1) Effective learning strategies include identifying your preferred learning style, managing your time well through planning study sessions, developing good habits like being task-oriented and asking questions, and avoiding bad habits like procrastination. 2) Assessment will be "little and often" through methods like problem-based learning, discussion boards, and case studies rather than exams, and will include an open-book final assessment. 3) Critical thinking is developed through activities like participating in discussion boards, avoiding uncritical approaches, and addressing problems through an iterative process using increasing complex information over time.

1. EFFECTIVE LEARNING STRATEGIESProfessor Jeremy WilliamsChief Academic Officer (Global Operations)Knowledge Universe Education

2. 2Overview Writing Critical thinking Teams Examinations Help Study strategy Time Professors and pedagogy Technology Reading

3. 3Study strategyWhat is your preferred learning style?What are the strengths and weaknesses of your preferred style?

4. 4TimeMake things happen … don’t wait for them to happenPlan your study non-negotiable time blocks

5. ‘windows of opportunity’

6. quality study times

7. family, work, leisure5Good habits ...Be task-oriented

8. Prioritise tasks

9. Concentrate on individual tasks not the whole

10. Identify regular tasks and build them into your routine

11. Be pro-active6… bad habits!Procrastination

12. Minutiae before substance

13. ‘Pretend work’

14. ‘Dead-line walking’

15. Being reactive7Professors and pedagogyProfessors notteachers!Mentors, facilitators, ‘resident’ experts – to help you learnDifferent styles; can be idiosyncratic!Ask questionsRegular reflection

16. 8Constructivist educational theoryKnowledge is constructed as a result of cognitive processes within the human mind cf. the instructivist view of education that presumes knowledge exists independently of the knower, and that understanding is coming to know what already exists.

17. 9Constructivist educational theoryKnowledge is constructed as a result of cognitive processes within the human mind cf. the instructivist view of education that presumes knowledge exists independently of the knower, and that understanding is coming to know what already exists.

18. 10Constructivist educational theoryKnowledge is constructed as a result of cognitive processes within the human mind cf. the instructivist view of education that presumes knowledge exists independently of the knower, and that understanding is coming to know what already exists.

19. 11The constructivists argue that deep learning will occur only when the learner is actively engaged in, operating upon, or mentally processing, incoming stimuli In short, constructivism focuses on knowledge construction, notknowledge reproduction.

20. 12‘I hear, I forget.I see, I remember. I do, I understand.’Confucius (551-479 BC) www.divinedigest.com/ confu.htm

21. 13 ‘That what we have to learn to do, we learn by doing.’www.philosophy.pdx.edu/Aristotle (384-322 BC)

22. 14What to expect “in class” …Interactive courseware to reinforce understanding of the key concepts and content introduced to you from yourreadingAsynchronous discussion with peersDiversity of knowledge sources – use this to your benefit.

23. 15AssessmentWhat you will NOT get …An assessment load so great that it gets in the way of learningMultiple-choice examinationsEssay assignments that require ‘text-book’ answersAn invigilated, closed-book, final examination.

24. 16AssessmentWhat you will get …Assessment that is “little and often”Problem-based learning (PBL)Short discussion board assignmentsCase study analysis in small groupsA compulsory open-book, open-web (OBOW) final assessment.

25. 17A ‘willing suspension of disbelief’It was Samuel T Coleridge (19th century poet) who first coined this phraseSuspension of disbelief is required to enjoy poetry, plays, novels and TV sitcomsIt is also required for the PGCIB!Scenarios are created that will be as authentic as possibleDeeper learning will occur if you enter into the spirit of things.

26. The Learning PyramidAverageRetention RateLecture5%Reading10%Audiovisual20%Demonstration30%Discussion group50%Practice by doing75%Facilitate learning of others90%Ref: National Training Laboratories, Bethel, Maine, USA

27. 19TechnologyTechnology is an integral part of business=> integral part of business educationThe learning curve may be steep for some ...

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29. 21Harnessing the power of the ICTsThe First Law of the Internet states that the answer is on the Internet. Therefore the quest is no longer “Where to find the answer” but “How to word the question”.Randi

30. Learning rests on diversity of opinions…it is a question of connecting specialised nodes or information sources 22

31. 23Courseware helps to direct readingConsider speed reading/scanningSeek to understand rather than memoriseRegular reflectionReading

32. 24WritingWritten communication is a vital business skillRegular participation in discussion boards improves this skill

33. 25What to watch out for …Plagiarism – a policy of zero toleranceReferencing – use an internationally ‘recognised’ systemAssignments and final assessment – must be submitted electronically

34. 26Other handy hints …Go for quality before quantityAvoid the ‘blunderbuss’ approachDo not approach a topic uncriticallyespecially in a PBL learning environment

35. 27Critical thinkingCritical thinking is thinking about your thinking while you’re thinking, in order to make your thinking better.Richard Paul, 1992, Critical Thinking: What Every Person Needs to Survive in a Rapidly Changing World, p. 7.

36. 28Characteristics of unstructured problems ...Cannot be described completely Have more than one potentially viable solution option Generate controversy, even among experts Have incomplete information that is subject to a variety of interpretations

37. 29… characteristics of unstructured problemsHave a variety of solution options with unknown outcomes Often need to be addressed repeatedly over time as conditions change and better information becomes available Can be addressed through a problem solving process that uses information in increasingly complex ways

38. 30The ‘stair-step’ critical thinking model(Lynch, Wolcott & Huber 1998) Readdressing an unstructured problem4Resolving an unstructured problem3Framing an unstructured problem2Identifying the unstructured nature of the problem1Content knowledge/problem solving skills

39. 31The importance of a conditional or probabilistic approachEncourages people to distinguish between their own interpretations of reality and alternative interpretationsExamples: ‘may be’, ‘might be’, ‘could be argued’, ‘possibly’, ‘perhaps’, rather than ‘is’ or ‘does’.The use of definitive language imposes certainty where it may not exist.

40. 32Teams A feature of modern business (Senge 1990)Integral part of business curriculumBenefits of collaborative learning are considerable, but …‘Difficult’ team mates

41. 33ExaminationsExams => stress; anxiety; fear of not performing; guessing game; unnatural settingOpen-book, open-web (OBOW) exams are a different proposition

42. 34… examinationsTo be productive, keep a cool headRegular reflection takes the pain out of exam preparationA celebration of learning

43. 35 HelpNever suffer in silence!Help is available – make use of it…professors

44. fellow students

45. LCC Student Services36Good luck with your studies!