Unit 10: Interacting with Instructors and Classes
This unit focuses on how to engage in the learning process through interactions with your instructors and other students.Interacting with the instructor and other students leads to a full educational experience. Whether you are attending a class online, sitting in a lecture hall, or participating in a small group study, you will find that by being actively engaged with your instructor and fellow students, you will be on the path to a more successful college experience.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 5 hours.
Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- explain why it is so important to interact well with your instructors and participate in class discussions;
- explain why it is essential to attend classes and actively engage in the learning process;
- prepare for and be comfortable with participating in class;
- identify the best communication practices for asking and answering questions in class;
- actively listen in lecture classes in order to optimize your learning;
- adapt your learning style when an instructor employs a different teaching style;
- build a relationship with an instructor outside of class and find a mentor;
- write appropriately professional emails to instructors and other academic professionals;
- interact with an instructor in an online course and cope with the challenges that arise during online instruction;
- prepare for and deliver a successful class presentation; and
- work with other students on a group presentation.
10.1: Assess Your Current Knowledge and Attitudes
Complete the two self-assessments in Chapter 7, titled "Where Are You Now?" and "Where Do You Want to Go?" These tools, and the brief sections that follow in this chapter, titled "Interacting with the College Experience" and "Differences from High School," will help you measure where you are now and identify ways that you can engage in the learning process through interactions with your instructors and other students.
10.2: Why Attend Class at All?
Read the text underneath the headings titled "Why Attend Class at All?," "If You Must Miss a Class," "The Value of Interaction in Class," and "Are Podcasts and Recordings an Effective Alternative To Attending Class?" Be sure to complete the checkpoint exercises at the end of this section.
10.3: Participating in Class
Read the introductory text and the text underneath the headings titled "Guidelines for Participating in Classes," "Lecture Hall Classes," and "Teaching Style versus Learning Style." Be sure to complete the checkpoint exercises at the end of the reading.
10.4: Communicating with Instructors
Read this section. Be sure to complete the checkpoint exercises at the end of the reading.
10.5: Public Speaking and Class Presentations
Read this section. Be sure to complete the checkpoint exercises at the end of the reading.
10.6: Chapter Activities
Complete all the chapter activities in this section, including "Chapter Review," "Outside the Book," and "Make an Action List."
Unit 10 Assessment
Read this article about why and how to choose a mentor to enrich your learning experience while in college. Building relationships with one or more mentors can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your time in college. After reading about mentorship, you will be asked to carry out and reflect on the process of finding and interviewing your own mentor.