Thriving in College & Beyond: Research-Based Strategies for Academic Success and Personal

Development

Joe Cuseo, PhDAaron Thompson, PhD

Michele Campagna, EdDViki Fecas, PhD

Third Edition

Chapter 1: Touching All the Bases

Learning Goal To equip you with a set of powerful success

strategies you can use immediately to get off to a fast start in college and can use continually throughout your college experience to achieve success

Research-Based Principles of College Success

Research on human learning and student development indicates four powerful principles of college success:1. Active Involvement;2. Use of Campus Resources;3. Interpersonal Interaction and Collaboration; and4. Personal Reflection and Self-Awareness (Astin,

1993; Kuh, 2000; Light, 2001; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991, 2005; Tinto, 1993).

The Diamond of College SuccessUtilizing Campus

Resources

Personal Reflection and Self-Awareness

Active InvolvementInterpersonal

Interaction and Collaboration

= Supporting Bases for College Success

= Primary (“Home”) Base for College Success

Active Involvement Research indicates that active involvement may be the

most powerful principle of human learning and college success (Astin, 1993; Kuh, 2000).

Involves the following pair of processes:o The amount of personal time you devote to learning in the

college experience;o The degree of personal effort or energy (mental and physical)

you put into the learning process.

Relationship Between Class Attendance Rate and Final Course

Grades

A B C D F W

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Final Course Grades

Percent-age

of Classes Attended

Time Spent on Coursework Outside the Classroom

Studies clearly show that when college students spend more time on academic work outside of class the result is better learning and higher grades (National Survey of Student Engagement, 2003).

Time Spent on Coursework Outside the Classroom

Research on college graduates indicates that the higher their college grades, the highero The status (prestige) of their first job;o Their job mobility (ability to change jobs or move into different

positions); ando Their total earnings (salary).

Active Listening and Note Taking

The best way to apply the principle of active involvement during a class lecture is to engage in the physical action of writing notes.

Listening and Note Taking

Use the following strategies to improve the quality of your note taking.

Get to every class Get to every class on time Get organized Get in the right position Get in the right frame of mind Get it down (in writing) Don’t let go of your pen Finish strong Stick around

Remember: Research shows that, in all subject areas, most test questions on

college exams come from the professor’s lectures and that students who

take better class notes get better course grades (Brown,

1988; Kiewra, 2000). FA+ B _

DC +

Active Class Participation

Arrive at class prepared Ask relevant questions Contribute thoughtful comments during class

participation

Active Reading

Taking notes on information that you’re reading, or on information you’ve highlighted while reading, helps keep you actively involved in the reading process because it requires more mental and physical energy than merely reading material or passively highlighting sentences.

Improving Textbook Reading Comprehension

and Retention Come fully equipped

o Writing tool and storageo Dictionaryo Glossary of terms

Get in the right positiono Upright and with light

coming from behind you Get a sneak preview

o Boldface headings, chapter outline, summary, end-of-chapter questions

Use boldface headings and subheadings

Pay attention to the first and last sentences

Finish each of your reading sessions with a short review

Remember: Your goal while reading should be to discover or uncover the most important information contained in what

you’re reading. When you finish reading, your final step should be to reread (and lock in) the key information you discovered while reading.

Use of Campus Resources

Studies show that students who use campus resources report higher levels of satisfaction with college and get more out of the college experience (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991, 2005).

Remember: Involvement with campus resources is not just

valuable but also “free;” the cost of these services has already been covered by your college tuition. By investing time and energy in campus resources, you not only

increase your prospects for personal success but also

maximize the return on your financial investment in colleges – that is, you get a bigger bang for

your buck.

Use of Campus Resources

Learning Center Writing Center Disability Services College Library Academic Advisement Center Office of Student Life Financial Aid Office Counseling Center Health Center Career Development Center

Interpersonal Interaction and Collaboration

Human knowledge is socially constructed, or built through interaction and dialogue with others.

Your interpersonal conversations become mentally internalized (represented in your mind) and are shaped by the dialogue you’ve had with others (Bruffee, 1993).

Thus, by having frequent, intelligent conversations with others, you broaden your knowledge and deepen your thinking.

Interpersonal Interaction and Collaboration

Four particular forms of interpersonal interaction have been found to be strongly associated with student learning and motivation in college:1. Student-faculty interaction2. Student-advisor interaction3. Student-mentor interaction4. Student-student (peer) interaction

Interaction with Faculty Members

Studies consistently show that college success is influenced heavily by the quality and quantity of student-faculty interaction outside the classroom. Such contact is positively associated with the following positive outcomes for college students: Improved academic performance; Increased critical thinking skills; Greater satisfaction with the college experience; Increased likelihood of completing a college degree;

and Stronger desire to seek education beyond college

(Astin, 1993; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991, 2005).

Interaction with an Advisor

Can be an effective referral agent who can direct you to, and connect you with, campus support services that best meet your needs

An individual you should meet with more regularly than course instructors

Interaction with a Mentor

Research in higher education demonstrates that a mentor can make first-year students feel significant and enable them to stay on track until they complete their college degree (Campbell & Campbell, 1997; Knox, 2008).

Interaction with a Mentor

Many people on campus have the potential to be outstanding mentors, including the following:

• First-Year Seminar Instructor

• Faculty in Your Intended Major

• Juniors, Seniors, or Graduate Students in Your Intended Major

• Working Professionals in Careers that Interest You

• Academic Support Professionals

• Career Counselors• Personal Counselors• Learning Assistance

Professionals• Student Development

Professionals• Campus Minister or

Chaplain• Financial Aid

Counselors• Advisor

Interaction with Peers

Studies of college students repeatedly point to the power of the peer group as a source of social and academic support (Pascarella, 2005).

As a new student, it may be useful to view your early stage of the college experience and academic performance in terms of the classic hierarchy model of human needs, developed by American psychologist Abraham Maslow.

Self-ActualizationNeed to fulfill potential, to have meaningful goals

EsteemNeed for

confidence, sense of competence, self-esteem,

and esteem of others

BelongingnessNeed to belong, to affiliate, to love and to be loved

SafetyNeed for

security, comfort, tranquility, freedom from fear

BiologicalNeed for food, water, oxygen, rest

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Interaction with Peers

According to Maslow’s model, humans cannot reach their full potential and achieve peak performance until their more basic emotional and social needs have been met.

Making early connections with your peers helps you meet these basic human needs, provides you with a base of social support to ease your integration into the college community, and prepares you to move up to higher levels of the need hierarchy.

Collaboration with Peers

Collaboration involves true teamwork, in which teammates support one another’s success and take equal responsibility for helping the team move toward its shared goal.

Collaboration with Peers

To maximize the power of collaboration, use the following guidelines to make wise choices about teammates who will contribute positively to the quality and productivity of your learning team.

1. Look for peers who are motivated and likely to contribute to your team’s success, rather than those whom you suspect may just be hitchhikers looking for a free ride.

2. Include peers who differ from you in age, gender, ethnicity, racial, cultural or geographic background, learning style, and personality.

Collaboration with Peers

Form Learning Teams:1. Note-Taking Teams2. Reading Teams3. Writing Teams4. Library Research Teams5. Team-Instructor

Conferences6. Study Teams7. Test Results-Review and

Assignment-Review Teams8. Learning Communities

Remember: Seek diversity; capitalize on the advantages of collaborating with peers with

varied backgrounds and lifestyles. Studies show that

we learn more from people who are different from us than we

do from people who are similar to us (Pascarella, 2001).

Personal Reflection The final steps in the learning process, whether it be

learning in the classroom or from experience, are to step back from the process, thoughtfully review it, and connect it to what you already know.

Personal reflection involves introspection – turning inward and inspecting yourself to gain deeper self-awareness of what you’ve done, what you’re doing, or what you intend to do. Two forms of personal reflection are particularly important for success in college:

1.Self-assessment2.Self-monitoring

Self-Assessment

Self-assessment is the process of reflecting on and evaluating your personal characteristics, such as your personality traits, learning habits, and strengths or weaknesses.

Personal Interests Personal Values Personal Abilities or Aptitudes Learning Habits Learning Styles Personality Traits Academic Self-Concept

Self-Monitoring Research indicates that one characteristic of

successful learners is that they monitor or watch themselves and maintain full awareness of:

Whether they’re using effective learning strategies; Whether they are comprehending what they are

attempting to learn; and How to regulate or adjust their learning strategies to

meet the demands of different tasks or subjects (Pintrich, 1995; Weinstein, 1994; Weinstein & Meyer, 1991).

Chapter 1: Touching All the Bases

Summary and Conclusion