Question

1. 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.

What is one possible reason Keisha is having this difficulty?
A.Her learning style and the instructor’s teaching style conflict.
B. She is taking too many credits for a first-year student.
C. Philosophy is too complicated a subject for a first-year student.
D. She is not very smart.
2. What is something Keisha can do to improve her situation?
A. Approach the department chair to complain about the instructor in the hopes that he will be forced to change his teaching style.
B. 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. 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. Drop the course immediately before the next exam.
3. What is one thing Keisha should NOT do when preparing for her next exam?
A. Join a study group
B. Stay up all night cramming the night before.
C.Visit her instructor during office hours
D. 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.

Answer 1

A.Her learning style and the instructor’s teaching style conflict.

It's clear that Kesha and her instructor have two different teaching style: Kesha is in tune with the names of key figures, dates, and major points, while his teacher tries to compare and contrast various concepts in order to make students understand those concepts.
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B. 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.

While it is clear that there are some differences, it does not mean that Kesha must fail her class. Visiting the instructor during office hours and talk with him about her difficulties could make her life much simpler. Together they can find a way to help Kesha with her problem and pass the class with a straight A.
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B. Stay up all night cramming the night before.

If there is one thing that Kesha should not do, it is staying up all night cramming the night before. This method of study is inefficient and does not pay off in the long run. There are a lot of things that Kesha can do, besides visiting her instructor, such as joining a study group, for example.