Successful Students
August 06, 2008
Successful students exhibit a combination of successful attitudes and behaviors as well as intellectual capacity. Successful students . . .
1. . . . are responsible and active. Successful students
get involved in their studies, accept responsibility for their own
education, and are active participants in it!
Responsibility means control. It's the difference between leading
and being led. Your own efforts control your grade, you earn the
glory or deserve the blame, you make the choice. Active classroom
participation improves grades without increasing study time. You
can sit there, act bored, daydream, or sleep. Or, you can actively
listen, think, question, and take notes like someone in charge of
their learning experience. Either option costs one class period.
However, the former method will require a large degree of
additional work outside of class to achieve the same degree of
learning the latter provides at one sitting. The choice is
yours.
2. . . . have educational goals. Successful students have
legitimate goals and are motivated by what they represent in terms
of career aspirations and life's desires.
Ask yourself these questions: What am I doing here? Why have I
chosen to be sitting here now? Is there some better place I could
be? What does my presence here mean to me? Answers to these
questions represent your "Hot Buttons" and are, without a doubt,
the most important factors in your success as a college student. If
your educational goals are truly yours, not someone else's, they
will motivate a vital and positive academic attitude. If you are
familiar with what these hot buttons represent and refer to them
often, especially when you tire of being a student, nothing can
stop you; if you aren't and don't, everything can, and will!
3. . . . ask questions. Successful students ask questions to
provide the quickest route between ignorance and knowledge.
In addition to securing knowledge you seek, asking questions has at
least two other extremely important benefits. The process helps you
pay attention to your professor and helps your professor pay
attention to you! Think about it. If you want something, go after
it. Get the answer now, or fail a question later. There are no
foolish questions, only foolish silence. It's your choice.
4. . . . learn that a student and a professor make a team. Most
instructors want exactly what you want: they would like for you to
learn the material in their respective classes and earn a good
grade.
Successful students reflect well on the efforts of any teacher; if
you have learned your material, the instructor takes some
justifiable pride in teaching. Join forces with your instructor,
they are not an enemy, you share the same interests, the same goals
- in short, you're teammates. Get to know your professor. You're
the most valuable players on the same team. Your jobs are to work
together for mutual success. Neither wishes to chalk up a losing
season. Be a team player!
5. . . . don't sit in the back. Successful students minimize
classroom distractions that interfere with learning.
Students want the best seat available for their entertainment
dollars, but willingly seek the worst seat for their educational
dollars. Students who sit in the back cannot possibly be their
professor's teammate (see no. 4). Why do they expose themselves to
the temptations of inactive classroom experiences and distractions
of all the people between them and their instructor? Of course, we
know they chose the back of the classroom because they seek
invisibility or anonymity, both of which are antithetical to
efficient and effective learning. If you are trying not to be part
of the class, why, then, are you wasting your time? Push your hot
buttons, is their something else you should be doing with your
time?
6. . . . take good notes. Successful students take notes that
are understandable and organized, and review them often.
Why put something into your notes you don't understand? Ask the
questions now that are necessary to make your notes meaningful at
some later time. A short review of your notes while the material is
still fresh on your mind helps your learn more. The more you learn
then, the less you'll have to learn later and the less time it will
take because you won't have to include some deciphering time, also.
The whole purpose of taking notes is to use them, and use them
often. The more you use them, the more they improve.
7. . . . understand that actions affect learning. Successful
students know their personal behavior affect their feelings and
emotions which in turn can affect learning.
If you act in a certain way that normally produces particular
feelings, you will begin to experience those feelings. Act like
you're bored, and you'll become bored. Act like you're
disinterested, and you'll become disinterested. So the next time
you have trouble concentrating in the classroom, "act" like an
interested person: lean forward, place your feet flat on the floor,
maintain eye contact with the professor, nod occasionally, take
notes, and ask questions. Not only will you benefit directly from
your actions, your classmates and professor may also get more
excited and enthusiastic.
8. . . . talk about what they're learning. Successful students
get to know something well enough that they can put it into
words.
Talking about something, with friends or classmates, is not only
good for checking whether or not you know something, its a proven
learning tool. Transferring ideas into words provides the most
direct path for moving knowledge from short-term to long-term
memory. You really don't "know" material until you can put it into
words. So, next time you study, don't do it silently. Talk about
notes, problems, readings, etc. with friends, recite to a chair,
organize an oral study group, pretend you're teaching your peers.
"Talk-learning" produces a whole host of memory traces that result
in more learning.
9. . . . don't cram for exams. Successful students know that
divided periods of study are more effective than cram sessions, and
they practice it.
If there is one thing that study skills specialists agree on, it is
that distributed study is better than massed, late-night,
last-ditch efforts known as cramming. You'll learn more, remember
more, and earn a higher grade by studying in four, one hour-a-night
sessions for Friday's exam than studying for four hours straight on
Thursday night. Short, concentrated preparatory efforts are more
efficient and rewarding than wasteful, inattentive, last moment
marathons. Yet, so many students fail to learn this lesson and end
up repeating it over and over again until it becomes a wasteful
habit. Not too clever, huh?
10. . . . are good time managers. Successful students do not
procrastinate. They have learned that time control is life control
and have consciously chosen to be in control of their life.
An elemental truth: you will either control time or be controlled
by it! It's your choice: you can lead or be led, establish control
or relinquish control, steer your own course or follow others.
Failure to take control of their own time is probably the no. 1
study skills problem for college students. It ultimately causes
many students to become non-students! Procrastinators are good
excuse-makers. Don't make academics harder on yourself than it has
to be. Stop procrastinating. And don't wait until tomorrow to do
it!
The 10 items listed above are paraphrased from an article by Larry M Ludewig called Ten Commandments for Effective Study Skills which appeared in The Teaching Professor, December, 1999
Student Responsibilities
Students have the right to seize the responsibility for their own
destiny and should be encouraged to do so. With every right comes
responsibility!
* I have the responsibility to come to every class prepared
to listen, to participate, and to learn.
* I have the responsibility to read the text carefully, noting
important ideas and rephrasing concepts in my own words.
* I have the responsibility to work examples in the textbook and
those given in class.
* I have the responsibility to consult other students, the teacher,
an assistant, and other resources whenever I need the extra
help.
* I have the responsibility to understand that the teacher is not
primarily responsible for making me understand, but that it is my
job to study and to learn.
* I have the responsibility of keeping an open mind and trying to
comprehend what the teacher is trying to get across.
* I have the responsibility to do every bit of assigned homework
with proper attention and thought.
* I have the responsibility to view my teacher as a partner in my
education.
* I have the responsibility to understand that I am not the only
student in my class, and that if I fall behind the class, not all
of my catching up is appropriate for the classroom setting.
* I have the responsibility to act as a competent adult.
* I have the responsibility of trying to integrate the concepts
being taught into other courses and other areas of my life.
* I have the responsibility to be polite and open to my teacher and
classmates.
* I have the responsibility to accept that my work will be
evaluated in terms of what skills any student in the course is
expected to master.
by Lynne Marie Rodell, Christian Brothers University, Tennessee. From: The Teaching Professor, January 1994, p.3
"A" and "C" profiles
Successful students can be distinguished from the average student
by their attitudes and behaviors. Below are some profiles that
typically distinguish between an "A" student and a "C" student.
Where do you fit in this scheme?
The "A" Student - An Outstanding Student
* ATTENDANCE: "A" students have virtually perfect
attendance. Their commitment to the class is a high priority and
exceeds other temptations.
* PREPARATION: "A" students are prepared for class. They
always read the assignment. Their attention to detail is such that
they occasionally can elaborate on class examples.
* CURIOSITY: "A" students demonstrate interest in the class
and the subject. They look up or dig out what they don't
understand. They often ask interesting questions or make thoughtful
comments.
* RETENTION: "A" students have retentive minds and practice
making retentive connections. They are able to connect past
learning with the present. They bring a background of knowledge
with them to their classes. They focus on learning concepts rather
than memorizing details.
* ATTITUDE: "A" students have a winning attitude. They have
both the determination and the self-discipline necessary for
success. They show initiative. They do things they have not been
told to do.
* TALENT: "A" students demonstrate a special talent. It may be
exceptional intelligence and insight. It may be unusual creativity,
organizational skills, commitment - or a some combination. These
gifts are evident to the teacher and usually to the other students
as well.
* EFFORT: "A" students match their effort to the demands of
an assignment.
* COMMUNICATIONS: "A" students place a high priority on writing
and speaking in a manner that conveys clarity and thoughtful
organization. Attention is paid to conciseness and
completeness.
* RESULTS: "A" students make high grades on tests - usually
the highest in the class. Their work is a pleasure to grade.
The "C" Student - An Average Student
* ATTENDANCE: "C" students are often late and miss class
frequently. They put other priorities ahead of academic work. In
some cases, their health or constant fatigue renders them
physically unable to keep up with the demands of high-level
performance.
* PREPARATION: "C" students may prepare their assignments
consistently, but often in a perfunctory manner. Their work may be
sloppy or careless. At times, it is incomplete or late.
* CURIOSITY: "C" students seldom explore topics deeper than their
face value. They lack vision and bypass interconnectedness of
concepts. Immediate relevancy is often their singular test for
involvement.
* RETENTION: "C" students retain less information and for shorter
periods. Less effort seems to go toward organizing and associating
learned information with previously acquired knowledge. They
display short-term retention by relying on cramming sessions that
focus on details, not concepts.
* ATTITUDE: "C" students are not visibly committed to class. They
participate without enthusiasm. Their body language often expresses
boredom.
* TALENT: "C" students vary enormously in talent. Some have
exceptional ability but show undeniable signs of poor
self-management or bad attitudes. Others are diligent but simply
average in academic ability.
* EFFORT: "C" students are capable of sufficient effort, but either
fail to realistically evaluate the effort needed to accomplish a
task successfully, or lack the desire to meet the challenge.
* COMMUNICATIONS: "C" students communicate in ways that often limit
comprehension or risk misinterpretation. Ideas are not well
formulated before they are expressed. Poor listening/reading habits
inhibit matching inquiry and response.
* RESULTS: "C" students obtain mediocre or inconsistent results on
tests. They have some concept of what is going on but clearly have
not mastered the material.
Source: The Teaching Professor. Paraphrased from John H. Williams, Clarifying Grade Expectations, August/September, 1993 and Paul Solomon and Annette Nellon, Communicating About the Behavioral Dimensions of Grades, February, 1996.
*The three documents in this file are borrowed from the home page of Prof. Steve Thien of Kansas State University . He in turn borrowed parts from other contributors to The Teaching Professor, a newsletter widely read by instructors from all disciplines.
