they have merit and can be implemented within the constraints and structure of the course. These suggestions will never result in a change of grade (which under the guidelines of the UW is an assessment of a specific performance), but it will help improve the learning experience for others, and for yourself if more of the course remains to be completed.

For more useful documents for my students, click here.

© 2001 Michael Lewis Goldberg: intellectual property information

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