Transcript Core Skills for Social Scientists.

Core Skills for Social
Scientists.
Week One.
Learning styles and Getting
the most out of Lectures
Learning Typologies 1




What is a typology?
based on cognitive psychology
Honey & Mumford (1986) – behaviourist
applied psychologist
personality types – similar to DISC model
in HR – assumption relationship between
individual learner, learning needs and
personality type
Learning Typologies 2





Four types
Activist:
Reflector
Theorists
Pragmatist
Learning Typologies 3




3 Types
Auditory
Visual
Kinesthetic






Auditory
Learners
benefit most from traditional teaching
techniques.
Ie traditional lecture style
succeed when directions are read aloud,
speeches are required, or information is
presented verbally.
may have difficulty with reading and writing
tasks.
often do better talking work through with a costudent or a lecturer
may benefit from using a tape recorder to listen
over what was said in the lecture.
Visual
Learners








"Show me and I'll understand."
benefit from diagrams, charts, pictures, films, and
written directions.
will value to-do lists, powerpoint slides and written
notes or handouts.
two subchannels - linguistic and spatial.
like to learn through written language, such as
reading and writing tasks.
like to write down directions and pay better attention
to lectures if they watch them.
Often have difficulty with written language and do
better with charts, demonstrations, videos, and
other visual materials.
easily visualize faces and places by using their
Kinesthetic Learners







touching, feeling, experiencing the material at hand
most successful when totally engaged with the
learning activity.
acquire information fastest when participating in a
practical lab, drama presentation, field trip, dance,
or other active activity.
two subchannels - kinesthetic (movement) and
tactile (touch)
tend to lose concentration if there is little or no
external stimulation or movement.
When reading scan the material first then focus in
on the details (get the big picture first).
use color highlighters and take notes by drawing
pictures, diagrams, or doodling.
When you..
Visual
Auditory
Kinesthetic & Tactile
Spell
Do you try to see the word?
Do you sound out the word or use a
phonetic approach?
Do you write the word down to find if it
feels right?
Talk
Do you sparingly but dislike listening for too
long? Do you favor words such as
see, picture, and imagine?
Do you enjoy listening but are impatient
to talk? Do you use words such
as hear, tune, and think?
Do you gesture and use expressive
movements? Do you use words
such as feel, touch, and hold?
Concentrate
Do you become distracted by untidiness or
movement?
Do you become distracted by sounds or
noises?
Do you become distracted by activity
around you?
Do you forget names but remember faces or
remember where you met?
Do you forget faces but remember
names or remember what you
talked about?
Do you remember best what you did
together?
Do you prefer direct, face-to-face, personal
meetings?
Do you prefer the telephone?
Do you talk with them while walking or
participating in an activity?
Do you like descriptive scenes or pause to
imagine the actions?
Do you enjoy dialog and conversation or
hear the characters talk?
Do you prefer action stories or are not a
keen reader?
Do something
new at
work
Do you like to see demonstrations,
diagrams, slides, or posters?
Do you prefer verbal instructions or
talking about it with someone
else?
Do you prefer to jump right in and try it?
Put something
togethe
r
Do you look at the directions and the
picture?
Need help with
a
comput
er
applica
tion
Do you seek out pictures or diagrams?
Meet someone
again
Contact
people
on
busine
ss
Read
Do you ignore the directions and figure it
out as you go along?
Do you call the help desk, ask a
neighbor, or growl at the
computer?
Do you keep trying to do it or try it on
another computer?
Making Effective Lecture
Notes




to keep a record of the topics and themes
that were presented in the lecture
to define an area of knowledge or a
particular research question or sociological
problem
aid to memory and concentration
To flag up areas that we need to improve
our understanding of.
Can I use my friend's notes?




there is no substitute for your own notes
your own participation and engagement with
the lecture enhances comprehension and
ability to memorise the material
While taking notes you may also think of
other relevant theories or perspectives
your friend’s lecture notes will be a poor
substitute for your own.
Making Useable notes.




notes of the main ideas or questions
theories that can be applied to those
ideas or questions.
important quotes or definitions of key
sociological concepts
use a system of abbreviations,
symbols or acronyms
Abbreviations, Symbols and
Acronyms












e.g. for example;
> greater than;
i.e. that is;
< less than;
c.f. compare with;
= equal to;
 not equal to;
re concerning;
. ‘. Therefore;
C. Century
 increases
 decreases
Shorthand





Devise your own Shorthand- for
example
‘government’ can become 'govt',
‘Marxist’ can become ‘Mxst’,
‘functionalist’ can become 'funcst‘
‘Durkheim’ can become ‘Drkm’.
Organising lecture notes.




rank the information hierarchically.
use spider diagrams
also use coloured highlighters or
underlining to emphasize key points.
be consistent. Your notes will be
much easier to use if you stick to the
same system.
Problems in the lecture.






aim to sit as near to the front of the lecture hall
If you get left behind, do not try to catch up--leave a
space in your notes with a mark in the margin to
indicate that something is missing
Read something relevant after the lecture
Keep a record of theories, perspectives concepts
and definitions,
After the lecture, look through your notes
If you are struggling ASK FOR HELP!
Next Week



Understanding academic writing
Critical/analytical thinking
Brainstorming ideas