Glossary
- Academic Advisor
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A person who supports your journey through the Fanshawe College system.
They are the experts when it comes to providing advice on dropping a course, your schedule, changing programs, how to communicate with your professors and can connect you with people to help you with your job search, questions about international visa, work permits, parking, security etc.
- Academic Integrity
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Holding oneself and others accountable for performing academic work both honestly and ethically.
- Active Listening
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Thinking while listening to support one's listening efforts and to help you stay focused, let you to test your understanding and help you remember the material.
- Active reading
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A planned, deliberate set of strategies to engage with text-based materials with the purpose of increasing your understanding.
- Analytical Thinking
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Working through a problem by breaking it down into its component parts for separate analysis.
- APA Format
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A referencing format created by the American Psychological Association.
- Asynchronous Delivery
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Participants access the presentation at different times.
- Aural Learning Preference
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A learning preference in which an individual learns better by listening. Part of the VARK approach to learning preferences.
- Backchannels
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Secondary or additional means of interacting with your audience.
- Blended Learning
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Refers to a course structure in which students will spend some hours in a classroom with a professor and classmates, but are also expected to take part in online activities outside of class time.
- Budget
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A specific financial plan for a specified time.
- Cheating
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Taking information or knowledge from someone else and presenting it as one's own work. Can take the form of looking over someone's shoulder during an exam, or any forbidden sharing of information between students regarding an exam or exercise.
- Citing
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Refers to telling readers where the information in your work originated.
- Co-curricular
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Refers to material taught in one class will provide a basis for knowledge in other classes in the same term, as well as the base knowledge required for the second term. May also refer to activities, programs, and learning experiences that complement, in some way, what students are learning in school—i.e., experiences that are connected to or mirror the academic curriculum.
- Communication
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Exchanging of information.
- Complex Problem Solving
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The skill of applying a method to a problem, often not seen before, to obtain a satisfactory solution.
- Compounding Interest
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Interest calculated on the principle and the previous accumulated interest.
- Concept Map
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A visual way of representing information where you place a central idea in the centre of the page and then add lines and new circles in the page for new ideas. Use arrows and lines to connect the various ideas.
- Contingency Planning
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Identifying potential problems and creating a back up.
- Cornell Method
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A two-column approach. The left column takes up no more than a third of the page and is often referred to as the “cue” or “recall” column. The right column (about two-thirds of the page) is used for taking notes using any of the methods described above or a combination of them.
- Course Learning Objectives (CLOs)
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Objectives that will be achieved by the end of the course and will relate back to the Vocational Learning Outcomes at varying levels in a program.
- CR SIGNS
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An acronym that stands for complex problem solving, resilience, social intelligence, implementation, global citizenship, novel and adaptive thinking and self-directed learning.
- Creative Thinking
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Seeking out new ways to solve problems or identify a need.
- Credibility
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The quality of being trusted.
- Credit Card
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A card allowing for the purchase of goods and services on credit.
- Credit Score
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A rating that represents the ability of a person to fulfill their financial commitments based on their credit history.
- Crisis Management
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Management technique in which the immediate problem is given top priority and, after resolving the immediate problem, reflecting on what happened to develop a strategy that will help avoid the same problem in the future.
- Critical Thinking
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Includes some form of judgment that thinkers generate after carefully analyzing the perspectives, opinions, or experimental results present for a particular problem or situation.
- Culture
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Like ethnicity, refers to shared characteristics, language, beliefs, behaviours, and identity. We are all influenced by our culture to some extent.
- Daily Top Three Approach
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A method where you determine which three things are the most important to finish that day, and these become the tasks that you complete.
- Debt
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Money which is owed.
- Deception
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Providing false information to an instructor concerning an academic assignment.
- Decoding
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Understanding the language of a message and interpreting its meaning.
- Descriptive Research
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A study that defines something by describing its characteristics, behaviours, or actions.
- Discourse
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A conversation over time about a topic.
- Diversity
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The great variety of human characteristics, ways that we are different even as we are all human and share more similarities than differences.
- Eat the Frog
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A time management approach where a person takes care of the biggest or most unpleasant task first, so that everything else will be easier after that.
- Eisenhower Matrix
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A method of organizing priorities to ensure that you focus on the correct tasks.
- Encoding
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How we first perceive information through our senses - sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell.
- Essay questions
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Used by professors to evaluate your thinking and reasoning applied to the material covered in a course. Good essay answers are based on your thoughts, supported by examples from classes, and reading assignments.
- Ethnic group
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A group of people who share a common identity and a perceived cultural heritage that often involves shared ways of speaking and behaving, religion, traditions, and other traits.
- Exploratory Research
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Answers the question “Does something exist?”
- Extrovert
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The extrovert is primarily motivated by the outside world and social interaction.
- Fabrication
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The falsification of data, information, or citations in an academic assignment.
- FAST
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A way to develop your message according to the elements of format, audience, style, and tone.
- Feeling Person
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A person who responds based on their feelings and empathy.
- Feeling Trait
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A trait of a learner who focuses on the emotional side of information and learns through personal connections and empathy.
- Fixed Expenses
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Expenses that cost about the same every month and are predictable based on your arrangement with the provider.
- Fixed Mindset
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The belief that abilities cannot be changed through learning.
- Formatting Features
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Elements such as bolding, indenting, bullets, different font sizes, styles, and colours, underlining, italicizing, shading, inserting captions, and highlighting, to make your documents visually appealing and clearer to read.
- Forming
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The first stage of group development with a polite atmosphere.
- Foundational Skills
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Basic skills such as goal setting, planning and organizing, self – leadership, and critical thinking, that form the basis for learning. Also called soft skills.
- Gesture
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“A movement that you make with your hands, your head or your face to show a particular meaning” (Oxford Learners Dictionaries, n.d.)
- Ghosting
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When a group member is refusing to engage in a group project, not answering emails or stops communicating with the group.
- Global citizenship
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Having a worldview grounded in civic responsibility and ethics.
- Gross Pay
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The pay found on your pay stub or statement.
- Growth Mindset
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The belief that abilities could change through learning.
- Hidden Curriculum
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A phrase used to cover a wide variety of circumstances at school that can influence learning and affect your experience. Sometimes called the invisible curriculum, it varies by institution and can be thought of as a set of unwritten rules or expectations.
- Implementation skills
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The ability to design, manage, and execute projects, initiatives or plans in an organized, timely fashion. Often referred to as having a “get 'er done” attitude.
- Imply
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Hint at information without directly stating a fact for a variety of reasons.
- Infer
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To conclude responses to related challenges from evidence or from your own reasoning.
- Interpretation
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The task of drawing inferences from the facts that you collect in your research.
- Introvert
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A person more motivated by things that are internal to them—things like their own interests.
- Intuitive Trait
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A trait of a learner who perceives things in broader categories and is often described as having a hunch or a gut feeling.
- Investments
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An asset invested in to build wealth and save money.
- Job Skills for the Future
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Skills required for those seeking to build successful careers.
- Judging Trait
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A trait of a learner who approaches things in a structured way—usually using Sensing and Thinking traits
- Kinesthetic
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Learn best by doing.
- Learning Goals
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Refers to what a learners hopes to get out of learning.
- List Method
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A method of notetaking in which you taking down ideas as they are presented without sorting or organizing the ideas. May not be the best choice of notetaking because it is focused exclusively on capturing as much of what the professor says as possible, not on processing the information.
- Long-term Memory
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Where the brain stores information in case we need to use it in the future.
- Memorization
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A form of learning that does not always require deeper understanding.
- Memory
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The process of storing and retrieving information
- Metacognition
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Thinking about thinking.
- Multiculturalism
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Involves an attitude of respect for the feelings, ideas, behaviours, and experiences of others who differ from oneself in any way.
- Myers Briggs
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A questionnaire to indicate different psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions.
- Net Pay
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The smaller amount of your pay after money is deducted for a variety of taxes, etc.
- Noise
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Refers to anything that gets in the way of the message getting through. It could be actual noise interference (like a loud argument in the hallway) but it could also be the speaker mumbling, the receiver being stressed out and thinking about something else, or anything else that prevents the clear transmission of the message or ability to decode it.
- Non-verbal Cues
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Elements like gestures, facial expressions, and posture.
- Norming
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The third stage of group development where differences are resolved.
- Novel and Adaptive Thinker
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Being creative in analysis and solutions.
- Online Forum
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An online space for discussion.
- Online Learning
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Refers to a course structure in which students interact with the material, their instructor, and other students remotely via the Internet.
- Online Tests
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Tests that are written via computer/Internet. Usually delivered through your learning management system (FOL at Fanshawe) and require some additional planning to manage the technical aspects.
- Open Book Tests
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Tests in which a textbook and/or other materials are permitted for reference during the test. Professors often give this type of test when they are more interested in seeing your thoughts and critical thinking than your memory power.
- Outline Method
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A method of notetaking in which you place most important ideas along the left margin, numbered with roman numerals. Supporting ideas to these main concepts are indented and are noted with capital letters and under each of these ideas, further detail can be added.
- Paper Tests
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A very common type of test, requiring students to write answers on the test pages or in a separate test booklet or bubble sheet.
- Perceiving Trait
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A trait of a learner who often thinks of structure as somewhat inhibiting. They tend to make more use of Intuition and Feeling in their approach to life.
- Performance Goals
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Refers to the way a student wants to appear to other students. For example, their primary psychological concern might be to appear intelligent to others.
- Performing
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The fourth stage of group development where the team is confident in their role and work.
- Plagiarism
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Defined in the 1995 Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary, is the "use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work" (Emory University, 2022, para. 4)
- Pomodoro Technique
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A method where you use a timer to set work intervals that are followed by a short break.
- Popular Knowledge Products
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Knowledge products that communicate a broad range of information. The author is often not identified, sources are often not documented, and language is not technical. Because they are commercial products packaged for wide sales, they often use colour and have numerous ads.
- Pre-Health Sciences Pathway to Advanced Diplomas and Degrees (PHS or Pre-Health Science)
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Program that provides students with the opportunity to study subject areas relevant to health career programs at Fanshawe College and to instill an appreciation of the professional roles, responsibilities and academic requirements of health care disciplines.
- Prediction Research
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Involves identifying relationships that make it possible for us to speculate about one thing by knowing about something else.
- Primary Sources
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Original documents about which we write and study, such as letters between historic figures or the Declaration of Independence
- Prioritization
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Ordering tasks and allotting time for them based on their identified needs or value.
- Problem Solving
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The act of solving a problem which includes identifying the issues, strategizing,and selecting and implementing a solution.
- Procrastination
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The act of delaying some task that needs to be completed.
- Professional Integrity
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Refers to holding one's self and others accountable for performing ‘professional’ work, both honestly and ethically, in the workplace in the industry of your choice.
- Professional Knowledge Products
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Knowledge products that are written for professionals in a field; the author is most often identified, sources are not always documented, and the language may or may not be technical.
- Program Advisory Committee (PAC)
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A committee largely consisting of faculty from health career program and other science programs, together with representation from local high schools.
- Race
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What we generally think of as biological differences; often defined by what some think of as skin colour. Such perceptions are often at least as much social as they are biological.
- Read/Write Learning Preference
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A learning preference in which an individual learns better by reviewing, reading (and writing). Part of the VARK approach to learning preferences.
- Recall
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Refers to being able to retrieve an image, feeling, or information so we can do something with it. This is what we call remembering.
- Recursive Reading
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Reading the passage more than once to detect the emphasis the writer places on one aspect of the topic or how frequently the writer dismisses a significant counterargument.
- Referencing
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A formal system of indicating where ideas and information originated to properly credit the author and show how your argument relates to the big picture.
- Resilience
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The ability to thrive while overcoming obstacles.
- Savings
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Money which is not being spent or invested.
- Scholarly Knowledge Products
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Knowledge products that are written for scholars in a particular field.
- Self-directed learner
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Being autonomous, organized, and self-disciplined.
- Self-Directed Learning
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Apply independent learning strategies.
- Sensing Trait
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A trait of a learner who often looks to direct observation as a means of perception and prefers to arrive at a conclusion by examining details and facts.
- Short Answer Questions
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Questions which require the student to write a short response, typically in the form of individual sentences or a small paragraph. They are designed for you to recall and provide some very specific information.
- Short-Term Memory
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Made up of the information we are processing at any given time. Also called Active Memory
- Skimming
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A first step to deep reading which allows you to take in the major points of a passage without the need for a time-consuming reading session that involves your active use of notations and annotations.
- Slide Decks
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The most common visual aid used in presentations and may be developed using software such as PowerPoint, Keynote, Prezi, or Google Slides. These tools allow you to show text, images, and charts and even to play audio or video files.
- Social Intelligence
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Being able to interact positively with others, building strong healthy relationships, and thriving in social environments.
- Soft Skills
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Essential traits looked for by employers such as interpersonal skills, communication skills, time-management, problem-solving, empathy, etc.
- Storming
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The second stage of group development with conflicts and frustration at progress.
- Stress
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A natural response of the body and mind to a demand or challenge.
- Stressor
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The thing that causes stress and captures our attention and causes a physical and emotional reaction.
- Synonym
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A word or phrase that has nearly the same meaning as another word or phrase.
- Take Home Tests
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Tests that students are permitted to take home to complete and submit at a later date. They are like open-book tests except you have the luxury of time on your side. The professor will likely expect more detail and more complete work because you are not under a strict time limit and because you have access to reference materials.
- Teacher-Directed Classrooms
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In these classrooms, the teacher is the central figure, and the students take direction about what to learn directly from the instructor.
- Technical Skills
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The types of skills you may see listed on a job posting and might include, understanding the biology, physiology and chemistry of the human body, using health-sciences and other health-related terminology, good communication skills, or good time management.
- Test Anxiety
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A psychological condition in which a person feels distress before, during, or after a test or exam to the point where stress causes poor performance.
- Thesaurus
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A resource that provides synonyms and related concepts.
- Thinking Trait
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A trait of a learner who arrives at opinions based on reason and logic.
- Validity
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The quality of being logically or factually sound.
- Variable Expenses
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Expenses that change based on your priorities and available funds.
- VARK
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A popular approach to learning styles that focuses on learning through different senses: Visual, Aural, Reading/Writing, and Kinesthetic.
- Video Tests
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Tests where students may be asked to respond to written prompts and record their answer in video format.
- Visual Aids
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Includes handouts, drawings on the whiteboard, PowerPoint slides, memes, short video clips, and many other types of props.
- Visual Learning Preference
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A learning preference in which an individual learns best by seeing pictures, graphs, charts.
- Vocational Learning Outcomes (VLOs)
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Outcomes that describe the learning being done at the program level and follow the credentialing framework outlined by the ministry.
- Working Memory
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A type of short-term memory, but we use it when we are actively performing a task.