To Students Who Have Enrolled In My Class
By Joe Petruionis
So you signed up for my history class! I truly hope that you will look back on this course as one of the most interesting in your college career. If you enjoy reading about real people, their ideas and actual events, and if the opportunity to make sense of these ideas, events, and people in your own new way seems exciting to you, then you might already understand the fascination. For the rest of you, the discovery of that fascination is a worthwhile object.
If a secret elixir had no health risks and no bad side effects, and if that natural substance could be proven to improve your life, then who could resist trying it, even if it was somewhat habit forming? The recipe exists! A batch of interpretive techniques and research skills, applicable to any field of academic or professional study, has become a vital piece of the undergraduate experience. But this is no secret. The interpretive skills you will learn in a college history class can be successfully applied to any academic subject or profession. Learn them now and commit them to habit, and your life will improve, your thinking will be more informed, and your ability to express your opinions will be enhanced. Long after you have forgotten even the most important dates and names, you will retain a confidence in your ability to draw conclusions from research and to present evidence to support an argument.
If you are a student in a history "survey course," a class designed for undergraduate freshmen and sophomores then the lectures will emphasize broad time frames and large geographic regions. For those who may be taking more advanced history classes, you have probably discovered the excitement of focusing on an event, a person, or a smaller geographic zone.
So what do I have to do to succeed in this course?
You will be expected to engage with the lectures, participate in group learning projects, perform your own research, and create historical text of your own. And these “Liberal Arts” classes require lots of time and effort outside of class. You should expect to invest 3-5 hours outside of class for every hour spent in class. Since there will be no one monitoring the time you spend outside class, you must start your reading, research, and writing projects early and manage your time well. Most students who make sub-standard grades in the Liberal Arts do so because they fail to manage their out of class efforts.
The first step in succeeding at anything is being clear about the goals. Read the syllabus carefully. It details the goals and standards of the course, as well as the logistics of meeting these standards. If you have questions about anything in the syllabus, please ask me during class or by email. Additionally, any participant in my classes may email, phone, visit me during office or library hours, meet with me briefly before or after any class, or make an appointment for another meeting time.
There is one exception to this open door policy. Please wait 24 hours before discussing any grade with me. Do me the courtesy of reading my comments on your paper or test, thinking the evaluation through, and then--a day later--discussing your concerns with me in a non-class setting. I have and do make mistakes, fail to comprehend some things, and still consider myself a student. I will keep an open mind if you will help us maintain a civil and collegial dialogue.
Transfer the important dates from the syllabus to your calendar. Please do not expect reminders that an assignment will soon be due. So plan accordingly and start early.
Come to class, be on time and be prepared. Complete the assigned readings prior to class.
We all have our own systems for taking notes. My own method involves a spiral notebook. I write down the important names, dates, places, arguments, insights, and events described in each day's lecture. I do not try to outline the lecture (I can not write that quickly). So instead, I write one or two sentence summaries of events and ideas; including anything that will jog my memory later. I have known successful students who keep running outlines and others who take word-for-word notes in shorthand of their own. You will discover what works for you. It has been my experience that recording devices do not generally work for note taking. If a recorder is capturing every word, the student is usually not actively engaged in the lecture. And if you did not pay attention during class, you will probably never get around to processing the recorded version after class either.
Do not read passively. Learn active, critical, and systematic reading techniques. Please carefully read my advice on writing a college term paper. It describes reading and research techniques that will help you get more from your invested time. I recommend that you keep three kinds of reading notes: first, an annotated bibliography, second, an annotated timeline, and third, a reading log. Descriptions of these three tools are included in my advice for writing a college term paper.
But if there is one sure fire "secret" to performing well in any history class, here it is. Enjoy your subject. Students who enjoy a topic tend to perform better in that subject than students who do not enjoy it. Tell yourself how interested you have become in the people, their ideas, and the events under discussion. Engage with their stories. Imagine being laced in their shoes. Take sides in their challenges. Find some way to apply their experience as lessons to your own world. Like anything else, the more interested you become, the more you will enjoy the experience. And the more you enjoy the experience, the more interested you will become. The trick is beginning the cycle by forcing yourself to become obsessed with your topic. Kid yourself if you have to, pretend if you must. But become interested and enjoy your subject. The payoff is worth it.
