Strategies for Student Success (2004)
The following suggestions are not exhaustive, and they are definitely not legally enforceable guarantees (which means suing me if they don't work for you won't do you any good). But they are a good place to start if you haven't taken a class with me before.
1. Take advantage of the extensive Web resources
Hey, you're here... so you must at least be starting to follow this suggestion already! Please take full advantage of the very extensive Web resources I have provided for you. This includes full lecture notes for every unit of the course, a practice pretest (sorry, PSY 250 students, I haven't gotten around to writing your pretest yet... but I will), comprehensive study guides, a syllabus (which provides a course outline and an overview of course requirements, that is, what's expected of you and how to earn your grade), and more. (LEC 200 students, some of the information above doesn't apply to you because of the specialized nature of your course.) Also included is general information about study skills (go back to the main page and scroll down past the course-specific information).
2. Adopt a top-down approach
Preview the information on the Big Five model of personality. I'm an E- O+ A+ C- N+ person, and that should provide you with some important clues about my teaching style. Perhaps most important, it's a distinct waste of time to try to utilize rote memorization of details (which O- students are wont to do) as a strategy. I'm interested in your mastery of abstract concepts: the way I will ask you to prove that is to generate (or recognize and explain) an original example of these concepts on the exam.
3. Keep your mind in gear
In technical terms, this means staying in active rehearsal versus maintenance rehearsal mode, both while taking notes and while studying. "Active rehearsal" means that you are actively processing, analyzing, thinking about the course material -- quizzing yourself, rephrasing key ideas in your own words, generating examples, and so forth. "Maintenance rehearsal" means mental passivity -- mindlessly reading through your notes (with your mind a million miles away, or without any real attempt at understanding), listlessly taking notes without actively engaging the material. Know the difference -- maintenance rehearsal is not studying, and you'd be better served putting away your notes and watching a rerun of Law and Order.
4. Ask for help
That's what office hours are for. (Mine are, or will be, posted on the general syllabus information section of this Web site.) Don't make me feel more like the mythical Maytag Repairman than I already do. If my office hours don't work for you, try email: I check my email several times daily, to the point of near-clinical compulsiveness. Or if you find me too intimidating (unlikely), there are student tutors available to help you for a small fee.
5. Learn as much about your instructor as you can
By checking out information on this Web site such as the 40 books that have most influenced me throughout my lifetime, the 10 people I'd most like to invite to dinner, my personality type (above), and so forth. Like anyone else, teachers are human beings (contrary to popular opinion), and in fact are unique individuals who usually like to be treated as such.