School

Share Your Experience and Give Advice to New Graduate Students

School Stuff - Tue, 08/24/2010 - 23:15

Every applicant to graduate school and new graduate student learns that graduate school is different from college. How did you realize this difference? Share your experience as a new graduate student and offer some advice to students who are making the transition to grad school.

Share Your Experience and Give Advice to New Graduate Students originally appeared on About.com Graduate School on Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 at 05:15:06.

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Do Instructors Have a Role in Student Plagiarism?

School Stuff - Sun, 08/22/2010 - 23:12

Plagiarism is common place and on the rise among college (and likely graduate) students. Make no mistake, plagiarism has always occurred, but the wide availability of information from the Web makes it easier than ever for students to steal words and ideas from others. It's easy to attack students - and students are certainly blameworthy, but do instructors have a role in this problem? What are professors' responsibilities, if any, regarding student plagiarism?

Honestly, student plagiarism is something I struggle with in my own classes. Upon discovery many students claim ignorance, that they had no clue that cutting and pasting information from articles and books on the Internet is wrong. In my own syllabi I emphasize that ignorance is no excuse. After all, students should graduate high school and college understanding the scope and seriousness of plagiarism. Right? Is it my responsibility to educate students about plagiarism (I don't teach English)? My colleagues often vehemently respond "No!" I've gone back and forth. Some semesters I teach about plagiarism and others I don't. I've never made comparisons or drawn conclusions. That said, last semester I did not teach about plagiarism and I experienced several very serious instances. But I'm not convinced that explaining the scope of plagiarism and how to appropriately paraphrase will keep students from the most blatant offenses -- cutting and pasting entire papers from paper mill sites (as occurred last semester). So, I'm torn. Can professors assume that students have an grasp of plagiarism and that some choose to take their chances?

Also see: Detecting Plagiarism

Do Instructors Have a Role in Student Plagiarism? originally appeared on About.com Graduate School on Monday, August 23rd, 2010 at 05:12:08.

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Maintain a Calendar

School Stuff - Thu, 08/19/2010 - 23:07

When students ask me what's the first thing they can do to succeed  in school, I reply: Get organized. When most people consider the concept of getting organized they think of clearing out physical clutter. Cleaning under beds, organizing drawers, creating files to sort papers are all the sorts of things that come to mind. Certainly that's a critical part of getting organized, but we also must organize our tasks, priorities, and use of time.

Knowing what you need to do is the first step in getting organized. Make lists for personal tasks, class-related tasks, course assignment tasks, and so on.  Then allocate time to each task.   Create daily and weekly (and perhaps monthly) to-do lists. Create and maintain an academic calendar. List exam dates, assignment dates, holidays, and your own personal deadlines. Keep your calendar updated and revise it as needed. Here's a 2010-2011 academic calender that may help you get organized. If you prefer, you can organize your semester by week using a 1 page-per-week planner.

Maintain a Calendar originally appeared on About.com Graduate School on Friday, August 20th, 2010 at 05:07:33.

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ASAP: Run Down Your ASAP List

School Stuff - Wed, 08/18/2010 - 10:05

My classes begin on 8/30. Some of my colleagues begin next week. Professors, like students, procrastinate. InsideHigherEd's Rob Weir instructs us to run down and complete the ASAP List - the list of stuff that must get done now to ensure that your semester gets off to a good start. Especially good reading for new instructors and faculty (including graduate student instructors)

ASAP: Run Down Your ASAP List originally appeared on About.com Graduate School on Wednesday, August 18th, 2010 at 16:05:47.

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Writing Your Syllabus

School Stuff - Tue, 08/17/2010 - 04:54

If you're teaching a class this semester, preparing a syllabus (and reviewing and revising it) should be your top priority. During my college years syllabi varied dramatically across professors. Some prepared 6-8 page packets of objectives, expectations, assignments, and policies. Others distributed a single page with wide margins and large type merely listing readings that might be assigned (with no dates) and an announcement that there is a midterm and final on a to-be-announced date. As a student I found the lengthy detailed syllabus stressful but the one-pager ambivalent to the point of uselessness. So is there a happy medium?

Now, as a professor, I like to provide details but attempt not to overwhelm. It's likely that I'm unsuccessful. My syllabi have expanded and contracted over the years based on my experiences and goals. The syllabus is a contract. I detail my expectations so that there are no surprises later. Moreover, detailed policies make it easier to manage common issues like absences, tardiness, and missing work.

So what should your syllabus cover? The basics include:

1. Reading assignments and due dates
2. Late-work policy (i.e., if it's accepted, whether points are deducted for late work, how many points are deducted each day, at what point late work will not be accepted)
3. Attendance policy
4. Policy on academic dishonesty
5. Grading policy (i.e., how will students' work be evaluated? Weight per assignment?)
6. Test dates
7. Makeup policy
8. Classroom behavior (e.g., texting, cell phone use, laptop use)

Consider your syllabus a work in progress. As the semester advances, you may encounter issues not addressed in your syllabus. Take notes on these incidents and incorporate what you've learned into the following semester's syllabus.

Also see this student's guide to the syllabus which explains the common syllabus components to students

Writing Your Syllabus originally appeared on About.com Graduate School on Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 at 10:54:42.

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Learn Well by Knowing Yourself

School Stuff - Fri, 08/13/2010 - 00:03

We don't all learn in the same way. Some of us learn best by listening, others are more visual. Part of doing well in grad school, aside from doing the work, is figuring how to take it all in efficiently. It is not simply a matter of how much you study, but how well. Study more efficiently by knowing your learning style -- how you learn.

Learn Well by Knowing Yourself originally appeared on About.com Graduate School on Friday, August 13th, 2010 at 06:03:24.

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