Notes From The Edge - Military Times Edge

Ever know a fellow student who religiously highlighted what seemed like every single word in his notes and textbooks while studying? What about the one who crammed hand-written notes into every available margin of a book?

Some students study from notes they have copied onto flashcards. Still others listen to recordings of themselves reading key points from class lectures and their notes.

With all the different ways to study, how can you decide which method is best? The truth is, there is no right or wrong way to study. It’s not so much about what is best as it is about what is best for you.

“There are a million things people do to study effectively,” said Bob Kizlik, a former college professor and developer of the ADPRIMA instructional system and Web site.

Before deciding on a method to employ, Kizlik advises you to consider whether you are an auditory learner (you learn best when you hear what you are studying) or a visual learner (you learn best when you see what you are studying).

“Nobody is 100 percent either-or, but you have a preference for one or the other,” Kizlik said. “My feeling is that when time is so precious, people need to play to their strengths, not their weaknesses.”

About.com has a great article on learning styles that can help you determine what type of learner you are and aid you in developing effective study habits based on your outcome.

In grad school, I had a professor who would keep tick marks beside students’ names, indicating how often each person contributed to class discussions. Those with too few marks would receive a low grade for class participation, which counted for 20 percent of the final grade.

I suppose it was one way of ensuring students were doing their homework, so to speak. But, more often than not, this subtle intimidation tactic would backfire. Instead of focusing on the subject matter, my classmates and I became nervously obsessed with trying to count the ticks made by our professor’s hand.

Talk to anyone who has been to college, and, chances are, they have at least one such horrifying tale of a professor from hell. But for every story of a bad professor, there likely are more about the good ones.

Still, professors can be a pretty intimidating lot, especially if it’s been awhile since you’ve ventured into a classroom. If you’re preparing to start college, or return to the classroom after some time away, don’t spend an entire semester living in fear of the person standing at the front of the room. With planning and initiative, you can weed out the “bad” professors and ensure your name and face are known to the good ones.

Avoiding the jerks on a faculty can be as easy as getting advance word from peers about what different professors are like, according to Carl Thum, director of the Academic Skills Center at Dartmouth. Ask friends or people in your program for advice about whom to take and whom to avoid. Web sites like RateMyProfessors.com even allow students to get the virtual word out about good and not-so-good instructors.

Once you’re in a class, get to know your professor, said Thum, who notes that many of his fellow professors complain that students rarely come to talk to them. Relay your hopes and fears. Tell the professor that you’ve been out of school for years, or that you’re attending school and working full-time. “Go in and just sort of put it out there,” he said.

Get to know at least one of your professors each semester, Thum recommends. “You don’t have to become best buddies. Go sit down with them, and chat a few minutes.”

Ever come across something and realize you’ve stumbled upon greatness? I recently had such a moment when I found an excellent education blog called Study Hacks.

Run by Cal Newport, an MIT graduate student and author of the books “How to Become a Straight-A Student” and “How to Win at College,” Study Hacks is so good, it makes me want to go back to college. OK, not really. But it does make me wish Newport had been around while I was on my own academic journey.

I found Study Hacks while I was working on an upcoming story for EDGE. I interviewed Newport for the story, then spent a couple of hours exploring his blog — some of it for research, but mostly for my own enjoyment.

Although I am almost a decade removed from my own higher-education experience, I had many “Aha” moments where I could still recall with perfect clarity making the very missteps Newport counsels against in his blog. Indeed, the goal behind Study Hacks is to teach students how to do well in school without burning out.

I think it’s extremely rare to find a blog that is informative, well written and a fun read. This one is all three. Simply put, if you are in college, or planning to go, you must read Study Hacks. It’s that good.

In my last post, I wrote about the using the summer months to prepare for college. In this follow-up, I’d like to specifically address online learning.

Popular among many in uniform, online learning requires its own somewhat unique set of preparations to ensure student success.

Don’t wait until the last minute and expect to just log on to your computer and cruise into the virtual classroom. Get some beginner’s tips on ensuring a successful start to your online education in this article I wrote some time ago.

Nail down the specifics with these gems from eLearners.com and eLearnPortal.com.

The official start to summer is right around the corner. For students beginning college in the fall, the coming months will be filled with many preparations.

If you are in uniform or have served, chances are good that you are at least a few years removed from your last classroom experience. You’re probably nervous about what to expect and anxious about what you need for college.

And if you’ve done a cursory amount of research, you also may be discouraged. A great deal of information exists about preparing for college. Too bad much of it exists for kids who are heading to school right after high school graduation.

Fortunately, there are several good resources on the Web for so-called “nontraditional students.” Perhaps the best of these is StudentsOver30.com, which bills itself as “the ultimate resource guide for nontraditional students” and, indeed, the site answers a lot of questions on everything from what to wear and how to get along with your younger classmates to what classes to take and what you can “do” after college with various majors.

The Non-Traditional Student site offers practical advice and links to nontraditional student groups around the nation. There’s even a Facebook group dedicated to nontraditional student support.

Finally, as always, if you don’t find the answers to your college questions online or in a book, ask someone at your school. You’ve all heard that there is no such thing as a dumb question. It’s cliche, but true.

Going to college while on active duty was impossible for former Marine Sgt. Lance Zaal, so the 24-year-old William & Mary senior made up for lost time when he left uniform.

Saving up three months of leave prior to his August 2006 separation date, Zaal returned from a tour in Iraq that May and started summer school at the Williamsburg, Va., college less than three weeks later.

Attending summer school gave Zaal a jump-start on his path to a college degree. And while many military students might want to take a break after returning from a deployment or preparing to separate, the fact remains that taking summer classes can make the rest of your higher-education journey more rewarding and less stressful.

Some resources to weigh the pros and cons of summer school:
Suite101.com and U.S. News & World Report have great articles that help you ponder your warm-weather education options.

eHow.com offers a how-to guide on applying for those who decide to take the plunge.

Check them out for some great advice on whether you should use your summer spare time to hit the books or hit the beach.

Anxious to get the ball rolling on your new Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits? You’ll have to cool your heels a bit longer, but not much.

Applications for the new benefit will be accepted by VA beginning May 1.

Applications will be accepted online or by mail, according to VA’s education benefits Web site.

Early enrollments will let VA work out kinks in the process and make it easier to complete enrollment later this summer when the program is fully launched, according to an article by my colleague Rick Maze.

All active-duty service members are expected to receive e-mail notifications that the application process has started. Visit this site for information on how to receive e-mail updates to any of VA’s Frequently Asked Questions about the new GI Bill.

Final rules for the Post-9/11 GI Bill were published in the March 31 Federal Register.

By virtue of their jobs, service members generally are a very goal-oriented lot. It’s a trait that will serve well those who are preparing to start earning a higher-education degree.

I just finished a college roadmap story for an upcoming issue of Military Times EDGE. In reporting the story, I had the opportunity to speak at length with numerous military education experts regarding their must-do advice for those entering, or returning to, the college classroom. First on everyone’s lips: Goals.

Consider this goal-oriented advice from the experts:

“Figure out what your goals are and figure out how a particular institution is going to help you achieve your goals,” said Sean-Michael Green, author of the book “Marching to College: Turning Military Experience into College Admissions.” “See if (a) school will be able to help you get where you want to go.”

Ask yourself what you want to be “when you grow up,” advises Charles Sidell, president of the Florida Advisory Council on Military Education. “With military people, they are very goal- and mission-oriented,” Sidell said. “What you have to do (as an adviser) is find out what their short-term goals are, as well as their long-term goals. If you focus strictly on the short-term, you might advise them a particular way and satisfy their immediate need but not necessarily what their long-range plans are.”

Figure out what you want your education to get you, said Julia O’Dell, president of the board of the National Association of Veterans Upward Bound Project Personnel and associate director of the University of Kansas Veterans Upward Bound. Some schools are strong in one program, others excel at something else. What you decide you want to do should influence where you want to consider going to school.

“A person has to do one of those Covey principles, ‘Begin with the end in mind,’” said Randy Plunkett, director of the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education’s Commission on Military Education and Training. Want a bachelor’s degree to be your “end,” for example? Then consider how you want to earn it.

As the Aug. 1 enactment date for the Post-9/11 GI Bill draws closer, service members and veterans continue working to understand the new benefit and decide which version of the GI Bill best suits their educational needs.

No easy task, given the complexities of the different programs and the differences in how they apply to individual service members.

It’s a well known fact that education benefits like the GI Bill are a primary reason many men and women join the military.

Also well known is the disturbing statistic that, too often, education benefits go unused by many service members. I recently spoke about this trend with Dr. Charles Sidell, president of the Florida Advisory Council on Military Education and program coordinator for Southern Illinois University’s Workforce Education and Development Program.

“A large portion of (service members) leave their education benefits because of unfamiliarity with the rules,” he contends.

One group is doing its part to make sure men and women who have served understand the new GI Bill and can make educated comparisons about which GI Bill program will best suit their education needs.

Check out Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America’s GI Bill 2008 Web site. It contains a benefits calculator for the new GI Bill, as well as a detailed section of frequently asked questions on everything from eligibility for the benefit to the merits of the different versions of the GI Bill. It’s an easy-to-use tool from a trusted source.

I just wrapped up a story for the May issue of EDGE about the awarding of college credits for military training and experience. The intricacies of the practice are often misunderstood by service members and educators alike.

Now, the American Council on Education, the higher education organization that provides recommendations to colleges and universities for the awarding of academic credit for this military training and experience, has moved to reduce confusion for service members over how the process works.

ACE is offering on its Web site a free PDF of “A Transfer Guide: Understanding Your Military Transcript and ACE Credit Recommendations.” The guide includes an explanation of the process, examples of training and experience for which credit recommendations have been made, and answers to frequently asked questions.

In my opinion, this is a thorough, easy-to-understand compilation that is a must-read for anyone who is — or has been — in uniform and who is considering beginning or continuing their college education.

Some key pieces of advice and information that stand out:

1. Research your prospective academic institutions. Schools are not required to accept ACE’s military credit recommendations, and many have strict policies that prevent or limit how many or what type of these credits can be awarded.

2. You probably won’t get as much military credit as you were expecting. Again, your school’s policy will greatly affect how much and what kind of credit you might get. Expect to earn more elective credits than core degree-program credits from your military training and experience.

3. You’ll likely receive more military service credits if you choose a major that’s related to what you did in the military, such as criminal justice if you spent your military career as an MP.