Student Success Skills

Student Success Re-imagined; How to be Successful in College and in your Career by Sheriann Stanton, M. Ed. (rough draft and work in progress)

Introduction:

During an educational backdrop that we were not expecting, students and teachers alike, had to abruptly adapt to a new way of teaching and learning during the pandemic. This article will outline advice for college success focusing on how to approach remote learning and still not lose momentum and focus. Colleges are looking at several models during the pandemic and it stands to reason that some of these models will still exist after the threat of the pandemic is gone.

Remote learning, online learning, video conference style lectures, independent learning and hybrid models of instruction are undoubtedly here to stay. There are pros and cons to each method, but the key is to find the balance you need to complete your courses and achieve your goals regardless of how your education is delivered to you.

What does that mean in a pandemic and post-pandemic world? After the pandemic we should see more face to face learning, but there may be a larger online component to courses. Instructors are learning to deliver content online now and it may be easier for many types of learners to have the course content available in online format for reference. 

Due to the covid-19 pandemic, students found all of their school work being done remotely for the spring semester of 2020. These students did not choose to have to learn online yet many of them rose to the occasion, as did educators, and those who support them.

In 2020, summer courses were being offered mostly online, but now students have the choice to sign up for them or not, depending on their preference, comfort level and other considerations like time, money and life circumstances.

Student Success: The concept is the same; the method of achieving it is changing

How does this concept remain the same? As before the pandemic, students would have been advised  to adhere to good practices in college like: attending all classes, be on time, pay attention, get a planner and use it, ask for help, take notes, study, and don’t give up. This is all still good advice and now we have to consider that students are stressed and more easily overwhelmed than usual. It is more tempting to want to skip a remote class than it is if you are already on campus. Now that students are at home students have to wake up in time for class, and sign on to their online environment. It sounds less cumbersome than getting up, showering, getting dressed, brushing their teeth, packing a lunch, and using their resources to get to campus, whether it be via public transportation, carpooling or driving alone, but for some students, it might actually be harder to navigate this more laid back scenario due to distractions at home and a lack of routine.

Students, I hope that you will build a workable schedule into your home studies. Even if you are not required to be online at the same time every day, it might be helpful to try to get up at the same time every day and get ready as if you are leaving the house, then block off consistent time blocks for studying and completing assignments separate from your class times and required meetings.

How does a student decide whether they want to sign up for online courses? And is that decision something that they make predicting how they might feel, especially if they've never taken an online class. Or only taken an online course during the quick scramble that teachers have to make to put content online. This process was not seamless to many educators and may have felt unrealistic to students and certainly it is fair to say, not an accurate representation of online learning when it is carefully planned way in advance. If students had any experience with online learning prior to the abrupt change of moving online mid semester, then that previous experience should give them a better picture of the experience.

Every subject is different and every teacher teaches differently, so some courses lend themselves very well to online learning.                  

Students will have to be motivated and able to be accountable solely to themselves. 

Students, I encourage you to be aware of  the lack of routine and seeing your peers before and after class in the hallway. If your friends and you used to start impromptu study sessions, now your interactions will most likely be online, and probably in a video chat format. This is a significant change. You can still study with classmates but know it certainly takes planning and forethought. It is more likely that when students are passing each other on campus, they might start an impromptu conversation and that could lead to spending time studying together. Students generally see each other in the cafeteria and student lounges to make friends, now in an online world, students may not interact with their classmates as much in a casual manner. This means that someone needs to take the initiative to set up virtual study sessions, will it be you? It would be nice to schedule recurring meetings so that students can plan ahead and spread the word to others. And just think, post pandemic, you will reach more students if you have an online study session, than you might if you rely on your classmates being on campus and able to meet.

The important things for students to realize at this point is that they need to adapt to learning online by setting out time to work on their coursework separate from the time that they are in their online class. 

This may sound obvious to you, but I have heard students just like you tell me that they are taking online courses because they are too busy and do not have a lot of time to attend class. This is a huge misunderstanding! Colossal! The students did not realize that they would potentially be doing more time consuming work online because instead of sitting in a class and listening to the lecture and class discussion, they now are reading the class responses and being asked to contribute to the discussion by typing a response after reading everyone’s thoughts. In class this is done in a quicker way and maybe not hearing each and every student in the whole class response to the topic. In class you might hear a few comments, but then online you are customarily asked to comment on the discussion too. It is important to note that not every course is run this way or the same way but in my experience, the online courses are more time consuming, but not harder. 

Based on how a student learns best, online learning could be more challenging. The auditory student, who learns best by hearing the material presented, might be at a disadvantage if there is a lot of reading and writing involved.

You can have the documents read to you! Some software like Microsoft Edge and WORD have built in readers. You can copy and paste long text into these programs and close your eyes to avoid distraction and listen to the content. If you are prone to falling asleep easily then leave your eyes open as you face a wall to avoid distractions and keep your phone silent and out of reach. 

The student who learns best by being provided with visual aids, will be at an advantage, if the course is designed with written instructions and resources.

If you fall into this category, you are in your element, but be sure to give your eyes a break and focus on something far away between lessons. 

The hands on learners might feel out of their element because there will be very few opportunities for them to use this learning preference. 

You will find that moving around while you study or changing rooms for each course as it is practical will make your brain happy. You may consider moving locations within your home while you study, while keeping consistency and routine whenever possible. For example if you have a laptop and three suitable locations for studying, you could study a different course in each spot. This will make you feel as though you are in a class and switching classrooms. If you are also a visual learner, you will find it easier to recall course content if you are in a location that you can associate with the learned material. This is similar to the notion that you should use the same color highlighters to divide items to learn by category.

English language learners will be at an advantage, because they can see the words on the screen and will be able to note the spelling and word structure making it easier to understand.

In Higher Education there are two words that you're going to hear quite a bit. Those buzz words are: synchronous and asynchronous learning

Synchronous learning means that you're learning in some kind of an online format with the teacher in real-time so maybe a zoom meeting or another type of video conferencing or something that is happening at a particular time of day. The student will have to be available at that time to be with the class.

Asynchronous learning is just the opposite of that. The prefix “a” means “away from”. So think about this term as being away from synchronous learning so you're still online, still remote, you're not face-to-face, but you're learning in a way that you will need working through modules on your own.

If you are working in an asynchronous course, you will need to be very dedicated and disciplined. You could make small goals for yourself to stay on track. Be sure to reach out to your teacher with questions. You will also need to be resourceful in researching items on your own, if your instructor takes a while to respond to questions. I should also warn you not to cut corners when clicking through lessons that your instructor posts in the Learning Management System because your teacher can tell how long you spend on modules and if you click on the appropriate links, article, videos, etc. You may find that you prefer being able to do your coursework any time of the day or night that you are available. If you can, try to plan a consistent schedule of studying and completing assignments, so that it is not left to chance. It may be harder to stay on track if you wait until you feel like studying as opposed to entering time on your planner dedicated to each course. 

There's a due date in the end for the whole section of work or even for the whole course and you just work independently and that might be challenging for a lot of learners because you don't have a way to raise your hand, like you would if you were in a video conference and get an instant answer from the teacher.

But keep in mind that  many online educators are very good at checking their messages and getting back to you in a very timely manner, so even if you are learning asynchronously it may still be okay, but you're also working on your own.      

To get through the course, you have to really be a motivated person and you can learn motivation, you don't already have to know these skills. What I would tell students in my learning environment is that, I expect you to be amazing; I expect you to be awesome; but I don't expect you to know how to do it. That is why I am there. I tell them that I am there to show them how to learn effectively,  how to be a student, and basically how to succeed in academics.

Every teacher teaches differently, just as every student approaches academics and learning in their own unique way.

Students need to adapt to learning online by: 

Setting out time to work on their coursework separate from the time that they are in class and actually enter this time in their calendar for studying, reading, and homework.    

You should consider the time of day that you will  have to be available. at that time to be with the class coupled with the times they will work on class related assignments. It is best to overestimate the time needed to complete tasks to ensure that if any assignments take longer than expected, there is still time to do them. Success depends on keeping up!

You will have to develop the self-discipline and motivation to follow through with all assignments and know when to ask for help.

 The class instructor is also in a different position too. It's interesting to think about it from their perspective. Usually the teacher is at the front of the classroom, several feet away from the students. Now the teacher is very close to each and every one of their students and visa versa. Instead of being removed from the group and  writing on the board using a whiteboard, Smartboard, or other teaching devices, the teacher is opening their home environment to the class. This adds a great deal of vulnerability on both the part of the student and of the class members. This can actually be a benefit so don't look at that as something that is more awkward. It's actually a really good thing for both parties, but it also comes with some more responsibility. The teacher is right there to field questions and organize Breakout rooms for group assignments and collaboration.

Being comfortable with doing something like that with your peers is really big and may take time to develop a real comfort level for the process. Just consider that if you are feeling this way, so are some of your peers. And just thinking about it if you've never experienced it and thinking about how you might feel is good because then you are processing the related feelings.

When you're online I know that in some cases the instructor may mute the class and invite students who are about to speak to unmute to talk. The background noises in your house and everyone's homes are distracting if the class is large. Some people live on busy streets or there's constant noise of traffic going by. In my house other family members are present and our family dog loves to bark.

If your teacher doesn't happen to specify how they want you to communicate, please ask them. 

This is a really important time in our history and in the history of education. The pandemic is a stepping stone to get us from where we were pre-pandemic to where we will be post-pandemic.

Students, you may find that things may slowly change in a way that seems a little uncomfortable for you but pretty soon it will become more comfortable as you take the journey. As with anything new, you may take a while to get used to your college courses.

Hidden Curriculum

Refers to unspoken rules that college staff assumes that students already know prior to attending school. These rules are not taught and can be a challenge for students who do not know them.

An example is: How often to contribute to a class discussion, It is awkward if a student asks too many questions in class and overshares. There is a happy medium between not offering to contribute to class discussions and answering questions to doing this too much. If possible try to limit your in class comments to twice and be sure that you make note of anything you wish to ask past that. You can always visit your professor during their office hours outside of class time if you have a lot of questions. If at all possible, limit your questions asked in class to those questions that could pertain to other students in the class too. If you have an individual situation, it is best to wait until after class.

Another example of hidden curriculum: Students are expected to know 

What are your purposes for attending college? 

When you made the decision to enter college, I am sure that it was not done without a lot of thought. I would advise you to write approximately one page or more documenting your thoughts. You may opt to make a video or voice recording instead, but it’s important to document your reasoning in some way. This will be a long process full of ups and downs and you may need to replay or re-read your initial thoughts to stay motivated and on track later in the process. 

Many students attend college to ensure they have the skills necessary to get a good job. Some students are motivated by learning, others are hoping for more money and think that having more job options is a good idea. Some folks just want to learn to change the world and their outlook on the world. Some families expect their children to go to college and it is not really their choice, per se.

Some folks are the first in their family to attend college. This is called being a First Generation College Student, which means that neither parent has a college degree, but siblings can be in college or have graduated from college, because siblings are technically in the same generation. First Generation College students may find it a bit trickier to navigate the process of being in college because they do not have people in their family to advise them about the process, but if you fall into this category, do not worry, the college employees are there to help you navigate all of the process. You just have to ask and find someone who can guide you. In this process, you might even enlist the help of multiple people. Don’t be afraid to reach out. That is part of the college staff’s job. You may want to consider finding other students who are also the first in their family to attend college and form a student club. Some colleges have funds to hire an advisor for student clubs. It doesn’t hurt to ask.

Video Conferencing:

As a student, you might be expected to have your computer camera video on during class time. 

Some students find that this is uncomfortable. They may either have a home environment that is not photo ready, circumstances that make it awkward to show others their home, like siblings, parents and other distractions. Many students do not like to see their images on screen for personal reasons, like anxiety and other disabilities. 

If you do not have a quiet study space, you may ask the course instructor if you can leave your screen off during class. Depending on the teacher, this may be an easy fix. If the instructor insists that you are seen during class, you might be able to find a spot near your home that will work. If you are able to go outside and find peace and quiet, that might work on nice days. If you are able to find a wall to sit in front of or hang a blanket to cover clutter, then you might be more comfortable letting the teacher and your classmates a view into your home. No matter what your situation might be, it is important to have open honest communication with your professor.

What to do regarding selecting college courses

What is Hidden Curriculum and Why is it Important?

Documenting Your Purpose for Attending College

What are Your Goals? (Big and Small)

Methods for document your goals

How to Tell Your Story Even if You Don’t Think You Have One

How to Improve Your Time Management Skills

Avoiding the Procrastination Trap

How to organize your time for best results

Taking Tests Like a Boss

A look at test questions

Making your own questions from the subtitles

Taking Notes Using New Strategies   

Mind Maps

Cornell Method

Checklist for taking notes

What is Motivation? 

What is Your Motivation?

Types of motivation and how to use them

Emotional Intelligence

How to rethink your thinking

Understanding Your Personality 

Career Planning

Assignment suggestion: Interview a professional in a field of study that interests you even if you don’t know what you want to be when you grow up.

Resume help! Tips for improving your resume

Financial Aid and Scholarships

How to Apply

Beware of the Scammers; it’s always a free application!

Personal Counselor

What to Expect

How to Locate

Why to Give it a Try Even if You are Unsure 

What is Diversity? 

Exploring the Types of Diversity That Will Help You in College

What to do if…

The unexpected happens

Planning for setbacks

Staying Motivated

How to do the work to stay motivated

What to do if it all starts to unravel                                          

Note taking tips

Time Management 

Avoiding Procrastination 

Responsibility 

Feeding Yourself on a Budget

Making and Following Through with Appointments

Dealing with Homesickness