As the beginning of a new term approaches, our lab director Prof Suzy Styles has a few words of advice through her own drawing of the Roadmap to Graduation! Here, she expands on the stops (and potential pitfalls) that students might face as they brave uni. Follow her Twitter account @suzyjstyles for more interesting tidbits about the brain, language, and intersensory perception!
START 💪
On the path to graduation, different people may encounter different things. Notice how the path is not straight? There are many twists and turns along the way.
Everybody has Real World Stuff outside of school that impacts the work they are able to do in school.
👉🏻Students can think about how to monitor these impacts.
👉🏻Faculty can think about how not everyone has the ability to reduce those burdens.
Everybody can lose their footing when unexpected things like illness, injury and trauma happen along the way.
👉🏻Students can think about how to communicate their needs.
👉🏻Faculty can think about how to respond compassionately.
If you are organised and lucky, working hard can put you in a position to earn YOUR BEST GRADE.
👉🏻Students can think about how not everyone is able to take this shortcut, and whether they can help others
👉🏻Faculty can think about how grades don’t necessarily reflect talent
Most people on the path to graduation will find themselves squeezed for time at some stage! What you do next depends on whether you have missed your deadline.
If the deadline has not yet passed, you have a chance to ask for help. Help comes in lots of different formats – study groups, you university’s study skills centre, the class TAs or even the student counselling centre. If you don’t want help you can always work super hard!
If a deadline has passed, and you have a valid reason for missing it, there’s another chance to ask for help!
👍It’s OK to ask for help!
👍In fact, please ask for help!!! Because it might save you from…
The FAIL-OUT PIT OF DOOM ☠️
👉🏻Students: Your main goal at Uni is to not fall in this pit on the way to graduation.
👉🏻Faculty: Help your students learn how to not fall in this pit on the way to graduation.
In summary…
Life can be hard
Some people are lucky
Be kind to yourself and to one another
Side note: Everybody looks great in graduation regalia! Let’s help you get that selfie ✌🏻
Footnotes:
Thoughts about compassionate teaching inspired by several great @bonni208 discussions on the @tihighered podcast
Thinking about how to help demystify the Hidden Curriculum inspired by conversations on the @TeachBetterCo podcast
Download for this handout is now available on @figshare! Click for high-res download:
🔗 https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare/11575644.v1