Learning Journals Part 1

Michelle Fregeau

PREP 1300

February 17, 2019

Professor Christopher Cornish

 Entry 1: Learning Styles Inventory

January 15, 2019

This week, in Preparing for Academic Success, we completed the learning styles

inventory and the graph associated with the test. Upon completion, I found I am a very strong

‘thinking’ learner, meaning I enjoy learning ideas, facts and figures. My second highest score

was in the ‘watching’ category, also labelled as reflective observation. My scores in the ‘doing’

and ‘feeling’ categories were low to non-existent. These results landed me in the mode 2 learning

category.

The mode 2 category shows you learn best from watching or thinking. This result came

as no surprise to me. I, like the description of this learning type, enjoy learning lots of facts. I

enjoy learning systematically, like arranging a puzzle in its proper place. I also enjoy right or

wrong answers, and even more so I enjoy being on the correct end of those answers. A concrete

yes or no response is something I find satisfying, which is probably why I have always enjoyed

math or biology.

I also found I enjoy the application of knowledge this week. Learning something small in

biology and seeing that theory at work in a real-life situation is very exciting for me. I had this

experience while volunteering in the Emergency Department of the hospital in Collingwood this

week. A patient came into the hospital in pre-term labor. This got me thinking about the positive

feedback mechanism we had studied that week. Doctors were administering medication to stop

or reverse this reaction in the patient. I recognized there was a stimulus followed by a reaction,
and as in the positive feedback mechanism this reaction continued to intensify resulting in labor.

Understanding a small piece of a large puzzle was a very interesting experience.

A challenge I came across this week was feeling as if I did not have enough time to fully

understand an idea. The pre-health biology course is quite intense, delivering a lot of important

information in a small window of time. I found I become slightly anxious when I have not been

able to methodically learn a new piece of information or concept. This only makes me realize I

will have to be even more organized in allotting the proper amount of time for me to feel

comfortable with my progress in this course.

I feel becoming more self-aware through activities such as the learning style inventory is

very important. Recognizing your strengths and weaknesses and tailoring your learning

experience to suit these can only result in further success. The opportunity to reflect on who you

are personally as a learner is refreshing and eye-opening. I am excited to apply my learning

strategies in the weeks to come.

 Entry 2: SMART Goals & Time Management

January 25, 2019

This week in Preparing for Academic Success, we studied how to create SMART goals

and manage time effectively. I found both topics very useful for application in my personal life

as well as school life.

SMART goal setting stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and has a

time-frame for completion. After covering the week 3 content, I went ahead and made a few

SMART goals both for my personal life and school. I have made vague goals in the past, not

applying an end date or a specific plan, and they have never come to fruition. One of the personal

goals I came up with this week is to run a 10km race in under 52 minutes. I wrote down my goal,

along with a realistic three-month training schedule. My previous best 10km time is 53:30, so

this is a realistic goal to accomplish. I signed up for a 10km race in London, ON, the Forest City

Road Race. The race is on April 28th, giving me a specific time frame in which to train for and

attain my goal. A second goal set this week, is to attain a GPA of at least 3.0 for the Pre-Health

Program. This is incredibly important to me, as the program I am trying to gain entry to is highly

competitive. By implementing time management skills, I hope to accomplish this goal.

We learned about time management during our week 3 content. I found the advice of

finding the time of day you are most productive in and studying during that time everyday, to be

very useful. My mind absorbs information best in the morning. I like getting up around 6:00am,

having a cup of coffee and studying for two hours. My daughter is still sleeping, and I find I

retain all the information, without my mind wandering to other tasks. I am going to commit to

using this time to study in, five days a week moving forward. I have also found I am more
productive studying in public areas. While studying at home, it is easy to become distracted by

household tasks. When I am surrounded by people, I find I am more accountable for getting

work done and remaining on-task. By taking my daughter to a kid’s play gym in Collingwood,

she can have fun with other children, and I am able to focus on studying. Before trying this, I

never would have thought such a noisy, chaotic place would be one of my favorite places to be

productive! I also utilize the public library for much of my scheduled study time during the

week. These strategies help me be the most productive during the time I have, to complete school

work.
 Entry 3: Test Taking Strategies

January 28, 2019

Week five content of Preparing for Academic Success covers test taking strategies. I

worked ahead in the course content, because I do tend to have anxiety leading up to and during

major tests. I have been worried about my upcoming Pre-Health Biology test on March 3rd. It

isn’t uncommon for me to have difficulty sleeping beforehand and second guess my preparation

the day of the exam. I found some useful strategies such as scheduling time to study, avoiding

stimulants before a test and having reasonable expectations.

In the past I have studied when I felt I had time and not kept track of material covered.

After studying the test taking strategies, I added to my course calendar specific study times for

certain subjects. This is just 4-6 hours out of the week on top of my normal school schedule. I am

hoping this will keep me accountable and by routinely revisiting the content I can feel less

anxious come test time.

I will admit it, I am a caffeine lover. There is just nothing like a triple-shot almond milk

latte in the morning, and maybe in the afternoon. I habitually would drink quite a bit of caffeine

before a test in the hopes of it making me feel more alert. As I have learned, this is probably

contributing to my anxiety and could be causing me to ‘crash’ part way through a big test. My

next test I have decided to eat a meal high in fiber and carbohydrates as suggested, for a slow

release of energy… And save a celebratory latte for afterwards!

Coming from a family of over achievers (two doctors, a lawyer, VP of finances for a

region of hospitals…), it is easy to place unreasonable expectations on myself. Having the

personal expectation of getting 100% on all my difficult tests is not reasonable and is most likely
a major factor in my anxiety leading up to a test. Instead, I have decided to be prepared and stay

positive by avoiding negative self-talk. Using breathing exercises the night before a big test to

help me sleep and clear my mind could be very helpful too, and I am going to try this strategy

before my first biology test this semester. Rather than focusing on perfection, I will do my best

to prepare in advance and go into the test with a positive mindset.