FOCUS on Community College Success / Edition 4

by Constance Staley

Overview

FOCUS ON COMMUNITY COLLEGE SUCCESS, 4th Edition, speaks directly to community college students, delivering strategies for navigating the unique challenges of juggling school, family, work, and living/studying at home. Updated with the most current research, this forward-thinking text continues to strive to improve student retention, motivation, and engagement, as well as offer proof of student progress and course efficacy through the Entrance and Exit Interviews. The fourth edition includes expanded coverage on resilience, with strategies for assessing and building resilience. A revised section on the importance of group work gives students the tools they need to successfully collaborate. Now available with MindTap, a fully online, highly personalized learning experience built upon FOCUS ON COMMUNITY COLLEGE SUCCESS. MindTap combines learning tools readings, multimedia, activities, and assessments into a singular Learning Path that guides students through their course. Staley, a leader in the field of motivation, helps students develop realistic expectations of what it takes to learn while encouraging and engaging them with direct applications and immediate results.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781305109575
Publisher:	Cengage Learning
Publication date:	01/01/2015
Series:	MindTap Course List
Edition description:	Older Edition
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 10.70(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Constance Staley is a Professor of Communication at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, where she has directed the First-Year Seminar Program for nearly 25 of her 40 years in higher education. An award-winning teacher, Dr. Staley is the author of a multimedia training package for first-year seminar instructors, as well as the ground-breaking resource manual 50 Ways to Leave Your Lectern. A well-known name in FYE circles, Staley is a leader in faculty development nation-wide. During a three-year leave from the University of Colorado, Dr. Staley joined an East Coast Fortune 500 company to design and deliver its management and supervisory training. She also represented the university as a Fulbright Fellow, teaching in the former Soviet Union in 1996. Dr. Staley earned a B.A. in education from Ball State University, and an M.A. in linguistics and Ph.D. in communication from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She is the author of Focus on College Success, Focus on Community College Success, and Focus on College Success Concise for Cengage Learning, and the co-author of Focus on College and Career Success with Steve Staley.

Table of Contents

ENTRANCE INTERVIEW. 1. STARTING STRONG, BUILDING RESILIENCE. You're in College Now. Earning a Two-Year Degree. Academic Professionalism: What Instructors Will Expect From You. Academic Professionalism: How to Help Yourself Succeed. Toughing It Out: What College Takes. How Do I Want to Be Different When I'm Done? 2. BUILDING DREAMS, SETTING GOALS. Who Are You? And What Do You Want? Spending Time In the System. How Motivated Are You and How Are You Motivated? Give Yourself an Attitude Adjustment. Ability versus Effort: What's More Important? What Drives You? Values, Dreams, and Goals. 3. LEARNING STYLES AND STUDYING. Go to the Head of the Class: Learning and the Brain. Take Charge and Create the Best Conditions for Learning. Multiple Intelligences: How Are You Smart? How Do You Perceive and Process Information? What Role Does Your Personality Play? Metacognition: Take Charge of How You Study. Apply Your Learning Style to Your Study Style. Apply Your Learning Style to Your Study Style. Becoming an Intentional Learner: Make a Master Study Plan. Sprinting to the Finish Line: How to Study when the Heat Is On. A Final Word about Learning and Studying. 4. MANAGING YOUR TIME, ENERGY, AND MONEY. Time Management Requires Focus. Energy, Our Most Precious Resource. I'll Study in My Free Time and When Is That? Schedule Your Way to Success. To Do or Not to Do? There Is No Question. How Time Flies! The P Word. Read This Section Now! or Maybe Tomorrow. Beyond Juggling: Realistically Manage Work, School, and Personal Life. Time Is Money! 5. THINKING CRITICALLY AND CREATIVELY. Rethinking Thinking. What Is Critical Thinking? A Four-Part Model of Critical Thinking. Becoming a Better Critical Thinker. Creativity: Thinking Outside the Book . 6. LEARNING ONLINE. Taking Online Classes: E-Learning versus C-Learning. Technology Skills: Wireless, Windowed, Webbed, and Wikied. Research Skills and Your College Success ... Information Literacy and Your College Success. Downloading Your Workload: The Easy Way Out? 7. ENGAGING, LISTENING, AND NOTE-TAKING IN CLASS. Get Engaged in Class. Listening with Focus. Turn Listening Skills into Note-Taking Skills. Different Strokes for Different Folks: Note-Taking by the System and Subject. Ask and You Shall Receive. Using Lecture Notes. 8. READING, WRITING, AND PRESENTING. Who Needs to Read? Build Your Reading Skills. Read Right! Writing as a Process. 9. MEMORY SKILLS AND TAKING TESTS. Twenty Ways to Master Your Memory. Testing 1, 2, 3 Show What You Know. Before the Test: Prepare Carefully. During the Test: Focus and Work Hard. Taking Objective Tests. Taking Subjective Essay Tests. Don't Cheat Yourself! After the Test: Continue to Learn. 10. WORKING IN GROUPS, VALUING DIVERSITY. The Heart of College Success. What Is Emotional Intelligence? Can Emotional Intelligence Be Improved? Communicating in Groups: Soft Skills Are Hard! The Top 10 Rules of Responsible Group Membership. Communicating in Important Relationships. Managing Conflict: Life Is Not a Sitcom. Diversity Makes a Difference. Appreciate the American Mosaic. What's Your CQ? Think Globally; Act Locally. 11. CHOOSING A COLLEGE MAJOR AND CAREER. What's the Connection? How to Choose a Major and a Career. 12. CREATING YOUR FUTURE. What's the Next Step? Launching a Career: Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan. Continuing Your Education. Put What You've Learned to Good Use: Ten Things Employers Hope You Will Learn in College. What Ifs. My, How You've Grown! Goodbye and Good Luck! EXIT INTERVIEW.

Editorial Reviews

[MindTap] is student-friendly. There are different ways that students can find the subject matter engaging by catering to their learning preference styles. It is content-driven. There is a host of information which is well laid out and brings about a higher level of understanding, which encourages time for reflection and application, which is an ongoing process throughout the textbook.

Customizing [MindTap] to only include what I want is a huge thing to me. Too many programs contain so much that I never use. It is confusing for the students and they often get lost in the material. I like all the attempts of engagement that have been included. Lots of opportunities for students to reflect and answer questions.

From the Publisher