Think you don’t need that in the workforce? Think again!

-Theresa Rametta ’10, History/Poly Sci Content Tutor

While browsing online for job openings, I came across this article on Helium.com entitled Top 10 Qualities and Skills Employers Seek. I found it really helpful because it gives you an idea of how to better market yourself on job applications that might set you apart from other applicants. In addition, it helps to put into perspective the importance and significance of the skills a lot of your classes may be geared to try and help you develop that you may not think are helpful. Trust me, they are important, and most employers that are worth working for will value them. Here are some notable qualities that stuck out to me that I have had to use in several of my jobs:

-Problem-solving skills. Maybe you developed problem-solving skills in math, or science or philosophy classes—but either way they are useful in any career setting. Whether you are studying to be a Nurse, a Teacher or a Historian, you will be faced with problems and you will be expected to solve them—simple as that.

-Communication Skills: Oral and Verbal. Whether you are sending a fellow employer or supervisor an e-mail, writing a report, speaking to a client on the phone, or discussing something with a patient, communication skills are crucial to success in any job setting. Yeah, the papers you’re forced to write for your classes or the presentations you are forced to give may seem useless now, but in reality they are helping you to develop and polish your communication skills. You’ll be glad you had to do them later on.

-Ability to work with others. This one was really hard for me to adjust to, simply because I am such an A-type personality and I prefer to work alone, but being able to successfully work with others is so important in any career path you might choose. Even if it  just means making your work environment more enjoyable, employers like individuals who can get along with others and are willing to lend a helping hand. This goes hand in hand with communication skills, but just as important.

-Eager and Willing to Learn. Individuals who are willing and open to learning new things and adding to their skills and knowledge base are the ones employers are looking for. So having an open mind and understanding that all knowledge, while it may not seem relevant now, is always valuable in some way, even though you might not realize it now.

Check the article out by clicking this link:

http://www.helium.com/items/543149-top-10-qualities-and-skills-employers-seek

Keeping these things in the back of your mind throughout your college career will definitely help you to become a more well-rounded and better prepared student—I know it has for me!

-Theresa Rametta, History Major, ’10

How to Tackle a Political Science Class with Dr. Long

 

 -By Theresa Rametta ’10

            As a college student, you discover some major differences between High School teachers and College Professors—most notably, college Professors are often given more freedom with their teaching styles. This was a big transition for me, as it is for most students, and it is often something that you have to gradually adapt to in the College setting. When I was a freshman, I took my first Political Science class with Dr. Long, and it was with this class that solidified for me the transition from high school to college.

            My first class with him was at first a little scary, as his teaching style can sometimes be a difficult adjustment. Regardless, I knew I had to figure out a way to succeed in his classes, since I intended Political Science to be one of my minors. After practically bombing the first test and struggling with my first paper for him, I eventually discovered how to properly approach his classes. While it was a challenging adjustment, it was a valuable one because I knew that if I could adapt to that, I could adapt to any situation presented to me in the classroom. Since a lot of you have come to me for help with his classes, I’ll share with you some tricks and tips I learned along the way that I wish I had known for that first class.

• Note Taking. Since Dr. Long’s classes are usually primarily lecture based, effective note taking is absolutely key. When I say lecture, I don’t mean the traditional type wherein the professor accompanies it with PowerPoint or writing on the board—this is extremely rare in his classes.

 

His lectures are literally just that—lecture. Often times you won’t be able to write down every single word he says on paper, but don’t sweat it—just jot down the major thoughts and important words.  He talks fast and doesn’t usually pause very long between thoughts, so if you’re not a fast writer, tape recorders are often very helpful (you can pick one up for cheap at any WalMart, Target or the like).

Once you’ve recorded his lecture, then go through it later on and copy it into your notes. I find this extremely helpful because you’re more focused on his lecture in class, and re-listening to it later and copying down major points will help you memorize the material better. This will make studying for the exam much easier later on.

• Exams. Once you’ve figured out how to effectively take notes in class, the next challenging part is figuring out how to prepare for the exams. They are always short essay based, and he’ll usually ask you to answer 4 out of 6 or 6 out of 8, whichever ones you want. This is helpful because it gives you the opportunity to choose questions you feel more confident answering and leave the questions you’re not so confident out.

 

The good news is he always hands out a study guide with all the information he wants you to know for the exam, but I know these can be daunting. How do you do with this huge list of names/dates/events into something that will help you prepare for an exam?? The following are some steps I go through in order to prepare for the exam.

1. Usually, he will give you the study guide two weeks before the exam—this timing is crucial. Before the next class, you should go through the study guide with your notes/tape recordings and create your own study guide from this. While it may seem repetitive, but jotting every point down in detail will help you remember the information, and he wants exactly what he said (or as close to it as possible) as an answer on the exam. Often there will be pieces of information on the study guide that you’re missing in your notes, but don’t panic—you have time to ask!

 

1. In most cases, he will reserve half or more of the next class meeting to review the study guide and answer any questions you have about the exam. This is your chance to fill in any blanks you have on your study guide—jot down his answer word for word and/or record it, and you’ve got yourself the answer for the exam.

 

In rare cases, he will give you the study guide the week before the exam. This is not an ideal situation, but there are ways of dealing with it. Go through the study guide as you would in step 1, but in this case, it is up to you to e-mail him yourself with anything you’re missing from the study guide. If you’re only missing one or two small pieces of information, he’ll usually answer it via e-mail, however, if they are more complicated questions, you’ll probably have to arrange for an office visit so he can go over the information with you verbally.

1. Once you have a completed study guide, review it over and over as you would study for any other exam. While everyone has a different study method, I find it helps me to re-write the study guide over and over, and sometimes making flash cards can also be helpful.

 

The most important thing to remember about taking an exam with Dr. Long is that he doesn’t like fluff—answer the question at hand succinctly because if you try to incorporate more information than necessary, you run the risk of getting a piece of that answer wrong, which he will mark you off for. Some of his essay questions can literally be answered in one or two sentences, but other times certain questions require greater depth.

• Papers and other projects. What he expects for exams is pretty much what he will expect for a paper—no fluff. He will however expect a bit more in terms of fluidity and clarity of expression. In some classes, usually in International Politics, he will assign a journal project. Most of the time, he requires you to pick one newspaper article per week and write a short, one page write up about it and how it relates to the topics you’ve discussed in class. The same to-the-point writing applies, but my other piece of advice is this: don’t wait until the last minute to gather newspaper articles, because you’ll never get it done on time and you won’t have the same quality to your work, and it will show! It is so much easier to do one article per week, and it will result in a better project overall.

 

 

Overall, Dr. Long is a great example of one of many different teaching styles you will run into and have to adapt to throughout your college experience. While his classes can be intimidating at first, they are extremely helpful to those interested in political science and foreign affairs, and the knowledge you gain from them is extremely valuable. My classes with him have been a good way to expand my horizons and get a greater variety of opinion and information from various political spectrums, making me a more well-rounded student in general. I hope that the techniques I have shared with you will help you be more successful in his classes. Best of luck!

Preparing for Dr. Callahan’s Socratic Seminars

How do I prepare for a Socratic Seminar?

 

Summary: This is a tip sheet to prepare students for Dr. Callahan’s Socratic Seminars. A Socratic Seminar is a dialogue to discuss a chapter within your textbook. You’ve probably already noticed that your book is different than a typical textbook. The Socratic Seminars will allow you to fully explore the primary sources provided. When participating in a Seminar, you don’t need to raise your hand. If you have a brilliant idea, speak up!

 

Preferably, the following steps should be completed several days before the day of the Socratic Seminar. Some chapters contain difficult primary sources to grasp, so it is in your best interest to do the reading ahead of time. Planning ahead also gives you time the night before to reread your notes.

 

STEP 1: To start reading, grab

-          your textbook

-          pen or pencil

-          a highlighter that will not be too dark to read through

-          sticky notes (These can be used if you’re hesitant about writing in the textbook).

 

STEP 2: Read “The Problem” section. This section is the general overview of the chapter topic or the typical Western Civilization textbook explanation. It’s also an awesome way to get a general feel for the context of the sources.

 

 

STEP 3: Read the “Source and Method” section with care.

-          Post-it/highlight/asterisk each area in the section when the author starts writing about individual sources. (You’ll understand why in the next step).

-          Whatever you do, don’t skip this section! The “Source and Method” section gives the reader the building blocks to understand the context of each primary source.

 

STEP 4: On to “The Evidence” section of the chapter.

-          These are the primary sources that broadly fall into two categories – written and visual sources.

-          Before reading any source, flip back to the “Source and Method” section to read the background information again. Just read about that one source.

o       When you’re all done with the first source, flip back to the “Source and Method” section to read the background about source two.

o       Then continue to read source two.

o       Even though it seems time consuming, it’s the best way to make sure you understand the background of each source. Another plus is that the information is fresh in your mind as you read the primary source.

            Written Primary Sources:

-          For written sources, note who wrote the source.

-          If you have a question while reading the section, write it down in the margins or on a sticky note.

-          If something shocks you, write “wow” in the margins.

-          Little notes to yourself give you more to look at when you’re involved in a fast-paced Socratic Seminar.

-          Try reading near a computer. If you have a word/term that is unfamiliar to you, Google it.

            Visual Primary Sources:

-          Don’t breeze by a picture source!

-          Take some time looking at whatever the visual source is and write what you see.

-          Ask these questions to yourself:

o       What does it mean?

o       Are there any symbolic meanings?

o       Can the picture be placed within a historical context?

-          If you know architectural elements or any other technical terms from prior knowledge, write it down.

 

****Remember, if you get stuck on one source, don’t stop and give up on the whole chapter! Write or sticky note that you had problems understanding a source and use that as one of your comments for the beginning of the Socratic Seminar. Try moving on to another source, and most importantly, don’t get discouraged.****

 

STEP 5: Read the “Questions to Consider” section.

-          While reading, think about the connections you saw through the sources.

-          Answer the questions mentally as you read.

-          If you find that you are losing concentration by only answering the questions in your head, write some answers down in the margins.

-          Focus on the questions from this section that make you cross reference multiple primary sources.

-          Try answering the questions from sources that you didn’t understand.

-          Synthesize the information!

 

Quick note: The “Questions to Consider” section is also to the place to start compiling questions if you are asked to be a leader of a Socratic Seminar.

 

STEP 6: Read the last section titled the “Epilogue.” It never hurts to get one last overview. Sometimes this section also gives a summary of what happened in history after the source material time period.

 

STEP 7: What’s next? Try revisiting your text book/notes the night before the Socratic Seminar. Read over your notes and highlighted phrases to keep the topic fresh in your mind.

 

 

STEP 8 (Socratic Seminar day): Generally, Dr. Callahan asks if the whole class— one at a time— could comment on the chapter or ask any questions regarding the reading. Be prepared for the question! Since you’ve taken such great notes, find two ideas that you found intriguing to talk about when it is your turn. Always have a back up for those pesky students who steal your first idea. If you have a question about a source, ask during this “round robin” time. Also, keep a notebook handy to write any ideas that your fellow classmates talk about that are unique or seem interesting.

General rules for a Socratic Seminar:

-          Reference sources!!! Try always giving specific information to back up your ideas, and say what page number you are getting your information from in the book.

-          Be courteous of other students and their ideas.

-          Don’t panic if there’s a long pause! Take that time to either add on to the previous topic or to change the topic.

-          Generally there will be certain people who take charge of the Seminar. Use their energy to get into the conversation. Add your ideas.

-          Lastly, don’t be afraid to speak.

 

Good Luck J