By Susan Smith Nash, Ph.D.
Whether you are new to eLearning, or have taken numerous courses over the years from different institutions, it is always good to take a look at the courses you are taking and to map out a strategy that will allow you to complete the required work and to succeed.
Learning Objectives and Structure of the Course
1. — What is the topic of the course? What are the goals of the class? How long does the course last? When is work due? List the overview and create a calendar for yourself.
2. — What are the primary learning objectives? What are the main activities? Reading? Discussions? Writing? Problem-solving? Research? Make a list.
3. — What instructional materials are used? Make sure you have obtained them and they are organized clearly. Books, articles, presentations, graphics, videos, etc.
4. — What kinds of collaborative activities are you expected to do? Look ahead in the course syllabus and gain an idea of what you're supposed to do.
5. — How will you be assessed? How will it be determined that you've achieved the learning objectives?
Overview Your Study Habits, Self-Regulation
1. — What are your study behaviors? What are the best times, places, and situations for you to study?
2. — When do you create timelines and set deadlines? How do you set goals for yourself?
3. — How do you know if you've actually learned something? Do you remember it? Do you apply the knowledge? Are you able to generalize from a specific case and apply as an analogue? Does the place you are in make a difference?
Learning Preferences
1. — How do you most readily perceive information? Do you prefer visual, auditory, touch, or kinaesthetic?
2. — How do you manage information in order to remember it? How do you manage information you'll be using to solve problems? How do you process information? Do you like to organize it in categories? spatially? time-sequences? chronologically? by colors?
3. — How do your emotions factor in your learning? feelings of confidence? acceptance by peers and professor?
4. — How does your personality play a role? What type are you, and how do you approach people, groups, places?
Your Day-to-Day Approach to Learning
1. — Cognitive processing: The way you tend to receive, store, and retrieve information.
2. — Patterns of learning: Your approach, your behaviors and the place/context where you tend to learn.
3. — Adaptive responses: Adjustments one makes in order to accommodate less than ideal situations and contexts.
Conclusion
Taking an integrative approach to the course content along with how you learn is very important. The secret to a successful plan is to plan ahead. At the same time, do not overreact to unexpected deviations from expectations. Maintain maximum flexibility in order to adjust to the requirements of the class.