Raised in northwestern Montana, Jeffrey Christiansen moved to Oklahoma in 2001 and has been teaching courses in Political Science and History there for more than two decades. Currently a Professor of Government at Seminole State College of Oklahoma, Christiansen teaches survey courses in American National Government, International Relations, American History, and Social Science Issues through Film. He enjoys hiking, camping, cinema, and shooting sports and resides in Norman, OK, with his wife, two sons, and assorted canine companions.

It’s about a month into the semester and my students have just received feedback on their first major exams. For many, their score is a positive affirmation of their hard work. For others, well . . . let the gnashing of teeth and pulling of hair commence! This has happened in every course during my twenty-year teaching career, and no matter how thoroughly I think I’m preparing students or coaching them with study suggestions, the first exam always becomes a major decision point for students. I hear questions like: “What do I do?” and “Should I drop the course?” I also hear recriminations like: “I studied so much!” and the always elegant “Arrrgh!”  

I teach introductory courses almost exclusively, so many of my students are taking their first ever college-level course. Often, they don’t know what to expect. College is not like high school; students have a greater individual responsibility for their own learning, much of which happens outside the classroom. For many to this point, learning has been a passive experience that has “happened” to them, rather than a skill requiring active participation. Success in a college course demands many of the same habits that guarantee success in any field or career; I call these habits an “achievement mindset.” Adaptability, problem-solving, communication, and initiative are behaviors that I encourage my students to develop because they are behaviors that have lifelong applicability and usefulness.

Adaptability

The only constant in life is change. This refrain is as old as any in human experience, and every bit as maddening today as it was a thousand years ago. Learning how to adapt to change is essential not only to a student’s success but also to their general well-being. It is easy to get used to what is familiar; this is especially true when what is familiar is also what works. But when the “familiar” and the “easy” don’t work, what are we to do? We must change what we’re doing or how we’re doing it.  

When reviewing exams with students, I ask them to look at how they did on each part of the exam. Was there a certain section or question where they particularly struggled or where they did well? Did they do anything differently in preparing for that area than for the others? For some students, poor performance may simply be the result of not putting in enough time studying. But for many others, it isn’t that they didn’t study, but that the way they studied was ineffective. It just didn’t work. It has been said the definition of insanity is doing something the same way a hundred times and expecting a different result each time. So, if the student did well on the exam, stick with it. It worked. If the student did not do well, then I encourage them to try a different approach.  

Students will need to adapt their learning style to the course, or the course to their learning style. Learning isn’t a one-size-fits-all thing that is achieved the same way for everyone. This is something every teacher learns quickly, but that many students don’t yet realize. Learning new vocabulary requires a different approach than close-reading a text, for example, and every student is motivated differently. Before becoming a teacher, I had numerous jobs, and each one of them featured different coworkers, different supervisors, different working conditions, and different objectives. Each job required different things from me, and being able to accommodate and adapt to these different circumstances made me a successful employee.   

Problem-Solving 

Some problems can seem hopelessly daunting when viewed in their entirety. For students accustomed to easy victories or having others solve problems for them, it is important to remember the cliché, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” Every journey begins with a single step in the direction of your destination, and succeeding in college and in life is no different. In many ways, a college classroom is an excellent “controlled environment” for learning the skill of problem-solving, which has universal and eminently transferable application. Rather than thinking about how to succeed in the entire course, I encourage students to think only about succeeding in the next unit—or even just the next chapter—first. Don’t focus so much on the end of the semester right now but focus on the end of the current course unit. After that, evaluate your performance, adjust, seek help, and focus on the next unit. For many, this is a less intimidating and more attainable goal.

Communication 

I have learned over the years that most problems can be solved, or at least ameliorated, with better communication. I’m quite certain that I have been guilty of miscommunication with students (and with colleagues!) at times. We all have, and students are no different. I often point out to students who did poorly on the first exam how few of them utilized my office hours for help or emailed me with questions concerning the material. One of the most hopeless feelings is having a problem to solve and not having a clear idea of how to solve it. This is where it helps to talk with others and seek advice. Students who network with classmates for study help or who seek assistance from the instructor invariably do better on assignments, exams, and other assessments. This is no different than in any workplace; learning how to communicate and be social for professional reasons will foster success. 

Initiative 

Some time ago, one of my students gave me a coffee mug with the statement “It’s in the Syllabus” emblazoned across the side. I suppose I’d said that so many times in class that simply holding up the mug might save me from having to provide the same answer to so many questions. It is true that many of the questions students ask could be answered by more carefully reading the course syllabus. So much of what I (and most teachers) seek to do with the syllabus is to clearly communicate course expectations. This is primarily for the students’ benefit, as it makes the course predictable, and knowing what to expect allows the student to prepare. But doing so requires initiative. Do not be passive—letting things “happen to you.” Do not rely on others to initiate communication or solve problems. I have taught thousands of students, and I do not recall ever having to fail a student who attended every class meeting and frequently sought help outside of class. Understanding what is expected and being proactive in preparing for course expectations leads to success in the classroom and in life. 

While much of what I’ve suggested here may seem like common sense, it sometimes helps to be reminded of it. As with most things in life, students will get out of their college education only as much as they put into it. The habits of adaptability, problem-solving, effective communication, and initiative that we can learn in the college classroom will be useful through one’s life in various applications and endeavors.