Introduction To University Studies DQ's

Introduction to University Studies

Discussion Questions

Week 1 DQ1 - What does communication style mean to you? How does your communication style change with friends, family, classmates, and instructors?

Week 1 DQ2 - Why do you think it is important to differentiate between academic and casual communication?

Week 1 DQ3 - How do you think the mode of communication—written, verbal, or electronic—influences the interpretation of a message?

Week 1 DQ4 - What personal, professional, or academic obstacles must you overcome to be successful in school? What are some ways you might work around these challenges?

Week 1 DQ5 - You have been introduced to assets available in the University Library, the Center for Writing Excellence, and the Center for Mathematics Excellence. What is the value of these assets? How do you think you might use these assets to achieve academic success?

Week 2 DQ1 - How does your sense of responsibility influence your work and success? How responsible are you for achieving your goals?

Week 2 DQ2 - What is the value of managing your physical and mental health and stress levels? How might these skills relate to academic and personal success?

Week 2 DQ3 - What are two specific time management strategies you can use to help maximize your time during this course and to reach your educational goals? Why did you choose these strategies?

Week 2 DQ4 - What does sense of purpose mean to you? How does your sense of purpose guide your actions?

Week 2 DQ5 - How do you prioritize equally important goals? How do you maintain flexibility and focus in reaching your goals?

Week 3 DQ1 – What does collaboration mean to you?  How might collaboration foster learning?

Week 3 DQ2 – What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of learning in a collaborative environment?

Week 3 DQ3 – How might your ethical perspective influence your individual work and your group work?

Week 3 DQ4 – What did you learn about yourself through the material on emotional intelligence in Ch. 3 of the text?  How might you use this information to foster collaboration in class?

 

Week 3 DQ5 – What did you learn about yourself from the learning models in Ch. 4 of the text?  How might this information help you as a college student and as an adult learner?

Week 4 DQ1 – How do your surroundings affect your reading comprehension?  How might you minimize distractions while you are reading for your class assignments?

Week 4 DQ2 – How might you apply each of the four steps in the textbook reading system, describes in Ch. 7 of the text, to reading electronic materials?

Week 4 DQ3– Part of reviewing is developing your vocabulary.  Chapter 7 of the text lists strategies to help you develop vocabulary skills.  Which of these strategies would be most effective for you?  How would you apply theses vocabulary strategies when reading course materials?

Week 4 DQ4 – According to Ch. 7 of the text, what is the purpose of using primary sources in academic writing?  What strategies might you use to improve your reading comprehension of primary sources?

Week 4 DQ5 – What do you think is your biggest challenge to improving your reading habits?  Why?

Week 5DQ1 – Review the tips for effective studying in Ch. 8 of the text.  Which two tips do you find most useful?  Why?

Week 5DQ2 – What tips for creating a study environment might be most effective for you?  What might you do to create that study environment for yourself?

Week 5DQ3 – What techniques do you use to remember what you studied?   What techniques do you think could help you remember more of what you study?  What techniques would you like to add to the list provided in Ch.8?

Week 5DQ4 – Have you ever used mnemonics to remember something complicated?  If so, describe these techniques.  How might you use mnemonics to be a more effective college student and adult learner?

Week 5DQ5 – What do you think is your biggest challenge to improving your reading habits?  Why?

Week 6DQ1 – What process do you use to complete a writing assignment?  How well do you think this process works for you?

Week 6DQ2 – As people are more often using cell phones, text messaging, and e-mail, what is the role of formal writing?  How do these digital communications methods influence the writing process?

Week 6DQ3 – Define formal writing.  What approach do you use for a project where formal writing is required?

Week 6DQ4 – Do you think free writing is a good first step to take when approaching a writing assignment?  Do you think you might use free writing as part of your writing process?  Why or why not?

Week 6DQ5 – In Ch 10 of the text, the authors differentiate between exploratory writing and explanatory writing and discuss their relationship.  Do you think this approach to writing might work for you?  Why?

Week 7DQ1 – Define critical thinking.  Are you a critical thinker?  Why do you think so?

Week 7DQ2 – How have you used critical thinking to solve problems in your daily life?  How are critical thinking skills in your daily life and in your academic life similar?  How are they different?

Week 7DQ3 – What effect do emotions and personal biases have on your thinking?  Provide an example.

Week 7DQ4 – How do you think collaboration fosters critical thinking?  How might the two work together in your academic and personal life?

Week 7DQ5 – What is the relationship between emotion, biases, and critical thinking?  Can they coexist?

Week 8DQ1 – How do you conduct research for information you need?  Does this strategy work?  If your strategy is not successful, what change(s) might you make?

Week 8DQ2 – Does conducting academic research differ from general research?  How?  Provide an example.

Week 8DQ3 – Why do you think it is important to strive for high ethical standards in academic work?  Provide an example to illustrate your thoughts.

Week 8DQ4 – How do you determine information sources to be reliable and relevant?  What criteria do you use?

Week 8DQ5 – Do you think Wikipedia is an appropriate source for an academic paper?  Why or why not?

Week 9DQ1 – How do you think presenting information differs from writing a paper about that information?

Week 9DQ2 – Define academic integrity.  Why do you think it is important to uphold academic integrity in your coursework?

Week 9DQ3 – Think about sharing information with different groups of people:  for example, friends, coworkers, or classmates.  How would you determine the best way to communicate with each group?

Week 9DQ4 – Why do you think it is important to determine what your audience already knows about your topic before you begin writing a paper or creating a presentation?

Week 9DQ5 – What challenges do you think you might face in creating presentations in your courses?  How might you overcome these challenges?