Center for Learning and Advancement

The GCU Center for Learning and Advancement (CLA) is here to provide all the tools you need for success in college. Few activities are more important than studying, and knowing where to go will make all the difference in your study habits.

The Center for Learning and Advancement (CLA) has announced it’s 2010 Fall Student Success Webinar Series. All webinars are scheduled from 3 to 3:30 p.m. (MST). The September dates and presentations are as follows.

The Center for Learning and Advancement (CLA) has developed its series of student workshops into webinars that are now available for all campus and online students. The live webinars are scheduled through the remainder of this semester. Students can register by clicking on the dates and times below that best fit their schedule. All webinars are scheduled for Mountain Standard Time. Live webinars include: Test-Taking Strategies This webinar will demonstrate techniques to improve test performance, with a focus on multiple-choice tests. Register for a session now by clicking on a date below: Tuesday, May 4 – 10 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 5 – 3 to 4 p.m. Reading Strategies Workshop This webinar will provide you with effective ways to improve your reading comprehension of college texts. Register for a session now by clicking on a date below: Tuesday, March 9 – 10 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, March 10 – 3 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, May 11 – 10 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 12 – 3 to 4 p.m. Research Tools Workshop This webinar will demonstrate different ways of conducting research. Register for a session now by clicking on a date below: Tuesday, March 16 – 10 to 11 […]

College-level reading requires meta-cognition – the ability to consider your own thinking and monitor your mental activity. Every college student needs to understand that four interacting variables affect the quality of reading:  The reader: What are your reading skills, prior knowledge about the topic, interests, attention or other physical factors like hunger? The text: How difficult is the text? What genre is the text (i.e., a novel, a science text, a magazine)? Is there graphical support or summary information? The strategies: How do you approach the reading task? What do you do as you read? The goal: Why are you reading the text? What do you want to accomplish by reading the text? The reader interacts with the words in the text by applying strategies that help the reader comprehend the message printed on the page. The act of reading can be broken into three key periods: Before, During, and After. By following the suggestions below, you can increase your reading effectiveness. Before you read Try to read earlier in the day when you are most alert. Make sure you choose an area that is quiet and has good lighting. Do not lie in your bed or have distractions near […]

By Eva Lytle With our ever-evolving worlds of Internet communication – podcasts, tags, file swapping – we have learned new and radical ways to research, create and learn. These and other features such as blogging tools, uploading photos, videos and music, joining forums and writing comments, allow us to express our creativity and individuality. GCU supports all students with higher education success at The Center for Learning & Advancement (CLA). We recognize that there is a new generation of digital learners and have provided opportunities to use those skills through online tutoring and social networking. CLA views social networking as another opportunity to connect with our global university peers in an academic way. We use a social network called NING that offers peer-to-peer and faculty-to-peer support in certain content areas. You can connect in discussion forums to help one another with academic concepts or answer questions you have about your coursework content. There are currently two social groups and forums that provide Writing Lab and Math Lab atmospheres. Students and faculty can post questions, answers, examples and resources that contribute to learning. Once you have joined, you will find photos and bios about each tutor, as well as additional online […]