by Ariana Dale<\/p>\n
One of the best-kept secrets of successful students isn\u2019t actually about academics. It\u2019s not even about time management. This secret is about respect and how you treat others around you. Your professors already want you to succeed, but if you show them that you respect them, they\u2019ll feel even more inclined to help you out. Here are some undervalued ideas to help you make sure you\u2019re showing your professors that you respect them:<\/p>\n
If you look at a stack of assignments students have turned in, chances are it\u2019s going to contain work with a wide range of neatness. What students often forget is that someone is going to have to sift through those heavy eraser marks, the wrinkles, or that chicken scratch. This requires more work for the professor to figure out what the student is actually trying to say. Show your professors respect, save them some time, and make sure you\u2019re scoring all the points you can by tidying up your assignments before you turn them in. If they can\u2019t read your work easily, they can\u2019t grade it properly.<\/p>\n
We all know phones can be a huge distraction in class. Your professors know this well. If you\u2019re on your phone and not paying attention (or even if you think you\u2019re also paying attention), you\u2019re telling your professor (and your classmates), that you don\u2019t respect the classroom. And trust me, I\u2019m sure your professor is probably getting pretty good at picking up on when you\u2019re on your phone. Don\u2019t think they don\u2019t know that you\u2019re using your \u201caccessible\u201d backpack as a shield. A professor who feels like she has your attention also feels respected, and frankly, that makes class go better for everyone.<\/p>\n
In grade school I was told, \u201cWhen you\u2019re done, pencils down.\u201d It was fun to be in a competition with my classmates to see who could slam their pencil down the fastest. However, this isn\u2019t actually the best signal to a professor. Writing assignments given in class are meant to make you stop and think. As soon as you slam your writing utensil on the desk, or even let it clatter haphazardly, you\u2019re telling the professor (and your classmates, too) that you didn\u2019t really care enough to be thoughtful about the assignment, even if you really did care. Send your professor the correct message of respect and put your pencil down gently.<\/p>\n
Getting a PhD is no easy feat\u2014professors spend a lot of time studying in their disciplines and getting credentials. Chances are, they\u2019re going to be excited to dig deeper with you and share what they\u2019ve learned over the years. Engaging in that academic conversation about their subject can show your professors that you respect and value what they have to teach. So, do the assigned reading, ask questions, even after class, and don\u2019t be afraid to share what you found meaningful.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What secrets do you have to be successful in the classroom?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ariana is the Post-Graduate Teaching Intern (PGTI) for the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). She graduated in the spring of 2016 with a B.S. in biology and a creative writing minor.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Ariana Dale One of the best-kept secrets of successful students isn\u2019t actually about academics. It\u2019s not even about time management. This […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[109],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-writeherewritenowwriteon"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5DI6r-yx","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/content.principia.edu\/teaching-excellence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/content.principia.edu\/teaching-excellence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/content.principia.edu\/teaching-excellence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/content.principia.edu\/teaching-excellence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/content.principia.edu\/teaching-excellence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2141"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/content.principia.edu\/teaching-excellence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2143,"href":"http:\/\/content.principia.edu\/teaching-excellence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2141\/revisions\/2143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/content.principia.edu\/teaching-excellence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/content.principia.edu\/teaching-excellence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/content.principia.edu\/teaching-excellence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}