The Art of Strategic Learning

HEI “HËNA E PLOTË” BEDËR

There are two students who have cheated during the exam.The teacher notices that the answers of their exams are very similar and so he calls them into his office

He then tells students that if they confess they will each pay a fee of 150 lek otherwise if neither confesses than each of them will pay just 100 lek. In case only one confesses then the confessing student won’t pay anything but his friend will pay a fee of 300 lek.

Afterwards students are brought to separate rooms where they can not communicate and are left to take a decision.

What should they do? Should they confess or should they defect?

A simple game

Defect Confess

Defect -100,-100

-300,0

Confess

0,-300 -150,-150

Another form of the gameAlban

Angela

Another form of the game

Defect Confess

Defect -100,-100

-300,0

Confess

0,-300 -150,-150

Alban

Angela

Another form of the game

Defect Confess

Defect -100,-100

-300,0

Confess

0,-300 -150,-150

Angela

Alban

From Greek ”στρατηγία stratēgia”->”art of troop leader”

Nowadays “strategy” has a generalized meaning-> a plan, method, or series of maneuvers for obtaining a specific goal or result under conditions of uncertainty

How can we use this concept in learning at university?

Strategy

Not all strategies lead to success The ones that lead to a successful end are

what we call “dominant strategies”

Having a strategy does not mean success!

What could be some dominant strategies in acting and learning at university?

For many students, the most striking difference between university and high school is that at university there's no one there to stand over you and tell you what to do

Step up and take responsibility. You're in charge of this thing.

Take control

Be sure to address both◦ short-term ◦ long-term goals: try to think beyond

financial/career goals

Set up your goals

Most students think they can miss and still do pretty well in the course. For four, five, six, seven classes, you might think: "No problem, I'll get the notes." But, miss seven classes and (if the course has 35 meetings) you've missed 20 percent of the content. This can do major damage to your GPA come the tests.

Get to class

Though nobody quite tells you this, at university most of the work is done outside the classroom.

Rule of thumb: one hour of lecture, two hours of preparation.

As soon as the semester starts, find yourself a quiet place to study and block out the times of the week you're going to do the studying.

Above all, don't count study-related activities as actual studying: copying over your notes, getting the e-readings, listening to the lecture again, and "getting acquainted" with your study group are all fine activities, but they don't count as studying. 

Study; don't "study" 

The single most underutilized resource at university is the office hour

Connect with your professor (or Teaching Assistant)

Putting off important tasks until the last minute can cause you unnecessary stress, and increases the likelihood of errors. Manage your time so that you have enough time to complete a task effectively◦ Use a paper or electronic planner to help keep

you organized throughout the day, week, and month

◦ Make a list of all the things you need to do in a given day, and check off each task as you complete it. This will help you stay organized and motivated.

Manage your time

Focus your attention on the materials you are studying

Avoid packing up material by establishing regular study sessions

Structure and organize the information you are studying

Utilize mnemonic devices to remember information

Visualize concepts to improve memory and recall

Learning improvement strategies

The “BEST” strategy

Relate new information to things you already know

Teach new concepts to another person Pay extra attention to difficult

information Vary your study routine Get some sleep!

Learning improvement strategies

Putting new knowledge and skills into practice can be one of the best ways to improve learning:◦ If it is a sport or athletic skill, perform the

activity on a regular basis◦ If you are learning a new language, practice

speaking with another person and surround yourself with language-immersion experiences

Gain practical experience

Short term plans:◦ Identify your strengths and weaknesses◦ Identify your likes and dislikes◦ Analyze your current situation◦ Analyze your dream job

Long term plans:◦ Develop your core skills◦ Identify career and

employment trends

What career planning has to do with strategic learning?

Pursue your passion

Dangerous but purposeful!

Thank you!