Final Proj

INSTITUTO SUPERIOR DE CIÊNCIAS DE EDUCAÇÃO DA HUÍLA ISCED-HUÍLA DEPARTAMENTO DE LÍNGUAS E CIÊNCIAS HUMANAS SECÇÃO DE ENSINO E INVESTIGAÇÃO DE INGLÊS INDIVIDUAL WORK: Summary of the units 1-4 Name: Ludimila Claúdia Tombe Manico Course: English Language teaching ELT Subject: Metodologia de Investigação Científica Period: Regular Year: One The tuthor Tomás de Aquino Yambi Academic year: 2023/2024 Content´s Page Introduction 1 Unit 1: Research and Success in Higher Education 2 Importance is talent for a student of your caliber 5 Unit 2- Getting you organized for University studies 6 Unit 3: How You Study and Learn AT University 8 Unit 4: Learning Styles and learning Strategies 13 Conclusion 15 References: 16  Introduction In the present work I will summarize all units that we have studied in the Subject. I the unit 1 I will have a look over the definition of research, the mission and various curricular components of the English course at ISCED-Huíla and identify what is expected from an higher education student and also I will look at some study skills that a student have to possess. In unit 2, I will discuss how we can have control of our health (food and well-being) and also safety while at university and to help us applying effective time management strategies and to balance school/study, work and home and also, approaches managing the expected and natural feelings of fear and stress during our studies. In the unit 3 I will summarize how we study and learn at university and ways to improve or memory. In the unit 4, I will have a look at the learning styles, some concepts and learning strategies and finally arrive at a conclusion of the all units emphasizing my strengths and weaknesses and my challenges at university setting. Unit 1: Research and Success in Higher Education In this unit we had a look over the definition of research, the mission and various curricular components of the English course at ISCED-Huíla and identify what is expected from an higher education student and also we had a look at some study skills that a student have to possess. Research definition Research has two main meanings. It can refer to work done in a library, in which you look at books and articles written on a topic and then use the results to arrive at your own conclusions. It can also refer to empirical information collected “in field”. This second kind of research is relatively common in science and the social sciences, and may involve experiments, surveys, interviews, and so on. (Waters and Waters, 1995, .118). According to the LongMan Cambridge Advanced learners and the Dictionary.reference.com, I infer to say that research is the systematic process of seeking for information for a detailed study/topic in order to prove or unprove theory. What do they have in common? A: They have systematic methods, the goal is the understanding of problem or a situation and they are based on theories or principles. How different are they? A:Some researches are more in a theorical sense, which means that, they are based on gather an amount of theorical information and other researchers are more practical, which means that, they requires an empirical study. How would you define research? A: Research is the seeking of an amount of information whether theorical or empirical to accomplish determined conclusions regarding to a specific topic. Research Methods: The research methods I know are: the quantitative research method and the qualitative research method. The mission of the English course at ISCED-Huíla: The English course at Isced-Huíla mission is to prepare English language professionals (EFL students, teachers, teacher trainers, school administrators, classroom researches in Applied linguistics). The curricular Components of the English Course at ISCED-Huíla: The curricular components are: didática Geral, Psicologia de desenvolvimento, Informática Aplicada, Português 1 e 2, Francês 1 e 2, Metodologia de Investigação, Introdução aos Estudos Literários, , Introdução aos Estudos Linguísticos, Técnicas de Expressão, Língua Inglesa 1, 2 e 3, Estatística Aplicada, Psicolinguística, Linguística Bantu, Literatura Africana de Expressão Inglesa, Metodologia de Ensino de Inglês 1e 2, Técnicas de Leitura, Sociolinguística, Administração e Gestão escolar, Linguística Aplicada ao Ensino de Inglês, Literatura Anglo-Americana, Técnicas de Composição, Prática Pedagógica 1 e 2 e trabalho de Licenciatura. I would divide them as English language learning, Language learning, Study skills, teaching skills, Linguistics skills, Literary skills, Management and Leadership skills, Teacher training skills and research skills. What is expected from a higher education student: From a higher education student is expected: Independence, Self-motivation, Openness to work with others, ability to work things for yourself, ability to set goals to improve your work, ability to organize your time and ability to work out how you learn best. How to be an independent student: To be an independent student it is necessary: have a self-guidance, varies by programs , a greater freedom, time management, capacity to make wise choices and have a keep going attitude. Benefits, challenges and risks of being an independent student: Benefits of being an independent student are: more control over your study time, more control over your spare time, more choice about when and where to study, more choice about how you study, more responsibility about your own success, more choice about how much energy you devote to topics that interests you and more control over choice of topics. An independent student can face the following challenges: to make time effectively, to meet deadlines, to use spare time effectively in building your personal profile, to put time aside to relax, rest and enjoy yourself, to organize a place to study, to work out the best places and times for you for different kinds of study activity, to identify your learning style for different types of tasks, to identify ways to improve your own performance, to find he bright balance between a broad set of interests at a superficial level and too much depth in a narrow range of topics, to take responsibility for pursuing solutions to problems on your own and to create a coherent program of study that interests and meets your goals. Assuming the independent student position involves: Losing a sense of time, understanding how long study tasks take, forgetting thins that must be done, using all your spare time for study, missing opportunities to develop a wider personal profile that will benefit you later when applying for jobs, not getting down to study, doing what you enjoy most rather than what works best for you, if these are different, failure to understand previous barriers to learning, not addressing weaknesses in your performance, giving up too easily, devoting too much time to topics that interests you at the expense of those needed to complete the program, letting things slip, losing motivation, losing a sense of what are you supposed to do, running away for help too soon instead of trying to solve the problem yourself, choosing topics that do not contribute towards your goals. The role of technology in higher education: The technology in higher education has the role to offer Channels Creativity, Increases opportunity, personalizes instruction, improves assessments, supports collaboration, sharpens thinking and adds meaning. Study skills that an adult and independent student should demonstrate in higher education: Self-management skills for study: It is needed to enable students to cope with the responsibilities of taking charge of their studies and to engage fully in the learning process. It involves: Independence, skills management, learning, strategies, time, improving performance and meta cognitive skills. Academic skills: this one involve precision, structure and clarity, style and format, audience awareness, citing and referencing and subject discipline. People management skills: many academic tasks are undertaken in social contexts with other students, the public ,client, face to face or using technology. It involves: taking an active part, contributing constructively, peer feedback. Importance is talent for a student of your caliber Talent of my caliber is important in these terms: students with well above average creativity, students who are rapid, accurate, and selective in retrieving information, students with high level of abstract thinking have effective communication skills, students with task commitment, perseverance, drive to achieve openness to self-criticism and other people’s skills. Unit 2- Getting you organized for University studies The aims of these unit was to understand how we can have control of our health (food and well-being) and also safety while at university; was also to help us applying effective time management strategies and to balance school/study, work and home and also, approaches managing the expected and natural feelings of fear and stress during our studies. Time management: we all have 24 hours per day and also different lifestyle but to really get the most from the time we have, is also important to set priorities, differentiate what is urgent to do and what can be delayed; the idea of having strategies at hand also helps balancing time between work, study and home. Some tips to mange time is to set a daily routine, have a “to do” list and find time for leisure and resting. Procrastination: the act of delaying or putting off intentionally activities that should be done, it isn’t just about laziness or lack of resolve. To achieve a more lasting response to it we need first to understand the reasons for it and they can be: dislike of a particular task, capacity for distraction, desire not to offend, overly optimistic time assessment, fear of failure and perfectionism. Some ways for beating procrastination are: don’t fear fearing, get the pain balance right, give yourself positive messages, use visualization, take controlled breaks and record success and make it easier. Making a study time table (Golden Rules): in this topic we talked about some tips to set a time table which are: -Golden Rule 1: Establish a daily routine; -Golden Rule 2: Set yourself easily attainable; -Golden Rule 3: Recognize your own strengths and weaknesses and them into your time-table; -Golden Rule 4: Learn how to find enough time and make effective use of it. Dealing with the unexpected: when establishing our time-table is also important to understand that unexpected things may happen and there 3 types of them, they are: -The unpredictable or unexpected/ known as an Act of God: acts that we do not have control over them. -The predictable unexpected due to other people: allowing other people to “eat our time”; -The predictable unexpected due to yourself: these are unplanned events that are our own fault. Fear and stress: students tend to be fearful and stressed about higher education, lectures, coursework, deadlines, tests, exams, and living or working with colleagues they do not get on with, or thinking about the future. Stress can be a feeling experienced when a student perceives that demands exceed the personal and social resources she or he is able to mobilize. Fear can be defined as the feeling of being afraid, due to a perceived danger or threat, causing psychological and behavioral changes. Thompson (2005) in his book, talks about this enemy “fear”. It suggests the use of the fear pyramid that helps us viewing our struggles and learning to overcome them. According to Thomas Frank, a writer, there are some tips to overcome fear, such as: Preparing yourself for everything that college is going to thrown you by reading books, listening podcasts; Be open to help and see what are the sources of help availed at the moment for you; Set a positive mindset in a very positive and productive way to college. Unit 3: How You Study and Learn AT University 3.1-How to improve memory What is study all about? Studying is a systematic and intentional cognitive process that encompasses the acquisition, comprehension, retention, and application of knowledge, typically within the framework of an educational or scholarly context. It involves a range of deliberate mental activities, including reading, analysis, reflection, synthesis, and evaluation, often guided by specific learning objectives or research goals and also we gave a look at ways to improve our memorizing skills. According to the merriam-webster, studying is an application of the mental faculties for the acquisition of knowledge, taking also ChatGPT, studying refers to the action of devoting time and attention to acquiring knowledge on a particular subject and according to the Britannica Dictionary, studying is the activity or process of learning about something. Given the third definitions and taking account the definition above from Biggs, I define studying as the process of acquiring knowledge using mental faculties which requires a qualitative and quantitative time having resources at hand to make possible the effective learning process. The materials that i use more frequently are textbooks, articles and lectures. Problem solving What I understand by problem-solving skills is that, are the abilities such as self-control, fast thinking, emotional intelligence, to analyze a certain situation and give solutions to the problems we are facing at the moment. The main keys for problem-solving are: - Identify the problem; -Analyzing hypothesis; -Giving solution to the problem. The purpose of studying in a university setting. The objectives of studying are: I’ve experienced the objectives of studying in many situations of my life but for instance, Studying linguistics drove me into these objectives. I had not any idea about what is language and I’ve learned that language is about grammar and vocabulary, later on i learned other concepts such as langue which stands for the grammatical rules that make communication within a lingual community possible and parole, that is the act of speaking (Ferdinand de Saussure). After that I learned that there is not a unique structure for language; all language have grammar but they differ on their structures and also that they are not static. Setting a SMART academic goals objectives are described in these words: S- Specific M-Measurable A- Achievable T- Time-bound Debunking studying myths. -Multitask while studying: Multitask it is what we call the attempt to do more than one thing at the time. For example: For me, studying while listening to music is not viable. I might be concentrated in the early few minutes but later on, I will find myself thinking about others things that are not studies or singing. - Highlighting main points of a text is useful: Highlighting text can be profitable by itself but, it can be tricky because the tendency is to spend too much time on the surface activity. - Studying effectively is effortless: Studying takes time, effort, and in some cases, a little drudgery. What is learning all about? Learning is any process that in living organisms leads to permanent capacity change and which is not solely due to biological maturation or ageing. The chapter has 8 sections. The chapter is number 4 and it has 8 sections which are: 1. Learning typologies 2. The Piaget’s understanding of learning 3. Cumulative learning 4. Assimilative learning 5. Accommodative learning 6. Transformative learning 7. Connections and transfer potentials 8. Summary Some key words to understand the chapter are: trial-and-error learning, assimilation, accommodation, commutation, transformative. About types of learning: 1. Cumulative learning: occurs in situations where the learner does not possesses any developed mental scheme to which impressions from the environment can be related. 2. Assimilative learning: in assimilative learning, the learner adapts and incorporates impressions from his or her surroundings as an extension and differentiation of mental schemes built up through earlier learning. 3. Accommodative learning: in this type of learning we can activate when we are in situations in which impulses from the environment cannot immediately be linked to the existing schemes due to some inconsistency or other, something that does not fit. 4. Transformative learning: refers to the process by which we transform our taken-for-granted frames of reference, to make them more inclusive, discriminating, open, emotionally capable of change, and reflective so that they may generate beliefs and options that will prove more true or justified to guide action. About barriers to learning we have some barriers described here: 1. Mislearning : Mislearning is about learning that does not correspond to what was intended or what was communicated as to content. In many situations there will, thus, be simple mislearning, i.e. somehow or other there will be what we, in ordinary terms, call a misunderstanding, or perhaps a failure of concentration, leading the individual to not quite understand or grasp what is going on, or, in an educational situation, what was meant to be learnt. 2. Defense about learning : While mislearning is mostly connected with the content dimension of learning, mainly in connection with the incentive dimension, mental defense against learning can take place in the way that learning is prevented or distorted by largely unconscious mental mechanisms serving to protect the individual against learning which, for one reason or the other, can be threatening, limiting or in some other way places a strain on maintaining mental balance. 3. Ambivalence: concerns the fact that at one and the same time, the individual both wants and does not want to become engaged in a course of learning. 4. Resistance to learning: defense is something that is built up before the situation in which it is expressed, a preparedness that is at one’s disposal, while resistance is something that is mobilized in certain situations where the individual is faced with something that she or he either cannot, or will not, accept. Individual memory styles The brain is divided into two hemispheres, the left and the right one. Research into brain damage shows that different mental functions are affected depending on which hemisphere is damaged. It means that each part of the brain is generally associated with particular thinking and memory styles. The left brain is responsible for trigging our logical thinking style, our sequence, logic of the things, analysis, numbers, lyrics of songs and many other things and our right brain brings up the gestalt thinking style, metaphor, synthesis, image and color, tune and rhythm, some language, emotion, imagination and recognize faces. The brain is also divided top-down into three main areas of activity which are: the reptile brain (it interprets stress or anxiety as a danger to our survival), the limbic system (it control functions such as emotions, pleasure, moods, romance, and immunity to disease) and the neo-cortex (it controls intellectual processes such as language, thinking, and handling numbers) I am more right brain because of the things I cited above. How to improve memory? There are some tips that can help remembering things. Here are some of them: repetition or over-learning, association, mnemonics, active listening, writing things down, play with information and think about advertisements. What are the stages of the memory? The stages of the memory are three: 1º Stage: Taking information in; 2º Stage : Retaining information long enough; 3º Stage: Encoding information. Some suggestions for multiple encoding what we have in hands which are our environment, using our clothes, the parts of the body and our motor memory. Unit 4: Learning Styles and learning Strategies In this unit we had a look at the learning styles, some concepts and learning strategies, which are many and will describe bellow. The main learning styles are: Behaviorism: is a theory of learning based on observable behaviors and discounting any mental activity; it has its roots in the 19th and early 20th centuries with Watson that viewed that psychology could only become a true science if it became a process of detailed objective observation and scientific measurement. Constructivism: the theory that view learning as the result of a mental construction; learning takes place when new information is built into and added onto an individual’s current structure of knowledge, understanding and skills. Cognitivism: is the study of mental processes such as learning, perceiving, remembering, using language, reasoning and solving problems. Classical conditioning: is the reinforcement of a natural reflex or some other behavioral which occurs as a response to a particular stimulus. Ex: Feeling of fear at sound of the dentist drill or at sight of a syringe in preparation for an injection. Operant conditioning: involves reinforcing a behavioral by rewarding it. Ex: If a mother gives her child chocolate bar every day he tidies his bedroom, before long the child may spend some time each day tidying. Learning styles Learning style by Honey and Mumford: the four styles described in the Honey Mumford model are: Activities: prefer to learn by doing rather than for example reading or listening; Reflectors: stand back and observe; Theorists: like to adapt and integrate all of their observations into frameworks, so that they are to see how one observation is related to other observations; Pragmatics: are keen to seek out and make use of new ideas. Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP): that is concerned with how we communicate and how this affects our learning. Over many years and through many research projects, including close and detailed observation of the way we communicate, three particular learning styles-visual, auditory and kinesthetic-have been identified. They are: visual learners, auditory learners and kinaesthetic learners. Learning styles by Brigges and Myers: classifies individuals according to their preferences in scales derived from theories of psychological types developed by Carl Jung. According to the model learners may be: extroverts, introverts, sensors, initiators, thinkers, feelers, judgers and perceivers. Conclusion About my Strengths: In these units I have learned many things from the purpose of the English course at ISCED till styles of learning. I could identify that our brain is very powerful and when well explored, I could identify my theory learning style which is more under the behaviorist because I feel like to learn I need reinforcement either positive and negative. I have learned my memory styles which is repetition or over-learning or and writing things down; some strategies to improve my memory are using Mnemonics and Association. I could learn how to establish a SMART goal and could realize that is a very good way to improve our achieving objectives in life and also I learned about the wheel balance life which helps us analyzing each aspect that compounds or life and a conscience to improve our weaknesses. As a student of the first year, I have experienced fear and stressful things and fortunately, I could find ways to overcome fear and stress and how to take advantage of my struggles at university. About my weaknesses: I could identify my weakness in terms of tracking time for doing my things, sometimes I think that I spend more than necessary time to finish a determined task; another thing is that, procrastination still being one of the biggest struggles in my life but again, is a lack of self-discipline. I am working on my down sides the best that I can and I believe that I have all the tools to succeed in my academic life and out of it, I believe that I am tracing the path for a worthy and profitable life. 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