University of Phoenix
General Studies 300
Skills for Professional Development
Jackie A. Giuliano, Ph.D.
Instructor
"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to
draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts
of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary
truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits
oneself, then providence moves too.
All sorts of things occur to help one that would never
otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events
issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all
manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and
material assistance, which no [one] could have dreamed
would have come [their] way.
Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
Begin it now."
Goethe
Skills for Professional Development
GEN 300
Workshop #2
Workshop 2 Agenda
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Analyze and identify personal learning styles.
Research Skills
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Team Skills
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Recognize the team development process.
Written Communication Skills
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Utilize online search techniques.
Identify the steps of the writing process.
Identify writing mechanics.
Demonstrate an understanding of University of
Phoenix resources
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(e.g., the Writing Lab).
Due in Workshop 2
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Read Chapters 5 and 6 in Peak Learning
Complete the learning styles exercises and Learning Style Profile
in Chapter 5 of “Peak Learning."
Read “Getting Started” in Tools for Teams
Read “Goal Setting and Time Management” in Keys to Success
Read University of Phoenix materials: “Essay Writing,”
“Boolean Basics,” “The Writing Process”
Team Charter
Little, Brown Search Team Activity
The following parts of the Course Paper are due:
a) Outline, b) Preliminary bibliography c) Section 1 Draft
Did You Plan Ahead Early?
• Most of you expressed “time management”
as one of your fears and obstacles
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the first step in managing your time is learning
to control your time and responsibilities through
planning and scheduling. How many of you:
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carefully went over the materials to determine what
was due next week and budgeted your time
accordingly?
planned (using your datebook) when you would do
the work?
waited until the weekend and then said “oh my God!”
A word of advice
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I asked everyone to send me an email in the next day
or two checking in and supplying me with your
address for class communication
Most of you didn’t do it. I got a few by the weekend.
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When an instructor gives you an assignment, DO IT!
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Lack of response suggests
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Couldn’t care less
Wasn’t / Doesn’t listen
How Did You Practice/Apply The Techniques
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for school
home
workplace
other
what was your experience?
Team Meeting
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Turn in Learning Team Logs
Turn in Learning Team Charter.
How did it go?
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Location
Dynamics
Roles / Responsibilities
Importance of Writing Skills
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What do you know about writing?
What do you want to learn about writing?
Group Exercise
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Interview each of your classmates and find out
what they learned about their learning style
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Use the Recall Pattern style of note taking
5 minutes or so per interview and then switch
Then find another classmate
What kind of learner are they?
How are they going to apply what they learned?
Paper/Presentation Evaluation Criteria
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PAPER
Thoroughness of Research
Organization
Appropriate mix of theory
and practice
Complexity and Depth
appropriate to audience
Well reasoned
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Good use of language
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PRESENTATION
Use of handouts and visual
aids
Organization and
preparation by presenters
Adherence to time
constraints
Complexity and Depth
appropriate to audience
Allocation of responsibility
to group members
Course Paper THIS ASSIGNMENT REPLACES ALL
INDIVIDUAL PAPERS ASSIGNED IN THE COURSE MODULE.
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Prepare a 2500 – 3000 word paper on the topic of
adult learning for the course.
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The work should be based on the textbooks, class discussions,
personal experience, and research. You will develop the paper in
stages based on the writing process we discuss in class in order to
model a process that you can use for all your academic and
professional work.
The paper will have four sections:
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Reasons for Returning to School and Personal Goals
Personal Strengths, Weaknesses, and Learning Style
Adult Learning Theory
How all of the above contributes to helping you make a
difference in the world
The Writing Process
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Think about what you are going to write
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Outlining
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understand the problem thoroughly
brainstorm (mind map or recall pattern)
initial research
more brainstorming
more research
30% to 40% spent in this stage
putting your brainstorming into form
Writing
Reading and Revising
Edit
Publish
Characteristics of Good Writing
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Good Introduction with clearly stated purpose
Focused
Clearly defined point of view
Clearly stated assumptions
Link between theory and practical experience
Well reasoned
Relevant / Organized
Consider the Reader/Audience
Well researched and referenced
Use of Standard Writing Conventions
Learning Team Issues and Challenges
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What is the value of diversity in a learning team?
How does the learning team impact the way you
learn?
How will your learning team experience be applicable
in the workplace?
What are some of the challenges that will surface?
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It is normal for all newly formed Learning
Teams to go through an adjustment process
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Forming, storming, norming, and performing
Barriers to the group process
Groupthink
Constructive vs. destructive conflict
Conflict resolution
Task and interpersonal roles
The various roles people play
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(mediator, leader, etc.)
Discussion Questions
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What is your team environment at your workplace?
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What role(s) do you typically play within a team?
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Will you have to change your style to be effective in
your Learning Team, or will your style be useful?
Active Learning
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Before the learning experience or event
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During the learning activity
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do reading
decide what you want to learn; have goals
develop questions
be active, not passive
use mind mapping or recall pattern notes
question and discuss
be thinking ahead:“how do I need to use this”
After the learning activity
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review your notes; recopy if necessary
what questions do you have
what assignments are due next time
Sample Paper Evaluation
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Writing Evaluation Scoring Guide
Everyone has a different learning style
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It is important to understand your own
learning style
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as well as the styles of others.
Test 1: Peak and valley learning times.
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There are three benefits to knowing your peak and
valley times for learning and to adjusting your
learning efforts accordingly:
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You will enjoy learning more when you are in the mood
for it.
You will learn faster and more naturally because you will
not be fighting your body's resistance due to fatigue or
discomfort.
You will make better use of your valley times by doing
things other than trying to learn.
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Test 2: Bottom Up or Top Down?
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Bottom up, stringers:
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Likes to tackle new topics by first laying a
solid foundation. Prefers to master specific
details before moving on to more general
concepts.
Top down, groupers:
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Prefers to gain an overall perspective
before filling in the details. Looks for big
ideas, basic concepts, and organizing
principles.
Test 3: Four Learning Quadrants
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Style A:
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Style B:
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Characteristics include a reliance on procedure, order, and stability, and an
affinity for turning answers into actions rather than into questions and
theories as A types do. Style B people are more verbal and intuitive than A
types.
Style C:
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Characteristics include a devotion to identifying the facts, a logical
approach to problem solving, an affinity for reducing complex issues into
simple decisions, and distrust of intuition and emotion.
Characteristics include a sensitivity to moods, atmospheres, and attitudes;
an awareness of things as a process rather than pieces of information; and
logic and theory taking precedence over feeling and experiencing.
Style D:
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Characteristics include a predisposition for originality, ambiguity, and
surprise; enjoying challenges; doing well in chaos; and resistance to
coming to final decisions.
Test 4: Personal Intelligences
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Linguistic:
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Logical-mathematical:
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Characteristics include thinking in words,
good auditory skills, enjoyment of language,
and learning best by hearing and/or seeing the
words.
Characteristics include conceptual thinking,
an affinity for relationships and patterns,
enjoyment of the computer, and liking
brainteasers that require reason.
Spatial:
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Characteristics include an affinity for images
and pictures, such as puzzles, and an ability
to draw and design things accurately.
More Multiple Intelligences
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Musical:
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Bodily-kinesthetic:
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Characteristics include processing information through body
sensations, communicating through gestures, the need to move to learn,
and learning well by association with emotional responses.
Intrapersonal:
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Characteristics include remembering melodies and liking music in the
background while learning.
Characteristics include shyness in groups, awareness of goals and
dreams, and motivation to do well.
Interpersonal:
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Characteristics include being a socializer, enjoying games with others,
and demonstrating empathy.
“New “ Intelligences
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Added by Howard Gardner in his 1999 book,
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Naturalist Intelligence
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Expertise in recognizing and classifying many species;
extensive knowledge of the living world; talent for
interacting subtly with various living creatures.
Spiritual Intelligence
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“Intelligence Reframed, Multiple Intelligences for the 21st
Century”
The potential to explore the nature of existence
(Cosmologists, religious leaders, philosophers).
Existential Intelligence
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The capacity to locate oneself with respect to the furthest
reaches of the cosmos and the related capacity to locate
oneself with respect to such concepts as the significance
of life, the meaning of death, the fate of worlds, love of
another, or immersion in art.
Online Search Techniques
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Search Engines
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Discussion Questions
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Boolean searches
Wildcard searches
When would a Boolean search be most appropriate?
When would you use a Wildcard search?
How might different learning styles approach online
searching differently?
Integrating Question
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How do different learning styles come into play with team
interaction?
Paraphrasing: The author’s thoughts in your words
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1
Read the original carefully
Substitute words and rearrange sentences
Ask yourself about precise meanings
Check the meaning of your paraphrase against
the original
Identify the source you are paraphrasing
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1
Bazerman, Charles, The Informed Writer, Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston, 1989.
Example
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The original:
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The paraphrase: replacing synonyms
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“Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a
new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men
are created equal.” A. Lincoln
Eighty-seven years before today, our political and spiritual ancestors created in
North America a country that did not exist before, thought of in freedom and
devoted to establishing the principle that all people are born with the same
rights.
The paraphrase: restructuring the sentence
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In creating a country that did not exist before, in North America eighty-seven
years before today, our political and spiritual ancestors were thinking of how to
make freedom a reality. Their creation was devoted to establishing the principle
that all people are born with the same rights.
When to paraphrase
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To explain simply
To interpret the text
To restate the case
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Exercises
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Judge not, that ye be not judged (Jesus
Christ)
Pleasure is brief as a flash of lightning,
or like an autumn shower, only for a
moment (Buddha)
Nothing can harm a good man, either in
life or after death (Socrates)
We have a terrible confusion about our
place in nature (Ynestra King)
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Knowledge Is Messy!
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You can’t always find what you are looking for.
What you find may be contradictory or confusing.
You may uncover wonderful surprises and find ideas
and information you had no idea existed.
When you read one book, it all seems clear.
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But when you check out a second author, you have to make
sense of the diverse statements you will find.
Achieving a Synthesis
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Frame the subject
Gather material from varied sources
Fitting the parts together
Unifying the style
Due Next Time
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Read Chapter 7 in Peak Learning
Read “Critical and Creative Thinking” in Keys to
Success
Read “Getting to Results” in Tools for Teams
Research Skills Activity
Note Taking Exercise
Course Paper:
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Draft of Section 2/Rewrites of Section 1
Learning Team Charter
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with Dispute Resolution Strategies
Recall Pattern
Mind Map