Author: Jonathan Golding

Special Guest Writer–Dr. Jerry Hauselt (Southern CT State University): Faculty Expectations

Jonathan Golding Getting Direction, Starting College , ,

Professors expect that college students will act differently than high school students. Why? Because college is voluntary and expensive. Therefore, it is expected that students will take their education seriously and take responsibility for maximizing their investment of time and money. Professors expect that students will act like scholars, and come to class ready to engage with the material. You need to have the same attitude towards studying as you’d have toward training: success comes only after sustained hard work. One of my colleagues explains this to her students by telling them that they should come to class prepared to prove that they are the smartest person in the room. Students with this attitude succeed not because they impress her, but because they know the material.

Many students enter college without realizing that THE RULES HAVE CHANGED and they need to change their attitude towards academics. In high school, studying and doing well may not be popular, but in college, it’s why you’re here.

I try to convey to my students that rules have changed with the following elements from one of my syllabi:

Electronics/Facebook Free Zone. TURN OFF YOUR PHONE! NOW! Texts can wait. Also, TEXTING KILLS GRADES. If you want a poor grade, keep texting. Are you paying tuition so that you can text friends in a crowded room? Are you paying tuition to have a comfortable seat in which to make Mark Zuckerberg rich? Please note that your friend’s latest tweet or Facebook post or last night’s basketball scores WILL NOT be on the exam. Put your phone away for an hour. It won’t hurt. If you find this unfair or foolish, DROP THIS CLASS!

Respect, Please. We are here to learn about psychology. We are not here to chat, text, or engage in other behavior that will negatively impact another person’s ability to learn. You are not as quiet as you think when you text or comment to your neighbor. If you must sit and talk to your neighbor, do it outside this class. If you find this unfair or foolish, DROP THIS CLASS!

Another important element of respect for others is remaining in your seat during class. It is disruptive and rude to those around you to leave in the middle of class and return. Please take care of what you need to take care of before or after class. If you find this unfair or foolish, DROP THIS CLASS!

Electronic Access. We will be using the internet and email. It is your responsibility to gain access to both (available free in campus computer labs) and be familiar with how to use them. YOU SHOULD ALSO PLAN BACK-UP ACCESS. Learn where there are other computers you can use if yours fails.

What are your thoughts on Dr. Hauselt’s pointers?

The Importance of Attending Class

Jonathan Golding Attending Class , ,

Now that you’ve been in college for a short time, you might be asking whether you should attend class or not. It’s an interesting question, especially given that almost all colleges don’t have a universal attendance policy. Moreover, if you’re taking a large class you might reason that no one would even know if you were missing. As a faculty member, and one who teaches large classes at that, I’m going to argue that you should definitely attend class. It’s your individual responsibility; no one’s going to make you go. But if you don’t go, you need to be prepared for any negative consequences.

As far as specific reasons to attend class, here are 6 quick points:

1) Class time should be interesting and fun. You’ll also learn while you’re in class. This is easy for me to say, but any instructor worth your time should be working to make you never even want to miss class. Your instructor should motivate you to show up focused and ready to learn. Although this isn’t always true, most faculty are prepared to work hard to make your class experience something to look forward to.

2) Based on my 27 years of teaching all sizes of classes, I can confidently say that attending class makes you learn more and increases your grade. I’ve found a high positive correlation between attendance and grades—the more students attend class the better their grade.

3) In many classes, like my own, reading your textbook is no substitute for hearing the lecture. Exams are often directly from the lecture and not from the textbook. Therefore, not being in class could significantly impact your grade.

4) Getting notes from your classmates isn’t a good substitute for attending lecture either. The friend you get notes from might take those notes much differently than you, and that might require your classmate to take a long time explaining what they mean.

5) More and more classes are instituting an attendance policy, in-class work (even in large classes), a participation requirement, or all three of these. Every day you might miss means a loss in grade points.

6) When you attend class you are able to interact with others. You get to talk to other students and hopefully make new friends that can last a lifetime. Also, you can talk to your Instructor, finding out more things about the class and what that Instructor is investigating in his or her research.

Special Guest Writer–Jake Bailey: Starting College

Jonathan Golding Starting College , , ,

So you’ve begin your freshman year. By now, you’ve read over your syllabi (hopefully), settled into your dorm, and have some kind of routine you follow every day. Class is already starting to pick up, and it may start seeming a little scary. I know when I was in your shoes, I was not doing so hot. Specifically on an emotional level. Everyone would give me all of these tips on time management and campus resources. They helped tons don’t get me wrong, but there are a few tips I’d like to pass down to all of you that you do not hear as often. In addition to the usual academic advice you hear a lot of, this advice is important to heed.

The first piece of advice is rather simple, but makes a significant difference: keep yourself healthy. In my first year of college, I didn’t do a great job of taking care of myself. I put 100% of my energy into my classes, and almost none into myself. I wasn’t getting enough sleep, eating right, etc. I didn’t even look like myself and my grades suffered. I know money is tight in college, but try to eat decent food even if it is a few bucks more. You’re also going to run into situations where staying up all night to finish a paper seems absolutely necessary. I don’t know about y’all, but I need my beauty sleep. Complete as much of that paper as you can, then PLEASE get some sleep. Humans aren’t meant to stay up all night. Get your hair cut. Exercise if you want. Shave regularly (not trying to sound like your parents). All of those seemingly small things really do help, and you will feel 100% better.

My second tip: find a hobby. Find something you can do with others or by yourself that relaxes you. A lot of you probably did some kind of extracurricular activity in high school. Sports, marching band, student government, volunteering, whatever it is–it’s not as easy to do in college. Luckily for you, there are tons of clubs you can join on campus. Even if you for some reason can’t find a club you like, there are many other things to do. I played club dodgeball for a couple of years and loved it. Now I’m taking boxing classes. Just find something you really like. It keeps you in a rhythm and keeps your head clear.

The last thing is a little harder than it sounds. Talk to people. I know, just starting a conversation with a complete stranger out of nowhere seems tough. But guess what? It isn’t. Crack a joke about something that just happened to the person standing in line in front of you. Get to know the people in your classes. You never know what could come out of it. You could be talking to your best friend.

I hope this helps everyone. Don’t spend too much time worrying about the future. I promise if you just buckle down in class, make friends, and do what you love, everything else will fall into place.