March 14, 2013

March 14, 2013

And...break!

I hope everyone had a great day today.  I know I did.  The men won their first Big 12 Tournament game in eight years.  I got to wear jeans, a sweatshirt, and tennis shoes to work (normally it's business casual = dresses and high heels), which I thought was particulary awesome.  I got to watch the game with people as equally as invested into the outcome as I was.  (I work at the Alumni Association, so the staff had a game watch party in the SALC office.  Normally I watch the game in my room, pacing back and forth, and freak my roommates out when I get a little vocal at some of the calls.)  I didn't have to find lunch (Pizza!!!). And to top it off, I had Chipotle for supper.

Yes, I know Chipotle's been open for like two months already now, but has anyone had it?  If not, you are missing out.  And if you eat at Chipotle, you get to eat good, moderately healthy food!  And when you eat that food, you support local, Niman Ranch farmers (like my parents).  And when you support local, Niman Ranch farmers (like my parents), you support me! (Excellent logic, I know!)

If you don't know what Niman Ranch is, here's the exact history from their website:

http://www.nimanranch.com/niman_story.aspx

Niman Ranch began in the early 1970s on an eleven acre ranch in a small coastal town just north of San Francisco. The cattle were raised using traditional, humane husbandry methods and given wholesome all-natural feeds. Before long, Niman Ranch beef became a favorite in local grocery stores and at San Francisco Bay Area restaurants.

In 1995, Niman Ranch was introduced to Paul Willis, of Thornton Iowa. He was working to revitalize sustainable hog farming methods in the Midwest. Paul's commitment to raising hogs in a humane, old-fashioned way matched Niman Ranch's principles. Niman Ranch was now able to proudly offer beef, pork and lamb.

Today, the Niman Ranch network has grown to include over 700 independent American farmers and ranchers. Whether they’re raising hogs, cattle or lamb, they all share Niman Ranch's dedication to the strictest protocols and the belief that all-natural, humane and sustainable methods produce the best possible flavor.

• Humanely Raised by the Largest Network of U.S. Family Farmers and Ranchers
• Never Given Antibiotics or Added Hormones – Ever
• Fed Only the Finest All Vegetarian Feeds

So that's a little bit of more informaiton about me.  I'm a proud supporter of sustainable agriculture and while the work my parents do may be hard and difficult, I wouldn't ever change the way we do things just because we could make more money in confinements. 

Okay, this is getting quite lengthy, so I'll quit my PSA announcment and move on to a more relatable topic.

Shelby and Stephanie did an excellent job ths week discussing student learning styles.  In high school, we did the Gardner Mutliple Intelligences Test at least two or threes times and it was even brought up in my CI 202 class last semester (although the professor tried to denounce that students actually learn in the styles prescribed by Gardner).  According to Gardner, there are eight intelligences: musical, linguistic, interpersonal, bodily/kinesthetic, naturalist, mathematical, spacial, intrapersonal.  My personal ones are musical, linguistic, and interpersonal.

They posed the question: How can you apply knowing your learning style and the strategies associated with it to improving your academic success?  I know that I like things orderly and adequately described.  I like things laid out, perferably in a topical or chronological order.  I like my PowerPoints to have titles, and adequate bullet points that relate to the title.  I like to-do lists and I color coordinate my class notebooks/folders.  I say I'm organized, but as I write this, I'm in my room, which looks like a disaster.  I perfer things in a linear or heirarchical order.  With this knowledge I can help students who learn a similar way and create lectures and presentations with a more detail-oriented outlook.

I apologize for the exceptionally long post this week.  I hope everyone has a good spring break!  Let's BEAT KANSAS tomorrow to set the week right!
Until we all get back,
Go state!
Katie