6.7 Chapter Activities

Chapter Takeaways

  • Actively engaging in your college education is essential for success, including attending classes, participating, and communicating with your instructors.
  • Students benefit in several important ways when they participate in class and feel free to ask questions.
  • Successful participation in class and interaction with your instructor begin with fully preparing for class and working on communication skills.
  • Networking with instructors has additional benefits for your future and may lead to finding a helpful mentor.
  • Both impromptu speaking in class and more formal class presentations help develop key skills.
  • Learning to work well in a group is an element of college success.
  • An active social life and social interaction with a variety of people on campus contribute to college students’ well-being and overall academic success.
  • Successfully interacting with others requires effective communication skills, including both listening skills and assertive communication rather than passive or aggressive communication.
  • To prevent or resolve conflicts that may occur in any social interaction, maintain an attitude of respect for others, be open minded and willing to compromise, and know how to work together calmly to resolve conflicts.
  • Diversity on campus is beneficial for all students, not just those from ethnic or minority groups. The wider perspectives of students from different backgrounds and the greater variety of teaching methods help everyone gain more fully in educational experiences. Socially, students develop a more mature worldview and are better prepared for interacting with a diverse world in the future.
  • Take a personal responsibility both for broadening your own social world and for speaking out against prejudice and discrimination wherever encountered.
  • Participation in campus clubs and other organizations is not only fun and a good way to reduce stress but also helps develop social, intellectual, and technical skills that may serve you well in your future career or other endeavors.

Texas Tech University Resources

Want to get involved and meet other students?

Center for Campus Life
201 Student Union Building
806.742.5433
www.campuslife.ttu.edu
The Center for Campus Life offers programs that enrich your Red Raider experiences by fo-cusing on student transitions, connecting you to the University and campus traditions, estab-lishing positive relationships with students and families, and maintaining collaborative part-nerships. The Center for Campus Life includes:

  • Student Involvement
  • LGBTQIA
  • Fraternity and Sorority Life
  • Red to Black Peer Financial Coaching
  • Spirit Program
  • Student Government

Student Union & Activities
203 Student Union Building (SUB)
806.742.4708
www.sub.ttu.edu
The Student Union Building (SUB) is a major hub for student life. It houses a Barnes and Noble book store, many restaurants, the University ID office, The Allen Theatre, ATMs, Copy Mail, and other retail stores. The SUB also has two information desks for student con-venience.

Center for Transformative Undergraduate Experiences (TrUE)
239 Drane Hall
806.742.1095
www.depts.ttu.edu/true
The Center for Transformative Undergraduate Experiences (TrUE) is committed to supporting and increasing undergraduate participation in active learning at Texas Tech University. Active Learning engages the learner directly in a phenomenon studied in the class-room at the University.
The Center serves as the centralized location for undergraduate students, faculty, staff, and community organizations interested in participating in the following active learning programs: Service Learning, Undergraduate Research, Professional Internship, and Study Abroad.

Student Engagement
Drane Hall
806.742.2993
www.studentengagement@ttu.edu
Texas Tech Student Engagement provides opportunities for you to connect to student support offices on campus and engage you with leadership & involvement opportunities through events including:

  • Red Raider Orientation
  • Hub City Fest
  • Raider Roundup
  • Majors and Minors Fair
  • Techspo
  • Tech Leadership Institute

Need more information about discrimination or misconduct?

Office of Student Conduct
211 Student Wellness Center
806.742.1714
www.depts.ttu.edu/studentconduct
The Office of Student Conduct oversees the student code of conduct and adjudicates referrals of violations to the code. The department conducts hearings for alleged violations, including concerns regarding academic integrity, civility in the classroom, and conduct that is outside of the parameter of acceptable behavior of a Red Raider

Student Resolution Center (Title IX)
115D Administration Building
806.742.1949
www.depts.ttu.edu/titleix/
The Student Resolution Center at Texas Tech University works to resolve cases of misconduct involving individuals and student organizations. The SRC assists and supports students who bring complaints and also facilitates a fair and equitable investigation and adjudication process when reports indicate potential student misconduct.

Risk Intervention & Safety Education (RISE)
Suite 247 Drane Hall
806.742.2110
https://www.depts.ttu.edu/rise/
Risk Intervention & Safety Education is a Texas Tech department focusing on prevention and wellness efforts for the Red Raider community. The RISE office provides a variety of services, educational workshops, and fun FREE events. RISE also administers the required Think About It course for all incoming first-year and transfer students.

*

Chapter Review

    1. List as many benefits of participating in class as you can think of.

      __________________________________________________________________

      __________________________________________________________________

      __________________________________________________________________

    2. Consider the instructors in your current classes. Which instructor have you spoken with the least (in or outside of class)?

      __________________________________________________________________

      Are you hesitant to speak up in this class—or to see the instructor outside of class? Why?

      __________________________________________________________________

      __________________________________________________________________

      When you have a question for this instructor about an assignment or reading, which form of communication would be most appropriate?

      __________________________________________________________________

    3. List ways to be prepared if you have a question to ask in a large lecture class.

      __________________________________________________________________

      __________________________________________________________________

      __________________________________________________________________

    4. List at least three benefits of social interaction with a variety of different people on your college campus.

      __________________________________________________________________

      __________________________________________________________________

      __________________________________________________________________

    5. What can you do to demonstrate that you are really listening to the other person in a conversation?

      __________________________________________________________________

      __________________________________________________________________

    6. Mark each of the following communication strategies as passive, assertive, or aggressive:
      1. Showing your very critical reaction to another’s ideas: _________________
      2. Agreeing with everything another person says: _________________
      3. Hesitating to say something the other may disagree with: _________________
      4. Being honest and confident when expressing your ideas: _________________
      5. Joking sarcastically about something the other says: _________________
      6. Offering your opinion while respecting other opinions: _________________
    7. Give two examples of how you can use time management skills to ensure you get your studies done while still maintaining an active social life.

      __________________________________________________________________

      __________________________________________________________________

    8. Write an “I statement” sentence you might say to prevent a heated argument with another student who has just told a sexist joke..

      __________________________________________________________________

    9. Imagine yourself working in your chosen career five years from now. Describe two experiences you may have in that career for which your current experience with diverse people on campus may help prepare you.

      __________________________________________________________________

      __________________________________________________________________

    10. What insights into your own attitudes, behaviors, or values have you gained through interactions with others different from yourself? Think of specific aspects of yourself that you have come to view in a new light.

      __________________________________________________________________

      __________________________________________________________________

    11. What’s wrong with the following statement? “People are what they are and you can’t change them. The best thing you can do when someone’s showing their prejudice is just walk away and don’t let it bother you.”

      __________________________________________________________________

      __________________________________________________________________

    12. As you read the chapter section on clubs and organizations and all the possibilities that are likely on your campus, what thoughts did you have about your own interests? What kind of club would be ideal for you? If your college campus happens not to have that club at present, would you get together with others with similar interests to start one?

      __________________________________________________________________

      __________________________________________________________________

    13. Give two examples of how you can use time management skills to ensure you get your studies done while still maintaining an active social life.

      __________________________________________________________________

      __________________________________________________________________

*

Make an Action List

Attending Class
I sometimes don’t go to class because

__________________________________________________________________

I’ll keep myself motivated to go to every class by

__________________________________________________________________

Participating in Class
I tend to participate most in this class:

__________________________________________________________________

I need to make an effort to participate more in this class:

__________________________________________________________________

I need to participate more because

__________________________________________________________________

Attending Lecture Classes
I tend to do these nonproductive things if I feel bored in a lecture:

__________________________________________________________________

I will work on staying more actively engaged in lectures in these ways:

__________________________________________________________________

Talking with Instructors Outside of Class
I have not yet spoken to this instructor outside of class:

__________________________________________________________________

Within the next two weeks, I will stop by during office hours to talk about the following:

__________________________________________________________________

Using E-mail
The following are my worst e-mail habits:

__________________________________________________________________

The following current instructors prefer student questions through e-mail:

__________________________________________________________________

I will follow these professional e-mail practices:

__________________________________________________________________

Friendships
Sometimes I’m not as good a friend as I could be because I:

__________________________________________________________________

I will work on the following things to be a better friend:

__________________________________________________________________

Social Interaction
Sometimes I have difficulty interacting well with these people:

__________________________________________________________________

I will use these communication techniques for more successful interactions in the future:

__________________________________________________________________

Balance of Studies and Social Life
I sometimes don’t get enough studying done because I am busy doing the following:

__________________________________________________________________

I will ensure I have enough time for studying by taking these steps:

__________________________________________________________________

Diversity on Campus
I admit to knowing very little about these groups of people I often see on campus:

__________________________________________________________________

By this time next year, I hope to be more culturally aware as a result of doing these things more often:

__________________________________________________________________

Campus Activities
To participate in this activity with a variety of people, I will look on campus for a club or group such as the following:

__________________________________________________________________

I can do these things to learn more about this club:

__________________________________________________________________

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RaiderReady: Unmasking the Possibilities of College Success Copyright © 2018 by Texas Tech University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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