EduGuide asked professors at Michigan’s AlbionCollege for the inside scoop on success. When asked the question, “What makes a student successful in your classes?” professors from a range of academic disciplines offered up wise and helpful advice that every college freshman should read – and follow!

Here, Dr. Marcy Sacks tells students how to get ahead.

 

Advice from a History Professor

 “Students who succeed in my classes complete the readings with an eye to understanding the material, not simply passing their eyes over the words.  That is, the most successful students make sure that they focus on grasping the point of the readings rather than the small details.  The best students will think about the concepts in the readings and how those themes or ideas relate to the themes or ideas in other material that we've looked at in the course. 

One of the key differences that I find between history courses from high school and my history courses is that I focus far less on memorizing dates and names.  Instead, I stress analyzing the "whys" of history: why did things occur as they did, and what meaning did those events have.

Good writing is also critical to being successful in my courses.  If a student comes into my course not knowing how to write well, she or he needs to seek help either from me or from other resources on campus.  No matter how sophisticated an idea, if it is not effectively conveyed, it will not be understood.

Finally, successful students speak up with their questions, either in class or in my office.  Questions can range from the simple (such as seeking clarification of material or an aspect of a lecture) to the complex (such as trying to understand why one document appears to contradict some other piece of evidence).  No matter how superficial or profound, the good student will demonstrate the assertiveness and intellectual engagement to just ask.”

~ Marcy Sacks, Ph.D. (University of California at Berkeley)
Associate Professor of History, Albion College and author of Before Harlem: The Black Experience in New York City Before World War I (2006, University of Pennsylvania Press).

Michelle Schira Hagerman is Director of Training at EduGuide.