Understanding Your College Experience

by Gardner, John N.; Barefoot, Betsy O.; Farakish, Negar

• ISBN13: 9781319029180
• ISBN10: 1319029183
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2016-10-13
• Publisher: Bedford/St. Martin's

Summary

Help students get the most out of their time in college. Understanding Your College Experience addresses the needs of the widest possible range of students through its content coverage and organization, activities, assessment, and design. Using a research-driven approach informed by decades of information on the first year experience, the author team provides students who need the most support with the practical help necessary to flourish in college, in life, and in their chosen career.

Author Biography

John N. Gardner brings unparalleled experience to students as an author. The recipient of his institution's highest award for teaching excellence, John has over forty years of experience directing and teaching in the most widely emulated first-year seminar in the country, the University 101 course at the University of South Carolina (USC), Columbia. John is universally recognized as one of the country's leading educators for his role in initiating and orchestrating an international reform movement to improve the beginning college experience, a concept he coined as "the first-year experience." He is the founding executive director of the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition at USC, as well as the Policy Center on the First Year of College and the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education (www.jngi.org), both based in Brevard, N.C.

 

Betsy O. Barefoot is a writer, researcher, and teacher whose special area of scholarship is the first-year seminar. During her tenure at USC from 1988 to 1999, she served as co-director for research and publications at the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition. She also taught University 101 and graduate courses on the first-year experience and the principles of college teaching. She conducts first-year seminar faculty training workshops around the world and is frequently called on to evaluate first-year seminar outcomes. Betsy is co-director and senior scholar in the Policy Center on the First Year of College and Vice President of the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education both in Brevard, N.C. In her Policy Center role she led a major national research project to identify institutions of excellence in the first college year. She currently works with both two- and four-year campuses in evaluating all components of the first year.

 

Negar Farakish currently serves as the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of American Honors at Union County College in New Jersey and teaches as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University. She has served in various administrative and faculty positions at a number of community colleges and is familiar with the student population at these institutions. She has worked with students from diverse backgrounds and is fully aware of their academic and non-academic needs. Negar possesses a doctorate degree in Higher and Post-secondary Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Table of Contents

Part I: Welcome to Your College Experience
Chapter 1: The Essentials for College Success
     The College Experience
     Setting Goals for Achieving Your Purpose
     Academic Planning
     Making the Transition by Connecting with Others
Chapter 2: Cultivating Motivation, Resilience, and Emotional Intelligence
     The Importance of Motivation Attitude and Mindset
     Resilience
     Understanding Emotional Intelligence
     How Emotions Influence Success and Well-Being
Chapter 3: Managing Time, Energy, and Money
     Managing Your Time
     Managing Your Energy
     Managing Your Money
Chapter 4: Discovering How You Learn
     How People Learn
     The VARK Learning Styles Inventory
     The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
     Multiple Intelligences
     When Learning Styles and  Teaching Styles Conflict
     Learning with a Learning Disability

Part II: Succeeding in College
Chapter 5: Getting the Most Out of Class
     Become Engaged in Learning
     Engage before Class and between Class Meetings
     Participate in Class
     Take Effective Notes
Chapter 6: Reading to Learn from College Textbooks
     A Plan for Active Reading
     Strategies for Reading Textbooks
     Improving Your Reading
Chapter 7: Studying, Understanding, and Remembering
     Studying in College: Making Choices and Concentrating
     How Memory Works
     Improving Your Memory
     Studying to Understand and Remember
Chapter 8: Taking Tests Successfully
     Getting Ready
     Taking the Test
     Types of Tests
     Types of Questions
     Overcoming Test Anxiety
     Cheating and Plagiarism
Chapter 9: Collecting, Evaluating, and Using Information
     Information Literacy
     Choosing, Narrowing, and Researching a Topic
     Using the Library
     Evaluating Sources
     Using Your Research in Writing
     The Writing Process
     Using Your Research in Presentations.

Part III: Your Path to Success in College and Beyond
Chapter 10: Thinking Critically
     College-Level Thinking
     Developing Strong Thinking Skills
     Applying Your Critical-Thinking Skills
     Bloom’s Taxonomy and the First Year of College
Chapter 11: Maintaining Wellness and Relationships in a Diverse World
     Understanding Wellness
     Managing Your Relationships
     Thriving in Diverse Environments
Chapter 12: Making the Right Career Choice
     Careers and the New Economy
     Self-Exploration in Career Planning
     Planning for Your Career
     Getting Experience
     Job Search Strategies
     Skills Employers Seek
     Staying on the Path to Success