1. After mapping course objectives to Blooms taxonomy, the surprising thing to me was that I had to re-evaluate exactly what I was looking to accomplish in class.  I also like to write the objectives on the board in the beginning of class and talk about them.  I think it helps everyone in the room focus on what the goals of the day are.
2. Use of Bloom’s model can promote independent learning by students by helping them identify how they are to use new information.
3. McGuire’s Study Cycle seems obvious, but I think we all need reminders on how to do a task appropriately and completely.
4. I think we can meet our retention goal increase of 5-10% starting in the fall by focusing on teaching our students how to learn.  This will set them up for success in any course and they need to learn these skills are early on as possible.

In Chapter 2 McGuire shares her views on why we should focus on learning instead of teaching. 1. What is one teaching strategy you use?

I use the practice of “board notes”.  I set up the white board in portrait orientation by dividing up the board like pages of a notebook.  This is to show an example of note taking.  It also helps with my time management.  I can get through only 4-5 “boards” per hour.

2. What is one learning strategy your students could use to be successful in your course?

When the students are working on a homework assignment, I try to give an estimate of time that certain tasks should take and to plan their time accordingly.  I can point to the white board and remind them of how much time a similar task took us to complete.  This is the hope that they won’t cram and do the assignment the night before and run out of time.