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Unit 1 Study Questions: Journal Entry 1

Laura Howard
University of Maryland University College

1. What did you learn in this unit? (University of Maryland University College, n.d.)

This unit has focused my attention on how there may be other types of support services

that automatically would not be focused on as a type of support service provided by an

institution. This, for example, may include involving students to provide support to other

students. One of these types of support services from students, that I learned about during this

unit, is on peer reviews. At first, since we were required to submit a peer review for our one of

our assignments, I was nervous because I was not familiar with conducting a peer review or

where to find an example that fit what we needed for the assignment. The feedback from the peer

review, in regards to my assignment, gave me positive encouragement that I was supplying the

content required. Additionally, my peer partner provided helpful grammar and punctuation

suggestions on my draft after proofreading. The peer review is a type of student support service,

so I think this is one of the main things I can say that I learned about using and valuing as a

support service.

2. How did you learn the material? (University of Maryland University College, n.d.)
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The way that I learned this units content is mainly by reading the required readings.

Since these are the main sources of content within the unit, I devoted certain amounts of time

throughout the unit to make sure I read the material. This is because the readings are required

and that is where I find that I will be able to respond to the discussions and perform the

assignments adequately. The discussions do occasionally also bring to my attention various ideas

or things that I was not aware of or thought about before, but mainly it is the readings that

provide the most content in my learning process and that I will integrate into my work for this

class.

3. How confident are you about your knowledge in this unit? (University of Maryland

University College, n.d.)

I feel that I have a deeper understanding of the importance of offering support services

and the various types of support services overall. Since I work at a community college and have

plenty of experience with taking classes, I am quite familiar with what is available and with

using support services. The item that I am a little more concerned with my confidence level in is

understanding theoretical aspects to apply them to support services. I may be able to understand

what a theory is intending to do, but actually putting in into practice or trying to explain how it

can be applied, it not always easy for me to comprehend.

4. What was challenging for you in learning the material? (University of Maryland

University College, n.d.)

The most difficult parts about learning in this unit, like many of my other previous online

classes, are thinking critically and trying to understand more of the scientific and theoretical

areas of the support services. The study questions for this unit have been challenging because
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they did make me critically think about what would be relevant and applicable to the questions.

Some of the questions had aspects that I felt that I was able to adequately answer, but than some

other questions I would have to refer back to the readings to gain a more in depth and correct

answer. I find that the most challenging types of questions for me to answer are anything that

relates to theories. I may be able to explain a theory but actually applying it to examples or to a

particular situation is definitely difficult for me to conceptualize.

5. What strategies helped you learn the material? (University of Maryland University

College, n.d.)

Learning the material, for me, requires discipline and attentiveness. I am sure that I

mentioned how I manage learning in online classes in my previous posts or writings, but I have

valued taking breaks when I need to so I can refresh my attention. Otherwise, I have a tendency

to get lose my attention and focus. I set aside time almost each day to dedicate to working on the

material or reading. Sometimes things do not always work like I planned, so I will reconstruct

and prioritize what I need to work on that day. I have found this to be the best way for me to

learn material.

6. What changes will you make in your approaches to studying for the next upcoming

unit? (University of Maryland University College, n.d.)

The next unit may require me to restructure the way I normally would manage learning

the material especially with group work and more in depth concepts. If I am going to make any

changes I think I will only be able to determine that when I actually start engaging and reading

the next units content and resources. I prefer routine structure in courses but that may not be the

best way to learn. Some of the previous online classes that I have taken have more work load and
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different requirements than others, so I have to develop how I plan on managing the tasks. I do

have a tendency to be more stressed out when I feel overwhelmed, especially with group work,

or feel that I do not have the time I need to complete something. It looks like there will be more

group collaboration activity in the next unit, which may be challenging for me. I also have a

tendency to be very independent with course work and want to only rely on myself for certain

tasks and situations. Sharing roles and control in group work activity is something I am still

learning how to manage properly. I will try to release some of my tendency to be in control of the

collaboration tasks without negatively impact the work. The next unit also looks like it may have

more in depth concepts to learn and collaboration work to experience, so I hope that I am

prepared for the challenge.

7. If I were to conduct more research on one particular area covered in this unit of my own

interest, what would it be on?

I think if I were to select a topic that I would want to conduct more research on it would

be determining which distance education institutions are rated the highest by their support

services and why? I am sure this topic has probably already been explored before, but looking at

ratings periodically should give a basis to really finding out what educational support services

work and its reasons. The ratings may change over time, so that is why it would be important to

recheck periodically, but to me it is a less complex way to conceptualize what students and the

institution desire in support services. Searching through current articles on distance education

institutions ratings should be a strong research method to find this information. I think this

would be interesting topic to explore and would present awareness of ideas and concerns for

educational support services.

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References

University of Maryland University College. (n.d.). Unit 1: Context and elements of student

support. Retrieved from https://learn.umuc.edu/d2l/le/content/202629/Home