Three Important Skills to Succeed in Any Class
1. Read the syllabus
College classes have a syllabus, a document spelling out
course expectations, rules, laws, and (hopefully) a schedule of all assignments.
At The Lukeion Project, we provide a syllabus for all semester classes, even for
our youngest students. A syllabus is an excellent communication tool if
students will read it.
Instructors prepare the syllabus with the exactness of a
legal document, which it is. A good syllabus spells out everything you should know about a class. Read it with care because we educators are going to stand
our ground on what has been communicated in a syllabus. If we state all
deadlines are firm, expect firm deadlines.
If we specify how things must be turned in, a wise student follows that directive
with care or loses points.
The syllabus works to the advantage of both educator and
student. If we neglect to include an important detail on the schedule, we are likely to be sympathetic if you miss the item due to an incorrect syllabus.
Educators will
fine-tune a syllabus until it includes everything that is important to know
about a class. If a syllabus is a single page or 12 pages long, read it. It is obvious
when a student has failed to read the syllabus by the mistakes that are made or
the types of questions that are asked. When a student doesn’t read the
syllabus, the educator might make some unflattering assumptions. Meanwhile, the
student leaves a horrible first impression. Read the whole
syllabus carefully.
2. Always Come to Class and be on Time
Aside from the inevitable illness or minor calamity, make
every effort to come to every class. As your education becomes more and more
expensive (with respect to both personal time and money), increase your zeal
for always attending class. To do any less leads your educators to assume you
are lazy, disinterested, disorganized, or disengaged. Who wants to be in these
categories? When one needs his educator to offer a bit of grace,
one’s chances improve greatly if one has been careful with timely attendance. Most importantly, as you progress in your education, you will have already paid for and reserved that dedicated class time. Use it to focus on the material and learn instead of sleeping through it. It won't be easier to focus on that material later while on your own. At all costs, come to class and be on time.
3. Ask Thoughtful Questions
Is there such thing as a dumb question? We covered
the need to avoid questions already answered in the syllabus. Paradoxically, almost
all other questions are a good idea in class with the important exceptions that I have listed below. Are you a
big question-asker in class? Is that a good thing? Educators nearly always appreciate
question askers (unless they are running low on time). Students need not worry they will be considered dumb if they
ask questions about the material covered in class. Question-askers are fully
engaged in the topic and focused on mastery of the subject. What’s not to like?
There are, however, a few important question-caveats.
Don’t Ask…
- Any non-topical question that is likely answered elsewhere. Read your syllabus or go through a class handout first. Your educator wants to save limited class time (and limited personal time to answer emails) so help her out by not asking due dates and class policies that are stated elsewhere.
- “Will this be on the quiz?” Class time is precious. Educators rarely waste lecture time on things that don’t matter. Don’t waste even more time by asking that question! Assume everything will be on the quiz and you’ll never miss a thing.
- “Did I miss anything?” (When late or if you miss a class). This question communicates a belief that class time has been meaningless without you! Rather than evoke an annoyed comment from your lecturer with this question, assume you missed many important things and then ask a peer for missed notes AFTER class.
- “When will X, Y, Z be graded?” First, this isn't truly your question. You are actually telling your educator to put aside everything to focus on YOUR grades. Nobody is more eager to finish grading an assignment than your educator. He or she has already skipped meals and sleep to finish grading and preparing for your class. Consequently, this question always comes off as irritating at best, insulting at worst. That’s not how you want your educator to think of you.
Do:
- Stay on-topic. Avoid asking about the weather in Spain when the session is about Latin nouns.
- Rephrase a question or further engage the instructor for a better understanding of the subject. Educators love to engage students fully in the topic at hand.
- Ask for help if you are confused. It is better to ask for clarification than to miss points. If you’ve done your job by reading the syllabus, textbook, class notes, and a peer, it is time to ask your instructor for help. Sometimes that missing assignment link or confusing page assignment needs to be fixed for everyone anyway.
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