IT5010-Advanced Learning and Study Skills

Lecture-03
Learning Styles – Part2

IT5010| ALSS| Learning Styles| Anjalie Gamage

 Learning: Student’s Side
• Studying a degree for the qualification and not being
interested in the subject
• Not focusing on academic areas, but emphasizing others
(e.g. social, sport)
• Lacking background knowledge and understanding
necessary to understand material
• Not enough time / too high a workload
• Cynical view of education, believing that factual recall is
what is required

IT5010| ALSS| Learning Styles| Anjalie Gamage

 Learning: Expectations
• Having an intrinsic curiosity in the subject
• Being determined to do well and mentally engaging
when doing academic work
• Having the appropriate background knowledge for a
sound foundation
• Having time to pursue interests, through good time
management
• Positive experience of education leading to
confidence in ability to understand and succeed

IT5010| ALSS| Learning Styles| Anjalie Gamage

Blooms Taxonomy

IT5010| ALSS| Learning Styles| Anjalie Gamage

Blooms Taxonomy

IT5010| ALSS| Learning Styles| Anjalie Gamage

Surface and Deep Learning
• Surface Learning is often short term
memorising
• Deep Learning is more long-term learning
and comes from understanding and
internalising something. It is more ‘real’
in that deep learning is less likely to be
forgot

IT5010| ALSS| Learning Styles| Anjalie Gamage

Surface and Deep Learning
memorizing
note-taking
Surface Learning
describing
explaining
relating
applying
theorizing

Deep Learning

IT5010| ALSS| Learning Styles| Anjalie Gamage

Reflective Practice
• In order to learn effectively it is not enough
to simply have an experience
• In order to maximise the learning potential
of the situation before it is lost, we need to
reflect on the experience
• Reflecting is an important stage of the PDP
process
• You need to reflect in order to improve and
develop your skills and knowledge; the idea
is that you learn from your successes and
mistakes

IT5010| ALSS| Learning Styles| Anjalie Gamage

Reflective
Practice

• Gibbs' reflective
cycle is a process
involving six
steps

IT5010| ALSS| Learning Styles| Anjalie Gamage

Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle
• Description
• Feelings
• Evaluation
• Analysis
• Conclusion
• Action Plan

IT5010| ALSS| Learning Styles| Anjalie Gamage

Writing- A

IT5010| ALSS| Learning Styles| Anjalie Gamage

Writing- B

Which of the above is more reflective ?

IT5010| ALSS| Learning Styles| Anjalie Gamage

IT5010| ALSS| Learning Styles| Anjalie Gamage
Feedback

IT5010| ALSS| Learning Styles| Anjalie Gamage

 Personal Development Planning
• PDP is creating a long term goal for your career (life)
and plan how to achieve it
• It involves you building up a record of learning
experiences, achievements, personal reflections,
feedbacks and plans for self-improvement
• The more you practise these skills, the more
developed they will become and that will improve
your grades and your sense of personal
achievement

IT5010| ALSS| Learning Styles| Anjalie Gamage

 Personal Development Planning
• PDP is driven by:
• Reflecting & Feedback: on past skills
gained, on successes and failures
• Planning: how you are going to develop
the skills that you want or need in order to
complete your degree, follow a specific
career or achieve a personal goal

IT5010| ALSS| Learning Styles| Anjalie Gamage

Motivation and Goal Setting
• To be motivated, you need to have a goal
• No one else can force you to become
motivated; it has to come from you
• Goals can be long-term, medium-term and
short-term
• Specific, Measurable, Achievable,
Realistic, Time Bound

IT5010| ALSS| Learning Styles| Anjalie Gamage

SWOT Analysis

IT5010| ALSS| Learning Styles| Anjalie Gamage

SWOT Analysis

• A SWOT Analysis is a tool for identifying your

Strengths and Weaknesses, and for examining
the Opportunities and Threats to your goals
• SWOT Analysis helps you to focus your
activities into areas where you are strong and
where the greatest opportunities lie

IT5010| ALSS| Learning Styles| Anjalie Gamage

 SWOT Analysis
• What skills or experience do you already possess? Give
examples to evidence these if you can.
Strengths

• What do you do well?

• What do other people see as being your strengths?
Consider this from your own point of view and from
the point of view of the people who know you. Don't
be modest - be realistic.
If you are having any difficulty with this, try writing
down a list of your characteristics. Some of these will
probably be strengths.

IT5010| ALSS| Learning Styles| Anjalie Gamage

 SWOT Analysis
Weaknesses • What could you improve on?
• What do you do badly?
• What should you avoid?
• Do other people consider you to have weaknesses
that you do not agree with? Why do they think that?
• Do you see weaknesses in yourself that others do
not see as being a problem?

IT5010| ALSS| Learning Styles| Anjalie Gamage

 SWOT Analysis
• What resources are available to you?
Opportunities
• Consider the networking opportunities that will be
available to you. How will you make best use of these?
• What are the interesting trends you are aware of in the
graduate employment market?
• How can you develop yourself according to these?
• Are there any other learning opportunities, in addition
to those offered by your degree programme, that you
are interested in exploring?

IT5010| ALSS| Learning Styles| Anjalie Gamage

 SWOT Analysis
• What obstacles do you face?
Threats
• Could any of your weaknesses seriously threaten
your opportunities? What are they?
• Do you have past experience of trying and failing
to achieve your goals?

IT5010| ALSS| Learning Styles| Anjalie Gamage

Planning
• Exploit the opportunities and overcome
weaknesses
• Tabulate goals
• Goal, Actions (Measurable), Due date,
Support needed/barriers to overcome,
other notes

IT5010| ALSS| Learning Styles| Anjalie Gamage

Action Plan Performa
Target Priority By when What specific actions are needed? Progress notes Decision
How are you getting on? Done / Continue?
Are any changes needed?

e.g. Improve writing High by mid Feb Take a look at resources like 'Writing for University Better, but still have questions Ask for help in the
skills, especially how to Courses' and 'Referencing and Bibliographies' about referencing. Learning Centre
do referencing. Might need to see someone for
help.

IT5010| ALSS| Learning Styles| Anjalie Gamage

The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability
to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn
is a choice...
Brian Herbert

Thank you !
anjalie.g@sliit.lk

IT5010| ALSS| Learning Styles| Anjalie Gamage