CS113 Unit 4 Reading  page 1   

Reading There are four items to complete in this reading area:

1. Reading

2. Challenge Activity

3. Powerful Words for a Powerful Vocabulary

4. Successories

I. Reading: Critical Thinking

When you think critically, you are evaluating all the information you have available, deciding what is true or not true, and making your own decisions about what you believe. In order to think critically, you must have the ability to use logic and reason. You must also be able to evaluate whether the information you receive is based on fact or opinion.

We all use logic each day. When you are cold, you decide to put on a sweater. When you are tired, you decide to go to sleep. With every decision you make, there is a logical order of steps in the thinking process that you can follow.

Applying Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is an important part of being a successful student. Learning how to use logic and reason will give you the ability to evaluate information effectively, make decisions on where you stand on important issues, and help you support your own arguments. This will become increasingly important during Seminars, when posting to the Discussion Board, and while completing Assignments.

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Four Steps to Improve Your Thinking

Step 1. Clarify your points

• Look for specific facts and truth. • Do not agree or disagree with someone (author) unless you understand the information you have been given fully. • Ask or look for examples to help you understand. • Summarize and see if you can explain it to someone else clearly.

Step 2. Stick to the point

• Do not stray from the main focus of the conversation or topic. • Keep your mind from wandering to related and then unrelated topics. • Ask yourself how the smaller bits of information connect to the main focus of the conversation.

Step 3. Question Questions

• Do not just accept information – question it. • If you do not understand something, ask questions. • Think of what information you really need – have you asked the right questions? • Can you look at the information through another point of view?

Step 4. Be Reasonable • Be willing to listen, and to change your mind (It is okay to not be perfect). • Identify language that might not be reasonable. • Avoid becoming defensive or irritated. • Be open to other points of view.

Source: www.criticalthinking.org The Value of Critical Thinking

When you think critically, you are evaluating all the information you have available, deciding what is true or not true, and making your own decisions about what you believe. In order to think critically, you must have the ability to use logic and reason. You must be able to analyze the given information and research it for validity. You must also be able to evaluate whether the information you receive is based on fact or opinion. Taking further creative action on the information and evaluating your final decision or action uses all of the components of critical thinking.

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When you look at something logically, you begin the process of analysis. You use this logic every day in every part of your life. If you are cold, you put on more clothing; if you are approaching a situation that might be dangerous, you move in another direction, when you choose to eat a food a second time, it is because you have run an evaluation on its taste and decided that you liked it enough to eat it again.

Many areas of life, including your schooling, require that you stop and think, that you actually become aware of the process of critical thinking and apply it to your daily life with purpose. This is a major component of the successful student. Using logic and reasoning (both critical thinking skills) will give you the ability to make decisions on where you stand on important issues and help you to support your arguments. You will see the importance of critical thinking as you engage in Seminars, in the Discussion Boards and in writing your Assignments. Gathering data to support your statements makes all the difference in the world when it comes to sharing your creativity as your validity has now been enhanced by research.

Critical Thinking in Academia

In college you will be expected to do more than just read the material that is presented; you will be expected to read it, think critically about it by analyzing/researching, by evaluating it, and finally by creatively using it in your own unique way.

Although identifying statements as fact or opinion is part of critical thinking, it is only the beginning. Critical thinking is really an ongoing process of recalling, understanding, applying, analyzing, making judgments, and creating your own new thought or idea.

For example:

Frank tells his sister Cathy that her car needs servicing. She questions that her car really needs it, so decides to take it out for a drive. She notices a few odd noises and that the brake pedal is not as tight as it used to be. Realizing these are new problems, she decides to take the car in for servicing.

Let’s take a look at the six levels of critical thinking as proposed by Dr. Benjamin Bloom. Dr. Bloom’s work was initially done in the 1950s and the power of his theory remains in full use today. In 2002, a team of educators proposed a revised taxonomy, which you will also view in this reading.

The taxonomy is hierarchal. This simply means you must achieve mastery on the first level or step before you can successfully proceed to the second level or step and on up to level six, the highest level of critical thinking.

Step One is called Knowledge. This simply means you can recall something you know about the subject matter at hand. Apply this to Cathy as you continue. Cathy has plenty of prior knowledge regarding how a car should work correctly.

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Step Two is called Comprehension. This means you can explain to someone without struggle the information with which you are working. Explaining is comprehension. Seeing that Cathy is very comfortable with her car, she can explain her properly working vehicle to us, or question concerns regarding her vehicle.

Step Three is Application. Application simply means to do it or use it. Cathy drives her car daily. She applies all she knows to the driving of her car.

Now, Frank, her brother, tells her he thinks something is wrong with it. She therefore must move up to level 4 in our critical thinking hierarchy.

Step Four is Analysis. Cathy now needs to do a comparison of the information she knows to the newly proposed information; that her car needs repair. Cathy needs to analyze the situation to determine if Frank’s suggestion is correct; her car needs service. She needs to research necessary applicable information relating to her car and her understanding of a car in good condition vs. a car in need of repair. If she goes on Frank’s opinion alone, she is not truly using all of her critical thinking levels and skills. Perhaps she will engage the service garage in an assessment on their part. Perhaps she will investigate pricing at several places. She may even investigate trading her car in for a newer model.

Step Five (in the original Bloom’s Taxonomy) is synthesis. This basically means gather all information and create your new plan.

Step Five (in the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy) guides you to make an evaluation based on the information gathered from your analysis and research. There is a great deal of neurological movement through many areas of the brain during the top three levels of the taxonomy, so keep in mind that you really do move between them all as you come to your final creation which is the ultimate goal of critical thinking.

Therefore, you evaluate, make a decision, make a recommendation, and debate a topic or decision based upon the data you have collected. Cathy is now ready to make her decision as to what to do about her car, if anything. Based upon the information you have been given here, you do not yet know what her decision will be. You do know that because of the time and effort she put into her decision, it will be her own decision, her own piece of the final creation (Anderson, 2001).

Step Six (in the original Bloom’s Taxonomy) is evaluation. As you can easily see, the revision simply switches the top two levels and renames synthesis as Create. The justification for this is found in the article referenced (Anderson, 2001).

Step Six (in the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy) is Create. Create is the top level of critical thinking, in which you take all of your thinking and turn it into your own production (whatever that might be). This vast array of possibilities is what creativity is all about. In the real world it is as simple as taking a recipe and switching up ingredients to please your own palate. It can as wonderful as the

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composition of a symphony. It can be so quick; that you do not even recognize you are in the create level of critical thinking. The more you engage in full critical thinking, the more rapidly and easily you create in your own fashion. Whenever you solve a problem you are in the create level. Whenever you do something new, you are in the create level. Some of the verbs that alert you to this top level of critical thinking include: create, design, develop, formulate, invent, write, visualize, and predict. Anything you do, in the creative problem-solving arena is considered to be at the top of the critical thinking hierarchy.

Returning to Cathy’s decision. Now, she can make her decision on her own with full confidence that it was the correct decision. If, after choosing her way, she decides she is not happy with her creative decision and action, she will return to the drawing board the next time she has an automobile question or problem ahead of her. She will restart the process of analyzing, researching, evaluating, and creating her solution. You will revisit this process as you continue to strengthen your critical thinking skills, learning from your previous actions that did not come to fruition the way that you hoped that they would.

One of your greatest goals in life and learning should be continued engagement at the top level of critical thinking as much as humanly possible. By doing so, you will establish not only a habit of success, but also the engagement and empowerment of the critical thinking brain (cerebral cortex) and the de-escalating of the emotional/reactive brain (the amygdala) giving you the greatest opportunity for balance and excitement in life and in learning.

Reference

Anderson, L.W. (Ed.), Krathwohl, D.R. (Ed.), Airasian, P.W., Cruikshank, K.A., Mayer, R.E., Pintrich, P.R., Raths, J., & Wittrock, M.C. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A Revision of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives. (Complete edition). New York, NY: Longman.

Research and Evaluation

It is important for you to know the difference between reliable sources of information and unreliable ones. A good way to increase your chances of finding reliable sources of information is to use academic and/or professional search engines. One such resource is the KU Online Library.

Take a few minutes to visit the KU Library by clicking the My Studies tab across the top of your KU Campus page and selecting the Library link from the dropdown list. Search the right-hand navigation bar for the Tips, Tricks, Handouts, and Help section. View helpful video tutorials included in this area.

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There is a lot of valuable information on the Internet as well; however, there is also a lot of false information, opinions, inferences, and assumptions to watch out for as you are reviewing online sources. When researching online, you need to be able to discern which sites are “legitimate” and reliable sources for academic work.

Step-by-Step Research on the Web

The following step-by-step presentation shows you crucial tips for successfully finding information on the Web.

General Tips:

• Use keywords and

• Do not use not full sentences

• Do not worry about capitalization

• Spelling counts

• Narrow it down

In the presentation that follows, you will see specific tips and techniques for "narrowing it down."

Scenario

Why are you using the search engine?

In this scenario you live in Hays, Kansas and need to get your computer repaired. You have a PC, not a Mac®.

How do you find the information you need?

Narrowing Your Search: Part 1

Put phrases in quotes:

If you are looking to repair your computer, you would likely type in computer repair. The search engine assumes you are looking for any site with the word computer and repair. Narrow it down by typing the phrase with quotes:

“computer repair”

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Result: The search engine will then show you just the sites with the phrase (where both words occur side-by-side), "computer repair.”

Narrowing Your Search: Part 2

Use + to require something:

+hays +kansas

Result: Only sites with Hays and Kansas will then be listed. (Note: Capitalization is optional.)

Narrowing Your Search: Part 3

Use - to cut out something:

-Mac

Result: Any site with Mac repair will then be eliminated.

Narrowing Your Search: Part 4

Combine commands:

“computer repair” +hays +kansas -Mac Important Note: Do not place spaces after the + or -, only between terms. Result: Sites with the phrase, computer repair, and the words, Hays, and Kansas, but not the word, Mac. Narrowing it Down: Sample Searches

Sample Searches at Google.com: The sample searches below illustrate how using the tips from this presentation will help you to narrow down your results to those that are important to you. computer repair = 16,800,000 results “computer repair” = 9,090,000 “computer repair” +hays = 9,670

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“computer repair” +hays +kansas = 1,130 “computer repair” +hays +kansas -mac = 458

Other Sample Searches

”baseball tickets" +Cubs +Wrigley +September = 4,480 results "computer chair" +delivery -leather = 31,600 results Sometimes you need to consider adding keywords or finding alternative ones, or you might just need to take the time to look through the first few pages of results of these longer lists. Many search engines have advanced search options which can be of help as well.

Excellent Academic Resources

Education Resources Information Center (ERIC): - http://www.eric.ed.gov Google Scholar, an academic search engine: - http://scholar.google.com Search engines provided by other academic institutions: - http://www.base-search.net - http://infomine.ucr.edu Dictionaries: - http://dictionary.com - http://www.merriam-webster.com/

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Appropriate Sources

KU does not allow the use of Wikipedia or other Wikis because these resources can be edited by anyone. Blogs and chat rooms may offer information for practical use, but are considered conversation and, therefore, not appropriate for research papers. Finding and Then Evaluating Information

You have just learned to find resources, now let's look at how to evaluate them.

Evaluating Information

Once you have located information, the next step is to determine (using your critical thinking skills) whether or not the information is appropriate to use. Visit the following website to read about the importance of thinking critically as you evaluate online sources: http://kathyschrock.net/abceval/5ws.htm The Five W's

The 5 W’s: Who, What, Where, When, and Why while evaluating resources. Carefully consider the following items (described in more detail at the site listed on the previous page) as you evaluate online sources: Authority (Who): Who is the author or sponsor and what are his/her credentials? Did the author/sponsor provide contact information? Accuracy (Where): Where did the information come from? Are there citations and links to other websites? Objectivity (What): What is the purpose of the site (inform, entertain, persuade, advertise, etc.)? Is the discussion fact-based or opinion-based? Currency (When): When was the site originally created? Has it been recently updated? Are the links working? Coverage (Why): Why is this site worthwhile? Is the site easy to navigate and does the information seem logical?

Important Definitions

Tip: The following definitions will help you understand important concepts of critical thinking such as logic, fact, and opinion.

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Fact or Truth: A statement that can be proven true.

Example: Many research studies have proven that “women live longer than men.” This statement can be proven true.

Inference: Arriving at a conclusion based loosely on facts that are known or assumed to be true.

Example: Upon seeing a woman carrying a briefcase at 8 am, you could infer that she is going to work. This may, or may not, be true.

Assumption: Taking the information for granted, supposing it is just the way it is supposed to be.

Example: You can assume that since Bob was hired as a computer expert, he will know the answers to your questions. This may, or may not, be true.

Conjecture: Guessing or making predictions based on incomplete information; it has not been proven.

Example: There is life on other planets. This may, or may not, be true.

Opinion: A personal judgment or shared belief; an attitude or viewpoint that may or may not be true.

Example: Some people believe that Macs are better than PCs. While some will agree and others disagree, a final agreeable truth will not be possible.

Value: Something desired by a person or group of people.

Example: Teenagers should watch less television. The word “should” is a clue in this statement; while some will agree and others disagree, a final agreeable truth will not be possible.

II. Challenge Activity

We can never learn enough about the power of critical thinking. As your challenge in Unit 4 and to further enrich your learning strategies go to the following sites. In the first, be sure to page down to the summary section where you will find two vital components of information; one is an animated presentation, the other a PowerPoint Quiz to check out your critical thinking knowledge.

http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Bloom%27s_Taxonomy

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http://www.copyblogger.com/critical-thinking/

Apply these learning tools to decision making to realize stronger more enhanced learning. Continue to make connections as you move from unit to unit. Search for the strategies that you find most helpful to your learning and thinking processes. Begin to use them over and over as through repetition you will establish habits of success. Do not forget, you may always share your thoughts in Virtual Office or Discussion Board.

III. Powerful Words for a POWERFUL Vocabulary – 7 words in 7 Days

Effective communication is not only an essential academic strategy; it is fast becoming one of the top skills employers are looking for as they screen potential employees. However, how do you become an effective communicator? The answer to this question is actually quite simple, yet it involves some serious commitment on your part. You have to practice and make a firm commitment to equipping yourself with the many different “tools” that you will need in order to express your ideas clearly and effectively in both written and spoken communication. This is where a powerful vocabulary can make a world of difference for you because words are the building blocks of communication. Therefore, the more words you are able to use, the more creative, convincing and powerful you will be as a communicator. What if you could add just one new word to your vocabulary each day? Think about the progress you would make in a week, a month, or even an entire year.

Vocabulary Enrichment Resources Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/

Activity: Make your own flashcards: http://quizlet.com/

Unit 4 Vocabulary Words

Complete the vocabulary activities here http://www.studymate.com?id=3fnVMQ7uw

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reticent – inclined to keep quiet; reserved; restrained

vagary – an extravagant, erratic, or unpredictable notion, action or occurrence; a whim

apogee – the highest point

sanguine – optimistic; cheerful

caveat – a warning or caution

diatribe – a bitter verbal attack

veracity – truth; truthfulness

IV. Successories

The information provided in the Successories area is designed to provide you with valuable tips, skills, and resources—all related to your ongoing success here at Kaplan and beyond.

This week, please take time to review the following brief tutorials:

Evaluating Research Sources from KU Writing Center http://khe2.acrobat.com/p42965381/

https://kucampus.kaplan.edu/DocumentStore/Docs11/pdf/WC/Evaluating_sources.pdf

Finding and Evaluating Research Sources https://khe2.adobeconnect.com/_a769721248/p5jm0059mn3/

https://kucampus.kaplan.edu/DocumentStore/Docs11/pdf/WC/Finding_and_Evaluating_Sources.pdf

CS113 Unit 7 Reading  page 1   

Reading

There are four items to complete in this reading area:

1. Reading

2. Challenge Activity

3. Powerful Words for a Powerful Vocabulary

4. Successories

I. Reading: Why Set Goals? Why set goals? Having a clear direction for your future and a picture of what you plan to do is extremely important for maintaining a positive attitude. Having clear goals is a key to creating and maintaining a positive mindset even when “things get tough.”

Qualities of Goals

In order for goals to be useful, they need to have the following qualities:

 The goals that you set for yourself must be based on your values and beliefs.  No one else can choose goals for you. Others can make suggestions, but you must "own" your

goals for them to be useful.  You must decide what you want to achieve.

7

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Life Lesson: Chinese Proverb Goal Setting and Planning

In this unit, you will be focusing on goal setting and planning. In order to set realistic goals for yourself, you must first have a clear understanding of what is important to you.

You will also begin planning ahead for your Unit 8 project by setting up an interview with a professional in your chosen field.

Goal Setting

In Unit 7 you investigate the power of setting goals. You seek to recognize the importance of goal setting and actually apply this S.M.A.R.T. concept to your Unit 7 interview with completion and submission of your project in Unit 8. Goal setting will assist you and motivate you to reach for success.

Why is Goal Setting Important?

Imagine you decide to build a house. You do not bother with setting any goals for its completion. Wow. What a mess. Imagine you want to be a doctor when you grow up, but never thought you needed to take a science class in high school, or did not even plan on going to college.

Goals motivate us. 

Goals stimulate your creativity. You use one of the best creative words possible — you visualize. When you engage in visualization, you are on the top step of Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy. You are fully engaged in critical thinking. Without goals, you will not achieve that visualization.

Goals guide you.

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Goals are set to lead you as you move from beginning to end. They carry you along your way.

Goals inspire you.

Goals help you to recognize that you are the creator of your own stories. You can achieve anything that you want to achieve with the inspiration you will get from goal setting. You will take things one step at a time and with each step you feel the power of completion.

Goals challenge you.

If not for the challenge involved in accomplishing a goal, you would not get past the first step. Goals do not have to be extremely hard to reach, and they should not be too simple either, as there is no challenge in that. You reach when you set goals. You want that object, job, or future that is just out of reach.

Goals empower you.

To empower others and yourself in positive ways is the greatest accomplishment. To feel the inner strength and conviction of empowerment as you achieve the goals that you set is a rewarding experience — a truly intrinsic reward. Setting goals brings you closer and closer to your ultimate destination.

In this unit, you will focus on goal setting and planning. Remember you want your goals to be realistic and achievable. There are many components of goal setting to consider as you begin to enhance this process for your own growth and success.

What kind of goals can you set?

Let’s consider the different areas of life as suggested by Mindtools.com in their Goal Setting Toolkit.

Artistic

Attitude

Career

Education

Family

Financial

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Physical

Pleasure

Public Service

What are some of the questions you might ask yourself in reference to these different areas? You might say you want to be more physically fit? You might say you want to go on vacation to Disney World next summer? How about asking what you can do to make the world a better place? What do you want to be when you grow up? How’s your attitude? Are you hungry for learning? Do you want to earn more money? You could go on and on setting goals in any of these areas.

Therefore, you should choose to be goal setters. Why? How are goal setters different than people who do not think about their future and their desires?

Goal Setters

Studies have shown that people who set goals for themselves are more likely to:

• Suffer less stress and anxiety

• Concentrate and remember better

• Demonstrate greater self-confidence

• Perform better and achieve more

• Are happier and more satisfied

So now that you see a strong purpose for goal-setting with results that help deliver balance, contentment and more desire to “grow” forward, take some time to write down, to brainstorm, what you would like to see happen in the various compartments of your life. Get your thoughts flowing, what do you hope to accomplish in the near future? How about in the distant future?

Relationship with Time

Most people have dreams and goals for various aspects of their lives. You can have personal, educational, professional, financial, and community-service based goals.

The length of time you have to achieve your goals is important in determining how you are able to approach them.

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Short Term/Long Term Goals

Short-term goals are generally those that are attainable within a short time (days, weeks, or months). Examples might be to lose weight, to get a new computer, or to ask for a promotion at your current job. You need to plan how to attain these goals, but can see the results soon.

Long-term goals are those that may take years to complete. Starting your own business or saving enough money for retirement are examples of long-term goals; to accomplish these, you need to think and plan well ahead.

Your degree program is likely to fit in between those periods. Although you are working on your degree now, you will be in school for several terms to learn the things you need for your career. Your Kaplan University degree is an important stepping stone towards your long-term goals.

Being Realistic: Performance vs. Outcome

There are two basic kinds of goals, performance and outcome. Outcome goals are those that concentrate on the end result: Did you get the job? Did you invent something new? Did you complete the task?

Performance goals, on the other hand, concentrate on the path leading you to the result. Even if you did not get the job, you put your resume together and practiced interviewing. Even if you did not invent something new, you discovered small things that could be put to use later. Even if you did not complete the task, some of the steps you took accomplished something of value. Performance goals are much more realistic than outcome goals and provide you with more control.

Getting To Where You Want to Go

How can you get to where you want to go without knowing the destination or how to get there? That would be like getting into your car and just driving without a purpose. If you do not know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else.

In order to learn, grow, and change, you need to set goals for yourself. It is very important that your goals be realistic enough for you to achieve them.

S.M.A.R.T. Goals Help You Stay on Course

Every goal you plan, whether short, intermediate or long-term should be S.M.A.R.T. It should be specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic, and timed.

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There are tips to setting goals that will enhance each goal you set out to achieve. These Mindtools tips will surely help to make your S.M.A.R.T. goals come to fruition.

Set priorities

When you have several goals, give each a priority. This helps you to avoid feeling overwhelmed by too many goals, and helps to direct your attention to the most important ones.

Write it down

When you write your goals down, it gives them more strength and you more perseverance.

Keep operational goals small

Keep the low-level goals you are working toward small and achievable. If a goal is too large, then it can seem that you are not making progress toward it. Keeping goals small and incremental gives more opportunities for reward. Derive today’s goals from large ones.

Set performance goals, not outcome goals

Take care to set goals over which you have as much control as possible. There is nothing more disappointing than failing to achieve a goal for reasons beyond your control.

S.M.A.R.T. Goals Click on a button below to learn more about S.M.A.R.T. goals.

S.M.A.R.T. [S] Specific What do you really want to accomplish? Your goal needs to be specific enough to be able to determine what actions are required to achieve the desired result. S.M.A.R.T. [M] Measurable How will you know you have reached your goal — what marker or milestone will identify success? Remember that performance goals will provide better control than outcome goals, so it is best to measure the steps along the route to your destination. S.M.A.R.T. [A] Action-oriented

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What exactly will you do (what verbs can you use?) to reach your goal? You will need to take a pro-active stance. Some sources say “A” stands for “Aggressive,” or working with purpose and diligence towards your goal. S.M.A.R.T. [R] Realistic A goal must be achievable. Have you researched it enough to know that it is possible? Do you know someone else who has accomplished this goal? Goals set too high may be discouraging, but setting the bar too low will not provide motivation. S.M.A.R.T. [T] Timed Each goal must have some sort of deadline. Some flexibility may be necessary, but deadlines help keep you motivated and focused towards completing your goals.

Five Principles of Goal Setting with help from Mindtools

Clarity — make your statements clear and easy to “see” and understand.

Challenge — your goals should challenge you to succeed. They are meant to be motivational. Are they important to you? How badly do you want to see that success?

Commitment — be committed to what you say you want and what you want to achieve. Keep it in your mind’s eye. Move consistently toward its completion. Write down why this is a valuable goal to you.

Feedback or Revision — it is important to monitor success through all steps of

S.M.A.R.T. goals. There are points when changes to wording or timing may be necessary. Understanding the value of revisiting the written word often helps to keep you on course.

Be sure to investigate and research further on goal setting and especially on S.M.A.R.T. goals. You will find great information on both the Mindtools website and many others. Enjoy learning about and practicing S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goals as you continue with the other segments of Unit 7.

Source: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_90.htm 

CS113 Unit 7 Reading  page 8   

Networking Networking is another stepping stone to taking control of your goals for your future. Take a Web Fieldtrip to learn more about building a personal network. Go to http://workbloom.com/networking-center.aspx and review the home page as well as the links to Networking Basics and Networking Tips. Consider who the people are that you would want to have in your own personal network. The person you chose for the interview is very likely to be someone who will join your network. Consider the information you learn from this fieldtrip as you prepare to interview with a profession from your field.

II. Challenge Activity

S. M. A. R. T. goals are an excellent way to keep on track and achieve success; however…

What happens when you actually one up the S. M. A. R. T. goals and go for the even S. M. A. R. T. E. R. goals? This site will enhance your learning and application of creativity. Do not forget to memorize the acronym and each of its letter meanings. Who can you inspire with your newfound knowledge?

http://www.achieve-goal-setting-success.com/smart-goal.html

Apply the learning tools and information to your goal setting. The more frequently you use the strategy, the easier it will be to use more frequently. Continue to make connections as you move from unit to unit. Search for the strategies that you find most helpful to your learning and thinking processes. Begin to use them over and over because through repetition you establish habits of success. Do not forget, you may always share your thoughts in Virtual Office or Discussion Board.

III. Powerful Words for a POWERFUL Vocabulary – 7 words in 7 Days

Effective communication is not only an essential academic strategy; it is fast becoming one of the top skills employers are looking for as they screen potential employees. However, how do you become an effective communicator? The answer to this question is actually quite simple, yet it involves some serious commitment on your part. You have to practice and make a firm commitment to equipping yourself with the many different “tools” that you will need in order to express your ideas clearly and effectively in both written and spoken communication. This is where a powerful vocabulary can make a world of difference for you because words are the building blocks of communication. Therefore, the more words you are able to use, the more creative, convincing and powerful you will be as a

CS113 Unit 7 Reading  page 9   

communicator. What if you could add just one new word to your vocabulary each day? Think about the progress you would make in a week, a month, or even an entire year.

Vocabulary Enrichment Resources Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/

Activity: Make your own flashcards: http://quizlet.com/

Unit 7 Vocabulary Words

Complete the vocabulary activities here http://www.studymate.com?id=3fpMZBNId

catalyst – an agent of change; a person or thing that causes change

abstruse – difficult to comprehend; obscure

contentious – argumentative; combative; quarrelsome

supercilious – disdainful; characterized by haughty scorn

aberrant – deviating from normal or correct

sanctimony – self-righteousness; hypocritical

obfuscate – to make obscure or unclear

CS113 Unit 7 Reading  page 10   

IV. Successories

The information provided in the Successories area is designed to provide you with valuable tips, skills, and resources—all related to your ongoing success here at Kaplan and beyond.

This week, please take time to listen to the networking Seminar and review the following articles related to informational interviewing:

Networking for Results Seminar from KU Career Resources http://khe.acrobat.com/p27719794/

What is an Informational Interview and How Can it Help Your Career? http://jobsearch.about.com/cs/infointerviews/a/infointerview.htm Informational Interviewing Tutorial http://www.quintcareers.com/informational_interviewing.html

How Does an Informational Interview Work? http://www.careerbuilder.com/Article/CB-481-Getting-Ahead-How-Does-an- Informational-Interview-Work/?cbsid=4470ab2463ca48089d0f0123520f392c-330537769-w2-6&ArticleID=481&cbRecursionCnt=2