On Course: Strategies for Creating Success in College and in Life - Softcover

Downing, Skip

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1133309739 ISBN 13: 9781133309734

Publisher: Cengage Learning, 2013

Synopsis

ON COURSE: STRATEGIES FOR CREATING SUCCESS IN COLLEGE AND IN LIFE empowers students with the tools they need to take charge of their academic and lifelong success. Through distinctive guided journal entries, Skip Downing encourages students to explore and develop their personal responsibility, self-motivation, interdependence, and self-esteem, and to make wise choices that create successful results. "Wise Choices in College" sections in each chapter help students develop the study skills they need to excel in their other courses. The 7th edition features expanded coverage of diversity, emphasizing the many ways in which people are different and how these differences often influence the choices they make. Other new topics include a discussion of academic integrity, how to thrive in the college culture, and a research-based section on the importance of developing a growth mindset. Plus, a new Annotated Instructors Edition guides instructors to relevant exercises and materials in the ON COURSE FACILITATOR'S MANUAL. Available with InfoTrac Student Collections http://gocengage.com/infotrac.

About this title

About the Author:

Skip Downing is an international consultant in the field of faculty development and student success strategies. Dr. Downing has earned degrees from Princeton University, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Santa Monica, and Carnegie Mellon University. He holds advanced degrees in English and counseling psychology. He was professor of English at Baltimore City Community College (BCCC) for 32 years. In addition to his role as an academic instructor, Dr. Downing created and coordinated BCCC's Student Success and Learning Community Programs. These programs teach students how to apply proven success strategies to achieve their full potential in college and in life. The College Success Program resulted in a significant increase in both student academic success and retention. Dr. Downing has made numerous presentations at national conferences and conducted faculty development workshops at many two- and four-year colleges and universities in the United States, Canada, Bermuda, and the Virgin Islands. Dr. Downing's teaching, writing, and consulting are all guided by his belief that the greatest mission of any educational institution is to empower its students to live rich, fulfilling lives. Since 1996, he has facilitated the On Course Workshops, intensive four-day retreats for college educators focusing on proven strategies for helping students become active, responsible partners in their education and achieve greater success in college and in life.

Review:

"I was approaching burnout because I had had enough of the excuses and victim mentality. On Course guides students to an awareness of their scripts and empowers them to change the way they approach their educations and their lives. This is particularly useful to students who are unprepared for college even though they have graduated high school. The victim/creator language and the wise choice process help students realize they do have choices in how they deal with challenges. When we get to Chapter Two in the book, students realize how they have been sabotaging their own success and usually make immediate and lasting changes. I am continuously amazed at how powerful this chapter is in transforming students' lives."

"My students consistently claim that they can relate to the examples in the book, and I am often amazed at the diversity of the population that openly shares this type of comment. This semester, I have been delighted to hear unsolicited comments from older students who found validation through reading the On Course textbook. "I thought this book would be for younger students, but reading it has really given me the validation I needed for being here. I deserve success just as much as anyone else." On Course speaks the universal language, as one student surmised. In my estimation, On Course reflects diversity without seeming to force it in an artificial way. It comes across as genuine to students from all walks of life."

About this edition

• Publisher: Cengage Learning
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1133309739
• ISBN 13: 9781133309734
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336