Distinction Through Discovery

Distinction Discovery through Distinction through Discovery A Research-Oriented Orange Grove Texts Plus seeks to redefine publishing in an electronic world. A joint First Year Experience venture of the university Press of Florida and The Orange Grove, Florida’s digital repository, this collaboration provides faculty, students, and researchers worldwide with the latest scholarship and course materials in a twenty- first-century format that is readily discoverable, easily customizable, and consistently affordable. www.theorangegrove.org Bu ll er Jeffrey L. Buller ISBN 978-1-61610-164-0 Distinction through Discovery University Press of Florida Florida A&M University, Tallahassee Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers Florida International University, Miami Florida State University, Tallahassee New College of Florida, Sarasota University of Central Florida, Orlando University of Florida, Gainesville University of North Florida, Jacksonville University of South Florida, Tampa University of West Florida, Pensacola orange grove text plus Distinction through Discovery A Research-Oriented First Year Experience Jeffrey L. Buller Florida Atlantic University, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College University Press of Florida Gainesville · Tallahassee · Tampa · Boca Raton Pensacola · Orlando · Miami · Jacksonville · Ft. Myers · Sarasota Copyright 2013 by the Florida Atlantic University Board of Trustees on behalf of the Wilkes Honors College This work is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/. 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ISBN 978-1-61610-164-0 Orange Grove Texts Plus is an imprint of the University Press of Florida, which is the scholarly publishing agency for the State University System of Florida, comprising Florida A&M University, Florida Atlantic University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida International University, Florida State University, New College of Florida, University of Central Florida, University of Florida, University of North Florida, University of South Florida, and University of West Florida. University Press of Florida 15 Northwest 15th Street Gainesville, FL 32611-2079 http://orangegrovetexts.com Contents Introduction 8 Distinction in the Academic World—College Transition 17 Unit One: Becoming an Educated Person 18 The Purpose of a College Education 18 The Difference between Pre-College Learning and College-Level Learning 26 How Colleges and Universities Work 37 Using Your Resources 42 Five Essential Tools 51 Unit Two: Setting Goals and Evaluating Results 59 Identifying Your Learning Preferences 59 Applying Learning Preferences to Specific Learning Goals 67 Setting Goals: Being Intentional 72 Evaluating Results: Being Reflective 76 Learning from Unpleasant Experiences: The Case of Sexual Harassment 84 Unit Three: Conducting Original Research 93 The Nature of Research 93 Acquiring Knowledge versus Creating Knowledge 101 Quantitative Research 108 Qualitative Research 112 Following Appropriate Research Protocols 117 Unit Four: Creative and Critical Thinking 138 Creative Thinking 138 Critical Thinking 145 Critical and Creative Analysis of College-Level Material 157 Conducting Original Research into Critical and Creative Thinking 162 Critical and Creative Thinking about Campus Codes 167 Unit Five: College-Level Communication 182 Considering Your Purpose 182 Considering Your Audience 190 Distinction in Oral Communication 197 Strategies to Make Written and Oral Communication More Effective 204 Distinction in Multimedia Communication 213 Distinction in Self-Determination—Personal Transition 221 Unit Six: Developing Time-Management Skills 222 The Theory of Time Management 222 The Practicalities of Time Management 227 Resources for Effective Time Management 237 Best Practices in Time Management 246 Coping With Stress 251 Unit Seven: Making Difficult Decisions 276 Effective Strategies for Making Decisions 276 Basing Decisions on Your Core Principles 282 Making Decisions about Sexuality 289 Making Decisions about Drugs and Alcohol 298 Making Decisions about Managing Money 301 Unit Eight: Self-Advocacy 316 Interacting with Friends, Roommates, or Family Members 316 Interacting with Professors and Administrators 322 Emotional Intelligence 329 Seeking Help with Occasional Challenges 335 Seeking Help with Serious Problems 342 Unit Nine: Choosing a Major 353 What Majors Are and Are Not 353 How Not to Choose a Major 359 Suggested Approaches to Choosing a Major 364 Developing an Academic Plan 373 Selecting Courses to Fit Your Academic Plan 379 Distinction in the Community—Social Transition 385 Unit Ten: Diversity 386 The Role fo Diversity in Higher Education 386 Addressing Complex Issues within Matters of Diversity 395 The Similarities and Differences between Diversity and Multiculturalism 402 Addressing Ambiguous Issues within Matters of Multiculturalism 410 Research and Creative Activity about Issues of Diversity 415 Unit Eleven: Living in a Community 428 The Importance of Communities as Resources 428 The Residence allH as a Learning Community 436 Living/Learning Communities 444 Service Learning 448 The Pro’s And Con’s of Social Networking 457 Unit Twelve: Making the Most of Your College Experience 467 Networking and Building Contacts 467 Taking Advantage of Extracurricular Opportunities 473 Athletics and the College Experience 480 Taking Advantage of Co-Curricular Opportunities 485 Internships and Experiential Education 489 Unit Thirteen: Wellness 506 The Concept of Integrated Wellness 506 Physical Wellness: Making Healthy Choices 515 Emotional and Spiritual Wellness 523 Environmental Wellness 532 Occupational Wellness 537 Distinction in the Future—Transition to Greater Opportunities 541 Unit Fourteen: Documenting Your Successes 542 The Résumé 542 The Portfolio 551 The E-Portfolio 559 The Letter of Application 564 The Interview 569 Unit Fifteen: Transitions beyond the First Year 576 The Second Year Experience 576 Study Abroad 589 Graduate School 603 Professional School 609 Careers 617 Appendix A: Tips Known by Every Successful College Student 626 Appendix B: The Structure of a College or University 651 Introduction To the Student No matter what path brought you to the college or university you’re attending, you’re about to have an exciting, challenging, and rewarding undergraduate experience. • If you’re beginning college shortly after high school, you’ll find that the next few years will bring you many opportunities for increased independence. You‘ll have the chance to study disciplines not offered by many high schools and, in most cases, you’ll be able to discover social and extracurricular activities that are important to you. Being on your own can be a fantastic experience, but aspects of it can also provide unexpected challenges, and you’re likely to have plenty of questions along the way. • If you’re a non-traditional student, it may have been a few years — perhaps even many years — since you were last involved in formal education. The vast majority of your experiences will soon seem quite familiar to you, but a few things may have changed since you attended classes, wrote papers, and took exams. Perhaps you’re concerned about competing against students whose study or research skills seem a bit fresher than your own. Such a concern is common and understandable, but the experience you’ve had in life — together with your enthusiasm about new opportunities — will more than compensate for this difference, and you’ll quickly see how higher education today appreciates and addresses the needs of students just like you. • If you’re a transfer student, you already know a lot about college and how to succeed, even though your new institution will certainly have some differences from the previous school you attended. Course requirements at your new school may not be the same. Campus offices with the same name may handle different issues and concerns from those addressed by their counterparts at your old school. The mission and philosophy of your new college or university may be unlike those of the institution from which you transferred. Perhaps you even transferred because of these differences. You’ll certainly have plenty to learn in your coursework and new community, at the same time that you’re A Research-Oriented First Year Experience 9 getting acquainted with a new set of policies, expectations, and colleagues. And this book will help you do that. Beginning a new undergraduate program requires flexibility and adaptation from everyone. To help with this process, many schools provide a First Year Experience or College Transition course that’s designed to acquaint students with their new academic and social environment. Many years of research have

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