Application Activity: Basic Paragraph

Instructions
Write a paragraph in response to the writing prompt. First write the parts of the paragraph in the appropriate box. Then, below the
boxes, paste the paragraph parts into one single paragraph. Look at the sample to see how this is done.

Writing Prompt
Choose a learning strategy from the course and explain why it can help you succeed in PathwayConnect.

Sample Paragraph
Write the paragraph parts here
Topic Sentence.
This should state a single controlling idea for the whole paragraph.

“Teach to Learn” is a learning strategy that will help me succeed in PathwayConnect because it will force me to think of
more than one way to explain concepts.

Supporting Details.
Support the topic sentence. Use two supporting details from the approved list (i.e. fact, expert testimony, statistics, personal
experience). Write complete sentences.

An important study conducted by educational psychologist Richard E. Mayer, published in the April 2014 edition of
“Contemporary Educational Psychology” supports this important fact. As he noted, “Results indicated that those
[students] who prepared to teach (even without actually teaching) outperformed those who prepared for a test on an
immediate comprehension test….Overall, these findings are consistent with the idea that the act of teaching (i.e.
explaining the material to others in a new way) is important for long-term learning.” I have seen these results prove true
in my own life as I have sought to teach others what I know in new ways. For example, last week, I taught my family
about repentance. Since there were young children there, I wondered how I could say it so everyone would understand.
As a result, I thought of a few examples to make my point. That extra work in my brain created extra connections in my
brain. It was the kind of brain growth that we read about when we learned about growth mindset. Now when I think
about repentance, I have those connections to help me understand it better.

Concluding Sentence.
This should sum up the supporting details of the paragraph and reinforce the topic sentence.

Through the expert testimony of others and my own personal experience, I have learned that as I teach to learn, the
efforts I make to help others understand will help me understand too, and that will help me succeed in
PathwayConnect.

Paste the paragraph parts together here. Indent the first line. Do not separate lines with space.

Indent Teach to Learn is a learning strategy that will help me succeed in PathwayConnect because it will force me to think of more
than one way to explain concepts. An important study conducted by educational psychologist Richard E. Mayer, published in the
April 2014 edition of “Contemporary Educational Psychology” supports this important fact. As he noted, “Results indicated that
those [students] who prepared to teach (even without actually teaching) outperformed those who prepared for a test on an
immediate comprehension test….Overall, these findings are consistent with the idea that the act of teaching (i.e. explaining the
material to others in a new way) is important for long-term learning.” I have seen these results prove true in my own life as I
have sought to teach others what I know in new ways. For example, last week, I taught my family about repentance. Since there
were young children there, I wondered how I could say it so everyone would understand. As a result, I thought of a few examples
to make my point. That extra work in my brain created extra connections in my brain. It was the kind of brain growth that we
read about when we learned about growth mindset. Now when I think about repentance, I have those connections to help me
understand it better. Through the expert testimony of others and my own personal experience, I have learned that as I teach to
learn, the efforts I make to help others understand will help me understand too, and that will help me succeed in
PathwayConnect.
 Go the next page to write your own paragraph 
Writing Prompt
Choose a learning strategy from the course and explain why it can help you succeed in PathwayConnect.

Write the paragraph parts here

If I use “Teach to Learn” as my learning strategy in PathwayConnect, I am definite I will succeed because this strategy
will inspire me to better absorb the content of my studies so that I could impart them to others effectively.
Supporting Details.
Support the topic sentence. Use two supporting details from the approved list (i.e. fact, expert testimony, statistics, personal
experience). Write complete sentences.

In an article entitled “Teach to Learn” by Chris Loper, an academic coach for Northwest Educational Services since 2014,
he said “I routinely arrive at better understandings of the things I am learning when I teach them to my students. I
strengthen my memory and deepen my comprehension every time I think of a different way to explain something.” I
have the same testimony as Chris Loper. I have never been a fan of mathematics. In fact, I have always had just a
passing grade in the subject since high school until college. When a number is accompanied by letters such as “x” or “y”,
or the number has another number on its upper right, my mind would suddenly experience blackouts, or I would feel
like my brain would spin so fast till I would not have the energy to comprehend the mathematical problem in front of
me. However, when I saw the pained expression on my daughter’s face as she was struggling to pass her mathematics
subject, my heart sank. Because I love her and want to be able to help her, I learned to solve the mathematics problem
with the desire to teach my daughter. I searched and studied all the materials that I could find about the subject and
even used YouTube as my online tutor with the mindset that I must learn it in order to teach it to my daughter. The
mathematics problem that used to be so ambiguous and incomprehensible gradually became clear. I was able to teach
my daughter, and I am certain that I taught her effectively because she got a better grade on her mathematics subject.

Concluding Sentence.
This should sum up the supporting details of the paragraph and reinforce the topic sentence.

The testimonies of experts and my own personal experience regarding “Teach to Learn” as a learning strategy,
strengthen my belief that as I learn with the desire to help others learn, my brain is triggered to think of how I could
better explain it to someone and that helps in giving me a better a grasp of the content of my studies. With this in mind,
I know I could succeed PathwayConnect.

Paste the paragraph parts together here. Indent the first line. Do not separate lines with space.

If I use “Teach to Learn” as my learning strategy in PathwayConnect, I am definite I will succeed because this strategy will
inspire me to better absorb the content of my studies so that I could impart them to others effectively. In an article entitled “Teach
to Learn” by Chris Loper, an academic coach from Northwest Educational Services since 2014, he said “I routinely arrive at better
understandings of the things I am learning when I teach them to my students. I strengthen my memory and deepen my
comprehension every time I think of a different way to explain something.” I have the same testimony as Chris Loper. I have never
been a fan of mathematics. In fact, I have always had just a passing grade in the subject since high school until college. When a
number is accompanied by letters such as “x” or “y”, or the number has another number on its upper right, my mind would suddenly
experience blackouts, or I would feel like my brain would spin so fast till I would not have the energy to comprehend the
mathematical problem in front of me. However, when I saw the pained expression on my daughter’s face as she was struggling to
pass her mathematics subject, my heart sank. Because I love her and want to be able to help her, I learned to solve the mathematics
problem with the desire to teach my daughter. I searched and studied all the materials that I could find about the subject and even
used YouTube as my online tutor with the mindset that I must learn it to teach it effectively to my daughter. The mathematics
problem that used to be so ambiguous and incomprehensible gradually became clear. I was able to teach my daughter, and I am
certain that I taught her effectively because she got a better grade on her mathematics subject. The testimonies of experts and my
own personal experience regarding “Teach to Learn” as a learning strategy, strengthen my belief that as I learn with the desire to
help others learn, my brain is triggered to think of how I could better explain it to someone and that helps in giving me a better grasp
of the content of my studies. With this in mind, I know I could succeed PathwayConnect.