The Nerd’s Word: Take the Lead in the Classroom and Become a TA
Most college professors effectively manage classrooms, but often need the help of teacher assistants. Teacher assistants help their professors with much of the work, allowing the teacher more time for instruction, administration and lesson planning. TAs provide instructional and clerical support for their professors and assist students in learning class material by using the teacher’s lesson plans and providing students with individualized attention.
Regardless of your major, having a TA position is fulfilling and allows you to learn something from your instructor and the specific course you taking in a whole new light. A teacher assistant role looks great on resumes and is an excellent experience to discuss in future job interviews, so how can you secure the job? All the Nerd to be of some assistance with a relatively simple four-step process…
from the Campus Socialite. Keep Reading >>
1 comment March 8, 2010
The Nerd’s Word: Center Your Focus on Your Campus Career Center
You may find it surprising, but many college students know little or nothing about a wonderful career resource that’s right in their backyard: the career center. Most every college or university has a career services office whose sole purpose is helping students like you with career-related issues. But despite the career services offices’ best efforts to market themselves, surprisingly few students take advantage of their expertise. And that’s a shame — because, as many recent (and not-so-recent) college graduates can attest, the career services office could well be the most important resource on your campus when it comes to helping you envision and plan for your future. The Nerd is here to inform you why a visit to your school’s career services office can be so beneficial. Here are seven not-so-obvious reasons.
from the Campus Socialite. Keep Reading >>
Add comment February 25, 2010
The Nerd’s Word: Be Selective with Your Electives
Trying to decide what electives to take in college can be difficult. And whenever you try to ask someone his or her opinion, the usual response is to take what you like. That advice may work for some classes, but not for all of them. If you haven’t already taken, for instance, a sociology class, how are you going to know if you like it? While you may have electives within your major (in some majors you have to take a certain number of prescribed, or required, classes, with two or three electives within the major as long as it’s a course within your field) many programs leave room for a certain number of free electives. These credits basically mean you can take pretty much anything you want. While your college may stipulate exactly what the boundaries on your electives are, many give you free reigns: in other words, the electives you take are up to you. The main purpose of free electives is to give college students an opportunity to explore, but where to turn first? Allow the Nerd to navigate you through the uncharted territory of choosing the best electives to suit your college experience.
from the Campus Socialite. Keep Reading >>
Add comment February 25, 2010
The Nerd’s Word: Tutor Others, Reward Yourself
Throughout my years in college, I used to tutor fellow students to earn extra money and improve my own understanding of teaching. Looking back, I realize that tutoring was not only a profitable endeavor, but also a gratifying experience. Being able to impart knowledge on my peers and seeing how they were able to improve their academic performance was psychologically rewarding. If you are looking for a way to get some cash and you believe that you have the skills to teach, then offering tutoring services might be for you. Tutors are always in demand on all college campuses, however to become an effective tutor please let the Nerd first spell out some of the characteristics that you will need to bring to the table.
from the Campus Socialite. Keep Reading >>
Add comment February 15, 2010
The Nerd’s Word: Study with Others, Your GPA Will Thank You
Have you ever noticed that when you explain something you’ve learned in class to a friend, you begin to understand it better yourself? This happens because when you explain, or teach, an idea, you need to actively think it through. And by thinking more deeply about what you’ve learned and then explaining it to someone else, you begin to understand it better. Studying with others in a small group is helpful to everyone because, as in the example above, you think out loud, share ideas, and learn from one another. It is said that “two heads are better than one,” so while studying alone may work well for things such as memorizing facts, sometimes you’ll need to understand more complicated ideas. And rather than memorize facts, you’ll be required to apply facts to solving problems. Effective study groups involve hashing out lesson materials together—explaining concepts, arguing about them, figuring out why one person’s answer differs from another’s—and in the process, you learn more than you ever would have studying by yourself. Read on to see why the Nerd is a huge fan of study groups…
from the Campus Socialite. Keep Reading >>
Add comment February 15, 2010
The Nerd’s Word: Distractions are Everywhere! Keep Them Out of Your Head
There’s no doubt about it, some of your classes and course material are so mind-numbingly boring that it’s painful. College students have always felt this way. Chances are, that agonizingly dull 80-year-old physics professor made his students suffer just as much 50 years ago. Students have always been bored, and they’ve always found ways to block out a professor’s lecture or to procrastinate on their homework and studying time. However, there’s a big difference between the bored students of yesteryear and the Generation Y college students of today. These days, the number of technologically advanced and tempting ways that students can ignore their academic obligations have skyrocketed. So with so many fun ways to avoid your work, how can you be expected to pay attention? Learning how to pay attention in such a gadget enriched environment is not an easy task, even for the best students. But the thing is, if you’re going to succeed in school, you need to learn how to resist temptation and pay attention. Unless you plan to pull an all-nighter every time you have an exam or essay assignment, you’re going to have to learn how to sit down and do your work, no matter what.
from the Campus Socialite. Keep Reading >>
Add comment January 29, 2010
The Nerd’s Word: How to Keep from Catching Z’s When You Should Be Getting A’s
There are so many different reasons why students have a difficult time staying awake in the classroom: late-night partying, juggling between a full-time job and school or getting ready for an early morning class. Sleeping in class can be problematic, because let’s face it – it pisses off teachers and it can adversely affect your grades. But, odds are if you are a college student then you are probably sleep deprived. Most mornings you just roll out of bed, stumble to the lecture hall class with your eyes barely open, and settle into a row of squishy seats in the classroom. One of two things happens next, you either spend your entire time in class struggling to keep your eyes open and fail to focus on any of the course material or you just fall asleep and waste both yours and the professor’s time. Here’s how to keep bright-eyed and avoid snoring away in class.
from the Campus Socialite. Keep Reading >>
Add comment January 21, 2010
The Nerd’s Word: When to Cut Your Losses and Drop A Class
The semester is well underway. You’re enrolled in the four or five classes, and for the most part things are going well. Then something happens. You’re asked to take on more hours at your part-time job, or health, personal or family issues rear their heads. Or maybe, you’ve just found yourself in a course where you’re struggling. Perhaps the class doesn’t interest you and you’re finding it hard to concentrate. Maybe the subject matter is one that you find especially difficult. Sometimes, it may not even be difficulty in a particular course that creates problems. You’ve just bitten off more than you can chew and can’t seem to stay on top of all of your classes. Whatever the reason, you are considering dropping a course. What should you think through in making this decision? What are the possible consequences of removing the class from your schedule? What will happen if you do try to stick it out? Take a moment and let the Nerd sort it all out for you.
from the Campus Socialite. Keep Reading >>
Add comment January 18, 2010
The Nerd’s Word: Get to Know Your Campus Library
I’m sure you’ve heard all about the vast amount of resources available in your college library. Although a lot of students don’t bother taking the time to look around and take advantage of what is available at their library on campus, the Nerd highly recommends that you do. You’ll be amazed at the work environment and resources available at your campus library, and I’m sure you’ll be able to take advantage of at least some of the resources available to you. Believe it or not, your college’s libraries are more than just great places to socialize. They’re treasure houses of information. How can you get the most out of them? Glad you asked.
from the Campus Socialite. Keep Reading >>
Add comment January 7, 2010
The Nerd’s Word: From Alpha to Zeta, the Lowdown on Going Greek
Parties, binge drinking, and hazing. If you’re only exposure to Greek life is through movies such as Animal House and Old School, then these are the activities that you associate with the wild and glamorous lives of frat boys and sorority girls. However, when you arrive at college, you will find that there is quite a bit more to Greek life. Fraternities and sororities are often very involved in student organizations and charity events, and like any close knit group, they have their fair share of tension and rocky interpersonal relationships. The decision to “go Greek” is a big one and not necessarily the right fit for every student. The Nerd is here with some pointd to consider before pledging with a fraternity or sorority.
from the Campus Socialite. Keep Reading >>
Add comment January 5, 2010
