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CHAPTER ONE: GETTING STARTED
Supposing is good, but finding out is better—Mark Twain
CHAPTER CONTENTS
•
•
•
•
Thinking About How Learning Can Change You
Being Ready for New Challenges
Knowing What Motivates You
Managing Your Time and Resources Learning is something you do every day. Every time you go to your computer to review the weather forecast, check the sports scores, or read a breaking news bulletin, you are taking basic steps in the learning process: gathering information and storing it in memory for convenient use. Learning is a natural and necessary aspect of everyday life. It’s an ordinary activity—but it holds extraordinary potential for growth and change when you pursue it with specific, intense purpose in an academic setting. Then it empowers you! We begin our book by looking at ways that learning can create meaningful change in your life.
Thinking about How Learning Can Change You
So here you are, one among many millions of adults who have chosen to go back to school to finish their college education, and you have chosen an online program to do that. Maybe you have thought about it for
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a long time, or maybe it was an impulsive decision. Perhaps it is a long overdue personal goal, or maybe it was driven by professional needs. There are lots of reasons why adults are returning to university studies in increasing numbers: fulfillment of a lifelong dream, a push from an employer, a gnawing sense of “more out there,” or even a sense of guilt at not having done it before. Regardless of how you arrived in this moment, you are here. You took the leap, and now you are looking at this book and your computer and probably wondering what you have gotten yourself into!
Though some adult students approach the return to the university with confidence and ease, as faculty at
Ashford University, it has been our collective experience that for many adult learners the task seems daunting. Well, it is and it isn’t! Every journey begins with a single step, followed by another and another.
You might be a bit rusty, but if you put one foot in front of the other, you can do this. The purpose of this book is to help you make the transition from a slightly fearful returning student to an intentional learner. Actually, you didn’t really stop learning when you stopped going to school. It is virtually impossible to live and engage in this rapidly changing world and not continue to learn. But you probably did not perceive it as “learning” per se—you
“Only29% of people over age 25 in the United were working, meeting new people, thinking about new
States have a bachelor’s degree.” ideas, helping your kids with their homework, or a list of —U.S. Census Bureau (2008) other things. But the good news is that as an adult—even if it has been years since you took a class—you are better prepared for this new experience than you may imagine. In this book, we will explore what that means and show you how to take advantage of your experiences to embrace this new learning endeavor. Collectively, we have more than seventy years of experience working with people just like you—adults who have decided to return to formal learning—and we have some great stories. We will share some of them with you as we go along. Our goal is to help you not only learn how to be an online university student but also embrace a life of intentional learning that will enrich each day.
LEARNING WITH AN EXTRAORDINARY PURPOSE
You can approach learning in an ordinary way, see it as something to be engaged in casually to accommodate new things as they occur, and hardly ever make it a structured, focused activity. Many people engage in learning primarily on this reactive level. Sociologists and others have pointed out that the steady bombardment of media in our culture contributes significantly to this passive pattern. Too often, they argue, we accept just what is presented to us rather than seizing opportunities to learn new things on our own. But, in returning to university, you are leaving this common approach to learning behind. You are embracing learning in a proactive way: You are The steady barrage of media in our taking charge of your learning. In doing so, you are pursuing a culture contributes to reactive rather than active learning higher educational goal than most people in the United States
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seek. This means that your goal (and the learning required to reach it) is not ordinary! It sets you apart and requires you to approach learning with an extraordinary purpose.
The Learning–Knowledge Cycle
It’s helpful to think of learning and knowledge in terms of their differences rather than their similarities.
Learning is a seeking/accepting activity, whereas knowledge is a possessing/knowing experience. Or, you might say, learning is an engaging process that results in knowledge. But the concept of knowledge is an ironic one: You can discover particular knowledge (claim it, possess it) at the end of a learning process, but it is invisible. You know you possess it; you can say, “OK, I got it!” But that doesn’t make it visible. Your new knowledge does not become visible until you take action based upon it—then it becomes concrete, visible to others, and fully owned for you to act on. We are all actors on the stage of knowledge every day. Another ironic aspect of knowledge should not be overlooked. When you make your new knowledge performance, the invisible stage that supports you may seem adequate, but it’s not completely secure: Obsolescence (the state of being outdated) can devour it like termites devour wood. So you have to return to learning (further learning) as a means of reinforcement, keeping your new (now‐becoming‐old) knowledge continually up‐to‐date.
Thirty years ago, it was thought that 50 percent of the skills and knowledge needed for most workplace jobs would become obsolete in twelve to fifteen years. Today, primarily because of extensive technological change, the best estimate of occupational half‐life (defined as the point at which 50 percent of skills learned for a job become obsolete) for most jobs is thirty to thirty‐six occupational months.
Consequently, the learning–knowledge cycle is an unending one.
HOW LEARNING EMPOWERS YOU
Engaging in learning with an intense purpose, rather than randomly, empowers you in three significant ways: 1. Learning allows you to gain new knowledge that enables you to understand yourself, others, and life more clearly.
2. Learning enables you to develop new skills that can be used to increase productivity in your life and in your work.
3. Learning prepares you for initiating change, allowing you to grow, adapt, and mature. Most people find that the more they learn, the easier learning becomes. Think of it as a grand adventure!
You can understand the full empowerment of learning only when you act based on what you know. When you post observations in the discussion forum of an online learning environment, for example, you are an active learner. Every time that you apply new knowledge or new skills in your workplace, family, or within yourself, with an intention to initiate change (even in a small way), you are actively learning. Whenever it is applied, learning becomes a powerful, creative force through which measurable outcomes can be demonstrated (Worksheet 1.1).
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Worksheet 1.1, Which Outcomes Are Most Important to You?
Rank
Prioritize these outcomes, listing the most important one first.
New potential for understanding yourself: Includes understanding physical abilities, cognitive (thinking) strengths, and emotional stability.
New abilities for problem solving and decision making: Includes engaging in development of values.
New perspective for innovating: Includes (1) recognizing historic and contemporary processes of conceptualization and change and (2) developing global awareness.
New basis for productivity: Includes understanding group and organizational behavior and the development and implementation of outcomes measurement.
New resources for leadership: Includes understanding culture and developing social consciousness. LIFELONG EMPOWERMENT
Learning energizes human experience and shapes meaning throughout our lifetime. From stage to stage, the learning environments will differ greatly, the emphasis may change from informal to formal, and the scope may increase from a personal to a global perspective. But life’s challenges are always with us, whether we’re dealing with childhood and personal growth, completing formal education, coping with family and societal problems, responding to technology and global change, recognizing occupational obsolescence, or adjusting to aging. It is helpful to examine the learning experience on the basis of cognitive development theory. Jean Piaget, a noted psychologist and developmental theorist, postulates the following stages of development: 1. Sensorimotor Stage—Birth to Age Two Years
(Approximately): Children begin with no thinking structures (called schemata) but develop them through exploration of their senses and experimentation on the environment. Significant learning occurs, but children in the sensorimotor stage are incapable of abstract or logical thought. 2. Preoperational Stage—Age Two Years to Seven Years
(Approximately): Children rapidly develop language skills and more sophisticated cognitive structures but are still prelogical. They are not capable of conservation (the ability to understand that substance
Jean Piaget (1896‐1989) is renowned does not change when it only changes shape or form). When water is for developing a theory on the stages poured from a tall, narrow glass to a short, wide bowl, preoperational of cognitive development children will think that there is now less water. They are also incapable of decentering (the ability to see things from another’s perspective). Preoperational children who are asked to sit at a table and draw the view from the other end of the table (from the perspective
5 of someone looking at them) cannot perform the task. Conservation and decentering are prerequisites to higher‐level learning and logical thinking.
3. Concrete Operational Stage—Ages Seven Years to Adolescence: Children begin to grasp conservation and decentering. They begin, for example, to wonder how Santa really does get to all those houses in one night. They can now reason logically but only on a concrete level, not hypothetically or abstractly. When a concrete operational child is shown a blue block and asked, “Is the block green or not green?” he or she will probably answer, “Neither, it’s blue.” The concept that blue is not green is too abstract.
4. Formal Operations Stage—Adolescence and Older: The person is now capable of sophisticated logical thought. He or she can think in the abstract, can think hypothetically, and can solve problems using the logic of combinations. It is interesting to note that research shows that only about 25 percent of adults use formal operations on a regular basis; doing so requires significant cognitive discipline in addition to mere capability (Dworetzky and Davis 1989).
Piaget’s stages ended with formal operations, but Klaus Riegel (1976) postulates a fifth stage called dialectical reasoning. This is a stage beyond logic where (in our opinion) real critical thinking lies. It is the ability to perceive the frequent paradoxes in life (to see the dialectic) and to question and analyze the assumptions that underlie the logic. Dialectical thinkers “readily recognize, accept, and even enjoy conflict and contradictions in values and possible courses of action because sorting out these conflicts forces them to grow intellectually” (Dworetzky and Davis 1989, 360).
Being Ready for New Challenges
Higher education challenges you to examine your unexamined assumptions, to think critically and logically, and to see and experience the world in new ways. It is enjoyable and exhilarating, and you can do it! In taking up these unavoidable challenges, you discover that learning obligates you to be self‐ directed and self‐motivated. It requires a conscious commitment every day and cannot be fully achieved without some personal sacrifice. You should develop your own framework for ongoing learning, identifying activities that will keep your mind active and increase your knowledge. The learning activity Worksheet 1.2 is particularly useful and important in identifying the challenges that you should tackle. List the learning activities below that you are now using: Which of the thirteen listed activities do you need to increase most?
Worksheet 1.2, What Learning Strengths Do You Already Have?
Which learning activities are you now using? Which activities do you need to increase most?
Read widely
Explore Web resources
Listen and be open to new ideas
Raise questions in face‐to‐face and Web dialogue
Accept feedback
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Reshape your ideas
Innovate and experiment to test new assumptions
Solve problems
Unlearn
Teach
Follow your intuition
Review and reflect
Seek renewal constantly
LEARNING AS A SOCIAL ACTIVITY
Historically, learning has been considered a social activity, with the classroom functioning as a place for personal interactions. Today, online learning, with its technological delivery, presents a challenge to this highly social custom. Some people, in fact, consider technologically based learning unacceptable because it does not provide sufficient social contacts.
Traditionally, the environment for formal learning has been teaching centered. Boundaries and methodologies for learning were determined by authorities, who used lectures and printed documents as primary ways to deliver/identify relevant content. This classroom‐based engagement between professor and student involved social exchange, but its primary emphasis was teaching centered. Today, this educational modality is still highly valued, and rightly so, because the wonder and workings of learning are The online learning experience can be just as social as traditional learning stimulated in face‐to‐face exchanges. With the growth of technology and the introduction of formal learning online, it was thought that this “personal” environment would have to be forgotten. Consequently, many feared that the Internet’s high‐tech, low‐touch environment would not be effective for learning. But two factors, in particular, have combined to make the online environment an attractive and resourceful environment for formal learning:
•Access to Information: As access to information through the Internet spirals upward, the environment for formal learning is becoming significantly less hierarchical. Correspondingly, the focus in formal learning is becoming more practical, with greater emphasis placed on application of knowledge. Focusing on the application of knowledge increases in importance as the rate of change increases. Therefore, the design created for formal online learning presents not only activities involving the transfer of knowledge but also opportunities for exploring actual application of knowledge. In some online courses, students are encouraged to apply theoretical concepts in their workplace settings while the course is still underway or to find Web‐based data related to the implementation of theoretical concepts learned in the course. These features increase the credibility and practicality of online learning—a desirable goal for many adult learners.
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•Social Networking: Paradoxically, “high‐touch” relationships have become common on the
Internet. There are literally millions of Web communities of people who are “learning to feel” through the Internet. Choosing to be active in social networks,
“Online, you get to know your they explore common interests—sharing experiences, students’ minds not just their faces.” imagination, and commitment in a high‐touch kind of way. —Linda Harasim
Online educational programs are examples of people linked in pursuit of common goals. Consequently, intense dialogue, creative collaboration, and strong relationships are prominent elements in their learning‐centered
(rather than teaching‐centered) environment. These two technological factors benefit you as you pursue educational goals online. They give learning a global scope, which in turn increases diversity and depth within the learning process. They allow online educational experiences to be learning centered
Do You Agree? and enriched through socialization. But the essential
Do you agree that online learning is a social driving force of online learning is not a technological one. learning experience? Or does technology get
It’s a human one, a social one: the desire for connection in the way too much? demonstrated by self‐directed online knowledge seekers— people like you.
THE CHALLENGE OF SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT
Consider this scenario about the “third place.” It challenges you to be socially engaged in your online learning activities, approaching them from a personal perspective, not a totally technologically one. Our home and our work comprise the two most common social surroundings in our lives. But, for most of us, there is at least a third place that provides comfortable, meaningful social engagement. In The Great Good
Place (1989), Ray Oldenburg called “home” our first place and “work” our second place; he then discussed
“other places in our society”—third places—that were anchors of social interaction. He argued that many locations—including cafés, coffee shops, beauty parlors, and general stores—qualify as places of social engagement. Howard Schultz, founder of Starbucks, designed his specialty coffee sites with social gatherings in mind. In a 60 Minutes interview
(April 2006), Schultz said, “We’re in the business of human connection and humanity, creating communities in a third place between home and work” (Schorn, 2006). Besides having coffee aroma be the unifying connector among the more than fifty million people who gather daily around the world, Starbucks has created its own product vocabulary.
In the digital age, online communities are becoming part of "the third place."
To some extent, your online learning experiences should become a third place in your life. In other words, online learning should not be an isolated endeavor; it has meaningful social dimensions and relationships.
We will have more to say about developing useful social networks in
Chapter 2, but an important part of being ready for online learning is remembering this: Learning in university courses is a social experience, and numerous Web‐based means are available to make its social
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dimensions enjoyable. We have experienced many graduations where students who have become close friends and shared online learning experiences meet face to face for the first time. They embrace with the affection of old friends, and the relationship is real. We have even seen a few marriages result, but that is certainly not a promise!
Did You Know . . .
That online learning requires both formal and informal learning activities?
• Reading and seeking online information are primary formal learning activities built into university courses. These activities are foundational for preparation of written or media‐based presentations submitted to the instructor for formal review and evaluation. Informal learning activities include posting and responding to discussion board questions, interacting (chatting) with other students, and reflecting on critical insights/knowledge gained—and sometimes even putting them into practice in the workplace during the course.
That informal learning gets 86 percent of all learning investments that corporations make annually, while formal learning programs get 14 percent of the total investment?
• Informal learning opportunities and on‐the‐job training are highly valued by corporations
(Carnevale, Gainer, and Villet 1990).
That the process of active learning produces much higher retention rates than passive learning?
• Fifty percent retention when learning results from discussion groups
• Seventy‐five percent retention when learning results from practice by doing
• Ninety percent retention when learning results from teaching others
(National Training Laboratories 2006)
That fear demotivates learning?
• Fear is an emotional factor that can seriously block the learning process. Similarly, anger and anxiety can prevent the learning process from unfolding.
That, because of learning, the brain never stops changing?
• For a long time, it was believed that as we aged the connections in the brain became fixed.
Research has shown that the brain in fact never stops changing through learning. The capacity of the brain to change with learning is called plasticity (Michelon 2008).
SUMMARY: CHANGES AND CHALLENGES THAT ACCOMPANY LEARNING
Learning is what gives life meaning and purpose; it is relevant to educational goals, personal development, social participation, success, and satisfaction. As you return to university studies, learning needs to be a carefully considered goal in your life because it’s the ongoing process through which you gain knowledge of yourself, others, your work, and your world—as well as insights into concepts and ideas that define life itself. Learning equips you to act, to engage, to decide, to produce, to evaluate, to write, to lead/change, to exert power, to accept, and to celebrate. Some of the important challenges that accompany learning are
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discovering your strengths, analyzing your learning patterns, and finding ways to maintain the social aspect of learning in an online environment. No human process is more demanding or more renewing. An invitation to learn is an invitation to live more meaningfully and become more socially conscious. It’s an invitation that’s always there!
What Do You Think?
The following are a few observations, quotations, and narrative perspectives that you can use in reflecting on the content of this chapter. Observations
Albert Camus, a twentieth‐century French author and philosopher, observed, “In the midst of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible [indestructible] summer” (Camus, 1960). He may have wanted this statement to have philosophic implications, but at a basic level it’s a statement about personal motivation. Or, more precisely, it’s about the discovery of personal motivation that is vibrant and real—and committed to success (invincible). Sometimes the best context for starting out on a new venture is one that is based simply (and inexplicably) on inner knowledge: You just know it’s time to begin.
It’s time to turn away from winter and look toward summer! Quotations
“The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.”—George Bernard Shaw Narratives
“I learned a lot of things in high school, community college, and at work, but I never thought much about being ready to learn—until I got my first computer. It’s hard to explain . . . but from the moment I first pressed the start button, I felt ready (had endless energy) to confront new things; I was ready to absorb them, master them, use them. It was exhilarating!”—Arden, former student “You’d think almost anyone would be ready to learn from a ski instructor. Well, I wasn’t. All I was ready to do was head down the side of the mountain. On my first run from the top, I remembered that I was to face forward and go fast—but I paid no attention to anything else I’d been instructed to do. It wasn’t until I had wiped out four times in trying to negotiate turns (and breaking a ski on the fourth …show more content…
attempt) that I was ready to learn that it really makes sense to ‘keep your weight on your downhill ski when turning.’ I wonder now why I was so unready to accept this oh‐so‐important knowledge.”—Tony, former student Knowing What Motivates You
Learning leads to knowledge, and knowledge enables you to act.
We have discussed this important insight and asked you to think of knowledge as a stage on which you stand to act and pointed out that the firmer the stage, the more confident and complete (better) your performance will be! So, if solid knowledge is important in making you a person who acts confidently and initiates change, how can you know when the knowledge you have is solid enough to begin? That’s what we will explore next. For example, ask yourself,
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“Is my understanding of the educational goal I’ve set for myself based on firm motivation?” We’ll give you some tools for dealing with that question so that you’ll be able to say confidently, “I’m ready to accept my educational goal!” And, more important, “I know (I have learned) what my readiness is based upon; I know what motivates me.”
EXAMINING READINESS
If you watch a team of five‐year‐olds on the soccer field, all neatly uniformed and equipped with shiny sneakers for a tough contest, it takes only a few minutes to discover that even though they all look ready for the game, that’s not the case. Despite parents’ desperate shouts from the sidelines, some kids will be more interested in splashing through water puddles on the field than in dribbling the ball toward the goal.
Some will forget which goal to defend; some will hover on the periphery of the action, imagining what it will feel like to open gifts at their birthday party later in the day. Some are playing soccer. Age alone is not a good measurement of readiness for most activities in life. Another way to measure readiness is to base it on factual data. If you know, for example, that you have a $300 credit line on your bank card and you have not charged anything against it, you can confidently click into eBay and bid
$125 on a piece of art that perfectly fits the décor of your den. Based on hard, cold facts, your eBay purchase can be a done deal—because you know you have money.
Unfortunately, most actions that you initiate in day‐to‐day living are not determined simply by facts.
Usually, you have to consider related factors even before making a small artwork purchase on eBay: Do I really need it? Should I give this money to the Earthquake Relief Fund instead? These are subjective considerations, and they are always more complex. Requiring thought based on judgment as well as knowledge, they slow down the decision‐making process. The more important the decision, the more complex the subjective factors become. So, to make a major decision like enrolling in an online degree program, you have to use knowledge and exercise judgment related to such subjective factors as motivation, purpose, values, timing/opportunity, expectations, strengths, and outcomes (Worksheet 1.3).
Worksheet 1.3 Reflect on These Subjective Factors
Subjective Factors Influencing
My Online Education Goal
Motivation: What motivates me most to pursue my university degree?
Purpose: What is my main purpose in seeking my university degree?
Values: What values am I demonstrating by seeking my university degree?
Timing/Opportunity: Is the timing (opportunity) right for
My Answer
Use a question mark (?) if you’re unsure.
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me to pursue my degree?
Why?
Expectations: What things do I expect during my online experience—both positive and not‐so‐positive? Outcomes: What will be the most enjoyable outcome? The most measurable outcome?
The least measurable outcome? IT’S RISKY TO ACT ON INSECURE MOTIVATION
As just stated, research shows that most adults who re‐enter university to learn are self‐directed individuals who have made their decision based on self knowledge—not merely on encouragement from others.
Nevertheless, the risk of taking such a big step without having secure motivation is very real. Life’s experiences teach us the difference between “facing a new day” driven by inspiration and energy for the task ahead and beginning it stimulated only by the jolt from coffee or other caffeinated drink. The source of motivation in the first case is internal; in the second, it is external. Thus, we discover the striking difference between the longevity of internal motivation and the meeting duration of external motivation. Many of us, in our adult years, come across statements that we wrote earlier in a diary or in an adolescent letter in a display of extravagant expectation— vowing, for example, to love the prom queen or a particular football captain forever. Then we realize that, although the circumstance once seemed so certain, we can remember neither the feeling nor the face. If interior motivation ever was a factor influencing these intentions, it had little depth. From ancient times, self‐knowledge, rather than external opportunity, has been upheld as the most profound source of human motivation. In the classic poem Bhagavad Gita, thousands of years old, this principle is clearly laid out:
Better is one’s own duty, though devoid of merit, than the duty of another well discharged.
Better is death in one’s own duty; the duty of another is fraught with fear. (3.35) The power of true self‐knowledge is not only motivational; it is liberating. Meaningful action and personal growth spring from its authenticity. Without secure motivation, it’s difficult in any life situation—and certainly in entering a university—to set realistic objectives and maintain a credible perspective. Others’ expectations can keep you from knowing yourself. It is also possible that your “life”— whatever it is that makes you whole—lies outside the challenges and demands that university studies present. This is a sobering thought, but the motivation for returning to the university must be honestly faced and evaluated. Be certain that your motivation is both solid and secure.
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AM I READY TO LEARN?
Because enrolling in a university degree program is a big decision—one of the most significant in a lifetime, for many—it’s really important to be able to answer yes to the following question: Am I ready to learn?
Researchers have identified various contexts (sets of conditions) that stimulate adults to learn and seek change. We invite you to explore four particular contexts to help you understand what motivates and gives you confidence to learn. As you read about each context, ask yourself,
“Is this context (situation) similar to mine as I pursue my degree online?” Or, “Do I feel comfortable thinking of my online learning decision in this context?”
When you can answer yes to these questions as you consider a particular context, you are acquiring a level of self‐knowledge and confidence about what motivates you to proceed toward your goal of a university degree. That is, you are not saying, “I should” get a university degree or “I want” to get a degree. Instead, you are recognizing (and saying) “I know I’m ready to begin . . . I feel comfortable identifying myself with a particular supportive context or perspective—one that "Know Thyself" was a guiding motivates me to learn and makes my goal realistic and highly principle of the ancient philosophy desirable.” Socrates. It remains a sound principle today
A word of caution as you review the “readiness to learn contexts” below: You may find particular aspects that describe your situation in more than one context, and you may not feel that you completely fit into any one of the four. That’s fine. Human decisions are normally motivated by more than one source. But, you should determine which of these contexts for learning supports you (provides you with a framework) in a primary way and which supports you in a secondary way. CONTEXTS THAT MOTIVATE LEARNING
Based on the research of Malcolm Knowles (1984), here are four “distinct contexts” that stimulate adults to learn. We have cited a student experience to illustrate each one. Read each short narrative carefully and think about your own situation as you proceed.
Practical Context I need to know in order to cope with things I face.
Sara’s story: I’m pretty open to learning, but I’m most enthusiastic about it when I know that I’m going to gain something practical from it. I’m not really interested in just being told, “You gotta learn this,” without knowing in advance how it’s going to benefit me. That doesn’t mean I always have to apply what I learn immediately. I’m comfortable with knowing it will be useful sometime in the future. When I think about situations in my family and at work that make demands on me, I feel that I’m handling them, but I’d like to
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be able to cope with them better. I’d like to be sure about the approaches I’m taking and decisions I’m making. I’d like solutions to problems I face.
Personal Context I want to do this myself, accomplish important goals.
Chris’s story: When it comes to learning, I see myself positioned in the starting blocks with a clear path stretched out in front of me, a path that will get me to the finish line. Sure, it would be a bit foolish to say, “I see the finish line clearly,” because I’m realistic enough to know that circumstances, conflicts, and surprises always happen to slow you down. But what motivates me to learn is being able to say,
“There’s a goal out there that I can glimpse, and I’m committed to reaching it.” I know what it is, and I’m on my way toward getting there. Learning makes me feel better about myself, and I definitely think that the learning quest that I’m on will improve the quality of my life and my future.
Personal goals can be one of the greatest motivators
Experiential Context I’m at a point where I can pull things together from experience.
Fred’s story: A lot of people talk primarily about the future when they explain their interest in learning. I realize that it’s important to plan for the future. But, I like to consider the past, too, and my significant insights from past experiences. Real‐life experiences have informed me accurately about many things, allowing me to develop a solid foundation for forming values and being confident in what I do and think. I may have to unlearn some things, but I’m open to that. My ideal learning environment is one where I can consider what I’ve already learned from life experience, reflect on it, and then adapt it to a new situation— discovering new meaning and competence in the process.
Idealistic Context I want to explore ideas, theories, and concepts to experience discovery of something new.
Jamie’s story—Researchers call me a cognitive learner. Those who don’t use such technical terms label me as a person more interested in theory than in practice. I can accept that, but I know that practice can’t be avoided entirely. In any given situation, what triggers my interest in learning is learning for its own sake. I know grades, diplomas, and new jobs are desirable aspects of the formal educational journey, but they don’t motivate me nearly as much as the pleasure of discovering something new or learning something that may not have utilitarian value. For me, there’s joy just in expanding my mind, and I don’t plan to abandon this learning process as long as I live.
CHART THE CONTEXTS THAT MOTIVATE YOU TO LEARN
Compare your story (Worksheet 1.4) with the preceding stories to determine which context is the one that primarily stimulates you to learn and supports you, allowing you to say, “Here’s why I’m ready to learn!”
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Then, mark the motivational strength that each learning context has for you.
Worksheet 1.4 Contexts That Motivate You to Learn Context That Motivates
Learning
Practical context: I need to know, to cope with things I face.
Personal context: I want to do this myself, to accomplish important goals.
Experimental context: I’m at a point where I can pull things together from experience.
Idealistic context: I want to explore ideas, theories, and concepts to experience discovery of something new.
Weak
Motivator
Moderate
Motivator
Strong
Motivator
Very Strong
Motivator
MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
Your readiness to learn is also driven by psychological motivation. You are motivated by inborn needs, which are universal. Only by satisfying these needs are you able to fully develop your unique personality and human potential. Abraham Maslow’s research (1954) identifies five levels of need that are basic in our human experience. They form a hierarchy, motivating each of us to achieve step‐by‐step change and growth as our needs are satisfied at each level (see Figure 1.1).
Is this concept important for you? Yes, it is—in two particular ways:
• Being ready to learn at a university level involves more than being ready to get a diploma; it also involves being ready to develop as a person.
• Paying full attention to physical and emotional well‐being needs is essential before it is realistic to expect achievement of personal potential and influence (self‐actualization).
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Figure 1.1 Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Consider each level in the hierarchical chart carefully. Which of these levels of need have been essentially satisfied in your life? At which levels do you sense a need (motivation) to seek further development/growth? SUMMARY: IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF MOTIVATION
Individual approaches to learning are changed by circumstances and age. So, in returning to university, it’s important (1) to be aware of particular contexts and circumstances that motivate adults and (2) to evaluate what truly motivates you to seek your educational goal. This serious, honest exploration is a sure means of determining whether or not you are ready for the learning journey ahead, including a plan to fit “school” into your day‐to‐day life. When you are motivated toward your goal by a particularly strong context (set of circumstances) or have a strong personal drive (psychological motivation) toward achieving it, you are well on your way to being ready to embrace learning. Simply deciding on an educational goal on the basis of others’ encouragement, without having identified a solid internal and external motivational perspective of your own, can be misleading. In other words, motivation can be an elusive thing: Readiness to learn is shaped by making motivation concrete!
Managing Your Time and Resources
University studies take time. There is no easy pill. If you are ready to return to school, then you understand that you will have to rearrange your life so that you have time to devote to your studies. Online learning removes the travel, parking, and child‐care issues related to driving to a brick‐and‐mortar institution, but there is no getting around the fact that you will have to carve out time to read, write, think, and interact with instructors and peers. We have seen adult students attempt to return to university studies with very
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unrealistic expectations. They assume that an hour here or there when they have some extra time will be enough to keep up. Unfortunately, those students usually drop out after one or two courses. So, as you embark upon this new adventure, you need to realistically assess your current life situation and your schedule. What are you going to change to create time to complete your coursework? It is easy to find excuses not to go back to school, and it is easy to get sidetracked by life once you have started. Being ready means you have committed to making your studies a top priority. Initially it might be difficult, but you will find that you soon fall into a rhythm, where school and study become second nature.
MAKING A SCHEDULE
In the same way that you need to create a monthly budget for your expenses, bills, and so on, consider having a budget for your time. The most common problem students have with writing comes from lack of planning. In fact, professional writers also have to plan their days, finding the time to write. You will always find people and things that demand your time, so make it a habit of writing down what you need to do and when you can add it to your schedule. Below is a schedule sample of a working single mother’s week. Although every person has a different set of circumstances and his or her own busy life, we all have one major challenge: There are only twenty‐four hours in a day!
6:00 a.m.–7:30 a.m
Sample Schedule
Get ready for work, get children ready for school
7:30 a.m.–8:00 a.m.
8:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m.
10:00 a.m.–10:15 a.m.
10:15 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
12:00 p.m.–12:30 or 1:00 p.m.
1:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
5:00 p.m.–5:30 p.m.
Commute to work
Work at home or for employer
Break
Back to work
Lunch
Work
Commute back home
7:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m.
Time with children, TV, activities with family or friends
9:00 p.m.–10:00 or 11:00 p.m. Various tasks or time to relax Remember, every time that your children see you doing schoolwork, reading, writing papers, and participating in
Do You Agree? online discussions, you are providing a lasting and invaluable
Weekends: How do you spend your impression. At first, they may make demands on your time and weekends? Can you find time then for perhaps even resent that you are taking this time for yourself. studying? Are there leisure or
But if you explain that what you are doing is for the future of recreational activities you can forgo? the whole family and suggest that you all do your homework together, you will begin to see new attitudes, acceptance, and, soon, respect. Worksheet 1.5 provides a blank schedule for you to fill out. Now, consider how you will spend your time. When and how will you make time for school and set priorities? Studying and reading in short bursts
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can be very effective. Spending fifteen minutes reading the summary of your chapter and highlighting important points is all part of the process. Your peak study time, meaning that period during the day when you can best focus and absorb information, is something that you will soon discover. Worksheet 1.5 Create Your Schedule
5:00 a.m.
6:00 a.m.
7:00 a.m.
8:00 a.m.
9:00 a.m.
10:00 a.m.
11:00 a.m.
12:00 p.m.
1:00 p.m.
2:00 p.m.
3:00 p.m.
4:00 p.m.
5:00 p.m.
6:00 p.m.
7:00 p.m.
8:00 p.m.
9:00 p.m.
10:00 p.m.
11:00 p.m.
12:00 a.m.
Time management is important for all aspects of your return to school, and you must set aside sufficient time for writing. Writing is the medium for communication when attending classes online.
How good is your time management? Try this online time management assessment
(http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_88.htm)
ESSENTIAL SUPPORTS: MANAGING YOUR TIME
It’s all about balance and control!
Balance
To balance your online learning commitment with your existing commitments, it’s necessary to determine how much time you’ll need each week for your online studies. This is pretty easy to do; thousands of adult learners have responded to recent surveys designed to gather this important information. These survey results indicate that most accelerated online university‐level courses (five weeks long) require the student
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to set aside twelve to fifteen uninterrupted hours per week for learning activities. This time is needed for reading, participating in online discussion, researching, reflecting, and writing.
“If x represents the things that cause you stress and y represents the things that enhance your life, then for When you know how much time your online the next week do two fewer of the things that cause studies will require each week, you then face the you stress and one more of the things that enhance daunting challenge of “finding the time.” A major your life. Repeat as necessary.” —Anita Houghton misstep at this point in time management is failing to actually identify the time required. It’s not enough just to acknowledge that twelve to fifteen hours of time will be needed; it’s necessary to find these hours each week, plot them on an outline of your week’s activities, and keep the outline in front of you. Identify chunks of time uninterrupted. Your outline will show the balance that you’ve worked out to accommodate the demands of study and other activities.
Control
Your remaining challenge is control. But remember, “planned balance” must precede control. Although it’s never possible to achieve perfect control in time management—because unexpected things happen in life—you can control a lot of what you concretely plan. Without question, control of your time is determined largely by self‐discipline related to your life demands, activities, and relationships. Not only that, honest assessment of the effectiveness of your control is also up to you. It’s wise to assess your time management skills regularly.
Using Worksheet 1.6, try this approach to achieving balance and control in time management.
Worksheet 1.6 Achiveing Balance and Control in Time Management
Achieving Balance
Make a List
How I Plan to Cope
Unrealistic
demands
Activities that I can adjust
Relationships that I can change
Achieving Control
Make a List
How I Plan to Cope
Self‐discipline
Assessment of progress Self‐Test: Stress and Time Management
It’s easy to be misinformed about stress and time management. Try answering these statements:
______ (True) ______ (False) 1. I don’t feel stressed at work, so I can be confident that stress is not affecting my performance negatively.
______ (True) ______ (False) 2. If I didn’t have to work so many hours, I wouldn’t be so stressed.
______ (True) ______ (False) 3. By managing my time better, I can reduce my workplace and family stress. ______ (True) ______ (False) 4. The reason I have a time management problem is obvious: too many things have been assigned to me.
______ (True) ______ (False) 5. I find that working steadily through tasks as they come along—being productive and getting things done—is the best way to use my time.
______ (True) ______ (False) 6. Just getting rid of clutter and not letting it accumulate around me is my most valued time management strategy.
______ (True) ______ (False) 7. I identify blocks of time to work on projects or assignments and maintain a hard line against distractions when I’m engaged in defined and planned work.
______ (True) ______ (False) 8. It’s never wise to postpone things; that’s my motto.
______ (True) ______ (False) 9. After I got a calendar and started writing things down, I began to understand how foolish I’d been in trying to manage my time (and my life) without these simple tools.
______ (True) ______ (False) 10. Enrolling in online university studies, I’ve decided that “seeking a balance” is going to be my approach to time management. I can’t give up everything! Comments and Observations on the Ten Previous Statements
1. It’s true that stress is usually something you are aware of, but stress has insidious qualities that can prevent you from being fully conscious of its influence on performance.
2. Certainly, the number of hours worked can affect stress, but the important underlying factor is how you feel while completing the required hours.
3. Yes, effective time management can help you reduce stress, but, as indicated in the comment above, your emotional perspective can influence stress at a level that time management techniques cannot alter. 4. Use of time management techniques, such as planning and analysis of individual tasks, will help you determine if “too many things have been assigned” to you. But don’t reach this conclusion without first using proven time management techniques.
5. Just digging in is not always the best thing. Prioritizing personal responsibilities and tasks allows you to deal with both the urgent and essential things systematically rather than randomly. Using this approach, you can usually discover ways to increase time efficiencies.
6. This time management technique is an effective one: just handle things once; don’t pile them. But think (about future needs) in your clearing‐away activities.
7. This strategy requires serious discipline, but its effectiveness is unequaled.
8. Postponing things can lead to a pattern of procrastination, but modifying a schedule and prioritizing things—even eliminating routine activities sometimes—are necessary steps in managing time effectively. 9. There’s no question about it—you can’t manage time fully without keeping a calendar consistently and analyzing patterns that become evident there.
10. “Keeping balance” is a fundamental principle in managing time and creating satisfying life experiences. Rest and relaxation, for instance, cannot be ignored in any time management plan.
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THE BIG ROCKS STORY
Stephen Covey’s book First Things First (1996) tells the story of an expert in time management who was speaking to a group of business students. As he stood in front of the group of high‐powered overachievers he said,
“Okay, time for a quiz.” He then pulled out a one‐gallon, wide‐mouthed Mason jar and set it on the table. He produced about a dozen fist‐sized rocks and carefully placed them one at a time into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, “Is this jar full?” Everyone in the class said, “Yes.” Then he said, “Really?” He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar, causing the gravel to work down into the space between the big rocks. Then he asked the group once more, “Is the jar full?” By this time the class was on to him. “Probably not,” one of them answered. “Good,” he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand and started dumping the sand into the jar until it filled the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, “Is this jar full?” “No!” the class shouted. Once again he said, “Good.” Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, “What is the point of this illustration?” One eager beaver raised his hand and said, “The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it!” “No,” the speaker replied, “that’s not the point.” “The truth this illustration teaches us is that if you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all. What are the big rocks in your life? Your children, your loved ones, your education, your dreams, a worthy cause, teaching others, doing things you love, your health, your mate? Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you’ll never get them in at all. If you sweat about the little stuff, then you’ll fill your life with little things, and you’ll never have the real quality time you need to spend on the big, important stuff.”
There is always room in life for the "big rocks"
SUMMARY: APPROACHES TO TIME MANAGEMENT
Online learning offers great flexibility for participants, but it is nevertheless a structured activity that requires a significant level of self‐directedness and accountability on the part of each learner. It is essential, therefore, for you to examine your time management skills because the online learning environment makes you almost totally accountable for effectiveness in these areas. To find time for online studies without
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destroying balance in your life, you may need to restructure your day‐to‐day commitments. It’s necessary to balance your study time with your existing life routines; it’s a good practice to have a systematic plan for studying, rather than attempting to do too much at one time. It’s important to develop efficiencies, and it’s necessary to eat and sleep properly. And, remember, relaxation and reflection are critically important aspects of a balanced life; you can’t be successful at time management unless you allow for sufficient
“down” time.”
My Response
As a part of “Getting Started,” I am setting the following goals related to:
Being ready to face challenges Knowing what motivates me Managing my time and resources
Managing Editor: Steve Wainwright
Assistant Editor: Nick Devine
Printing Services: University Readers
ISBN 10: 978-0-9841823-2-9
ISBN 13: 0-9841823-2-2
Published by Bridgepoint Education, Inc., 13500 Evening Creek Drive North, Suite 600,
San Diego, CA 92128.
Copyright © 2010
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, or distributed without the written consent of Bridgepoint Education, Inc., including but not limited to electronic reproduction or transmission, for broadcast or for distance learning, or in any network. www.bridgepointeducation.com Bridgepoint Education Inc.
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Bridgepoint Education Inc., the copyright owner of this material, hereby grants the holder of this publication the right to print these materials for personal use. The holder of this material may print the materials herein for personal use only. Any print, reprint, reproduction or distribution of these materials for commercial use without the express written consent of Bridgepoint Education Inc. constitutes a violation of the Copyright Law of the United States of 1976 (P.L. 94‐553).
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CHAPTER ONE: GETTING STARTED
Supposing is good, but finding out is better—Mark Twain
CHAPTER CONTENTS
•
•
•
•
Thinking About How Learning Can Change You
Being Ready for New Challenges
Knowing What Motivates You
Managing Your Time and Resources Learning is something you do every day. Every time you go to your computer to review the weather forecast, check the sports scores, or read a breaking news bulletin, you are taking basic steps in the learning process: gathering information and storing it in memory for convenient use. Learning is a natural and necessary aspect of everyday life. It’s an ordinary activity—but it holds extraordinary potential for growth and change when you pursue it with specific, intense purpose in an academic setting. Then it empowers you! We begin our book by looking at ways that learning can create meaningful change in your life.
Thinking about How Learning Can Change You
So here you are, one among many millions of adults who have chosen to go back to school to finish their college education, and you have chosen an online program to do that. Maybe you have thought about it for
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a long time, or maybe it was an impulsive decision. Perhaps it is a long overdue personal goal, or maybe it was driven by professional needs. There are lots of reasons why adults are returning to university studies in increasing numbers: fulfillment of a lifelong dream, a push from an employer, a gnawing sense of “more out there,” or even a sense of guilt at not having done it before. Regardless of how you arrived in this moment, you are here. You took the leap, and now you are looking at this book and your computer and probably wondering what you have gotten yourself into!
Though some adult students approach the return to the university with confidence and ease, as faculty at
Ashford University, it has been our collective experience that for many adult learners the task seems daunting. Well, it is and it isn’t! Every journey begins with a single step, followed by another and another.
You might be a bit rusty, but if you put one foot in front of the other, you can do this. The purpose of this book is to help you make the transition from a slightly fearful returning student to an intentional learner. Actually, you didn’t really stop learning when you stopped going to school. It is virtually impossible to live and engage in this rapidly changing world and not continue to learn. But you probably did not perceive it as “learning” per se—you
“Only29% of people over age 25 in the United were working, meeting new people, thinking about new
States have a bachelor’s degree.” ideas, helping your kids with their homework, or a list of —U.S. Census Bureau (2008) other things. But the good news is that as an adult—even if it has been years since you took a class—you are better prepared for this new experience than you may imagine. In this book, we will explore what that means and show you how to take advantage of your experiences to embrace this new learning endeavor. Collectively, we have more than seventy years of experience working with people just like you—adults who have decided to return to formal learning—and we have some great stories. We will share some of them with you as we go along. Our goal is to help you not only learn how to be an online university student but also embrace a life of intentional learning that will enrich each day.
LEARNING WITH AN EXTRAORDINARY PURPOSE
You can approach learning in an ordinary way, see it as something to be engaged in casually to accommodate new things as they occur, and hardly ever make it a structured, focused activity. Many people engage in learning primarily on this reactive level. Sociologists and others have pointed out that the steady bombardment of media in our culture contributes significantly to this passive pattern. Too often, they argue, we accept just what is presented to us rather than seizing opportunities to learn new things on our own. But, in returning to university, you are leaving this common approach to learning behind. You are embracing learning in a proactive way: You are The steady barrage of media in our taking charge of your learning. In doing so, you are pursuing a culture contributes to reactive rather than active learning higher educational goal than most people in the United States
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seek. This means that your goal (and the learning required to reach it) is not ordinary! It sets you apart and requires you to approach learning with an extraordinary purpose.
The Learning–Knowledge Cycle
It’s helpful to think of learning and knowledge in terms of their differences rather than their similarities.
Learning is a seeking/accepting activity, whereas knowledge is a possessing/knowing experience. Or, you might say, learning is an engaging process that results in knowledge. But the concept of knowledge is an ironic one: You can discover particular knowledge (claim it, possess it) at the end of a learning process, but it is invisible. You know you possess it; you can say, “OK, I got it!” But that doesn’t make it visible. Your new knowledge does not become visible until you take action based upon it—then it becomes concrete, visible to others, and fully owned for you to act on. We are all actors on the stage of knowledge every day. Another ironic aspect of knowledge should not be overlooked. When you make your new knowledge performance, the invisible stage that supports you may seem adequate, but it’s not completely secure: Obsolescence (the state of being outdated) can devour it like termites devour wood. So you have to return to learning (further learning) as a means of reinforcement, keeping your new (now‐becoming‐old) knowledge continually up‐to‐date.
Thirty years ago, it was thought that 50 percent of the skills and knowledge needed for most workplace jobs would become obsolete in twelve to fifteen years. Today, primarily because of extensive technological change, the best estimate of occupational half‐life (defined as the point at which 50 percent of skills learned for a job become obsolete) for most jobs is thirty to thirty‐six occupational months.
Consequently, the learning–knowledge cycle is an unending one.
HOW LEARNING EMPOWERS YOU
Engaging in learning with an intense purpose, rather than randomly, empowers you in three significant ways: 1. Learning allows you to gain new knowledge that enables you to understand yourself, others, and life more clearly.
2. Learning enables you to develop new skills that can be used to increase productivity in your life and in your work.
3. Learning prepares you for initiating change, allowing you to grow, adapt, and mature. Most people find that the more they learn, the easier learning becomes. Think of it as a grand adventure!
You can understand the full empowerment of learning only when you act based on what you know. When you post observations in the discussion forum of an online learning environment, for example, you are an active learner. Every time that you apply new knowledge or new skills in your workplace, family, or within yourself, with an intention to initiate change (even in a small way), you are actively learning. Whenever it is applied, learning becomes a powerful, creative force through which measurable outcomes can be demonstrated (Worksheet 1.1).
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Worksheet 1.1, Which Outcomes Are Most Important to You?
Rank
Prioritize these outcomes, listing the most important one first.
New potential for understanding yourself: Includes understanding physical abilities, cognitive (thinking) strengths, and emotional stability.
New abilities for problem solving and decision making: Includes engaging in development of values.
New perspective for innovating: Includes (1) recognizing historic and contemporary processes of conceptualization and change and (2) developing global awareness.
New basis for productivity: Includes understanding group and organizational behavior and the development and implementation of outcomes measurement.
New resources for leadership: Includes understanding culture and developing social consciousness. LIFELONG EMPOWERMENT
Learning energizes human experience and shapes meaning throughout our lifetime. From stage to stage, the learning environments will differ greatly, the emphasis may change from informal to formal, and the scope may increase from a personal to a global perspective. But life’s challenges are always with us, whether we’re dealing with childhood and personal growth, completing formal education, coping with family and societal problems, responding to technology and global change, recognizing occupational obsolescence, or adjusting to aging. It is helpful to examine the learning experience on the basis of cognitive development theory. Jean Piaget, a noted psychologist and developmental theorist, postulates the following stages of development: 1. Sensorimotor Stage—Birth to Age Two Years
(Approximately): Children begin with no thinking structures (called schemata) but develop them through exploration of their senses and experimentation on the environment. Significant learning occurs, but children in the sensorimotor stage are incapable of abstract or logical thought. 2. Preoperational Stage—Age Two Years to Seven Years
(Approximately): Children rapidly develop language skills and more sophisticated cognitive structures but are still prelogical. They are not capable of conservation (the ability to understand that substance
Jean Piaget (1896‐1989) is renowned does not change when it only changes shape or form). When water is for developing a theory on the stages poured from a tall, narrow glass to a short, wide bowl, preoperational of cognitive development children will think that there is now less water. They are also incapable of decentering (the ability to see things from another’s perspective). Preoperational children who are asked to sit at a table and draw the view from the other end of the table (from the perspective
5 of someone looking at them) cannot perform the task. Conservation and decentering are prerequisites to higher‐level learning and logical thinking.
3. Concrete Operational Stage—Ages Seven Years to Adolescence: Children begin to grasp conservation and decentering. They begin, for example, to wonder how Santa really does get to all those houses in one night. They can now reason logically but only on a concrete level, not hypothetically or abstractly. When a concrete operational child is shown a blue block and asked, “Is the block green or not green?” he or she will probably answer, “Neither, it’s blue.” The concept that blue is not green is too abstract.
4. Formal Operations Stage—Adolescence and Older: The person is now capable of sophisticated logical thought. He or she can think in the abstract, can think hypothetically, and can solve problems using the logic of combinations. It is interesting to note that research shows that only about 25 percent of adults use formal operations on a regular basis; doing so requires significant cognitive discipline in addition to mere capability (Dworetzky and Davis 1989).
Piaget’s stages ended with formal operations, but Klaus Riegel (1976) postulates a fifth stage called dialectical reasoning. This is a stage beyond logic where (in our opinion) real critical thinking lies. It is the ability to perceive the frequent paradoxes in life (to see the dialectic) and to question and analyze the assumptions that underlie the logic. Dialectical thinkers “readily recognize, accept, and even enjoy conflict and contradictions in values and possible courses of action because sorting out these conflicts forces them to grow intellectually” (Dworetzky and Davis 1989, 360).
Being Ready for New Challenges
Higher education challenges you to examine your unexamined assumptions, to think critically and logically, and to see and experience the world in new ways. It is enjoyable and exhilarating, and you can do it! In taking up these unavoidable challenges, you discover that learning obligates you to be self‐ directed and self‐motivated. It requires a conscious commitment every day and cannot be fully achieved without some personal sacrifice. You should develop your own framework for ongoing learning, identifying activities that will keep your mind active and increase your knowledge. The learning activity Worksheet 1.2 is particularly useful and important in identifying the challenges that you should tackle. List the learning activities below that you are now using: Which of the thirteen listed activities do you need to increase most?
Worksheet 1.2, What Learning Strengths Do You Already Have?
Which learning activities are you now using? Which activities do you need to increase most?
Read widely
Explore Web resources
Listen and be open to new ideas
Raise questions in face‐to‐face and Web dialogue
Accept feedback
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Reshape your ideas
Innovate and experiment to test new assumptions
Solve problems
Unlearn
Teach
Follow your intuition
Review and reflect
Seek renewal constantly
LEARNING AS A SOCIAL ACTIVITY
Historically, learning has been considered a social activity, with the classroom functioning as a place for personal interactions. Today, online learning, with its technological delivery, presents a challenge to this highly social custom. Some people, in fact, consider technologically based learning unacceptable because it does not provide sufficient social contacts.
Traditionally, the environment for formal learning has been teaching centered. Boundaries and methodologies for learning were determined by authorities, who used lectures and printed documents as primary ways to deliver/identify relevant content. This classroom‐based engagement between professor and student involved social exchange, but its primary emphasis was teaching centered. Today, this educational modality is still highly valued, and rightly so, because the wonder and workings of learning are The online learning experience can be just as social as traditional learning stimulated in face‐to‐face exchanges. With the growth of technology and the introduction of formal learning online, it was thought that this “personal” environment would have to be forgotten. Consequently, many feared that the Internet’s high‐tech, low‐touch environment would not be effective for learning. But two factors, in particular, have combined to make the online environment an attractive and resourceful environment for formal learning:
•Access to Information: As access to information through the Internet spirals upward, the environment for formal learning is becoming significantly less hierarchical. Correspondingly, the focus in formal learning is becoming more practical, with greater emphasis placed on application of knowledge. Focusing on the application of knowledge increases in importance as the rate of change increases. Therefore, the design created for formal online learning presents not only activities involving the transfer of knowledge but also opportunities for exploring actual application of knowledge. In some online courses, students are encouraged to apply theoretical concepts in their workplace settings while the course is still underway or to find Web‐based data related to the implementation of theoretical concepts learned in the course. These features increase the credibility and practicality of online learning—a desirable goal for many adult learners.
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•Social Networking: Paradoxically, “high‐touch” relationships have become common on the
Internet. There are literally millions of Web communities of people who are “learning to feel” through the Internet. Choosing to be active in social networks,
“Online, you get to know your they explore common interests—sharing experiences, students’ minds not just their faces.” imagination, and commitment in a high‐touch kind of way. —Linda Harasim
Online educational programs are examples of people linked in pursuit of common goals. Consequently, intense dialogue, creative collaboration, and strong relationships are prominent elements in their learning‐centered
(rather than teaching‐centered) environment. These two technological factors benefit you as you pursue educational goals online. They give learning a global scope, which in turn increases diversity and depth within the learning process. They allow online educational experiences to be learning centered
Do You Agree? and enriched through socialization. But the essential
Do you agree that online learning is a social driving force of online learning is not a technological one. learning experience? Or does technology get
It’s a human one, a social one: the desire for connection in the way too much? demonstrated by self‐directed online knowledge seekers— people like you.
THE CHALLENGE OF SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT
Consider this scenario about the “third place.” It challenges you to be socially engaged in your online learning activities, approaching them from a personal perspective, not a totally technologically one. Our home and our work comprise the two most common social surroundings in our lives. But, for most of us, there is at least a third place that provides comfortable, meaningful social engagement. In The Great Good
Place (1989), Ray Oldenburg called “home” our first place and “work” our second place; he then discussed
“other places in our society”—third places—that were anchors of social interaction. He argued that many locations—including cafés, coffee shops, beauty parlors, and general stores—qualify as places of social engagement. Howard Schultz, founder of Starbucks, designed his specialty coffee sites with social gatherings in mind. In a 60 Minutes interview
(April 2006), Schultz said, “We’re in the business of human connection and humanity, creating communities in a third place between home and work” (Schorn, 2006). Besides having coffee aroma be the unifying connector among the more than fifty million people who gather daily around the world, Starbucks has created its own product vocabulary.
In the digital age, online communities are becoming part of "the third place."
To some extent, your online learning experiences should become a third place in your life. In other words, online learning should not be an isolated endeavor; it has meaningful social dimensions and relationships.
We will have more to say about developing useful social networks in
Chapter 2, but an important part of being ready for online learning is remembering this: Learning in university courses is a social experience, and numerous Web‐based means are available to make its social
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dimensions enjoyable. We have experienced many graduations where students who have become close friends and shared online learning experiences meet face to face for the first time. They embrace with the affection of old friends, and the relationship is real. We have even seen a few marriages result, but that is certainly not a promise!
Did You Know . . .
That online learning requires both formal and informal learning activities?
• Reading and seeking online information are primary formal learning activities built into university courses. These activities are foundational for preparation of written or media‐based presentations submitted to the instructor for formal review and evaluation. Informal learning activities include posting and responding to discussion board questions, interacting (chatting) with other students, and reflecting on critical insights/knowledge gained—and sometimes even putting them into practice in the workplace during the course.
That informal learning gets 86 percent of all learning investments that corporations make annually, while formal learning programs get 14 percent of the total investment?
• Informal learning opportunities and on‐the‐job training are highly valued by corporations
(Carnevale, Gainer, and Villet 1990).
That the process of active learning produces much higher retention rates than passive learning?
• Fifty percent retention when learning results from discussion groups
• Seventy‐five percent retention when learning results from practice by doing
• Ninety percent retention when learning results from teaching others
(National Training Laboratories 2006)
That fear demotivates learning?
• Fear is an emotional factor that can seriously block the learning process. Similarly, anger and anxiety can prevent the learning process from unfolding.
That, because of learning, the brain never stops changing?
• For a long time, it was believed that as we aged the connections in the brain became fixed.
Research has shown that the brain in fact never stops changing through learning. The capacity of the brain to change with learning is called plasticity (Michelon 2008).
SUMMARY: CHANGES AND CHALLENGES THAT ACCOMPANY LEARNING
Learning is what gives life meaning and purpose; it is relevant to educational goals, personal development, social participation, success, and satisfaction. As you return to university studies, learning needs to be a carefully considered goal in your life because it’s the ongoing process through which you gain knowledge of yourself, others, your work, and your world—as well as insights into concepts and ideas that define life itself. Learning equips you to act, to engage, to decide, to produce, to evaluate, to write, to lead/change, to exert power, to accept, and to celebrate. Some of the important challenges that accompany learning are
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discovering your strengths, analyzing your learning patterns, and finding ways to maintain the social aspect of learning in an online environment. No human process is more demanding or more renewing. An invitation to learn is an invitation to live more meaningfully and become more socially conscious. It’s an invitation that’s always there!
What Do You Think?
The following are a few observations, quotations, and narrative perspectives that you can use in reflecting on the content of this chapter. Observations
Albert Camus, a twentieth‐century French author and philosopher, observed, “In the midst of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible [indestructible] summer” (Camus, 1960). He may have wanted this statement to have philosophic implications, but at a basic level it’s a statement about personal motivation. Or, more precisely, it’s about the discovery of personal motivation that is vibrant and real—and committed to success (invincible). Sometimes the best context for starting out on a new venture is one that is based simply (and inexplicably) on inner knowledge: You just know it’s time to begin.
It’s time to turn away from winter and look toward summer! Quotations
“The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.”—George Bernard Shaw Narratives
“I learned a lot of things in high school, community college, and at work, but I never thought much about being ready to learn—until I got my first computer. It’s hard to explain . . . but from the moment I first pressed the start button, I felt ready (had endless energy) to confront new things; I was ready to absorb them, master them, use them. It was exhilarating!”—Arden, former student “You’d think almost anyone would be ready to learn from a ski instructor. Well, I wasn’t. All I was ready to do was head down the side of the mountain. On my first run from the top, I remembered that I was to face forward and go fast—but I paid no attention to anything else I’d been instructed to do. It wasn’t until I had wiped out four times in trying to negotiate turns (and breaking a ski on the fourth …show more content…
attempt) that I was ready to learn that it really makes sense to ‘keep your weight on your downhill ski when turning.’ I wonder now why I was so unready to accept this oh‐so‐important knowledge.”—Tony, former student Knowing What Motivates You
Learning leads to knowledge, and knowledge enables you to act.
We have discussed this important insight and asked you to think of knowledge as a stage on which you stand to act and pointed out that the firmer the stage, the more confident and complete (better) your performance will be! So, if solid knowledge is important in making you a person who acts confidently and initiates change, how can you know when the knowledge you have is solid enough to begin? That’s what we will explore next. For example, ask yourself,
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“Is my understanding of the educational goal I’ve set for myself based on firm motivation?” We’ll give you some tools for dealing with that question so that you’ll be able to say confidently, “I’m ready to accept my educational goal!” And, more important, “I know (I have learned) what my readiness is based upon; I know what motivates me.”
EXAMINING READINESS
If you watch a team of five‐year‐olds on the soccer field, all neatly uniformed and equipped with shiny sneakers for a tough contest, it takes only a few minutes to discover that even though they all look ready for the game, that’s not the case. Despite parents’ desperate shouts from the sidelines, some kids will be more interested in splashing through water puddles on the field than in dribbling the ball toward the goal.
Some will forget which goal to defend; some will hover on the periphery of the action, imagining what it will feel like to open gifts at their birthday party later in the day. Some are playing soccer. Age alone is not a good measurement of readiness for most activities in life. Another way to measure readiness is to base it on factual data. If you know, for example, that you have a $300 credit line on your bank card and you have not charged anything against it, you can confidently click into eBay and bid
$125 on a piece of art that perfectly fits the décor of your den. Based on hard, cold facts, your eBay purchase can be a done deal—because you know you have money.
Unfortunately, most actions that you initiate in day‐to‐day living are not determined simply by facts.
Usually, you have to consider related factors even before making a small artwork purchase on eBay: Do I really need it? Should I give this money to the Earthquake Relief Fund instead? These are subjective considerations, and they are always more complex. Requiring thought based on judgment as well as knowledge, they slow down the decision‐making process. The more important the decision, the more complex the subjective factors become. So, to make a major decision like enrolling in an online degree program, you have to use knowledge and exercise judgment related to such subjective factors as motivation, purpose, values, timing/opportunity, expectations, strengths, and outcomes (Worksheet 1.3).
Worksheet 1.3 Reflect on These Subjective Factors
Subjective Factors Influencing
My Online Education Goal
Motivation: What motivates me most to pursue my university degree?
Purpose: What is my main purpose in seeking my university degree?
Values: What values am I demonstrating by seeking my university degree?
Timing/Opportunity: Is the timing (opportunity) right for
My Answer
Use a question mark (?) if you’re unsure.
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me to pursue my degree?
Why?
Expectations: What things do I expect during my online experience—both positive and not‐so‐positive? Outcomes: What will be the most enjoyable outcome? The most measurable outcome?
The least measurable outcome? IT’S RISKY TO ACT ON INSECURE MOTIVATION
As just stated, research shows that most adults who re‐enter university to learn are self‐directed individuals who have made their decision based on self knowledge—not merely on encouragement from others.
Nevertheless, the risk of taking such a big step without having secure motivation is very real. Life’s experiences teach us the difference between “facing a new day” driven by inspiration and energy for the task ahead and beginning it stimulated only by the jolt from coffee or other caffeinated drink. The source of motivation in the first case is internal; in the second, it is external. Thus, we discover the striking difference between the longevity of internal motivation and the meeting duration of external motivation. Many of us, in our adult years, come across statements that we wrote earlier in a diary or in an adolescent letter in a display of extravagant expectation— vowing, for example, to love the prom queen or a particular football captain forever. Then we realize that, although the circumstance once seemed so certain, we can remember neither the feeling nor the face. If interior motivation ever was a factor influencing these intentions, it had little depth. From ancient times, self‐knowledge, rather than external opportunity, has been upheld as the most profound source of human motivation. In the classic poem Bhagavad Gita, thousands of years old, this principle is clearly laid out:
Better is one’s own duty, though devoid of merit, than the duty of another well discharged.
Better is death in one’s own duty; the duty of another is fraught with fear. (3.35) The power of true self‐knowledge is not only motivational; it is liberating. Meaningful action and personal growth spring from its authenticity. Without secure motivation, it’s difficult in any life situation—and certainly in entering a university—to set realistic objectives and maintain a credible perspective. Others’ expectations can keep you from knowing yourself. It is also possible that your “life”— whatever it is that makes you whole—lies outside the challenges and demands that university studies present. This is a sobering thought, but the motivation for returning to the university must be honestly faced and evaluated. Be certain that your motivation is both solid and secure.
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AM I READY TO LEARN?
Because enrolling in a university degree program is a big decision—one of the most significant in a lifetime, for many—it’s really important to be able to answer yes to the following question: Am I ready to learn?
Researchers have identified various contexts (sets of conditions) that stimulate adults to learn and seek change. We invite you to explore four particular contexts to help you understand what motivates and gives you confidence to learn. As you read about each context, ask yourself,
“Is this context (situation) similar to mine as I pursue my degree online?” Or, “Do I feel comfortable thinking of my online learning decision in this context?”
When you can answer yes to these questions as you consider a particular context, you are acquiring a level of self‐knowledge and confidence about what motivates you to proceed toward your goal of a university degree. That is, you are not saying, “I should” get a university degree or “I want” to get a degree. Instead, you are recognizing (and saying) “I know I’m ready to begin . . . I feel comfortable identifying myself with a particular supportive context or perspective—one that "Know Thyself" was a guiding motivates me to learn and makes my goal realistic and highly principle of the ancient philosophy desirable.” Socrates. It remains a sound principle today
A word of caution as you review the “readiness to learn contexts” below: You may find particular aspects that describe your situation in more than one context, and you may not feel that you completely fit into any one of the four. That’s fine. Human decisions are normally motivated by more than one source. But, you should determine which of these contexts for learning supports you (provides you with a framework) in a primary way and which supports you in a secondary way. CONTEXTS THAT MOTIVATE LEARNING
Based on the research of Malcolm Knowles (1984), here are four “distinct contexts” that stimulate adults to learn. We have cited a student experience to illustrate each one. Read each short narrative carefully and think about your own situation as you proceed.
Practical Context I need to know in order to cope with things I face.
Sara’s story: I’m pretty open to learning, but I’m most enthusiastic about it when I know that I’m going to gain something practical from it. I’m not really interested in just being told, “You gotta learn this,” without knowing in advance how it’s going to benefit me. That doesn’t mean I always have to apply what I learn immediately. I’m comfortable with knowing it will be useful sometime in the future. When I think about situations in my family and at work that make demands on me, I feel that I’m handling them, but I’d like to
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be able to cope with them better. I’d like to be sure about the approaches I’m taking and decisions I’m making. I’d like solutions to problems I face.
Personal Context I want to do this myself, accomplish important goals.
Chris’s story: When it comes to learning, I see myself positioned in the starting blocks with a clear path stretched out in front of me, a path that will get me to the finish line. Sure, it would be a bit foolish to say, “I see the finish line clearly,” because I’m realistic enough to know that circumstances, conflicts, and surprises always happen to slow you down. But what motivates me to learn is being able to say,
“There’s a goal out there that I can glimpse, and I’m committed to reaching it.” I know what it is, and I’m on my way toward getting there. Learning makes me feel better about myself, and I definitely think that the learning quest that I’m on will improve the quality of my life and my future.
Personal goals can be one of the greatest motivators
Experiential Context I’m at a point where I can pull things together from experience.
Fred’s story: A lot of people talk primarily about the future when they explain their interest in learning. I realize that it’s important to plan for the future. But, I like to consider the past, too, and my significant insights from past experiences. Real‐life experiences have informed me accurately about many things, allowing me to develop a solid foundation for forming values and being confident in what I do and think. I may have to unlearn some things, but I’m open to that. My ideal learning environment is one where I can consider what I’ve already learned from life experience, reflect on it, and then adapt it to a new situation— discovering new meaning and competence in the process.
Idealistic Context I want to explore ideas, theories, and concepts to experience discovery of something new.
Jamie’s story—Researchers call me a cognitive learner. Those who don’t use such technical terms label me as a person more interested in theory than in practice. I can accept that, but I know that practice can’t be avoided entirely. In any given situation, what triggers my interest in learning is learning for its own sake. I know grades, diplomas, and new jobs are desirable aspects of the formal educational journey, but they don’t motivate me nearly as much as the pleasure of discovering something new or learning something that may not have utilitarian value. For me, there’s joy just in expanding my mind, and I don’t plan to abandon this learning process as long as I live.
CHART THE CONTEXTS THAT MOTIVATE YOU TO LEARN
Compare your story (Worksheet 1.4) with the preceding stories to determine which context is the one that primarily stimulates you to learn and supports you, allowing you to say, “Here’s why I’m ready to learn!”
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Then, mark the motivational strength that each learning context has for you.
Worksheet 1.4 Contexts That Motivate You to Learn Context That Motivates
Learning
Practical context: I need to know, to cope with things I face.
Personal context: I want to do this myself, to accomplish important goals.
Experimental context: I’m at a point where I can pull things together from experience.
Idealistic context: I want to explore ideas, theories, and concepts to experience discovery of something new.
Weak
Motivator
Moderate
Motivator
Strong
Motivator
Very Strong
Motivator
MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
Your readiness to learn is also driven by psychological motivation. You are motivated by inborn needs, which are universal. Only by satisfying these needs are you able to fully develop your unique personality and human potential. Abraham Maslow’s research (1954) identifies five levels of need that are basic in our human experience. They form a hierarchy, motivating each of us to achieve step‐by‐step change and growth as our needs are satisfied at each level (see Figure 1.1).
Is this concept important for you? Yes, it is—in two particular ways:
• Being ready to learn at a university level involves more than being ready to get a diploma; it also involves being ready to develop as a person.
• Paying full attention to physical and emotional well‐being needs is essential before it is realistic to expect achievement of personal potential and influence (self‐actualization).
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Figure 1.1 Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Consider each level in the hierarchical chart carefully. Which of these levels of need have been essentially satisfied in your life? At which levels do you sense a need (motivation) to seek further development/growth? SUMMARY: IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF MOTIVATION
Individual approaches to learning are changed by circumstances and age. So, in returning to university, it’s important (1) to be aware of particular contexts and circumstances that motivate adults and (2) to evaluate what truly motivates you to seek your educational goal. This serious, honest exploration is a sure means of determining whether or not you are ready for the learning journey ahead, including a plan to fit “school” into your day‐to‐day life. When you are motivated toward your goal by a particularly strong context (set of circumstances) or have a strong personal drive (psychological motivation) toward achieving it, you are well on your way to being ready to embrace learning. Simply deciding on an educational goal on the basis of others’ encouragement, without having identified a solid internal and external motivational perspective of your own, can be misleading. In other words, motivation can be an elusive thing: Readiness to learn is shaped by making motivation concrete!
Managing Your Time and Resources
University studies take time. There is no easy pill. If you are ready to return to school, then you understand that you will have to rearrange your life so that you have time to devote to your studies. Online learning removes the travel, parking, and child‐care issues related to driving to a brick‐and‐mortar institution, but there is no getting around the fact that you will have to carve out time to read, write, think, and interact with instructors and peers. We have seen adult students attempt to return to university studies with very
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unrealistic expectations. They assume that an hour here or there when they have some extra time will be enough to keep up. Unfortunately, those students usually drop out after one or two courses. So, as you embark upon this new adventure, you need to realistically assess your current life situation and your schedule. What are you going to change to create time to complete your coursework? It is easy to find excuses not to go back to school, and it is easy to get sidetracked by life once you have started. Being ready means you have committed to making your studies a top priority. Initially it might be difficult, but you will find that you soon fall into a rhythm, where school and study become second nature.
MAKING A SCHEDULE
In the same way that you need to create a monthly budget for your expenses, bills, and so on, consider having a budget for your time. The most common problem students have with writing comes from lack of planning. In fact, professional writers also have to plan their days, finding the time to write. You will always find people and things that demand your time, so make it a habit of writing down what you need to do and when you can add it to your schedule. Below is a schedule sample of a working single mother’s week. Although every person has a different set of circumstances and his or her own busy life, we all have one major challenge: There are only twenty‐four hours in a day!
6:00 a.m.–7:30 a.m
Sample Schedule
Get ready for work, get children ready for school
7:30 a.m.–8:00 a.m.
8:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m.
10:00 a.m.–10:15 a.m.
10:15 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
12:00 p.m.–12:30 or 1:00 p.m.
1:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.
5:00 p.m.–5:30 p.m.
Commute to work
Work at home or for employer
Break
Back to work
Lunch
Work
Commute back home
7:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m.
Time with children, TV, activities with family or friends
9:00 p.m.–10:00 or 11:00 p.m. Various tasks or time to relax Remember, every time that your children see you doing schoolwork, reading, writing papers, and participating in
Do You Agree? online discussions, you are providing a lasting and invaluable
Weekends: How do you spend your impression. At first, they may make demands on your time and weekends? Can you find time then for perhaps even resent that you are taking this time for yourself. studying? Are there leisure or
But if you explain that what you are doing is for the future of recreational activities you can forgo? the whole family and suggest that you all do your homework together, you will begin to see new attitudes, acceptance, and, soon, respect. Worksheet 1.5 provides a blank schedule for you to fill out. Now, consider how you will spend your time. When and how will you make time for school and set priorities? Studying and reading in short bursts
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can be very effective. Spending fifteen minutes reading the summary of your chapter and highlighting important points is all part of the process. Your peak study time, meaning that period during the day when you can best focus and absorb information, is something that you will soon discover. Worksheet 1.5 Create Your Schedule
5:00 a.m.
6:00 a.m.
7:00 a.m.
8:00 a.m.
9:00 a.m.
10:00 a.m.
11:00 a.m.
12:00 p.m.
1:00 p.m.
2:00 p.m.
3:00 p.m.
4:00 p.m.
5:00 p.m.
6:00 p.m.
7:00 p.m.
8:00 p.m.
9:00 p.m.
10:00 p.m.
11:00 p.m.
12:00 a.m.
Time management is important for all aspects of your return to school, and you must set aside sufficient time for writing. Writing is the medium for communication when attending classes online.
How good is your time management? Try this online time management assessment
(http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_88.htm)
ESSENTIAL SUPPORTS: MANAGING YOUR TIME
It’s all about balance and control!
Balance
To balance your online learning commitment with your existing commitments, it’s necessary to determine how much time you’ll need each week for your online studies. This is pretty easy to do; thousands of adult learners have responded to recent surveys designed to gather this important information. These survey results indicate that most accelerated online university‐level courses (five weeks long) require the student
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to set aside twelve to fifteen uninterrupted hours per week for learning activities. This time is needed for reading, participating in online discussion, researching, reflecting, and writing.
“If x represents the things that cause you stress and y represents the things that enhance your life, then for When you know how much time your online the next week do two fewer of the things that cause studies will require each week, you then face the you stress and one more of the things that enhance daunting challenge of “finding the time.” A major your life. Repeat as necessary.” —Anita Houghton misstep at this point in time management is failing to actually identify the time required. It’s not enough just to acknowledge that twelve to fifteen hours of time will be needed; it’s necessary to find these hours each week, plot them on an outline of your week’s activities, and keep the outline in front of you. Identify chunks of time uninterrupted. Your outline will show the balance that you’ve worked out to accommodate the demands of study and other activities.
Control
Your remaining challenge is control. But remember, “planned balance” must precede control. Although it’s never possible to achieve perfect control in time management—because unexpected things happen in life—you can control a lot of what you concretely plan. Without question, control of your time is determined largely by self‐discipline related to your life demands, activities, and relationships. Not only that, honest assessment of the effectiveness of your control is also up to you. It’s wise to assess your time management skills regularly.
Using Worksheet 1.6, try this approach to achieving balance and control in time management.
Worksheet 1.6 Achiveing Balance and Control in Time Management
Achieving Balance
Make a List
How I Plan to Cope
Unrealistic
demands
Activities that I can adjust
Relationships that I can change
Achieving Control
Make a List
How I Plan to Cope
Self‐discipline
Assessment of progress Self‐Test: Stress and Time Management
It’s easy to be misinformed about stress and time management. Try answering these statements:
______ (True) ______ (False) 1. I don’t feel stressed at work, so I can be confident that stress is not affecting my performance negatively.
______ (True) ______ (False) 2. If I didn’t have to work so many hours, I wouldn’t be so stressed.
______ (True) ______ (False) 3. By managing my time better, I can reduce my workplace and family stress. ______ (True) ______ (False) 4. The reason I have a time management problem is obvious: too many things have been assigned to me.
______ (True) ______ (False) 5. I find that working steadily through tasks as they come along—being productive and getting things done—is the best way to use my time.
______ (True) ______ (False) 6. Just getting rid of clutter and not letting it accumulate around me is my most valued time management strategy.
______ (True) ______ (False) 7. I identify blocks of time to work on projects or assignments and maintain a hard line against distractions when I’m engaged in defined and planned work.
______ (True) ______ (False) 8. It’s never wise to postpone things; that’s my motto.
______ (True) ______ (False) 9. After I got a calendar and started writing things down, I began to understand how foolish I’d been in trying to manage my time (and my life) without these simple tools.
______ (True) ______ (False) 10. Enrolling in online university studies, I’ve decided that “seeking a balance” is going to be my approach to time management. I can’t give up everything! Comments and Observations on the Ten Previous Statements
1. It’s true that stress is usually something you are aware of, but stress has insidious qualities that can prevent you from being fully conscious of its influence on performance.
2. Certainly, the number of hours worked can affect stress, but the important underlying factor is how you feel while completing the required hours.
3. Yes, effective time management can help you reduce stress, but, as indicated in the comment above, your emotional perspective can influence stress at a level that time management techniques cannot alter. 4. Use of time management techniques, such as planning and analysis of individual tasks, will help you determine if “too many things have been assigned” to you. But don’t reach this conclusion without first using proven time management techniques.
5. Just digging in is not always the best thing. Prioritizing personal responsibilities and tasks allows you to deal with both the urgent and essential things systematically rather than randomly. Using this approach, you can usually discover ways to increase time efficiencies.
6. This time management technique is an effective one: just handle things once; don’t pile them. But think (about future needs) in your clearing‐away activities.
7. This strategy requires serious discipline, but its effectiveness is unequaled.
8. Postponing things can lead to a pattern of procrastination, but modifying a schedule and prioritizing things—even eliminating routine activities sometimes—are necessary steps in managing time effectively. 9. There’s no question about it—you can’t manage time fully without keeping a calendar consistently and analyzing patterns that become evident there.
10. “Keeping balance” is a fundamental principle in managing time and creating satisfying life experiences. Rest and relaxation, for instance, cannot be ignored in any time management plan.
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THE BIG ROCKS STORY
Stephen Covey’s book First Things First (1996) tells the story of an expert in time management who was speaking to a group of business students. As he stood in front of the group of high‐powered overachievers he said,
“Okay, time for a quiz.” He then pulled out a one‐gallon, wide‐mouthed Mason jar and set it on the table. He produced about a dozen fist‐sized rocks and carefully placed them one at a time into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, “Is this jar full?” Everyone in the class said, “Yes.” Then he said, “Really?” He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar, causing the gravel to work down into the space between the big rocks. Then he asked the group once more, “Is the jar full?” By this time the class was on to him. “Probably not,” one of them answered. “Good,” he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand and started dumping the sand into the jar until it filled the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, “Is this jar full?” “No!” the class shouted. Once again he said, “Good.” Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, “What is the point of this illustration?” One eager beaver raised his hand and said, “The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it!” “No,” the speaker replied, “that’s not the point.” “The truth this illustration teaches us is that if you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all. What are the big rocks in your life? Your children, your loved ones, your education, your dreams, a worthy cause, teaching others, doing things you love, your health, your mate? Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you’ll never get them in at all. If you sweat about the little stuff, then you’ll fill your life with little things, and you’ll never have the real quality time you need to spend on the big, important stuff.”
There is always room in life for the "big rocks"
SUMMARY: APPROACHES TO TIME MANAGEMENT
Online learning offers great flexibility for participants, but it is nevertheless a structured activity that requires a significant level of self‐directedness and accountability on the part of each learner. It is essential, therefore, for you to examine your time management skills because the online learning environment makes you almost totally accountable for effectiveness in these areas. To find time for online studies without
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destroying balance in your life, you may need to restructure your day‐to‐day commitments. It’s necessary to balance your study time with your existing life routines; it’s a good practice to have a systematic plan for studying, rather than attempting to do too much at one time. It’s important to develop efficiencies, and it’s necessary to eat and sleep properly. And, remember, relaxation and reflection are critically important aspects of a balanced life; you can’t be successful at time management unless you allow for sufficient
“down” time.”
My Response
As a part of “Getting Started,” I am setting the following goals related to:
Being ready to face challenges Knowing what motivates me Managing my time and resources