A Three Step Approach to Effective Study Planning

Task 1: Produce a study plan

A three step process was adopted for planning the study. At the onset, I first ensured that I collected the appropriate information, in relation to the approach adopted by the UK government in dealing with Covid-19. I extensively examined the resources that were available to me during the study with a proper understanding that the failure to do this could possibly leave me unable to comprehend and master the subject matter. That was followed by the development of an understanding of the information. This was aided by continuous and apt note taking. Note taking required that I cleaned up my notes, created complete thoughts and filled-in missing information. I constantly checked that I had the necessary information that was required for the development of a complete, correct, concise, and increasingly connected understanding of material. I then worked on gaining an ability to recognize, recall and apply the gathered information. For purposes of developing healthy study habits that could work for me for the entre course of the study, I developed a commitment to studying throughout the semester. I committed to staying dedicated from the first day to the last day.

Task 3: Create an assignment plan for the first task above.

The first step was planning and preparing. The purpose of the assignment was determined through the analysis of the assignments key words and additional checking of the unit guides criteria. Initial ideas were subsequently brainstormed in a mind map. That came in handy in making an increasingly detailed plan that could be added as the assignment progressed. The second step involved extensive reading and taking notes. Appropriate sources were identified and the plan was continuously refined as the study progressed. A record of quotes, personal ideas and paraphrases was kept during the taking of notes. Key concepts were also reviewed. After this had been done, the first draft was then prepared, and this largely involved putting ideas into some sort of coherent order. Clear paragraphs were planned and these were inclusive of supportive evidence and topic sentences. The draft was then revised and re-drafted coupled with proofreading. When proofreading, the study submission requirements in the unit guide were double-checked with other instructions on the unit site. The assignment was then submitted hours before the final deadline.

UK government adopted an approach guided by science, that is, their approach was consistent with scientific advice. The government formed rather strong relations leading scientific advisors and reliance on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE). They however, largely ignored and excluded other sources (Cairney, 2021). A House of Lords Committee that assessed the government’s response to the pandemic and made a report that the response was hampered by poorly communicated, poorly coordinated and over-centralised policies and local providers were largely decentralised. The committee further established commonalities between the advice provided by SAGE and UK government policy in the run up to the lockdown (UK Parliament, 2021). By the time the lockdown policy was put in place in March, SAGE advisors made a contribution to defining COVID-19 as a policy problem and placed emphasis on long-term management for the protection of health service capacity and rejection of the elimination strategy that some external scientists had proposed. In addition, the governments pandemic planning identified social care as an important aspect that required significant support whenever there was an outbreak of a disease like Covid-19. Thousands of older and disabled individuals had lost their lives after people were discharged from hospitals into care settings without testing and with less personal protective equipment.

There are four main learning methods, and these are, visual learners, auditory learners, kinaesthetic learners and reading and writing learners. Different people experience the world in different ways and this is accompanied by variations in how they learn (Costa et al. 2020). Individuals who show preference to visual learning are partial to seeing and observation of objects, including diagrams, pictures and written directions, among other objects. Those who learn through sight are observed to develop an increasingly better understanding of information, whenever it is presented in a visual manner. Auditory learners show tendencies of learning better when sound is used to reinforce subject matter. For these types of learners, listening to lectures is way better as compared to reading written notes, and commonly utilise their voices for purposes of reinforcing ideas and concepts (Schmeck, 2013). Kinaesthetic learners learn best through doing things and experience. They show preference for involvement in acting out events and using their hands for touching and handling to enable the development of an understanding of concepts. Reading and writing learners are those who show preference for learning through written words. I consider myself to be a reading and writing learner and learn best by researching on my own and reading books. I get drawn to expression by writing, reading books and articles, writing diaries, looking up words in dictionaries, and browsing the internet in search for information. Some of the things commonly identified as being capable of helping students like myself are rewriting notes, use of flash cards, addition of notes to diagrams and pictures, choice of physical books over audiobooks and the use of videos and closed captions. For these types of learners, while seeing notes on the board is important, taking down personal notes is equally important.

Identifying personal learning preferences involves identifying how one learns best. Individuals subsequently use such information to their advantage whenever they study through the use of those learning approaches that work best for them (JilardiDamavandi et al. 2011). For instance, in my case, writing out notes and reading books. The best method for identifying one`s learning preferences, is through trying out the different learning styles and determining the one that works best.

My study plan was quite effective and helped me with navigating through my assignment and additionally held me accountable for my learning outcomes. Managing time is often challenging as in addition to classes there are other commitments that could consume all the time available and these include social engagements, work, and extracurricular activities among others. By creating the study plan, I was able to see and track how I spend my time, in addition to ensuring that I set aside adequate time outside class for purposes of completing homework assignments, studying for tests, and reviewing and retaining the learned information.

Assessment Information

Reflect on your academic progress. Critical reflection is a well-established means by which all students, at all levels of study, are encouraged to think about their own progress and development, acknowledging where progress has been made and identifying areas for further improvement and development.

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References

Cairney, P., 2021. The UK Government’s COVID-19 Policy: What Does “Guided by the Science” Mean in Practice?. [online] Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpos.2021.624068/full [Accessed 22 November 2021].

Costa, R.D., Souza, G.F., Valentim, R.A. and Castro, T.B., 2020. The theory of learning styles applied to distance learning. Cognitive Systems Research, 64, pp.134-145.

JilardiDamavandi, A., Mahyuddin, R., Elias, H., Daud, S.M. and Shabani, J., 2011. Academic achievement of students with different learning styles. International journal of psychological studies, 3(2), pp.186-192.

Schmeck, R.R. ed., 2013. Learning strategies and learning styles. Springer Science & Business Media.

UK Parliament, 2021. Covid-19: How has the Government received scientific advice, and how has the advice been used? Cross-party group of MPs publish analysis. [online] Committees. Available at: