Read the following case studies that accompany Essential Study Skills, 5e, Chapter 1. These case studies appear only online; they are not in your textbook. Type your responses to each case study. After you complete this exercise, you can PRINT your responses or EMAIL them to your instructor.

Marla is a new student in college. The last time she was in school was twenty-two years ago. After taking the learning modalities questionnaire, she learned that she has very strong visual skills. This didn't surprise her because she has always enjoyed reading. During a class discussion, Marla learned that there are many ways she can study that capitalize on her visual strengths. Marla was ecstatic; she had never heard of these techniques before. She decided to make a list of learning activities for studying that utilize her visual skills. What kind of learning activities or strategies do you think Marla put on her list?



Kenneth is taking a computer technology multi-media course, and he is frustrated! He knows a lot about computers and loves to discover new applications and techniques for building web pages. In this class students give presentations and teach computer lessons to the class. The first student stood in front of the class and lectured for thirty minutes and then told students to do what she had presented. No one knew where to begin. The second student decided to walk everyone through the process. There were no printed directions, so everyone had to listen to the directions and then perform the operation.The process was slow and tedious, and then it was a disaster when the wrong directions were given and everyone had to back-out of the previous steps.Kenneth had learned about multi-sensory learning and multi-sensory presentations. He was going to design his lesson with approaches for visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners. Describe the kinds of multi-sensory approaches Kenneth may want to consider using in his presentation.



After learning about Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Chris and Lee started to compare their strengths in each of the eight areas of intelligence. Both students grew up in the same town, but they attended different schools. Chris attended a school that emphasized fine arts. His background included experiences in drama, the jazz band, sculpture and painting. Lee attended a school that was more traditional. Emphasis was the more traditional academic areas of literature, math, science and writing. The educational background of both students was excellent; each acquired the skills emphasized in their schools. Based on these brief descriptions, which of the multiple intelligences would you predict are well-developed for Chris? Which of the multiple intelligences would you predict are well-developed for Lee? Explain your answer.



Thomas instantly identified with the characteristics of a kinesthetic learner and a learner with well developed bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. He is a gifted athlete and musician. However, he was often seen as disruptive, impatient, impulsive, and hyperactive in school. His teachers frequently commented that he couldn't sit still and often acted bored in class. Finally, one of his high school teachers started using approaches that changed Thomas's academic performance and his overall attitude toward school. His grades improved, he contributed more appropriately in class, and he showed great pride in his work.What approaches do you think the teacher started using that helped Thomas experience greater success?