EDUC 211 Outline

THE KING'S UNIVERSITY

COURSE NUMBER:

EDUC 211

COURSE TITLE:

Educational Strategies for Learning and Life

NAME OF INSTRUCTOR:

Raymond Klassen

CREDIT WEIGHT AND WEEKLY TIME DISTRIBUTION:

credits 3 (hrs lect 3 - hrs sem 0 - hrs lab 0)

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course will focus on the awareness of self as a learner grounded in theories of learning. This course balances learning theory with the practice of developing study and self-management skills primarily for student success in higher education. Students will study strategies for academic success and explore learning styles and techniques to become an effective student. Topics for the course include strategies for goal setting, time management, memorization, reading, note taking, active listening, communicating, and healthy living focused around the ideal of authenticity and identity formation..

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Ellis, Dave & Toft, Doug & Dawson, Debra. 2016. Becoming a Master Student, 6 th edition. Toronto: Nelson Education Ltd, 2016. ISBN 978-0-17-655865-9.
Gardner, Howard. 2006. Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 978-0465024339

MARK DISTRIBUTION IN PERCENT:


Reflections	20%
Quizzes	20%
Exercises and Attendance	20%
Seminars	20%
Final	20%

	100%

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

To develop confidence and an effective “lifestyle toolbox” which can be used and expanded throughout one’s academic life.
To develop the ability to resource the facilities and supports of the University to successfully gain the most out of your University experience.
To be able to identify and actualize individual learning intelligences to engage with your learningcommunity.
To be able to develop a sense of self-reflection to continually improve.
To be able to reflect on and express the relationship between who you are and your University experience.

COURSE OUTLINE:

UNIT 1: Weeks 1 & 2: The Proactive Student
Reading: “Frames of Mind” FOM (Chapter 1); “Becoming a Master Student” BMS (Introduction)
The Big Picture / Getting Started / First Steps – ideas: transitioning to Post-Secondary – Purposes of Post-Secondary Education, Authenticity in Academia; taking a look at the semester as a whole and learning how to map out your course work for the entire semester. Planning your semester. Meeting your professors and talking to them, taking initiative. Learning about school resources. Map out your whole semester – survey all your assignments, essays and exams and identify the places in your semester where several assignments are due or tests are scheduled within a short time. Discovering your learning style.

Consider: what is success? What does success mean to you? (Acceptance by peers and profs? Good grades? Discovering personal values? Impressing parents?)
Wise Choices in University
the role of personal responsibility

Assignment: Reflection # 1, Quiz # 1 (Sept. 25), Exercises 1, 2, & 3 (Sept. 25 is a check-up date – where I will look for students who are behind, and make efforts to keep those students on pace)

Weeks 3 – 5 Unit 2 - The Organized Student, Introduction to Multiple Intelligence Theory
Readings: FOM Chapters 2 – 4; BMS chapters 2 & 3

Time Management: what it means in relationship to Authenticity
goals and their relationship to Authenticity
Strategies for planning and success – Making room for self-directed growth
Self-motivation and Authenticity (page 77-79, On Course)
Ways to get the most out of NOW/staying focused (page 128, On Course)
Our relationship with screens: making the screen serve you.
Lingering doubts about intelligence, Gardiner’s criticism of intelligence in the Western Tradition.

Assignments: Exercises 4 & 5 (Oct. 16 is a check-up date – where I will look for students who are behind, and make efforts to keep those students on pace)

Weeks 6 – 8 (Oct. 19 – Nov. 6): Unit 3 - The Interdependent Student, Multiple Intelligences applications
Readings: BMS chapters 4 & 5

Communication: What, How and Why
Understanding and developing emotional intelligence; understanding emotional intelligence.
Drawing boundaries: managing conflict, Saying “No!”
Authenticity and Academia
Multiple Intelligence Theory: Are the natural sciences and social sciences so far apart?

Assignments: Reflection # 2, Quiz # 2 (Nov. 6), Exercises 6, 7, & 8 (Nov. 6 is a check-up date – where I will look for students who are behind, and make efforts to keep those students on pace)

Weeks 9 – 11 (Nov. 9 – Nov. 27): Unit 4 - Chapters 5 – 10 of Gardiner’s “Frames of Mind”
Reading: FOM, chapters 5 - 9
Group-led seminars: Chapters 5 – 9 of Gardner’s “Frames of Mind”
- Each week contains a lecture on the last class of the week; students (in groups of 3 or 4 students) will lead ½ classes on the six chapters of the Gardiner book. Generally, the task will be to outline the key points of the presented chapter, and raise critical concerns with the text.
Assignment: Group-led seminars; Chapter summaries for those students studying remotely; exercises 9, 10, 11, & 12.

Weeks 13 & 14 (Nov. 30 – Dec. 11) - The Education and Application of Multiple Intelligences, final exam preparation

The implications for Multiple Intelligences for Education
Multiple Intelligences and Authenticity
Self-awareness, Multiple Intelligence, and the Good Life.
Private, Social, and Political Life

Assignment: Reflection # 3, Quiz # 3 (Dec. 7)

Required texts, assignments, and grade distributions may vary from one offering of this course to the next. Please consult the course instructor for up to date details.