Assignment Preview
Title: The Biology of Learning
Assignment Goals
Source Material
Student Instructions
Guiding Questions
Writing Prompt
Calibrations, Average Word Count, and Answer Keys
Assignment Goals
For this assignment the student is asked to:
1. Understand the difference between information and knowledge.
2. Carefully consider the brain changes that accompany learning and how
best to facilitate these changes.
3. Understand the two components of learning.
4. Understand how repetition and elaboration aid memory.
5. Take the Learning Styles Survey and establish what your learning style is.
Consider new study methods and strategies suggested by the Learning
Styles Survey.
6. Review the methods and strategies of study and apply them to your
particular learning style.
Write an essay that relates the learning biology of your brain to the study
methods and strategies you use. Discuss how you might change, organize,
or otherwise improve your study strategies in light of any new knowledge
gained from the"Biology of Learning," "Learning Styles Survey" and other
assigned resources.
Source Material
"The Biology of Learning" by Dr. Stephen Londe is the main resource and is
the basis of the assignment.
DVC Online Learning Style Survey for College
(http://www.metamath.com/lsweb/dvclearn.htm) This resource was
prepared by learning specialists at Diablo Valley College. You are asked to
take the Learning Styles Survey to see what kinds of things might help you
assimilate and comprehend course material.
Sleep web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeping An interesting
overview of the "science" of sleep with some additional references.
"The Brain from top to bottom"
http://www.thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/index_d.html
epecially important: memory
http://www.thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/i/i_07/i_07_cr/i_07_cr_tra/i_07_cr_
tra.htm#2 This is a good website about the brain and its function. It is
written at several levels and is a great introduction to this complex field.
"How Not to Plagiarize" - Here's a brief overview on plagiarism and how not
to do it. URL: http://http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/plagsep.html
"Tips for Writing Essays" - A short and VERY basic primer for proper essay
construction. A paragraph (which is what you are to write in THIS
assignment) is much like an essay, but the first sentence introduces the
concept, each following sentence develops your arguments, and the final
sentence is a conclusion. URL:
http://www.infoplease.com/homework/hwessays.html
Raims, Ann: "Keys for Writers". 4th Edition; Boston, Houghton Mifflin
Company; March 30, 2004. A very good general writing manual reference for
all writing. (Optional)
Source Material Resources:
The Biology of Learning - assignment resource
URL:
http://cpr.molsci.ucla.edu/cpr/data/institutions/901229/0621084959/062208508090/per
Biology of Learning June 06.pdf
DVC Online Style Survey for College - his resource was prepared by learning specialists at Dia
asked to take the Learning Styles Survey to see what kinds of things might help you assimila
material.
URL: http://www.metamath.com/lsweb/dvclearn.htm
The Brain from top to bottom - The Brain from top to bottom www.thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/i
important: URL http://www.thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/i/i_07/i_07_cr/i_07_cr_tra/i_07_cr_t
website about the brain and its function. It is written at several levels and is a great introduc
URL: http://www.thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/index_d.html
The Brain: How Memory Works - The Brain from top to bottom Especially important:Memory
the brain and its function. It is written at several levels and is a great introduction to this com
URL: http://www.thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/i/i_07/i_07_cr/i_07_cr_tra/i_07_cr_tra.htm#2
Sleep Website - An interesting overview of the "science" of sleep with some additional refere
URL: http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeping
Tips for Writing Essays - Tips for Writing Essays - A short and VERY basic primer for proper e
paragraph (which is what you are to write in THIS assignment) is much like an essay, but th
concept, each following sentence develops your arguments, and the final sentence is a concl
URL: http://www.infoplease.com/homework/hwessays.html
How Not to Plagiarize - Here's a brief overview on plagiarism and how not to do it. This will b
eCOmpanion: The website is www.utoronto.ca/writing/plagsep.html
URL: http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/plagsep.html
HTML formatting for CPR - - This is a short HTML primer for cpr essays.
URL: http://www.cwu.edu/~verheys/howto.html#HTML%20formatting%20with%20MS%2
Student Instructions
Your 400-1200 word essay should be based on information from the article
by Dr. Londe, "The Biology of Learning." posted on eCompanion. Make sure
you read it carefully. Take some notes or outline the information for use in
your essay.
Take the "Learning Styles Survey" and then compare the reccomended
study methods and strategies in both of these resources to your present
methods of study. Here take some notes on the study method suggestions
for use in your essay.
Describe in your essay any changes in method or strategy of study that you
might adopt based on these two resources.
Follow the Guiding questions.
Think about how best to organize your essay in response to the Writing
Prompts.
Check your essay completeness by doing a preliminary calibration using the
calibration questions, which are posted on eCompanion.
Guiding Questions
1. What is the difference between information and knowledge?
2. What is learning and what are the two components of learning?
3. What are the changes in the brain brought about by the process of
learning?
4. What are the two main strategies of remembering?
5. What are short-term, long-term, and working memory?
6. What are the study methods suggested to facilitate learning?
7. What are some strategies to facilitate learning, make learning
more efficient, and provide the best conditions for learning?
Writing Prompt
Write a short essay of 400 - 5000 WORDS briefly summarizing the biology of
learning and how it might affect your personal strategies for performing
well at the college level. Be sure to use your own words -- don't just cut and
paste from the articles (that is plagiarism and will result in automatic F with
additional serious academic consequences!). Address all the issues raised in
the writing prompt. Ensure you INCLUDE EACH of the following in your final
(submitted) essay in separate paragraphs.
The grading scheme will address the topics and how they're presented, and
you will lose points if you fail to follow instructions properly.
Write the essay according to the general guidelines provided. Keep this at
hand for frequent referral as necessary. Your essay should clearly
demonstrate that you have read and understood the source material. Use
the calibration questions posted for you on eCompanion to assess
completness of your essay before submitting it.
1. Summarize the main points in the article "The Biology of Learning."
Explain how brain biology relates to methods of study especially your
present methods of study. Explain what new methods you might use.
2. Take the "Learning Styles Survey" and include in your essay, strategies
you might employ to do well in college. If you already use all these
strategies, indicate which ones have worked well for you in the past.
3. Add any of your own ideas to this mix. It is important for you to express
your ideas, find a common theme for your introduction, and then organize it
all logically. Creativity is prized.
4. Use some of the information in the "Biology of Learning" and the
"Learning Styles Survey" as they relate to you and explain how you might
add to or change your study habits.
5. Do the web sites on sleep and the brain add any useful information?
Include it in your discussion.
6. In summary, there should be about FIVE OR MORE PARAGRAPHS:
Introductory, "Biology of Learning" including information and how it relates
to the your study methods, "Learning Styles Survey" including information
and how it relates to the your study methods, a paragraph containing
pertinent information from the a sleep and brain website, and finally a
summary or conclusion paragraph.
7. After you have written the first full draft, review it to be sure that the
paragraph subjects are included in the first paragraph main theme and that
there is a smooth and logical transition.
8. End with an appropriate summary or conclusion.
9. Answer the calibration questions posted for you on eCompanion to assess
you essay before submitting it.
10. Remember "SAVING" just saves the material for further writing and
editing. You must format it in HTML and "SUBMIT" it for final credit.
Remember to HIT "PREVIEW TEXT" to see that it looks right! To format it
(see SMC CPR Student Handout section on "Formatting Essays").
Calibrations and Answer Keys
n.b The Calibration Questions are the same for the calibration essays and
the review essays. They follow below. The instructor answers have been
removed for the calibration essays.
Average Calibration Word Count = 634
High Quality Calibration
The connection between how the brain works and how we learn is amazing,
but should not be surprising. The article on the biology of learning describes
education as "brain training" and gives a lot of scientific information about
how the brain works when challenged with learning exercises. The DVC
Learning Styles site gives more specific personal information about how
best each of us studies. The resources on the brain and on sleep add
additional interesting information about both these subjects and how
scientists work. Knowing more about all of these will help students do well
in college.
The article on the biology of learning starts out with the observation that
definitions are important and that learning is the process of turning
information into knowledge. I never thought about the difference between
information and knowledge before. That process of learning has two steps
"understanding" and "remembering." It is certainly clear that biology has a
lot of new vocabulary and that it is most important that we understand the
definitions in order to understand the underlying biology. The basics of
learning, "repetition" and "elaboration" seem to come directly from how the
brain nerves or neurons interact and I now have a better understanding of
short-term, working, and long-term memory. I have a lot of experience in
learning something in a lecture or reading the book and then not
remembering an hour later. Considering education as "brain training" helps
me understand the value of learning information and ideas that may never
be of practical value to me but helps in developing my abilities.
The learning article continues with how to convert information in short-term
memory into long term memory by repetition and elaboration, "use it or lose
it." I usually read the text first after the lecture, and then once again a
couple of days before the exam. On the second reading I take some notes
and compare them with the lecture notes. But I am definitely a "crammer"
and study up to the last minute. I have noticed that I quickly forget a lot of
what I learn for a test and that especially hurts when I have to re-study a
lot for a final exam. I will try to read my text and take notes before the
lectures and use time between classes instead of just in big chunks at night.
This may save me time, be more efficient and help with understanding
lectures. I have also noticed that it is easier to learn subjects I am
interested in and unfortunately science is not on the list, at least not yet.
The DVC Learning Styles site was very interesting and helpful. There are
four learning styles: Visual/Verbal, Visual/Nonverbal, Tactile/Kinesthetic,
and Auditory/Verbal. I tested out as a Visual/Verbal style learner so they
say I should write out the information I want to learn, use flash cards for
memorization and explain diagrams and concepts in writing. I do some of
this now but I plan to do this in a more organized and deliberate way and
start with my first reading of the text. The article on learning also suggests
that we verbilize and work with other students. I have not done this much
before but I will try it this semester. I could be more efficient with my time
and be more dedicated to education. I seem to be very busy, so I will have
to re-think my approach to some things.
The web site on sleep is very interesting and I was surprised that rote
memory is not affected by the lack of sleep. Maybe this is why my strategy
of cramming sometimes works for me. The brain web site is also interesting
but you have to know a lot before you actually can use the information
there.
If a student knows their learning style, studies appropriately, and takes
advantage of the available resources, then they can go into an exam and say
"I've done my part; it's out of my hands now." Learning about the biology of
learning has helped me to understand what I need to do to improve my
study habits and succeed in college. It also makes me less resistant to
learning material that seems not useful to me. There is no such thing as
wasted learning as it all "trains my brain." I also believe that these skills
will translate to success in the "real world" once I graduate. So, I'll use the
techniques that worked well for me in the past and I'll try some other
learning style methods to maybe improve my efficiency and accuracy so that
I can adjust to a new climate of learning. My life's never been busier, but I
can adjust my priorities and try to uncomplicate my life to ensure my
success in school.
Mid Quality Calibration
Everyone knows that learning is "biological" since people do it. But learning
is quite different between the K through 12 public education system and a
tuition-based forum like college, it's important to make the most of your
time and money. You can do this by studying extra-hard and being sure you
stay on top of tasks. The resources for this assignment delve into the
biological and common sense methods to learn.
The "Biology of Learning" article was long and preachy and really didn't give
any new information that a person wouldn't already know from common
sense. It is basically a long, detailed list of "Do's and Don'ts" for college
success. In its 8 pages of its length, the article shows basically what we
already know; that studying is something you have to do to pass.
Elaboration and repetition is really what everyone does to study so there is
nothing new there and that is what the rest of it is about The more you
study, the better you are. College students just have to make studying a
part of their daily routine.
There was new information in terms of brain cells and the actual biology of
learning, which helped when trying to use the brain website. It seems a lot
of time and money are spent on trying to explain the details of a concept
that everyone already understands. Perhaps it is motivational to some
students to understand how learning a new idea requires building neural
networks. It could help some students to understand that analogies are
helpful because they relate the new information to neural networks that are
already established.
The learning skills inventory provided some new techniques that could be
useful for me. The ways people learn are varied, and there were some new
techniques that might make studying more efficient. By answering
questions about personal preferences, the survey makes specific
suggestions about ways of studying that are individualized. For my part, the
text provides the tool for me to use as a learning aid. I learn best in a
Visual/Verbal format. Since I am not an Auditory/Verbal learner, I
sometimes lose my concentration during lectures, and I don't always get all
the information. I will try reading the text in advance so I have some
neurons ready to focus on the information. With a text, I can re-read the
information if it doesn't make sense. I usually underline the text and take
notes. My notes are organized for self-testing for definitions and factual
things like that. The learning survey suggests post-it notes and flash cards
that I may try. All these techniques seem to fit the repetition and
elaboration process. The terminology section of the text in the back has
always been helpful to me. There are too many words in biology and
medicine, and so different ways to study these and practice them will be
important.
It is one thing to tell a student to get a good night's sleep and quite another
when the student has a huge test to study for. The sleep web site just
reinforced my method of cramming because it says that lack of sleep
doesn't affect rote memory. I can't help it; I study late before a test. The
brain website seemed like a waste of time for this assignment and here
again time was a factor.
In summary, there are some strategies a person can use to maximize their
score in this course. Common sense will probably be enough, but that will
serve better if you're well aware of other resources that you can use to
practice the material. If you do everything right and cram a few last minute
details, you will do well. Not everything in this assignment applies to me,
but at least there were some things that I can use to succeed. I've got lots
of work to do, and I've got a busy job. I'll try to read the text before class,
come to class, and try to do all the assignments.
Low Quality Calibration
The assigned readings show that learning is a biologic process that involves
changes in the brain. The article on the biology of learning describes some
study methods that bring about this process. The DVC Learning Styles
Survey tells you what kind of learner you are and follows with some study
methods too.
Dr. Londe's article made me think about learning in a new way as well. It
makes sense that understanding and remembering are organic, biological
processes. It hadn't occurred to me that the structure of our brains changes
as we think and learn but it's hard now to imagine that the brain would
behave like a brick or a box, with information simply contained within it.
The "use it or lose it" idea also makes sense because that's been true in my
past experience as well.
The suggestions in this article all seem like extra work how I'll deal with the
information out of class.
Because I find using a textbook rather difficult and boring when I'm trying
to study, I found the information at the DVC Learning Styles Survey to be
enlitening. I'm a Visual/Nonverbal learner, and so though I'll read the text,
I'll use the figures more to clarify the main points. Since I've purchased my
book, I can use the margins to make notes to myself with key words and
create diagrams that help me with the more difficult passages. These
diagrams I will try and copy onto flash cards of different colors (with the
colors keyed to major topics) and use them for both organizing the
information to learn it, and then later for reveiw.
The other "strategies" don't seem easy to find time for, and I'm certain I
won't do them all. However, I can make a priority of my study and find the
time to use those techniques that actually do work. It is also clear that as
one thinks and learns "biologically," it will require work to establish the
brain connections that I will use to succeed in Bio 3. I find that I learn best
by writing a summary of important topics and then repeating them aloud.
Sometimes I, use flash cards especially for new words. This will be
especially helpful in Bio 3. Also, I sometimes write questions on flash cards
with the answers on the back. Diagrams help me understand the ideas and
flashcards help. That way I can see if I know the answers. - To "Know what
I know and what I don't know" (what I need to learn).
CPR 1 Calibration Questions
These are the questions you will be required to answer when you
“calibrate” the test essays and “review” your peer's essays, and your
essay. They also provide a guide to writing this particular essay so you
can refer to them as you write and used them as a check before you
submit your final essay.
1. Does the first sentence introduce the main subject?
Yes
No
Feedback:
2. Does the first paragraph provide a theme that embraces the content
in subsequent paragraphs?
Yes
No
Feedback:
3. Does the author effectively summarize the main points of "Biology of
Learning" and make it clear that he/she read the Biology of Learning
article and understood it?
Yes
No
Feedback:
4. Does the author relate the main points of "Biology of Learning" to
their learning methods and relate any changes they might make coming
from the article?
Yes
No
Feedback:
5. Did the author take the Learning Styles Survey?
Yes
No
Feedback :
6. Does the author give an example of a Learning Styles strategy they will employ
and a description of the study methods he or she already uses? Rate the quality of
the paragraph for this purpose.
A
B
C
Feedback:
7. Did the author tie in the sleep website and include any information as it applies to
the main theme?
Yes
No
Feedback :
8. Did the author tie in the brain website and include any information as it applies to
the main theme?
Yes
No
Feedback :.
9. Overall, does each paragraph serve as a separate "chunk" of information, and yet
fall under the umbrella of the introductory paragraph? Are the paragraphs
constructed using a theme sentence followed by supporting material? Rate the
quality of this essay for this purpose.
A
B
C
Feedback :
10. Is the final paragraph written as a summary or conclusion?
Yes Y
No
Feedback :.
11. Does the final paragraph fairly reflect the major points put forward in the body
of the work as it impacts on the author?
Yes
No
Feedback :
12. Use the following scale to rate grammar and the spelling of words in the essay. If
the same word is consistently misspelled, only record that as a single error. We
interested in the effectiveness of communication not so much on grammar and
spelling unless errors interfere with comprehension. So, unless the errors interfere
with comprehension no points should be deducted from the overall score of the
essay.
None
Some (1 or 2)
Many (more than 2)
Feedback:
13. Did the author use any whole sentences or phrases copied from another source?
Did the author plagiarize?
Yes
No
Feedback:
14. How would you rate this text overall? Consider the content, writing
effectiveness, and fulfillment of the assigned writing prompts. 1-10?
Your Rating_____
Feedback :