How College Works: Recent Episodes
Peter Hyland, Melody Denny, and Andrew Hyland
A weekly podcast where two professors and a high school teacher talk about how their jobs are different and what that means for students making their way through college.
We talk with a coordinator for the AVID program about what AVID is, how it works, and why it is such a successful program for getting students ready for college. You can find their webpage at https://www.avid.org/
We use a the themes of Rich Dad, Poor Dad (a book Drew read some years ago) as a starting point to discuss why you may or may not want to go to college, what our motivations were when we started, and how some of those didn't really pan out the way we expected.
We have a little fun using Google's autocomplete to answer common questions in the form of "How does college. . ."
We're back and spend our time checking in on how our academic years have been going with Covid and other struggles.
We discuss why students might take a gap year or gap semester and speculate about effects that could have on colleges with the worst case possibility of many student taking gap because of Covid. We are particularly speculative on these issues and not predictive.
We talk with a college junior who has words of wisdom and advice (new to us) on how to make the transition to college smoother and to thrive at college.
We talk about what office hours are, how we hope students will think of them, what we do, and what we'd like students to do.
We talk with a High School senior who will be on her way to college in the age of Covid and her mother about their concerns and questions, and we, of course, give advice.
We check in with each other about how the online classes are going. We talk about how our daily/class routines have changed (or not), what we hope and expect going forward, Zoom etiquette, and how working remotely has helped expose inefficiencies and forced some better practices for us.
We talk about what it's like working to get classes converted to distance learning on the instruction and technology sides.
We talk about the differences and similarities for Spring Break in High School and College, expectations going into break and coming back from break, and also what we do over Spring Break.
We go through the 10 things Brittany Lucas TV (https://youtu.be/KcJQoHCzLFM) wishes she knew before going to college. We give our perspective on her answers, most of which we agree with, some for different reasons.
We talk with an International Education Coordinator and find that there are many options for where to study that don't require speaking a foreign language, don't set you back in your degree, and that there are options for funds to help pay for it. We also find that Melody and Peter did college wrong in this respect.
We talk with Jacob Kashiwagi about his experience with students and what it means to "go slow" in school and life, how you know you are going slow, what to watch out for, and what going slow looks like from the outside.
We take up the question from Reddit about how to be productive in college on days you don't have class. We talk about how our ideas on this have changed from when we were in college to now, give advice from out experience, and talk about setting a theme.
reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/college/comments/evasbo/what_do_you_do_on_days_you_dont_have_class_that/
CGP Grey on New Year Resolutions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVGuFdX5guE&t=13s
We talk about the mature of learning and how it means that we should have some level of discomfort. We also talk about how we have experienced this in our lives and some ways to determine if our discomfort is from ourselves, the instructor, or the material.
The article mentioned is this one: https://edu.rsc.org/opinion/in-pursuit-of-discomfort/4010955.article#.XiZV6zCYLiM.twitter
We talk about what we do/did on our first day of class and some of the work that goes into preparing for that. We also try to set students' expectations for what is reasonable on the first day of a class.
We discuss the differences between a liberal arts education and other forms or philosophies of education, its history, what it means, what we think the point of it is, and why we think it is important.
We talk about the end of semester feedback that students give college professors, similar feedback that high school teachers might get, who reads the feedback, what purpose it has, and some tips for making sure that your professor will take what you have to say seriously.
We talk about the myth that motivation as important to get things done, the difference between motivation and will power, some ways we think about getting things done, and some pitfalls we try to avoid.
We discuss our experiences with working in high school and college including some different types of work and what those mean for a student. We also break down what workstudy is, who funds it, as well as some things to look out for while working on workstudy.
We talk about how stress affects out thinking and how mindfulness combats that. We also discuss the difference between mindfulness and "checking out" and areas in our lives where we find mindfulness.
We (with a guest!) talk through a reddit post about failing the first Bio exam. https://www.reddit.com/r/college/comments/dbbxxi/got_a_46100_on_my_first_exam_thats_related_to_my/ We talk about the advice that was given, give some of our own, and discuss some strategies if you are in this situation.
We talk about an episode of The Hidden Brain on finding meaning in work and relate that to finding meaning in the classes we took in college. It turns out that meaning doesn't need to be stumbled upon and that we can create meaning for ourselves. We see echoes of this in courses we took at undergraduates in both major and non-major classes. Hidden Brain link: https://www.npr.org/2019/09/12/760255265/finding-meaning-at-work-how-we-shape-and-think-about-our-jobs
We talk about how students that need help are identified in high school and college, what information a high school teachers and professors might have, what actions we could take, and the philosophy behind these.
We talk about our work loads at the start of the semester, how we organize our work, and some advice for students coming to college.
We talk with a student finishing her first year about her successes and difficulties and how college matched up with her expectations.
We talk about exams, how high school and college teachers think about what exams are for and what types of questions should be on them. We also discuss accommodations for exams and how we approach writing exams.
We talk with two high school councelors about what their job entails, how it differs from a college academic adviser, and how expectations and responsibilities change as students move into college.
We talk about what college sports are like and how they differ from high school sports. We also cover differences in expectations in academics, athletics, and communication.
We go through a slate article on what to ask about during a campus visit and give our take on each of the questions.
https://slate.com/human-interest/2019/03/best-questions-college-tour.html
We talk about what might constitute a tragedy and what steps students should take. We also discuss how we might handle a personal tragedy as professors.
We talk with someone who graduated more recently than us (9 years ago) about what was most difficult about the transition from high school to college and how he navigated that.
We discuss how we think about who needs to change (professor, teacher, student) and why. We also talk about how a student could approach a professor with the best chance of seeing a change.
We talk about some differences in how high schools and college handle their schedules, how that affects classes when the school is closed for weather, and how that affects our planning for our classes.
We talk about what's been going on and the everyday trials and tribulations of the college professor.
We talk about some recent complaints from our students and try to reframe them and their expectations as well as talk about the education industry some and what that means for our teaching.
We talk about the start to our semester, what our challenges are, how those relate to students, and how you can help . . . if you're inclined to.
We go through a list of things that stress student out from www.theodysseyonline.com and provide some comments and perspective.
https://www.theodysseyonline.com/what-college-consists-2017-students
We talk about what it means to us to mentor students, some things that help that to go smoothly, and some things to avoid.
We talk about what undergraduate research looks like for each of our majors and what students can expect if they are get involved. We also offer some advice on how to do that.
We go through a listicle from CollegeVine and break down how much we agree, or disagree, with their list of differences. https://blog.collegevine.com/10-ways-that-college-classes-differ-from-high-school/ @alicekeeler
We discuss the differences between High School and College midterm grades, what to do if you get lower grades than you want, and give some perspective about what grades mean to us.
We talk with our Vice President of Institutional Advancement about what that even is, what they do, and how it affects students.
We talk with one of our counselors about what going to counseling is like, what to expect, and why you might want to.
We talk with our Vice President for Student Life about what her job entails (basically everything) and what students should know when dealing with representatives from Student Life.
We talk about our own transitions from high school to college and how the habits we developed helped or hindered our first year in college.
We talk with our school's Registrar about what he does and what he can do for students.
We talk to Peter's PhD thesis adviser about what his job at a big school looks like and he offers some advice to college students.
We try to dig a little deeper into what different types of colleges have to offer and what went into our decisions when picking a college.
We talk about why students confession to professors can be such a problem for professors and behavior that we think should worry students.
We reflect on how slides both help and hinder our classes and how we try to conduct good classes.
We talk about some of the reasons we end up changing our classes and share some amusing stories along those lines.
We talk about our process of writing letters of recommendation, share some stories, and give advice on how to approach your professor, timing, and following up.
We talk about what technology skills high school and college students need, what expectations faculty might have, why those might be bad expectations, and some advice for dealing with those expectations.
We discuss the differences between political discussions in High School and college classrooms, why instructors might have them, why them might not have them, and some advice for successfully weathering them in a college class.
A recent conversation about note taking leads us on a discussion of why you might want to take notes (Exams), what you might be taking notes on (Slides), some strategies, and our own experiences with taking notes.
We talk about some of the issues we've seen student run into with scheduling trips over breaks and give some advice to avoid having to choose between a family trip and taking a test.
We talk about what Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism looks like in High School and College, what the different consequences are, and advice for avoiding them.
We talk with our coordinator of student disability services, academic advising, and student success programming about the differences between accommodation in High School and College, who can use them, and what led to them.
We talk about how students and teachers feel 10 or 11 weeks into the semester, what to do ahead of time to reduce the stress, and ideas for strategizing and prioritizing your time.
We talk with an old friend of Peter's about what it's like teaching at a Community/Vocational College, how the students are different than "traditional" students, get advise for dealing with Community College faculty, and why you might choose to go to a Community College.
We talk with the lady in charge of getting you to come to our college about what that process looks like, how it matches what is happening in high schools, and give some advice on applications.
We talk with our college president about what she does and how students should approach her.
Peter and Melody go through a BuzzFeed News article with lots of funny tweets about college vs. high school.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/stephaniemcneal/they-wont-let-you-get-away-with-this-in-college?utm_term=.yc5YlZl61&bffbnews#.tr0Xd9dvO
We talk about what we would like to see our students doing to start the semester off right: buys your books before class starts, let your professor set the class atmosphere, and read the syllabus.
Melody and Peter break down what it student entitlement means to them and field lots of questions from High School students. Materials we used: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9SyhzSQCj83UTgxNnBrZDM4X2M
Melody and two of her students talk about what writing in college is like and what to expect.
Peter and Melody describe some parallels and differences between college professors and high school teachers and answer a lot of questions.
We talk about what professors and teachers do over the summer and how students might be involved.
We talk with a real live college student about what she's learned since coming from high school and her advice for students coming to college.
We talk with our Director of Financial Aid about how you qualify, what responsibilities you then have, and, of course, advice on how to deal with it. You might also get to hear Melody and Peter sing.
We discuss different philosophies of grading, how each of us grades, and, as always, some advice for students.
We have a short talk about how High Schools are funded and how that compares to colleges.
We talk with the lady who handles the money about where it all comes from, how it gets spent, and we'll learn if Melody's students really do pay her salary.
We discuss what tenure is, how we get it (or not), how student evaluations affect it, and how we feel about it.
We talk about what a college's catalog is, what is in it, how it is different from course listings, the analog for High Schools, and how to use it.
Peter and Melody talk with their boss, Chioma, who the Vice President of Academic Affairs, about what she does, how that relates to faculty, students, administration, and what all that means for students when they deal with her.
We talk about academic regalia, the robes professors wear for formal occasions, where they comes from, how to "read" them, and some of our favorites.
We talk about a number of different degrees, what they mean, and some general advice about how select a school. And as always amusing stories from our lives.
We talk about what we mean by persistence, why we want students to have it, and some general tips on how to do it.
We talk discuss what collaborative learning means to each of us, how it changes as students progress, why we think it is important, real world instances of it, and advice on how to approach it.
We have guests. Librarians! We talk about what they do, what they can do for students, and how to interact with them appropriately.
We discuss what students might expect for access to their instructors in High School, how that is different from what Peter and Melody see as student expectations in college, and some tips for setting up or going to a meeting with your Professors.
We talk about what academic freedom means to each of us, how it differs between high school and college, and why that matters to how students talk to us about our classes.
We discuss student ownership of learning, what it means to us, what it ideally looks like, what it looks like in reality, and tips for students to take more control of their learning.
We talk about time management, how we try to help student with how our classes are set up, and what we would like our students to be able to do.
Peter, Melody, and Andrew talk about what they mean when they say 'student entitlement,' why student may be acting that way, and ways to approach instructors that will help them come across better.
Peter and Melody talk about different types of colleges like small liberal arts and research intensive. They also discuss why they ended up at a small liberal arts college.
Peter, Melody, and Andrew talk about the differences between what college professors and high school teachers do and how that can help students navigate college better.