Learning Centered
Academic Support in the Learning Commons, Ford Hall 1st Floor, Willamette University
www.willamette.edu/dept/lcenter [email protected] 503.370.6505
Fall 2013/1
Academic Expectations at Willamette University
The College of Liberal Arts at Willamette University has rigorous academic expectations.
Two frameworks – Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives and Gardner’s Multiple
Intelligences – will help you understand what is expected of you.
Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives
Most complex
Create
Evaluate
Now
L
E
Bear in mind that you must start
with the simplest level. You need to
know something about a topic
before you can analyze and
evaluate it in a meaningful way.
Analyze
A
R
According to Bloom’s Taxonomy of
Educational Objectives, students
are always being asked to learn at a
certain level of complexity. At the
simplest level, you are asked to
memorize – a rather
straightforward activity. At more
complex levels, you are expected to
analyze, evaluate, and create.
Willamette pushes students up this
hierarchy.
Apply
N
I
N
Understand
G
Remember
Simplest
Then
Realize that some study strategies
are more effective than others for
different levels of learning. For
instance, memorization can be
achieved via repetition, whereas
analysis will require that you ask
questions, challenge assumptions,
identify contexts, and find
contrasts and comparisons.
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Academic Expectations at Willamette University
All of Gardner’s intelligences are likely to be used in the
Willamette community, but your classes are likely to rely
on two intelligences in particular:
linguistic intelligence and logical-mathematical
intelligence.
Linguistic intelligence relates to words, both spoken and
written. As a student at Willamette, you have entered a
“speech community,” and there are unwritten rules at
work, especially in the classroom. Who talks, when, how
much, the topics you should address, how to join a
discussion – all of this can be learned! We don’t expect
you to come knowing it. In addition, you will do a lot of
reading and writing. Invest in expanding your vocabulary.
Capture new words and learn them. It will make the
reading easier.
Logical-mathematical intelligence relates to your ability
to discern cause-and-effect, perceive patterns, use data,
and approach problems systematically. These strengths
will be used throughout the curriculum, not only in math
courses.
Because you are a member of an academic community,
two other intelligences – interpersonal and intrapersonal
– will also significantly impact your academic experience.
Interpersonal intelligence is the ability to interact with
and communicate effectively with others. Can you talk to
faculty comfortably? Can you accept their critique of
your work and incorporate their advice? Your
interpersonal intelligence also affects how you engage
with other students. Do you chat amiably with others?
Can you work in teams? (The ability to work well with
others is an attribute that employers look for.)
Your intrapersonal intelligence is also critical. This is
Gardner’s “self smart” category -- the one that speaks to
self-awareness and self-understanding. What aspects of
your self do you most strongly identify with? What
aspects do you most value? What are your strengths?
What do you want out of your Willamette experience?
This intelligence helps you determine which choices
hold the most purpose for you.
Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences
According to Howard Gardner, we
are smart in different ways. His
categories include:
Musical
Kinesthetic
Willamette’s
curriculum
relies heavily
on these!
Visual-spatial
Linguistic
Logicalmathematical
Interpersonal
Intrapersonal
Naturalistic
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Meeting Academic Expectations: Your Student Performance
Think of the classroom as a stage on which you perform the role of “student.” Some behaviors constitute the
performance of a “good student.” What behaviors do you bring to your performance?
Attend class regularly.
Show up on time and stay to the end.
Stay awake.
Prepare for class. Read assignments before class.
Be ready to ask a question or make a comment.
Participate in class discussions appropriately, neither talking too much nor too little. Stay on-topic.
Learn the language – the particular vocabulary and terminology – of the subject you are studying.
Invest time with the material you are trying to learn,
usually 2-3 hours outside of class for every hour in class.
Take notes.
Give the professor cues that you are paying attention.
If you tend to be quiet in class, meet outside of class with the professor so that she knows you are interested.
Schedule a visit with your professor in his office, especially if he has invited you to.
Address your professors respectfully. Ask how they prefer to be addressed.
Start with more formality rather than less. (“Professor” is a safer start than “Dude...”)
Once class starts, shift your focus to the instructor.
Study with others.
If you can feel yourself getting overwhelmed by your classes, talk to someone about it!
Use technology in class only as directed by your professor. Different faculty have different preferences.
Read, understand, and follow the syllabus.
Complete assignments per instructions. Ask for clarification if you need it.
On a semester-at-a-glance calendar, post both due dates and start dates for projects/papers.
If you see that you are likely to miss a deadline, communicate sooner rather than later.
Some deadlines are non-negotiable.
“Show up. Do the work. Graduate.” -- Don Negri, Economics Professor
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Student Performance: Self-Management and Academic Identity
How you perform the role of “student” is affected by how you manage your day-to-day life.
This is where self-management and academic identity intersect.
Self-Management
In order to perform as a good student, you need
to manage your life in ways that allow you to set
goals, determine priorities, and organize yourself
enough to get to class and complete assignments.
Are you healthy enough – physically, mentally,
emotionally – to sustain consistent effort over
the length of a 16-week semester? Do you have
the stamina and stability to engage with
difficult and challenging material?
Can you create and sustain daily and weekly
routines so that your energy, time, and focus
go toward meeting your academic commitments?
Can you delay short-term gratification and make
yourself study? Do you have the foresight to plan
so that you meet deadlines?
Can you follow instructions independently? Can you
figure out how to proceed when directions are vague?
This will impact not only classes and grades but also
financial aid, employment, study abroad, and
campus activities.
Can you stay on-task when you don’t learn something
quickly and easily? When you get feedback from
faculty, can you incorporate that into subsequent
assignments? Can you modify your approach if
needed? Can you self-correct if you derail?
If many of your answers are “no,” consider talking to
someone in Bishop Wellness or Academic Support.
A number of factors affect your ability to
“self-manage,” including:
Physical health
Nutrition, diet
Sleep – get enough, regularly
Exercise
Substance use and abuse
Medical concerns – address them promptly
Personal hygiene (laundry?!)
Mental health
Maintain healthy boundaries
Connect with people who affirm you
Manage conflict, keep drama to a minimum
Use medications properly
Seek counseling as needed
Monitor and seek help for addictions
(substances, video games, internet, etc.)
Attitudes, priorities, organizational ability
Manage your time, set priorities
Plan projects and work-flow
Act in alignment with your values and goals
Be curious and receptive
Accept mistakes and move on
Bounce back
For help with health issues or disabilities:
Bishop Wellness Center
Baxter Hall
503.370.6471
For help with academic issues:
Academic Support
Learning Commons, Ford 107B
503.370.6505
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Academic Identity: Why Are You the Student You Are?
How have you become the student/learner who you are today? You’ve been influenced by
many people: family, friends, teachers, counselors, coaches, and others. You’ve also been
affected by where you’ve been situated in society: by your home culture, economic situation,
social networks, communities in which you’ve lived, schools you’ve attended, and other
affiliations.
Throughout your life, you’ve received myriad messages about what you’re good at, what you
should do, what you can’t do, and about your intelligence. Society and “pivotal” individuals
have at least partly shaped your beliefs about yourself and your capabilities.
What are the first messages you remember about yourself as a student/learner? How would
your teachers have described you? How would you describe yourself as a young student?
Were there subjects in which you excelled, others in which you didn’t? Did any early
experiences color how you feel now (pro or con) about certain subjects? Were there subjects
that you wanted to know more about but didn’t get to study?
Regarding your decisions about college, who expected you to attend college? Did anyone
assume that you wouldn’t attend? In either case, what were those beliefs based on? Who
believed what about you, and why? Did you receive messages about what you should or
shouldn’t study because of you gender, ability or disability, race, ethnicity, economic status,
home culture, religion, family, etc.?
Were you encouraged to take particular educational paths or discouraged from certain ones?
Were you encouraged to consider certain kinds of majors or colleges (public versus private,
technical versus liberal arts)? What do you think a student like you should expect from a
Willamette education? Today, who cares deeply about your education?
Note that there is both opportunity and limitation involved here. You may have been told
what you should do, you may have been told what you can’t do -- but now it’s up to you to
explore the possibilities. At Willamette, you aren’t alone in this process. In addition to talking
with faculty, you are invited to visit with these people about your evolving interests and goals:
Mat Barreiro
Jeani Bragg
Luis Rosa
Gordy Toyama
Karen Wood
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
FORD 107B
UC 3rd floor
UC 3rd floor
UC 2nd floor
UC 2nd floor
503.370.6505
503.370.6296
503.375.5464
503.370.6265
503.370.6213
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Academic Identity and Intrapersonal Intelligence
Thinking about how your academic identity has been constructed requires intrapersonal
intelligence. This is Gardner’s “self smart” category – the one that speaks to self-awareness
and self-understanding. To answer the questions below, you need to reflect on your strengths
and weaknesses and to consider what motivates you. Intrapersonal intelligence requires that
you introspect about your authentic self, what’s important to you, and who you want to
become.
1. What are you most interested in learning about? What do you want to study?
2. What kinds of academic experiences energize you?
3. How do you approach academic challenges – with tenacity, determination, avoidance, loathing?
4. How do you handle out-of-comfort-zone academic experiences?
5. How do you handle the feeling of being a novice?
6. How do you handle the feeling of being an expert?
7. Can you engage with readings/discussions on topics that cause you dissonance?
8. Can you hold your usual point of view in abeyance while you consider unfamiliar perspectives?
9. (What does “abeyance” mean? And what do you do when you encounter new vocabulary?)
10. How do you handle feedback, critique, and criticism from professors? From students?
11. Can you learn from professors if you don’t like them?
12. What are you afraid of, academically speaking?
13. What motivates you?
14. What do grades mean to you? What do you think constitutes a healthy perspective about grades?
15. Do grades affect your self-esteem?
16. Which academic experiences – exams, papers, deadlines, presentations, group work – raise your anxiety?
17. How do you manage that anxiety?
18. What would your ideal learning experience be like?
To explore such questions, you can talk to faculty, and you can talk to staff in Career Services
(UC 2nd 3rd floor, 503.370.6413), the Chaplain’s Office (UC 2nd floor, 503.370.6213),
and Academic Support (Ford 107B, 503.370.6505).
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