1. The most useful strategy I learned during this course.

I have learnt so many things that are quite important not only to my academic life but to also real

life situation. Among the skills that I have learnt; are different note taking skills, stress

management, netiquette, peer assessment, critical thinking time management, and APA

formatting. These skills are important in everyday life and some of them influence our decision-

making, productivity, interaction with others, future career success, and even our academic life,

especially here at the University of the People.

However, the most important strategy that I learnt is "THE CORNEL METHOD" of

studying and note taking.

I had not come across this name or method before joining UoPeople, and my note taking time

seemed to be too long with writing of too many unnecessary things, but since I learnt it, it has

been serving me and saving me time for tasks such as this week's studies. For example, it helps

me to organize and summarize notes them in just one place. It also allows me to derive key ideas

and concepts.

Besides, “The Cornell note-taking method helps organize class notes into easily digestible

summaries. This method is effective because the main points, details, study cues, and summary

are all written in one place" (Oxford, 2017). I do not deny that it took me time to learn and apply

effectively.

According to Oxford (2017), the paper with this kind of method is divided into 3 sections: a 2.5”

margin to the left, a 2” summary section on the bottom, and a main 6” in-class note section. How

do I do it? On the left-hand side, I place important notes. On the right, I put the questions and
ambiguities, and at the bottom is the summary.

In this way, it creates a triangular division, which divides the notebook (note-taking sheet)

clearer which is easy for me to read.

How I will apply this strategy in my future studies here at UoPeople

I will use while studying to capture important points, thereby enhancing my understanding of the

subjects

2. The most surprising thing I learnt this term

The most surprising thing that I learnt was netiquette, which refers to a set of convection,

norms, rules and responsibilities that guide how people behave and interact in an online

environment such as social networking sites, emails and blogs.

I learnt about its importance such as promoting smooth communication with respect and dignity

among netizens, regardless of their differing opinions and diversity, and creating a safe online

environment that is free from cyber bullying.

To be honest, I had never heard of this term before, and never knew that any rule exists to guide

online interaction.

Why it surprised me
It surprised me because I came to that the internet never forgets, meaning that there is need to be

careful and watchful with whatever we post or whatever activity we indulge in online.

Before this, I used to engage in unnecessary online fights and abuses especially on political

matters, but I have since stopped.

3. Peer assessment

Peer Assessment is a unique learning method that involves the assessment of students’ work by

another student of the same status in a way that they evaluate, rate and provide feedback in the

work of peers using the instructor-defined benchmark. With this, students make decisions about

each other’s work and decide what constitutes ‘good work’. Kuhn, 1991). The skills of

argument. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Peer assessment can help improve students’ logical reasoning skills, which is a key component

of critical thinking (Kuhn, 1991), thereby helping inculcate critical thinking skills as they read,

assess, compare, contrast and contextualize their peers’ work with the arguments they had before

How I felt about peer assessment at assessment at the beginning of the term, and how I feel

about it now

To be honest, I was a little bit skeptical about peer assessment when I first had about it during the

term. This is because I had never participated in it before joining the University of the People,

and could not fathom how a student could have a chance to grade another student’s work. This
was strange to me, and to make it worse, at times I got peer ratings that I deemed unfair and

without proper feedbacks, or good feedback but poor grades without reasons, and this always

discouraged me and made me more uncomfortable about it.

If my feelings have changed, and if I am more comfortable with peer assessment

Yes, my feelings changed, and I am now comfortable and I acknowledge it and its importance

especially at the UoPeople. This is because I have had incredible learning from the feedbacks

from most of my peers and from the peers’ assignments and posts while evaluating them. In

addition, I learnt to reach out to the instructors when I feel that the peer rating on my work id an

unfair

If I have learned something new while assessing my peer’s work

Yes, I have learnt many new things from Peer assessment. Most of the feedback has always been

effective and has either encouraged me or pointed out what I could improve on, and I have

always taken this as a way to do better. In addition, during evaluation, I have always learnt new

things that I could not be able to learn during my studies, and some students are just gifted with

making the assignment that looked hard to be so easy by how they put their work, the terms they

use, the examples and case studies they relate the work to. This has always given me new

insights and perspectives that are vital.

Reference

i. College success. (2015). Retrieved from http://open.lib.umn.edu/collegesucess/

ii. Oxford Learning. (May 03, 2017). How to take study notes: five effective note-taking

methods. Retrieved from https://www.oxfordlearning.com/5-effective-note-taking-

methods/

iii. Kuhn, D. (1991). The skills of argument. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press