Students' Advice to Students

David S. Goldstein, Ph.D.

University of Washington, Bothell

I asked some students (summer 1998) to provide anonymous, voluntary advice to new students of mine. Here, in no particular order, are their unexpurgated comments. I have reproduced them exactly as submitted.

I am grateful to the students who took the time and effort to provide this advice. I am sure that new students of mine will be even more grateful.

To read advice from the top student in my BLS 300C (Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies) course in Autumn 1999, click here.

To read my own advice to students, click here.

• Do all the reading.
• 1. Be in class. 2. Read all material. 3. Have good writing skill.
• That he is very good, there are no surprises. everything is outlined very specifically and assignments and reserve readings are easily accessible.
• Do all assigned readings & attend all classes. You will enjoy!
• Make sure to have good attendance.
• his class is interesting and fun. His assignments are good in helping understand & learn the material.
• Instructor - easy going, laid-back, nurturing.
• Make sure you come to every class. He covers alot of material, but, at the same time, he does it in a way that you are able to retain the information well.
• Stay on top of the readings. Take copious notes. Attend all the classes. Give yourself enough time to let a first draft of a due paper sit around for at least 24 hours so you can objectively edit it.
• Very enjoyable. Didn't seem like I would enjoy class too much at first, I was wrong. His grading is very fair & he is accessable for help.
• Professor Goldstein-Shirley really cares about his student's learning the material. He listens to student input & reactions seriously. He is efficient in posting readings on-line and makes himself very available for interaction with his students. Highly recommended.
• 1. Attend class - lecture is extensive & comprehensive. 2. Do the readings!
• I would make sure they knew to come to class every day and read all materials. Ask questions. The class is very straight forward and there is no reason not to get a high grade if you do all the work.
• 1. show up to class everyday for participation points. 2. take lecture notes! You can use them on midterms & finals. 3. don't get a low score on a paper because it is virtually impossible to raise it because he grades on points.
• Make sure to have an E-mail account and be familiar with how to use it.
• I would really suggest that if the student had any problems or questions to not be afraid to go and talk to you as it proves to be very helpful. As far as teaching & assignments, you're pretty thorough in explanation & detail - I would also suggest that students use your website for info.
• The assignments may appear to be easy don't be fooled. The criteria on which the assignments are based is high. Alot of films - pay close attention to details. Recommend that you want to learn about the topic before you take the class.
• Do the readings. Then make sure that your work demonstrates your knowledge of the readings. Also, when answering test questions make sure to focus on the exact question. Don't just address the topic the question relates to.
• The advice I would give is that the person should familiarize themselves with how to use on-line services, (i.e. internet, e-mail) That there is a lot of online work, the reason why I would like to have know b/c I don't have a computer.
• Technique is severely difficult. If you are prepared for grad. school you'll have no problems writing for him. Question his context in material that needs to be in papers. Question everything. The truth is out there.
• Good, effective teaching style. Willing to work with students on papers and gives clear outline of what is expected in papers. I wish I would have had an opportunity to take him more. Advice: *Read the readings and be open to new theories and ideas, and creative in applying them.
• Keep up w/ the readings and try not to miss class. I wish I had known he was such a good teacher -- I would have taken all his other classes. He truly makes learning fun and he's very thorough in what he teaches.
• Make sure you attend all his lectures & watch all the films. Take notes on things he emphasizes in class. If you need clarification on anything, ask him in class ASAP. Chances are other people will appreciate the clarification too. he is helpful & open to questions in class.
• The best advice is to attend every class, and take notes on everything including the films. Prof. Goldstein-Shirley will not spring surprize answers on you, so if you do the readings and come prepared yo should do fine.
• Contrast and compare readings are abstract and will require any student seeking to passing grade at least 12 hours a week of work. Attend all classes! Allow yourself plenty of time for completing assignments -- because analysis of material is more complex than a summary. Ask questions and form independent study groups!

Advice from the top student in my BLS 300C (Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies) course in Autumn 1999, quoted verbatim:

Plan ahead to stay ahead. Especially plan to complete all writing assignments a couple days in advance of due date so you have time to get it checked by the writing center and revise it if needed. Make use of all available resources, especially the writing center, the reference librarians and of course, the professor. Attend all classes. Be prepared to discuss all material assigned for that day. Take notes!

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