I enjoy this work so much! Each day I meet new young people and learn something new about the world. I learn better ways to ask questions and add more types of questions to my repertoire so I can serve students in our short sessions.

Today I had two opportunities to offer the following advice to students in the summer Student Transition Program:

http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/professors-guide/2010/08/17/top-10-secrets-of-college-success

     Connect with your professor (or TA). The single most underutilized resource at college is the office hour, now available in-person, by e-mail, or by Skype. You might not have realized it, but professors are required to be in their office two to four hours a week to meet with students and help them with the course. Your tests and papers will go better if you’ve had a chance to ask about things you’re confused about, and, with any luck, received some guidance from the professor about what your thesis sentence should be or what’s going to be on the test.

Since there are fewer students on campus now, there are more chances to catch professors in their offices. I encourage students to take graded assignments to their professors and ask how to do better. If you are lucky you will have instructors who write feedback on your assignment. This is a gift and a valuable tool.

One method I need to practice more, especially when I meet a student who is reluctant or experienced with expressing himself or what he needs, is to allow the silence and then ask ” What’s going on in your head now?”.  So far, no one has answered, “Nothing”. One of my weaknesses is that I tend to impatient with taciturn or less than forthcoming individuals. I want to fill the silence . My strategy is to allow the silence and then ask a simple question. Another method is to glance at the clock and say, “How can we best fill the last 12 minutes?”.