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Use your Learning Styles for Success at School
Use your Learning Styles forSuccess at School
by Blake Herzog
It’s important for students of all ages to understand how their brain tends to process information for later use, whether you’re in the classroom or anywhere else. It’s something you already may have noticed in the course of your daily life, by taking a quiz or being evaluated for it.
If not, it often takes just a few minutes of reflecting on what’s worked best for you in the past and leveraging that well into your future.
VISUAL LEARNERS like to learn and communicate through images, color, maps, graphics and charts. When in class or studying, they should try drawing pictures and diagrams to aid in understanding concepts and how they relate to each other. Creating a system for color-coding their notes and watching and making videos related to the subject is also effective.
AUDITORY LEARNERS lean on their sense of hearing to collect and communicate knowledge. Recording lectures, reading printed material out loud and taking voice notes they can play back are some of their preferred study aids. They also thrive in study groups where they can discuss lessons with their peers and by talking through answers before writing them down.
KINESTHETIC LEARNERS appreciate hands-on activities like working in labs, making models and doing practice run-throughs whenever they can, including with exams. They benefit from moving and taking short breaks while they study and love instructors who use real-world examples in their lectures and take the learning process into other environments.
READING/WRITING LEARNERS enjoy reading assignments, PowerPoint presentations and writing essays. Sometimes classified as a subtype of a broader “visual learning” group, they write down as much as they can during any learning experience. They are often the ones who excel within “traditional” learning environments found on most school campuses emphasizing word-heavy research in books or online.
Most people use more than one style while they study, though kinesthetic learners are the most likely to strongly prefer their one method. Don’t be afraid to switch things up to find out what works for you in different situations.
Sponsored by Guidance Helicopters, Inc.
“Always remember life is a learning journey. Keep filling your mind with all that is worthy.” —Catherine Pulsifer
Education is the basis for the growth and progress of society, allowing people to contribute more in their areas of expertise and create better communities. Education on every level develops problem-solving skills and provides the opportunity for empowerment through hard work.
Welcome to our newest, regular section in Prescott LIVING Magazine, the Education Section! The section appears in every bi-monthly issue including a complete directory, local articles and messages from local schools to help you decide what best suits your personal or family needs.
A special thank you goes out to Guidance Helicopters, Inc. for sponsorship of the Education Section! Because of their generosity, we are able to bring you more information from our local schools.
YC Expands Program for Tuition-Free Degrees
Yavapai College (YC) has expanded a financial aid program to let students earn a tuition-free degree from among 16 two-year associate degree programs.
Director of Early College and Promise Programs Meghan Paquette said tuition reimbursement will be based on tuition a student would spend during the two years required to earn a specific degree.
Reimbursement will occur after the student earns the degree in the requisite time. The reimbursement does not cover other education expenses such as room, board or books and educational supplies.
“Students can apply for scholarships to cover some of those expenses,” Paquette said. “We are pleased to expand what we’ve called Workforce Promise into its fourth year. The college board gave us $500,000 for this year. We have expanded the student cohort to an anticipated 300 students who enrolled in specific degree programs.” She said the initial year the program was offered, it attracted around 100 students; the second, 120; and the third year, more than 200.
Tuition rates are set each year. This coming year, tuition is about $1,500 a semester or $3,000 for the school year.
Faculty are aware of the high cost of textbooks and other education resources, so they have introduced what is called Open Educational Resources.
“When possible, faculty opted for online textbooks. Sometimes this involved free textbooks and other resources. We promote options to make the programs as affordable as possible for the students. Students can apply for grants to buy texts,” Paquette said.
Paquette said the college is pleased that countywide, students are taking advantage of the Workforce Promise program. About one-third the students enroll from the Verde Valley and the other two-thirds come from the Quad Cities area. Many are first-generation college students who enroll in degree programs that lead to good jobs and good salaries.
YC Partnering with PUSD on Tuition Free Pilot Program
Paquette also administers a new program in cooperation with Prescott Unified School District called Early College, in which 18 carefully selected high school seniors are spending their final year of high school in the YC campus classes Monday through Thursdays between 8:15 a.m. and 12:45 p.m.
All have 3.5 or higher-grade point averages and are enrolled at YC.
Similar to the Workforce Promise program, these students pay no tuition. Instead, the school district is reimbursed for the students through a grant from the state. PUSD then will pay for tuition.
Paquette said the program was initiated through cooperative efforts among Prescott High School Principal Adam Neely, PHS academic adviser Molly Orr and YC officials.
PUSD Superintendent Joe Howard praised Early College as “...a natural partnership with YC. We patterned it after the Vail High School-Pima Community College model. However, we focus more on actual on-campus college life. PUSD staff member Molly Orr will be the ‘go-to’ for those kids, conducting many seminars and training sessions that will model college life.”
Howard said PUSD personnel continue exploring other opportunities to introduce local students to educational opportunities that will benefit them, their parents, families and the community.
More information is available by contacting Paquette at meghan.paquette@ yc.edu or by calling 928.776.2029.
Meghan Paquette, director, Early College and Workforce Promise programs at Yavapai College, coordinates two special programs that involve tuition-free classes and degrees for qualified students. (Photo courtesy Yavapai College)
Construction continues on the massive Legado apartment complex in Prescott Valley near the center of town. (Photo by Ray Newton)
Legado Apartment Complex Constructed Near Town Center
When it opens in 2024, Legado’s mixed-use, multifamily apartments will add 329 units to the housing market in the Prescott Valley downtown area.
At the southwest corner of Florentine Road and Main Street, the complex has been in the planning stages for several years. It was approved for construction by the Town Council of Prescott Valley about a year ago, according to the Fain Signature Group, project owner.
Legado is hailed as a unique gated community and will feature a 5,000-square-foot rooftop restaurant open to the public, and 8,000 square feet of commercial lease space at ground level.
Other distinctive features include covered parking, which includes an additional 124 public parking spaces; electric vehicles charging spaces; swimming pool, poolside cabanas and spa and fitness center; two turf courtyards; barbecue pavilions; and a dog-washing station.
Praising the new development, PV Town Manager Gilbert Davidson said, “Legado will be a great addition to Prescott Valley’s downtown. It will serve as a signature building with retail, restaurants and living opportunities.” The investment will complement existing and new businesses and other community activities in the downtown entertainment area, he added.
None of the design plan was accidental, said Brad Fain, CEO of Fain Signature Group.
“We continue to research our state’s overwhelming needs for housing, new technology for energy and water conservation, social design and how we need to meet increasing demands for electric vehicles and EV charging stations,” he said.
“Legado residents will have necessary products and services needed to live without having to drive. Banks, grocery stores, restaurants, health care, elementary and high schools, college — all are within walking distance of the complex,” Fain added.
He said the purpose is to let residents benefit from having desirable sites nearby so that driving is minimized or avoided. Fain Signature Group says its mission is to make a better lifestyle possible for residents through appropriate community design and regional collaboration.
The development group was established by the Fain family, whose early descendants homesteaded in the region in the 1870s. Descendants established the Town of Prescott Valley in 1966. It since has grown to be the largest incorporated community in Yavapai County, with a population topping 48,000.
The general contractor for Legado’s apartment complex is Pono Construction, a firm headed by Butch Gillespie and Amber Gillespie, a father-daughter team from Carefree.
Day-to-day operations will be managed by P.B. Bell, a longtime property management and development company from Scottsdale.
