1.1.2: Activity on How to Plan Appropriately

learn by doing

Joe has just started the Security Module. He wants to get through it as quickly as possible and take the Quiz. As he clicks through the unit, he sees a bunch of text with some activities sprinkled throughout, and is trying to decide how to proceed.

Which of the following strategies would likely be most effective and efficient for Joe?

Joe should jump straight to the learning activities without reading the explanatory text. For each activity, he should select different answer choices to see if they’re right or wrong and read the feedback that appears.Joe should read the explanatory text and complete the learning activities.Joe should plan to attend class that week rather than trying to figure out the best way to proceed on his own.Joe should read the unit straight through from beginning to end, skipping the activities.

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Joe is weighing the options outlined here in order to plan a strategy. Kudos to Joe, as most people neglect planning, opting instead to simply start the task at hand. While it might seem more efficient to spend less time planning in favor of actually doing the work, it can ultimately be inefficient. Consider how much longer it can take to drive somewhere if you don’t take the time to get directions or plan your route around construction detours. You can think of Concepts in Computing in much the same way — it will take you much longer to complete the course if you don't first figure out what you already know and where to focus your efforts.

In fact, one of the characteristics that distinguishes experts from novices is that experts spend far more time planning their approach to a task and less time actually completing it. Novices do the reverse — rushing through the planning stage and spending far more time completing the overall task.

did I get this

Alex has just started the online work for the Peripherals Module. He wants to get through it as quickly as possible. But he also wants to do well on the Quiz. He scans the first page and sees text, examples, and some activities. He is trying to make a plan for learning the material on this page.

Below are some strategies he considers for learning the material on the first page. Which strategies do you think will help Alex learn Concepts in Computing and prepare him for the Quiz? Select Yes or No for each option.

Read the text and examples and work through the activities in the order that they appear on the page.

YesNo

Go straight to the activities without reading the text. Then, for each activity, start picking different answers to see what is right and wrong. Read the feedback that appears.

YesNo

Read the learning objective at the top of the page. Skip the text and read through the activities quickly to get familiar with what you have to be able to do. Then go back and read the text and examples and work the activities in order.

YesNo

Since Alex is in a hurry, he should read the examples and skip the activities.

YesNo

Since Alex is in a hurry, he should pick out a few activities on the page then go back and look for a similar example to guide him.

YesNo

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