Question

1.

Read the case study below and choose the best possible answer to the following questions.



Keisha is a first-year student taking 15 credits. She has found out that there is a lot of work required for each class. She also sees that instructors seem to have a different way of teaching their classes and emphasizing the material. Keisha seems to be having the most trouble with her philosophy class and is finding the lecture hard to follow. She got a D on the first test and is worried. The instructor discusses many aspects of the different philosophers’ theories during the lecture and is asking students to compare and contrast the underlying concepts. Keisha is having difficulty tying them together and is more in tune with the names of key figures, dates, and major points. Her next test is in two weeks.



1. What is one possible reason Keisha is having this difficulty?


B. Her learning style and the instructor’s teaching style conflict.
D. She is not very smart.
A. She is taking too many credits for a first-year student.
C. Philosophy is too complicated a subject for a first-year student.
2. What is something Keisha can do to improve her situation?

A. Drop the course immediately before the next exam.
B. Find a classmate who is doing well in the class and ask to copy their notes so she can study from them for the next exam.
D. Visit the instructor during office hours and explain her difficulties. Work together to find a way to maximize Keisha’s learning despite the differences in their teaching and learning styles.
C. Approach the department chair to complain about the instructor in the hopes that he will be forced to change his teaching style.
3. What is one thing Keisha should NOT do when preparing for her next exam?

D. Visit her instructor during office hours.
C. Join a study group.
B. Stay up all night cramming the night before.
A. Take a learning styles inventory and use the results to employ her own preferences, talents, and abilities to develop different ways to study and retain information.
4. Keisha took the VARK inventory and discovered she prefers to learn mainly through visual and kinesthetic modes. Which study strategy would best match these preferences?

C. Talk with others in the class to make sure her lecture notes are accurate.
B. Actively take notes while she is listening to lectures and add symbols, charts, or graphs to map out concepts.
D. Re-read her notes silently.
A. Ask her professor for permission to record lectures and listen to the recordings.

Answer 1

1. B. Her learning style and the instructor’s teaching style conflict.

While Keisha is doing better when information is presented in a clear manner (names of key figures, dates, major points), the instructor teaches about concepts that are more abstract and wants students to analyze on their own and reach answers that way. Keisha's approach is more direct than the instructor's, and that is causing her trouble.

2. D. Visit the instructor during office hours and explain her difficulties. Work together to find a way to maximize Keisha’s learning despite the differences in their teaching and learning styles.

Keisha's problem is something that definitely can and should be solved. Her visiting the instructor's office would help the instructor understand the issue and give them both an opportunity to find a solution together. The instructor could give Keisha advice, suggest some learning techniques that are a bit different than Keisha's own but are still something she could fulfill. Or, maybe, he could start using a bit different approach, which could make studying easier for other students who have similar issues.

3. B. Stay up all night cramming the night before.

Good sleep is something a student needs before an exam, so cramming all night before it is not a good idea. Besides, it is not probable that she would learn much that way. There are other things she could do, like visiting the instructor or joining a study group.

4. B. Actively take notes while she is listening to lectures and add symbols, charts, or graphs to map out concepts.

Different people have different learning preferences, and as Keisha learns through a visual mode, she should add symbols, charts and graphs to her notes to help her visualize the material and memorize it with more ease. By doing so, she shouldn't have to worry about failing anymore.