Your College Experience Concise... | Buy

Summary

Authored by three of the nation's leading experts on the first-year experience, this Concise version ofYour College Experience presents a straightforward, realistic, and intelligent review of the skills students need to succeed in college. This less expensive, streamlined Concise edition offers an expanded academic focus through added coverage of writing, speaking, the library, research, and information literacy. Particularly relevant to today's students, a new Money chapter discusses managing money, building credit, and financing college. A new chapter on Emotional Intelligence explains what emotional intelligence is, why everyone should understand it, and why it matters in college. A fresh, clean new design eliminates clutter so that students can focus on the important topics.

Author Biography

John N. Gardner brings unparalleled experience as an author. The recipient of his institution's highest award for teaching excellence, John has over 40 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, the Policy Center on the First Year of College and most recently the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education (www.jngi.org), the latter two based in Brevard, N.C.

Jerome Jewler is a best-selling author, educator, and friend to students. A distinguished professor emeritus of the College of Mass Communications and Information Studies as well as codirector of the University 101 first-year seminar at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, Jewler has guided advertising students through the creative and writing processes and has helped hundreds of new students determine their goals. As University 101 codirector, he planned and conducted training workshops for first-year seminar instructors, won a Mortar Board award for teaching excellence, and was recognized as USC advisor of the year and nationally as the Distinguished Advertising Educator nationally in 2000.

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 codirector 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 codirector 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.

Letter to Students
Icon Key
Preface
Contributors
Exploring Your Purpose for Attending College
The College Experience
Why College Is Important to Our Society
Why College Is Important for You
Wired Window
Aligning Your Sense of Purpose and Your Career
Connecting Your Major and Your Interests with Your Career
Key Competencies
Other Outcomes of College
Making the Transition
Challenges and Opportunities for Adult and Returning Students
First-Year Motivation and Commitment
What is Your Purpose in College?
Where to Go for Help
Applying What You've Learned
Managing Your Time
Taking Control of Your Time
Overcoming Procrastination
Setting Priorities
Staying Focused
Getting Organized
Use a Planner
Chart a Weekly Timetable
Maintain a To-Do List
Making Sure Your Schedule Works for You
Wired Window
Create a Workable Class Schedule
Don't Overextend Yourself
Reduce Distractions 33
Respecting Others' Time
Where to Go for Help
Applying What You've Learned
Understanding Emotional Intelligence
What Is Emotional Intelligence?
Assessing Your Emotional Intelligence
Identifying Competencies
Intrapersonal Skills
Interpersonal Skills
Adaptability
Stress Management
General Mood and Effective Performance
How Emotions Affect Success
Wired Window
How to Improve Your Emotional Intelligence
Where to Go for Help
Applying What You've Learned
Discovering How You Learn
The VARK Learning Styles Inventory
Scoring the VARK
Using VARK Results to Study More Effectively
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Wired Window
Extraversion (E) versus Introversion (I): The Inner or Outer World
Sensing (S) versus Intuition (N): Facts or Ideas
Thinking (T) versus Feeling (F): Logic or Values
Judging (J) versus Perceiving (P): Organization or Adaptability
How to Use Your Strongest-and Weakest-Preferences
Multiple Intelligences
When Learning Styles and Teaching Styles Conflict
Learning with a Disability
Attention Disorders
Cognitive Learning Disabilities
Where to Go for Help
Applying What You've Learned
Thinking Critically: The Basis of a College Education
What Is Critical Thinking and Why Is It Important?
Becoming a Critical Thinker
Ask Questions
Consider Multiple Points of View
Draw Conclusions
How Collaboration Fosters Critical Thinking
Thinking Critically about Arguments
Challenge Assumptions
Wired Window
Examine the Evidence
Beware of Logical Fallacies
Critical Thinking in College and Everyday Life
Where to Go for Help
Applying What You've Learned
Being Engaged in Learning: Listening, Taking Notes, and Participating in Class
Using Your Senses in the Learning Process
Preparing for Class
Participating in Class
Listening Critically and with an Open Mind
Speaking Up
Taking Effective Notes
Note-Taking Formats
Cornell Format
Outline Format
Paragraph Format
List Format
Note-Taking Techniques
Taking Notes in Nonlecture Courses
Taking Notes in Science and Mathematics Courses
Using Technology to Take Notes
Reviewing Your Notes
Wired Window
Comparing Notes
Class Notes and Homework
Becoming Engaged in Learning
Where to Go for Help
Chapter Review
Reading to Learn: Learning to Remember
A Plan for Active Reading
Previewing
Mapping
Alternatives to Mapping
Marking Your Textbook
Reading with Concentration
Reviewing
Strategies for Reading Textbooks
Supplementary Material
Monitoring Your Reading
If English Is Not Your First Language
Wired Window
Studying to Understand and Remember
How Memory Works
Connecting Memory to Deep Learning
Improving Your Memory
Using Review Sheets, Mind Maps, and Other Tools
Where to Go for Help
Applying What You've Learned
Improving Your Performance on Exams and Tests 145
Getting Prepared for Tests and Exams
Prepare Physically
Prepare Emotionally
Taking Tests and Exams
Essay Questions
Multiple-Choice Questions
Fill-in-the-Blank Questions
True/False Questions
Matching Questions
Types of Tests
Problem-Solving Tests
Machine-Scored Tests
Computerized Tests
Laboratory Tests
Open-Book and Open-Note Tests
Wired Window
Take-Home Tests
Overcoming Test Anxiety
Types of Test Anxiety
Symptoms of Test Anxiety
Strategies for Combating Test Anxiety
Getting the Test Back
Academic Honesty and Misconduct
Cheating
Plagiarism
Consequences of Cheating and Plagiarism
Reducing the Likelihood of Academic Dishonesty
Where to Go for Help
Applying What You've Learned
Writing and Speaking Effectively
Writing
Using Freewriting to Discover What You Want to Say
Narrowing Your Topic
Exploratory Writing
The Writing Process
Prewriting: The Idea Stage
Writing: The Beginning of Organization
Rewriting: The Polishing Stage
Allocating Time
Wired Window
Choosing the Best Way to Communicate with Your Audience
Speaking
Preparing a Speech
Clarify Your Objective
Analyze Your Audience
Collect and Organize Your Information
Choose Your Visual Aids
Prepare Your Notes
Practice Your Delivery
Using Your Voice and Body Language
The GUIDE Checklist
Get Your Audience's Attention
You (U)-Don't Forget Yourself
Ideas, Ideas, Ideas!
Develop an Organizational Structure
Exit Gracefully and Memorably
Speaking on the Spot
Where to Go for Help
Applying What You've Learned
Developing Library, Research, and Information Literacy Skills
Information Literacy
Learning to Be Information Literate
What's Research-and What's Not?
Employing Information Literacy Skills
Choosing, Narrowing, and Researching a Topic
Using the Library
Taking Advantage of Everything Your Library Has to Offer
Asking a Librarian
Electronic Resources
Library Catalogs
Periodical Databases
The World Wide Web
Guidelines for Effective Searches
Evaluating Sources
Relevance
Authority
Bias
A Note on Internet Sources
Making Use of What You Find
Synthesizing Information and Ideas
Citing Your Sources
About Plagiarism
Wired Window
Where to Go for Help
Applying What You've Learned
Appreciating Diversity
Understanding Diversity and the Source of Our Beliefs
Forms of Diversity
Ethnicity, Culture, Race, and Religion
Age
Learning and Physical Abilities
Gender
Sexual Orientation
Seeking Diversity on Campus
The Curriculum
Student-Run Organizations
Fraternities and Sororities
Career/Major Groups
Political/Activist Organizations
Special-Interest Groups
Discrimination, Prejudice, and Insensitivity on College Campuses
Raising Awareness
What You Can Do to Fight Hate on Campus
Wired Window
Challenge Yourself to Experience Diversity
Where to Go for Help
Applying What You've Learned
Managing Your Money
Living on a Budget
Creating a Budget
Cutting Costs
Wired Window
Getting Financial Aid
Types of Aid
Qualifying for Aid
How to Avoid Losing Your Funding
Achieving a Balance Between Working and Borrowing
Advantages and Disadvantages of Working
Student Loans
Managing Credit Wisely
Understanding Credit
Frequently Asked Questions about Credit Cards
Debit Cards
Planning for the Future
Where to Go for Help
Applying What You've Learned
Epilogue
Glossary
Index
Credits
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

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