Tip 1: The first tip that speaks to me is Tip 3: Participate. Participation counts as 30% of our grade, so it is very important. I always struggled with participating because I have social anxiety. This year I would like to participate more, whether its contributing my thoughts, answering questions that I may know the answer to, or even asking questions. I would usually tend to wait until someone else answers the question or asks the question. I would love to learn more and I feel as if I would not be able to if I do not speak up. I also feel I will get more out of the class by engaging with my classmates and professor. So I will raise my hand more often.
Tip 2: The second tip that speaks to me is Tip 6: Get To Know Your Professors! Since the first day of class, most of the professors have said one thing, if you need help with anything, you can talk to me. As I have stated above, I have social anxiety, so it is not easy for me to come up to someone and talk to them especially if I am having any problems. I think it is reassuring that many of the professors are eager to help. It eases my mind and I feel more open to communicate whatever needs I may have. Whenever I feel like I am having an issue that I can’t solve on my own, I will definitely go to my professor. They are there to give us guidance so that we may succeed in our field of study.
I agree with you Davina on how important participation is since it is a crucial part of our grades, as well as being helpful for not just us but, also our classmates by helping them understand stuff that, they may not be understanding, in the current section we are on. Meeting and getting to know your professor helps you build a good relationship which will help you in the future when you are in a state of confusion knowing that you can always come up to your professor and ask for help.
Lots of good points here — Thx Davina!
I understand the difficulty of participating. Even I have this intimidating feeling that speaking up will reveal that I’m not as smart as others or that I am asking something that’s obvious. Sometimes I feel this way in a meeting with my teaching colleagues and I keep silent. Later I will discover that some one says the exact thing I was thinking! So if we can all just give up feeling like everyone’s judging us, maybe we will feel more free to speak up and add our voices to make the discussion more lively in class! I hope so!