Cover: Understanding Your College Experience, 3rd Edition by John N. Gardner; Betsy O. Barefoot; Kimberly A. Koledoye

Understanding Your College Experience

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Third  Edition©2020  John N. Gardner; Betsy O. Barefoot; Kimberly A. Koledoye

ISBN:9781319107444

ISBN:9781319501952

ISBN:9781319107475

ISBN:9781319107437

ISBN:9781319543679

ISBN:9781319543655

About

Successfully transition to college—and prepare for a career—with the most practical help available.

Understanding Your College Experience empowers you to access the information and resources you’ll need to have a fulfilling and meaningful experience inside and outside the classroom. Get the practical help and necessary strategies you need to make good choices in college and begin your professional journey.

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Table of Contents

Part One: WELCOME TO YOUR COLLEGE EXPERIENCE


1: The Essentials for College Success

The College Experience

Exploring Purpose and Setting Goals

Self-Exploration and Career Planning

Academic Planning

Making the Transition by Connecting with Others


2: Cultivating Motivation, Resilience, and Emotional Intelligence

The Importance of Motivation, Attitude, and Mindset

Resilience and Grit

Understanding Emotional Intelligence


3: Managing Time, Energy, and Money

Managing Your Time

Managing Your Energy

Managing Your Money


4: Discovering How You Learn

How People Learn

The VARK Inventory

The Myers−Briggs Type Indicator

Multiple Intelligences

When Learning Preferences and Teaching Methods Conflict

Learning with a Learning Disability or Challenge


Part Two: SUCCEEDING IN COLLEGE


5: Getting the Most Out of Class

Become Engaged in Learning

Prepare for Class

Participate in Class

Take Effective Notes


6: Reading to Learn from College Textbooks

A Plan for Active Reading

Strategies for Reading Different Kinds of Textbooks

Improving Your Reading


Midterm Check In

Introduction

Mid-Term Check In Audit


7: Studying, Understanding, and Remembering

Studying in College: Making Choices and Concentrating

How Memory Works

Improving Your Memory

Studying to Understand and Remember


8: Taking Tests Successfully

Getting Ready . . .

Taking the Test

Types of Tests

Types of Questions

Test Anxiety

Academic Honesty and Misconduct


9: Developing Information Literacy and Communication Skills

Information Literacy

Choosing, Narrowing, and Researching a Topic

Using the Library

Evaluating Sources

Using Your Research in Writing

The Writing Process

Using Your Research in Presentations


Part Three: YOUR PATH TO SUCCESS IN COLLEGE AND BEYOND


10: Thinking in College

College-Level Thinking

Developing Strong Thinking Skills

Applying Your Critical-Thinking Skills

Bloom’s Taxonomy and the First Year of College


11: Maintaining Wellness and Relationships in a Diverse World

Understanding Wellness

Managing Your Relationships

Thriving in Diverse Environments


12: Making the Right Career Choice

Careers and the New Economy

Planning for Your Career

Getting Experience

Job Search Strategies

Skills Employers Seek

Staying on the Path to Success

John N. Gardner

John N. Gardner brings unparalleled experience to students as an author. The recipient of his institutions highest award for teaching excellence, John has over forty years of experience directing and teaching in the most widely emulated first-year seminar in the country, the University 101 course at the University of South Carolina (USC), Columbia. John is universally recognized as one of the countrys leading educators for his role in initiating and orchestrating an international reform movement to improve the beginning college experience, a concept he coined as "the first-year experience." He is the founding executive director of the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition at USC, as well as the Policy Center on the First Year of College and the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education (www.jngi.org), both based in Brevard, N.C.

Betsy O. Barefoot

Betsy O. Barefoot is a writer, researcher, and teacher whose special area of scholarship is the first-year seminar. During her tenure at USC from 1988 to 1999, she served as co-director for research and publications at the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition. She also taught University 101 and graduate courses on the first-year experience and the principles of college teaching. She conducts first-year seminar faculty training workshops around the world and is frequently called on to evaluate first-year seminar outcomes. Betsy is co-director and senior scholar in the Policy Center on the First Year of College and Vice President of the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education both in Brevard, N.C. In her Policy Center role she led a major national research project to identify institutions of excellence in the first college year. She currently works with both two- and four-year campuses in evaluating all components of the first year.

Kimberly A. Koledoye

Kimberly A. Koledoye is a professor of academic student success and serves as the academic student success program coordinator for the Houston Community College system. Additionally, she teaches developmental and credit-level English. Her work has made a tremendous impact not only on the institution but also statewide, as a leader of development teams for first-year-experience courses and developmental English redesigns. She holds a bachelor of arts in English, a master’s degree in education administration, a graduate certificate in rhetoric and composition, and a doctorate in higher education leadership.