"The dog ate my homework"

I was talking with a student a couple days ago as we walked into the Stevens Center, chatting about the last week of classes before finals.  I said something like "I hope your project turns out well," then stopped myself; I wish I'd said "Do well on your project; apply your skills and energy effectively, and I'm sure you'll do well."

Our exchange got me thinking about self-efficacy and internal versus external locus of control.  Okay, maybe I've taken too many psychology classes, but I think these are valuable concepts for students to ponder.  Self-efficacy and internal locus of control relate to an individual's perception that her actions will make a difference: "I worked hard and my grade gave proof that I mastered the material."  An external locus of control suggests that outside factors led to a particular result: "I'm sorry I'm late!  My alarm didn't wake me up, traffic was slow, and there was a long line at the coffee drive-through," or "The dog ate my homework."


Now, there are things that are outside our control and there are times when accepting our limitations is important.  Yet I believe our language makes a difference.   With that in mind, I'm paying more attention to whether my language demonstrates ownership of my part in a situation or if I'm placing responsibility (or blame) on something - or someone - else.  I invite you join in this exercise in self-efficacy: Evaluate what your words communicate and consider whether your language points to outside factors influencing you and others.  If a situation is outside of your control, good and fine.  Otherwise, think of ways of owning your responsibility, not only in actions but also with your words.

Ending the Semester Well

The end of the semester is near, Christmas feels both distant and near, and most college students I've talked with are feeling the heavy load of end-of-semester projects, papers, and finals.  What is a student to do?  If you have the answer, let me know; we'll write a book and make our millions.

In the meantime, here are a few tips.

1. Start preparing for final exams NOW.  Commit an hour or two a week to review notes, assignments, readings, and feedback from your professor.  Avoid cramming a night or two before the exam; doing so is one of the least effective methods for success on a test and is even less effective for mastering material.  Read a few more tips at 5 Tips for Wrapping Up Your First College Semester.
   
2. Put time management principals to use.  Make a list of things you need to do and prioritize by date, importance (is it worth 20% of your grade or 1% of your grade?), and effort required to complete the task.  Maintain healthy life practices: Get enough sleep, avoid unhealthy foods (including energy drinks), exercise.  Block out (or turn off) distractions when you're doing schoolwork; set specific times for checking Facebook, email, text messages, and such.  No one multitasks effectively; in reality, we "switch-task," with each switch taking time and energy away from our ultimate goal.  Ten Tips to Reduce End-of-Semester Stress gives a few more ideas you might implement.
   
3. Prepare for your transition to home (or wherever you're going when finals are over).  End of the Semester College Tips for Students suggests conversations with family members about expectations when you return for Christmas.  You've been away from home with more independence and flexibility; will you continue living as a college student or do your parents have the same expectations as they did while you were in high school?  And while Christmas is a wonderful time of celebration, beware of getting overwhelmed by activities and gift-giving expectations.

One last piece of advice: End well. 

• Be intentional about the end of this phase of life, whether this is the end of your first semester or your last.  
• Finish assignments as well as you can.
• Focus on mastering content or skills, not getting a particular grade.
• Thank those who have impacted your life.
• Say goodbye to those you are closest to, while accepting the reality that you can't see everybody at just the right time.
• Have a cup of coffee with a good friend and reflect on how God has worked in your life this semester - intellectually, spiritually, emotionally, vocationally.

Why do you Learn?

As we take classes and complete assignments, we often focus on what we are learning but don't always consider how or why we are learning.  David Krathwohl developed a way of describing how a student's approach to an activity can impact learning. 

The lowest commitment for learning is displayed when a student is in a receiving position, taking in information without doing much with it.  When a student responds to information or an experience, she demonstrates new action or thoughts as a result of applying that information.  If a subject, activity, or assignment is perceived as worthwhile, a student values the learning and is likely more likely  learning the topic at hand.  An even higher dedication to learning is evident when a student organizes his values to integrate what has been learned.  Acting out one's values, or being characterized by a value set, indicates an incorporation of learned information, abilities, or beliefs; learning has moved beyond intellectual exercise and into life application.  According to Krathwohl's model, the higher one goes on the pyramid, the higher the commitment to learning.

Take a moment to consider your attitude as you encounter learning experiences such as lectures, discussions, homework, or tests.  Can you shift your attitude from one of receiving - hoping information will be poured into your brain - toward an openness to have your life changed as a result of new information, grand ideas, or beliefs that are discovered or affirmed?

Writing Cake

Another contribution from ARC Consultant Drew Miller:

When you bake,

do not dunk

your head in wet

cake inside

a 350 degree oven.

When you write,

let batter become

better, and firm.

Wait and walk away

until your work is

cool enough to frost.

Do Almost Nothing about Almost Everything

"If you're truly faithful to your calling, you're doing almost nothing about almost everything in the world."  

When I heard these words from John Stackhouse, I was struck by the difficulty of focusing on my unique call and contribution in this world.  I want to do more, have it all, not make choices between good, better and best, and please everyone, including myself.

But what if my "best" involves leaving some things undone, or saying no to good things?  Perhaps being faithful to one's calling as a student requires studying on an evening when all one's friends are going to a movie.  Or perhaps - and I think this one is more difficult to determine accurately - being faithful requires going to a movie when one has homework that remains undone.

An ongoing question that I'm trying to answer is "What can I not do?"  We live in a culture that places so much emphasis on freedom and choice that it can be paralyzing.  What if I reduce the number of choices I have to make?  What if I give up some of my freedom so I can live a more healthy life?

Join me in the journey of searching out God's call, then engaging in faithful pursuit of a life attuned to that call.

How to Get the Most Out of Studying: Part 1

In the first of five short videos, Paul Chew, a cognitive psychologist at Samford University, points out the following beliefs that make you stupid. 

1. Learning is Fast
2. Knowledge is Composed of Isolated Facts
3. Being Good at a Subject is a Matter of Inborn Talent
4. I'm Really Good at Multi-Tasking

Dr. Chew points out that being under-prepared and over-confident is a sign of trouble to come in one's demonstration of content mastery (aka, performance on a test).  Check out the first video in this series; I'll post the other videos in the coming weeks.

Where is the Wisdom We Have Lost in Knowledge

Where is the Life we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?

Consider how these words from T.S. Eliot's play "The Rock" might inform your view of information, knowledge, wisdom, and Life.  How is information different from knowledge?  What is the difference between knowledge and wisdom?  Is there a difference between capital "L" Life and small "l" living?

I believe Eliot is reminding is that Life, the fullness and wholeness that Christ desires for us, rests not on information, or even knowledge, but relies on the wisdom cultivated by reflection, time, humility, and community.

The Best Sentence Ever

Ever feel incompetent or lost as a writer?  ARC Consultant Drew Miller gives a hopeful glimpse into a college writer's mind.

I like writing perfect sentences. I’ve never done it.

Think of something clever, Drew. No, I don’t like the way that sounds. No, that’s too obvious. No that’s too cliché. There we go—one hour, one perfect sentence.

Perfect second sentences make first sentences even better.

Maybe I can find a big word. Ecdysis. Jane Eyre is undergoing ecdysis. Beautiful. This will give my mom chills. Even better, this will deconstruct all the lies I learned in high school. Take that, Mr. Smith! I am the smartest.

Two Sentences down. Thesis now?

My thesis doesn’t make any sense. My first two sentences don’t make any sense. I’ll just take my thesis and keep thudding and tumbling down the page like a toddler bumping his butt down stairs.

I need a chair pillow.

Sometimes I write five pages, not knowing what I say.

I need someone to read this paper over—this is rough. I want her to say, this is amazing. I want her to say, get this published.

I can’t find my pen. Maybe I’ll listen to another song on Spotify.

Can you read my paper?

She ‘s reading silently. What is she thinking? Oh, no! She wrote on my paper. Oh no,  she wrote again! I am going to fail college. What is my mom going to do with me?

“Okay, Drew,” she says. “Good work. You have a few wordy sentences, and I am a bit foggy on this part of the paper, but overall, it’s a nice piece. Develop another draft with my comments in mind, and you’ll be fine.”

Well, maybe I can pass this class. Where’s my pen?

Felicity

Earlier this year, I was captivated by Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies, a book by Marilyn Chandler McEntyre.  Let me share some excerpts from her chapter titled "Love Words."

"Felicity is a kind of happiness our culture does not, on the whole, promote: something like rational contentment, entailing acceptance, considered compromise, and self-knowledge."

"Happiness of this kind is, in fact, more a point of view than a state of affairs."

"But felicity includes something beyond simple contentment.  Felicity not only accepts what is, acknowledging and cheerfully submitting to the limitations of one's condition: it also unabashedly wills and seeks pleasure.  Its pleasures are more subtle than sensational.  Felicity comes in lively, sustained conversation; in long walks on which one notices small changes in the landscape; in the silent companionship of an old friend or partner; in serving a good inner to a family one loves."

"I think of felicity as a sign of wisdom."

"A felicitous word choice is one that so precisely names an idea or experience that it produces for the reader or hearer a shock of recognition, a surprised 'Yes! That's it!" and a gratifying sense of having put two interlocking pieces of a puzzling world perfectly in place."

"Precision of expression is neither taught nor appreciated in a culture that has prostituted language in the service of propaganda.  To the degree that we consent to cheap hyperbole, flip slogans, and comfortably unexamined claims, we deprive ourselves of the felicity of expression that brings things worth looking at into focus -- things like happiness, for instance, which comes so much clearer and seems so much richer when we see it displayed in an array of colors: merriment, blitheness, gaiety, delight, contentment, joy, bliss, felicity itself....We can fall prey to the flattening of words and experience, and so diminish the variety and quality of happiness, or we can retrieve the words that name the forms of happiness that are worth pursing and, by returning them to good and careful use, rediscover felicity."

McEntyre challenged me on many levels, including the value of using language with care, choosing interesting, specific, descriptive words rather than relying on easy hackneyed phrases, and recognizing that our language and life experience are inextricably interconnected.

I invite you to join me in pursuit of felicity, in words and in life.

APA Style: 10 Tips and Troubles

The American Psychological Association (APA) style for writing, formatting, citations, and references has many details that are easily overlooked or forgotten.  In this post, Jessica DePalatis highlights ten key elements of the APA writing style elements.  More details can be found on the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) APA pages.

APA: 10 Tips and Troubles

1.     Little details

o   Two spaces are needed after every sentence. One inch margins are required for each page.

2.     Headers

o   On the first page in the upper left hand corner you must put “Running head:” as well as a logical condensed version of your title in caps.  For all proceeding pages just the condensed version in caps is needed. Every page must have a page number in the upper right corner. Unlike MLA, your last name never makes an appearance in the headers.

3.     Titles

o   The goal is to summarize your paper in no more than twelve words. Do not beat around the bush. Blunt, boring honesty is the key.

4.     Abstract

o   The abstract gets its own page right after the cover page. It is not indented and contains between 150-250 words. It is NOT the first paragraph of your paper. It is a summary of the whole paper, so that a potential reader can know what they are getting into. It must be short, sweet, and to the point.

5.     Introduction

o   At the top of the page after the abstract, a title is needed. In a research paper the word "Introduction" is use. However, most college undergrads are compiling a literature review, not a research paper. In this case the title presented on the cover page should be used.

6.     In-text Citation

o   The author’s last name and the year of publication need to appear in the text whenever you mention someone else’s ideas. This can take the form of a direct quote, paraphrase, or summary. Page numbers are only needed when using a direct quote.

7.     Quotes

o   Quotes should be avoided at all cost. They tell your professor that you did not understand the material enough to paraphrase. A paraphrase must have different words, sentence structure and meter from the original source. Anything else is a direct quote and must be cited as such to avoid plagiarism.

8.     Secondary Citations

o   If you want to use an idea from someone cited in another paper you have two options. First, it is best to find the original article of the person you want to cite. Second, if you can’t find the original article then you can cite the source as such: (Jones, as cited in Smith, 2009). In this example the idea you want to use belonged to Jones but you read about it in Smith’s paper. The year goes with Smith’s article.

9.     References

o   If you use someone else’s idea in your paper you must cite it. If you cite it, the reference must show up in the references section of your paper. If you have a source in your references section your must have read it AND cited it in your paper. 

10.  DOIs

o   DOIs are Digital Object Identifiers. Yes, you need them. They can be a pain to track down if they do not appear on the actual article. One tip is to find the DOI as soon as you select an article. Journal database websites often list the DOI among the stats with the abstract. If worse comes to worst and no DOI is to be found, you can use the homepage website of the journal that published the article (Retrieved from www.homepage.come). DO NOT use the database website. 

Grammar Tips

Interested in tips about grammar?  Go to http://www.grammarbook.com/ and sign up for the free weekly newsletter.

Below is an excerpt from today's email:

That vs. Which

Last week’s grammar tip focused on the rules for using who vs. that. This week, we will learn the rules to guide us on when to use that vs. which.

Rule 1: That may refer to people, animals, groups, or things. (As mentioned last week, who is preferred when referring to people.)

Rule 2: Which refers to animals, groups, or things.

Since that and which may each refer to animals, groups, or things, how do we know when to use that and when to use which?

Rule 3: That introduces essential clauses while which introduces nonessential clauses.

Example: I do not trust editorials that claim racial differences in intelligence.

We would not know which editorials were being discussed without the that clause.

Example: The editorial claiming racial differences in intelligence, which appeared in the Sunday newspaper, upset me.

The editorial is already identified. Therefore, which begins a nonessential clause.

NOTE: Essential clauses do not have commas surrounding them while nonessential clauses are surrounded by commas.

Example: Chess is a game that requires intense concentration.

The second part of the sentence is essential for conveying the meaning of the sentence.

Rule 4: If this, that, these, or those has already introduced an essential clause, you may use which to introduce the next clause, whether it is essential or nonessential.

Example: Those responses to the questions, which were not well thought out, eliminated him from further job consideration.

What Type of Student are You?

Ken Bain, in the book What the Best College Students Do, identified five types of students.

1. Those who receive good grades but become no more productive than their friends who receive C's and D's;
2. Those who receive good grades and who become deep learners, adaptive experts, great problem solvers, and highly creative and compassionate individuals;
3. Those who receive mediocre grades but someday achieve phenomenal success because they did learn deeply, despite their transcripts;
4. Those who receive poor marks, give up, and live a life that is largely dependent on others;
5. Those who receive poor grades but tell themselves (without much evidence) that someday they will shine. (p. 10)

Bain believes everyone can fall into the 2nd or 3rd category - the deep learners - regardless of grades, ability, or background.  Consider these questions today:

• Do you agree that Bain's categories describe the range of college students? 
• Which type do you think describes you?
• If you're not a type 2 or type 3 student, what might be one step to move toward becoming a deep learner?

If you're interested in talking further about these ideas, comment below, get the book, or contact Rick Muthiah at rmuthiah@georgefox.edu to converse via email or call 503-554-2314 and we can schedule a time to talk over coffee.

Minding the Gaps

By Shawna Buck

Too often students become bogged down by papers, tests, and reading they have to do and feel like they have no time to themselves. As college students, sometimes our go-to response for “Hey, how are you?” is simply “Busy.” But what would happen if in that small twenty-minute break between classes you read ten pages out of a history book, or you wrote a page of an essay while sitting at breakfast in the Bon?

All of us experience these gaps in the midst of our busy schedules; we simply need to learn to use them to their full advantage. Even I sometimes blow off a half-hour break between classes to grab a cup of coffee instead of doing something productive, which seems harmless at first, but those gaps add up and pretty soon I could have accomplished an entire assignment instead of consuming five cups of caffeine.

Using these gaps more productively results in better time management overall and makes for less homework in the evening so you can spend more time socializing or Facebooking. To achieve better productivity during these gaps, make a checklist of everything you want to accomplish throughout the day or write down one assignment to work on during each gap in your planner. Writing these goals down makes you more accountable, and who doesn’t like to cross things off lists? We all like having breaks during the day, but making these breaks more productive will yield more time off in the evenings, resulting in a longer break rather than just thirty minutes here or there. You’re already up and running, so you might as well put that time to good use. Plus, if you have more time at the end of the day, chances are that will be a better time to hang out with friends or go to an event without feeling overwhelmed by homework.

Don’t get me wrong, it is still important to use those gaps for some “you time." Just be intentional about which breaks you want to be productive and which ones you want to grab coffee. Sometimes it feels like there just aren’t enough hours in the day, but being intentional about what you want to accomplish—and when—makes the small amount of time you do have count for more.   

 

The Cornell Note Taking Method

Students take notes in almost every class, but too often those notes are underutilized as a learning tool.  The Cornell Note Taking Method is one of the most common approaches to making notes more effective for gaining mastery of content.  The process involves interacting with the material in several ways, including reducing and summarizing information and making connections to other knowledge.  Watch this video or follow the instructions below to get an idea of how the method works.

Note Taking Area: Record lecture as fully and as meaningfully as possible.
 
Cue Column: As you're taking notes, keep cue column empty. Soon after the lecture, reduce your notes to concise jottings as clues for Reciting, Reviewing, and Reflecting.
 
Summaries: Sum up each page of your notes in a sentence or two.
This format provides the perfect opportunity for following through with the 5 R's of note-taking:

• Record
  During the lecture, record in the main column as many meaningful facts and ideas as you can. Write legibly. 

• Reduce
  As soon after as possible, summarize these facts and ideas concisely in the Cue Column. Summarizing clarifies meanings and relationships, reinforces continuity, and strengthens memory.

• Recite
  Cover the Note Taking Area, using only your jottings in the Cue Column, say over the facts and ideas of the lecture as fully as you can, not mechanically, but in your own words. Then, verify what you have said.

• Reflect
  Draw out opinions from your notes and use them as a starting point for your own reflections on the course and how it relates to your other courses. Reflection will help prevent ideas from being inert and soon forgotten.

• Review
  Spend 10 minutes every week in quick review of your notes, and you will retain most of what you have learned.

Adapted from How to Study in College 7/e by Walter Pauk, 2001 Houghton Mifflin Company, as listed at http://www.umfk.edu/trio/study/notes/.

Bill Jolliff leads ARC’s editing workshop this Friday

Most of us don’t worry too much about a writing mistake or two. It’s what we have to say that really matters, right?

Well, yes – and no.

The bad news is that too many editing errors can keep our readers from taking us – and our ideas – seriously. The good news is that most of our errors are relatively easy to fix, once we figure out which ones we’re prone to make.

In this workshop, Bill Jolliff (Professor of English) will identify the 10 errors that professors are most likely to mark on student work, and he’ll demonstrate how to fix them.

The Academic Resource Center is hosting a workshop, “The Most Common Editing Errors – And What To Do About Them,” this Friday, Oct. 5, from 10:40 to 11:30 a.m. in Hoover 105.  

Questions? Contact Rick Muthiah (rmuthiah@georgefox.edu or ext. 2314)

A Pen that Records the Lecture While You Take Notes

Sometimes technology distracts us from learning; other times, new technology provides tools that can help us learn.   The Livescribe smartpen is an intriguing tool that might be useful for some students.  Using the pen, a student can record a lecture while taking notes; after the lecture, the student can tap on a section of the notes to hear what was being said when those notes were written.  Notes and audio can also be downloaded to a computer via a USB connection.

Learn more at http://www.livescribe.com/en-us/solutions/students/.  And no, I get no commission for any sales; I'm just sharing an interesting tool.

Using APA Format Effectively

Stressed out because you don't know APA style for citations?  Sue O'Donnell (Associate Professor of Psychology) will present “Using APA Format Effectively” in Hoover 105 from 10:40-11:30 on Friday, September 28, 2012.  Sue will cover American Psychological Association (APA) citation and reference formatting, along with several guidelines for writing in APA style.

APA style is the primary style required in many social sciences - psychology, sociology, social work - and is used in George Fox education and nursing departments.  Even if you've used APA style before, Sue's session will be useful since she includes information about any changes that have occurred in APA style.

Focus on Learning, not Grades

I frequently meet with students who express high anxiety over test-taking, either because they have difficulty learning course content or because they experience a mental block when they sit down to take the test.  Our conversation generally winds its way to one of my most repeated phrases: Focus on learning, not on grades.  I drive home this point with any individual or group I meet with to talk about academic success; whether on tests, papers, homework, or projects, I practically beg students to exert their effort on the learning process and to let go of any fixation on grades.  A funny thing happens for those who invest in learning – they generally end up with good grades, too.  Conversely, students can get an A in a class without learning much from the course.

What does it look like to focus on learning?  Let’s start with a commonly repeated formula that suggests that students should spend two hours out of class for every hour in class.  This standard will certainly fluctuate based on course demands and time of semester, yet a survey of George Fox students indicated that 70% spent 15 hours or less per week preparing for class (studying, reading, writing, doing homework or lab work, analyzing data, rehearsing, and other academic activities).  Given that a full-time load is 12-18 hours of class per week, most students aren’t spending sufficient time on learning activities once they leave class; they are spending about one hour out of class for every hour in class – half the recommended time.

So what?  If they’re completing their reading (a big IF for some students), turning in their homework, and taking notes in class, isn’t that enough?  It would be enough if learning was just a matter of jumping through hoops, but we all know that there is more to learning than checking off boxes on a to-do list.  Consider musicians preparing for a first performance, or athletes getting ready for the first game of the season.  Neither type of performer does a set of activities only once to achieve mastery; instead, new material is introduced then practiced...and practiced...and practiced...until the musician doesn’t have to think about fingering on an instrument and the athlete doesn’t have to contemplate the motion needed to shoot the ball.  The process has become so ingrained, so much a part of the person, that execution comes naturally; the mind and body have developed mastery of the movements required to accomplish the goal.  

Too often, students don’t apply to academics what they’ve learned about rehearsal and practice in other domains such as sports, music, theater, even video games.  Greater learning will occur if students complete reading, finish homework, take notes, and then review their material.  Some review might be daily, other review might be weekly, but by the time a test comes up, an effective learner will have interacted with the course content multiple times, reducing the need to “cram” everything into his or her brain the night before the exam.

In addition to conversations such as this, I’m available to meet with students to discuss specific learning strategies, challenges in particular courses, or other topics related to academic success.  I often refer students to other campus resources such as their professors, advisors in their major, enrollment counselors, the Academic Resource Center (the ARC), Resident Assistants (RAs), or the Disability Services Office.  As you interact with your son or daughter, encourage them to focus on learning and to take advantage of resources on campus – not just to get by, but to thrive as a learner.

"Sleep" and "College" are not mutually exclusive terms

For some students, "sleep" and "college" are mutually exclusive terms.  However, research indicates that getting enough sleep is critical to effective mental and physical functioning.  Don't short-change yourself -- and your education -- by taking shortcuts with your sleep.

The following tips are provided by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine to help students get the most out of their sleep:

Go to bed early
Students should go to bed early enough to have the opportunity for a full night of sleep. Adults need about seven to eight hours of sleep each night.

Get out of bed
If you have trouble falling asleep, get out of bed and do something relaxing until you feel sleepy.

Stay out of bed
Don’t study, read, watch TV or talk on the phone in bed. Only use your bed for sleep.

Limit naps
If you take a nap, then keep it brief. Nap for less than an hour and before 3 p.m.

Wake up on the weekend
It is best to go to bed and wake up at the same times on the weekend as you do during the schoolweek. If you missed out on a lot of sleep during the week, then you can try to catch up on the weekend. But sleeping in later on Saturdays and Sundays will make it very hard for you to wake up for classes on Monday morning.

Avoid caffeine
Avoid caffeine in the afternoon and at night. It stays in your system for hours and can make it hard for you to fall asleep.

Adjust the lights
Dim the lights in the evening and at night so your body knows it will soon be time to sleep. Let in the sunlight in the morning to boost your alertness.

Wind down
Take some time to “wind down” before going to bed. Get away from the computer, turn off the TV and the cell phone, and relax quietly for 15 to 30 minutes.

Eat a little
Never eat a large meal right before bedtime. Enjoy a healthy snack or light dessert so you don’t go to bed hungry.

See http://www.aasmnet.org/articles.aspx?id=659 for the full article .