1. Lawrence is a clerk at a mid-sized grocery store. He describes his Confluence as the following:
"Confluence may be the hardest pattern for me to understand because I view it as a means to contradict myself. I am not typically a big risk taker, unless I am already confident in the outcome. I frequently tell my co-workers that "The rules don't apply to me" in a joking manner, but there is always a little truth in joking, right? I think this Pattern contributes to my desire to constantly take on new challenges because I become bored with doing the same thing over and over, or for long periods of time. I use this pattern more at work and home than I do for class."
To what degree does Lawrence use Confluence?
-Use First
-Use as Needed
-Avoid
Question 2. Mark describes his use of Technical Reasoning as the following:
"When I was 8 years old, I took apart my brand new computer just to see the inside. My parents weren't too happy about that! I thought it was fun to play with the components and learning how it all worked. As an adult, I challenged myself to build a computer with a limited budget and all used parts. Not only did it work, but I hooked it up to my TV screen and had a huge computer. It was so much fun!"
Based on Mark's description of how he uses his Technical Reasoning, at what level does he use this Pattern?
-Use First
-Use as Needed
-Avoid
Question 3. Tami loves writing and wants to be a professional blogger. She's seeking a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.
"I steer clear of lists - they make me anxious. I may skim through things to get a general idea of what is being asked, but I don't like steps because they feel restrictive. When I'm working on a project I will use post-it notes to keep track of my ideas, but they're never in one central location. They're scattered all over the place and when I do find them, it's usually too late to incorporate them into my work. The same thing happens with household items. When I'm cleaning up I will put things away in what at the time seems like a very good place, but I can never find things when I need them because I don't have a system. I just haphazardly assign random places."
To what degree does Tami use Sequence?
-Use First
-Use as Needed
-Avoid
Question 4. Stacey, an EXP 105 instructor, describes one of her Learning Patterns:
"Every morning I create a list, and I like to keep to my schedule during the day. Lists are my best friend! I like to cross things off when they are complete, and love that feeling of accomplishment. I love to have my home organized, and know that everything is in a specific place. I have very clear and specific routines that are followed on a daily basis. For instance, every morning I follow the same pattern as I prepare for the day. When I go to the store, I park in the same spot at each store."
Which Learning Pattern best fits Stacey's description above?
-Sequence
-Precision
-Confluence
Question 5. Frank, a retired plumber and father of four, described how one of his favorite hobbies helped support his family:
"I love picking up broken items that others have thrown away and fixing them. One of my favorite times of the year was called "Clean up Week" when people would throw away broken appliances and other large items to be taken to the local dump. I sometimes had up to six broken vacuum cleaners in my shop and it felt so good to take parts from each to create one working vacuum. I would spend hours in the shed puttering and felt so proud of myself when I managed to successfully fix something. My problem solving skills saved us money! I once found a TV with no picture and another with no sound. I set them on top of each other - problem solved!"
Which Learning Pattern best fits Frank's description above?
-Precision
-Technical Reasoning
-Confluence
Question 6. Clara, a stay-at-home mother of four, describes one of her learning patterns.
"I love taking in information and finding new ways to complete tasks. I believe that it is okay to fail and make mistakes as long as you learn from them. With four children it feels like I am always cooking. I have many recipes and while many follow the directions, I like adding or substituting ingredients. My sweet potato bisque was actually even better with acorn squash and carrots and healthier too!"
Which Learning Pattern best fits Clara''s description above?
-Sequence
-Technical Reasoning
-Confluence
Question 7. Brandi is a Preventative Maintenance Planner. Her short term goal is to become a Maintenance Manager, but she would eventually like to transition into upper production management as an Operations Manager. She is reminded all too often that she is working in a "man's world" with the career path she has chosen, which only intensifies her desire to be successful.
"As a technician, I am faced with a new problem to troubleshoot every day at work. I appreciate these challenges because it gives me a break from my robotic Sequence and Precision Patterns, and allows my brain a chance to enter "figure it out" mode by utilizing my problem solving skills. I feel that every new problem solved comes with the benefit of new information gained. I enjoy using precise test equipment to take accurate measurements and check for required voltages. It is not enough for me to know what went wrong, but also why it went wrong. I recently got myself into trouble at work for taking an expensive small motor apart to determine exactly what component failed inside it, thus voiding the repair warranty. Oops! I have even repaired my air conditioning unit and dishwasher, and replaced my garbage disposal in my home."
To what degree does Brandi use Technical Reasoning?
-Use First
-Use as Needed
-Avoid
Question 8.8. Andraya graduated from college with a major in Business Management. She says the following about her Confluence:
"I loved working on group projects when I was in school! I felt energized by the different ideas that we all would have. Something one person said could spark four or five new ideas of my own. It would be hard to keep up with how fast my mind would work. I am the person in the group who enjoys the brainstorming sessions, but just don't ask me to take notes! They will be all over the place!"
Based on Andraya's description of how she uses her Confluence, at what level does she use this Pattern?
-Use First
-Use as Needed
-Avoid
Question 9. Lisa is a human resources major, says the following about her Learning Pattern:
"I always try to do my best on any assignment. If there is something I don't understand, I will do everything I can to gain a better understanding. I will typically do things like contact a fellow student for their opinion, email the teacher for clarification, or make a quick review of my classmates' work as an example. I tend to put a lot of information in my explanations because I want my reader to understand what I'm trying to tell them. I usually exceed page limits for assignments so I end up removing almost half of what I wrote in order to not overwhelm the reader. For instance, I had to go in and proofread this description a couple times because it was so long!"
Which Learning Pattern best fits Lisa's description above?
-Sequence
-Precision
-Technical Reasoning
Question 10. Eugene, a massage therapist and Health and Wellness major, replied to his peer with the following comment:
"I know exactly how you feel in regards to being unable to function in a messy or disorganized area. I cannot relax or focus on other things when everything is a mess. With me it is 'cluttered house = cluttered mind.' Organizing my workspace in my home before I begin schoolwork is one way I set myself
Which Learning Pattern best fits Eugene's description above?
-Sequence
-Precision
-Confluence
Question 11. Carla is a single mom of three young children. She describes a time when she had to field-fit to assemble a toy for the kids.
"I most definitely can relate to field-fitting when I hit a roadblock. I tend to just dig in and get started with tasks. That is how I put my kid's race track together last year. There were so many random pieces that had awkward connections to other pieces due to the shape of the track. When I couldn't get it assembled right the first time, I purposely laid all of the pieces out and systematically followed the diagram to assemble the track. And it worked! Of course the kids destroyed it a few days later, but I had figured out how to put it together myself and that was all that mattered."
Which Learning Pattern did Carla use to field-fit in order to assemble the race track?
-Sequence
-Precision
-Confluence
Question 12. Shawn is a retired military veteran who is now employed as a civilian contractor. Obtaining his degree in Organizational Management will enable him to be considered for future promotions. Shawn describes a situation he encountered below:
"I worked for a defense contractor responsible for providing computer training to military units. We were scheduled to conduct training on Monday, the day after the Super Bowl. At the training site, the video monitor used for PowerPoint presentations was too small for the expected audience. I brainstormed several ideas to make the training work. I thought about buying a projector but the approval process would take too long. I considered local video equipment rental but all units were rented out. So, I came up with an idea that was unconventional and could have even be considered a distraction to the event. I borrowed a second 42 inch monitor from the adjacent room that was not being currently used and set one monitor on the left side of the room and one monitor on the right side room. The training went exceptionally well."
Which Learning Patterns did Shawn use to field-fit for a successful outcome?
-Precision and Confluence
-Technical Reasoning and Sequence
-Confluence and Technical Reasoning
Question 13. Sylvia is seeking a degree in Business Administration to set herself up for vertical advancement in her current place of employment.
"While working for the corporate office of a restaurant group, myself and a co-worker were asked to print off the new Employee Manuals and recipe books. We had always previously been able to handle all of these manuals in-house. No one anticipated how long it would take and we were about a quarter of the way into it before we realized we would not have everything ready by the deadline. The printers in the office could not handle the large output and the project would take much longer than anticipated.
I had to research purchasing additional higher capacity printers and adding more people or just outsourcing the project to another company. After tallying up all the costs of additional labor, new equipment and materials, it was just not cost effective to continue handling this in-house anymore. I created well-organized and easy to read comparison charts for the executive team and they agreed that outsourcing the project was the best step."
Which Learning Patterns were used to field-fit and successfully complete the original plan in this situation?
-Precision and Confluence
-Sequence and Confluence
-Precision and Sequence
Question 14. Jack, a Strong-Willed Learner, describes a recent event that forced him to field-fit.
"A good friend of mine passed away recently, I was asked to play a song on my guitar at his services. My original plan was to play "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd. After spending many hours practicing I still didn't have enough confidence to play the guitar solo in the intro. I was afraid of failing and looking stupid in front of a lot of people.
I changed the plan by deciding to compose an original piece of music for the occasion. I took a chance and let my mind wander without boundaries. I was not afraid to fail because it was an original piece and if I didn't play the song exactly as planned nobody would notice."
Which Learning Pattern was used to field-fit and successfully carry out the original plan?
-Sequence
-Precision
-Confluence
Question 15. Ester recently received her GED and has dreamed of starting her own catering business. She is enrolled in the entrepreneurship program at Ashford.
"Once I was working a catering event and was in charge of the appetizers. I had bought all the ingredients and was going to cook in the kitchen of the event. When I arrived, I realized that I had forgotten a couple of the key ingredients for the recipes I had planned. I was so disappointed and wasn't sure what to do. I remembered that I had bought some cooking magazines when I was at the store, so I poured over them to get some inspiration. After carefully reading through several recipes, I realized I could make a couple adjustments to those recipes based on what ingredients I had on hand. The final dishes were a hit and I was able to add some inventive new recipes to my box!"
Which Learning Patterns was Ester using in field-fitting her original plans?
-Technical Reasoning and Sequence
-Sequence and Precision
-Precision and Confluence.