1.7 Chapter Activities
Chapter Takeaways
The first year of college is the most critical. Make the commitment to overcome any obstacles to a successful transition and stay committed and motivated to succeed.
Although college students differ in many ways, all successful students share certain common traits, including a positive attitude, effective critical thinking skills, good time management skills, effective study skills, interactions with instructors and other students, and good habits for personal health and financial stability.
You can learn to maximize your learning through each step of the learning process: preparing, absorbing, capturing, and reviewing.
Understand your personal learning style and use it well in classes, while also making the effort to learn in new ways and work with other students for a more effective overall learning experience.
Work with your academic advisor and take advantage of the many resources available at your college to help ensure success.
Understanding all aspects of college success leads to a richer college experience, in addition to good grades.
While it may take a few weeks to develop all the skills needed for success in college, there are many steps you can begin taking today to get moving in the right direction.
Chapter Review
Check off actions on the following list that contribute to being successful in the first year of college.
| Approach classes and homework exactly as I did in high school | |
| View college as a vital experience preparing me for the rest of my life | |
| Decide immediately what I want to major in and never change my mind as I move forward through my courses | |
| Manage my time well so that I have enough time to study and start on assignments well ahead of the due dates | |
| Attend classes when I think something important will be said and I can’t find someone to borrow class notes from | |
| Adopt a positive attitude and work on staying motivated to succeed | |
| Give up everything else in life while in college | |
| Talk to my advisor so that I take only those classes where the teacher’s style matches my own learning style | |
| Form study groups with other students different from me so I can take advantage of how they learn as well | |
| Be sure to tell all my instructors what I think they want to hear, not what I might really think | |
| Sit in the back row where I won’t be noticed or get asked a question I might not be able to answer | |
| Make good friendships and interact with a wide range of people on campus | |
| Pay close attention in class so that I don’t have to be concerned with reviewing the course material later | |
| Prepare for each class every day | |
| If I read too slowly, read only the chapter summaries and key points so I don’t lose time reading whole textbook chapters | |
| Talk to other students to find out what classes and instructors are easiest to keep my GPA up | |
| Take as many online courses as I can so that I can sleep late and get help from friends doing online assignments | |
| To save time, go first to a friendly instructor to learn about any resources the college may have to help me | |
| Take it easy my first year in college, not worrying about grades, to avoid burnout | |
| Check out tutoring services only as a last resort at the end of the term if I’m in danger of failing | |
| Check the class syllabus for important assignments and exam dates and begin scheduling study periods well ahead of time | |
| Get to know my instructors and other students in the class right away |
Outside the Book
Go online to the free CareerLink Inventory website at https://www.123test.com/career-test/ and spend a few minutes taking this free assessment of your interests and personality. Completion leads to a statement of your Career Inventory Results, with different career clusters matched to your assessment.
Click on the “cluster title” for several of your best-matched career areas to view specific career possibilities.
This information will get you started thinking about possible careers that may match your interests. For a more complete survey of your interests, personality, and strengths, visit your college’s career counseling center.
Go to http://www.businessballs.com/howardgardnermultipleintelligences.htm#multiple% 20intelligences tests and scroll down to the link for “free Multiple Intelligences test (based on Howard Gardner’s model)—in Microsoft Excel self-calculating format" and other versions. You need Microsoft Excel on your computer to take this free online assessment of your learning style.
Clicking the link will download an Excel spreadsheet with 74 questions. Answer each as directed on the 1 to 4 scale. Your score totals are then shown for each of the “multiple intelligences” learning styles presented earlier in this chapter.
What are your two strongest “intelligence types”?
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What are your two weakest “intelligence types”?
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Based on this evaluation, what aspects of college learning might you want to give more attention to? (Refer to Chapter 1 “You and Your College Experience”, Chapter 1, Section 4 “How You Learn” for ideas to think about.)
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Visit your college’s website and spend at least thirty minutes exploring available resources. Usually there is a section called “Students” or “Present Students” or “Student Resources” or something similar. Jot down some of the topics here that you might want to consult again in the future if you were to experience a problem involving money, personal health, academic success, emotional health, social problems, discrimination, or other issues.
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Make an Action List
Attitude
Here’s what I’ll do to stay positive about college:
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Values
My personal values most closely related to a college education are
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I may have to put these values on hold while in college:
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Transitioning to College
Here’s what I’ll do to stay focused in my first year as I transition to college:
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Learning Process
Here’s what I will begin doing now in all my classes to fully use all four steps of the learning process:
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Learning Style
This is my preferred learning style:
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I will begin working to strengthen my learning through these other styles:
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Lecture Classes
To pay closer attention in large lecture classes, I will try the following:
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College Resources
In the coming weeks, I will check online or in person for information about these offices that may be able to help me succeed:
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College Grades
My grades might suffer if I
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To ensure I do well in all my classes, I will now begin to focus on
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Immediate Steps to Success
I will immediately start taking these steps to ensure I succeed in my classes:
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Class Discussion Questions
What is your primary reason for going to college? (Let several students answer this aloud before any discussion.) Is there any one best answer? Why is it important to think about your own reasons? Discuss.
Why is it important to review something you've just learned (the fourth step in the learning process) even if you're sure you understand it well?
How difficult was it to read and understand this chapter? Are you convinced by reading things in a textbook? If not, what would make this information more meaningful to you? What does that say about your preferred learning style?