Professionals from the ULS Comprehensive Support Plan provide support strategies to facilitate studying from home

2nd Workshop Concept Maps 1

The activity is part of the actions contemplated by the Comprehensive Support Plan, within the framework of Inclusion and Universal Accessibility (ULS Project 1799).

“Concept maps and practical exercises to manage stress” was the central theme addressed by the second online workshop aimed at students and volunteers who participate in the Comprehensive Support Plan of the University of La Serena. The purpose of the event was to provide tools that promote learning, especially in these times of contingency.

In this way, the differential educator, Alejandra Galleguillos, was in charge of explaining the use of concept maps as a study strategy, their main characteristics and program alternatives that allow them to be created online.

“Concept maps are learning tools, based on the graphic representation of a certain topic, through the schematization of the concepts that make up the topic that one is investigating. These concepts have a hierarchy, they are ordered from most important to least important, and they go within geometric figures such as ovals or rectangles, which are connected to each other," said the educator.

On the occasion, they reviewed in detail examples on the proper construction of a concept map and thus resolved the students' doubts remotely.

Conceptual Maps Workshop Participants 1On the other hand, the psychologist Rosana Toro shared different relaxation techniques, with the purpose that students can practice them from their homes to control the stress that virtual classes could generate added to the situation that is being experienced nationwide.

“Stress symptoms can affect the body, thoughts and emotions. Therefore, they impact people's physical and mental health, interfering, in the case of students, in the learning process. If the person is stressed, it will be more difficult for them to learn,” said the psychologist.

For this reason, the professional advises maintaining a healthy diet, reducing tobacco and alcohol consumption, reducing the time spent on mobile screens, doing some physical activity inside the house, carrying out activities of interest during the day, sharing time - on average as possible - with family or friends, among other recommendations.

For the student of Pedagogy in Mathematics and Physics, Ricardo Pastén, relaxation techniques “contributed a lot to me since stress previously harmed me more emotionally, but when they showed me the breathing technique to relax in the situation we have in mind Today, it helped me a lot to reduce my anxiety and have much more peace and tranquility. Regarding the use of concept maps, they will allow me to improve my knowledge and be able to shorten and facilitate the information I want to have.”

On the other hand, the student of Pedagogy in Differential Education, Deborah Rojas, who participates as a volunteer within the Plan, considers that these types of instances “are important because they are a support for both the students of the program and the volunteers, since we know each other. "We create support and/or work networks, and most importantly, instances of learning with others are generated, which, according to Vygotsky, is tremendously enriching." 

Regarding the topics addressed, the student stated that “the study techniques workshop tried to teach us strategies to approach the contents when studying. In this sense, it was super useful because the creation of concept maps was addressed, which, in my particular case, is very useful to me, since my learning is more visual. Furthermore, creating a concept map involves synthesizing the information, analyzing it and ordering it in the best possible way, which is an important cognitive challenge. The other topic of relaxation is tremendously necessary and important both due to the pandemic conditions that we are experiencing, as well as due to the stress generated by the University and even more so now with the remote modality, so we agree that the breathing exercise that we learned can “It can be done between classes or while doing work and we feel stressed or exhausted.”

The Comprehensive Support Plan team accompanies students, as well as officials and teachers, so these types of activities will continue to be carried out throughout the academic year.

Written by Daniela Ledezma, Comprehensive Support Plan