Table Of ContentLearning
AND YOUR LIFE
Essentials
of Student
Success
Robert S. Feldman
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
P.O.W.E.R. LEARNING AND YOUR LIFE: ESSENTIALS OF STUDENT SUCCESS
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ISBN 978-0-07-337520-5 (student edition)
MHID 0-07-337520-9 (student edition)
ISBN 978-0-07-737539-3 (annotated instructor’s edition)
MHID 0-07-737539-4 (annotated instructor’s edition)
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Feldman, Robert S. (Robert Stephen), 1947-
P.O.W.E.R. learning and your life: essentials of student success/Robert S. Feldman.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-07-337520-5 (student edition: alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-07-337520-9 (student edition: alk. paper)
ISBN-13: 978-0-07-737539-3 (annotated instructor’s edition: alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-07-737539-4 (annotated instructor’s edition: alk. paper) 1. College student
orientation. 2. College students—Life skills guides. 3. Study skills. I. Title. II. Title: POWER
learning and your life.
LB2343.3.F438 2011
378.1’98—dc22 2009046162
The Internet addresses listed in the text were accurate at the time of publication. The inclusion of a Web site
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Dedication
To my students, who make teaching a joy.
r
o
h
ROBERT S. FELDMAN
t
u R obert S. Feldman still remembers those moments
of being overwhelmed when he started college at
A Wesleyan University. “I wondered whether I was up
to the challenges that faced me,” he recalls, “and—
although I never would have admitted it at the
e time—I really had no idea what it took to be suc-
cessful at college.”
h T hat experience, along with his encounters with
many students during his own teaching career, led to
t a life-long interest in helping students navigate the
critical transition that they face at the start of their
own college careers. Professor Feldman, who went on
t
to receive a doctorate in psychology from the Univer-
u
sity of Wisconsin–Madison, teaches at the University
of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he is the Dean
o
of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. He
directs POWER Up for Student Success, the UMass
b
first-year experience course for incoming students.
P rofessor Feldman’s proudest professional
A
accomplishment is winning the College Outstanding
Teaching Award at UMass. He also has been named
a Hewlett Teaching Fellow and was Senior Online
Instruction Fellow. He has taught courses at Mount
Holyoke College, Wesleyan University, and Virginia
Commonwealth University.
Professor Feldman is a Fellow of both the American Psychological Associa-
tion and the Association for Psychological Science. He is a winner of a Fulbright
Senior Research Scholar and Lecturer award and has written some 100 scientific
articles, book chapters, and books. His books, some of which have been translated
into Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Chinese, include I mproving the First Year
of College: Research and Practice, Understanding Psychology, 9/e, and Development
Across the Life Span, 5/e. One of his most recent publications, P sychology and Your
Life, afforded Professor Feldman an opportunity to work closely with returning and
commuter students. It was through that experience that he devoted research and
development to applying the P.O.W.E.R. Plan to a text devoted to this underserved
and highly career-motivated student population. The result was this text. Professor
Feldman’s research interests encompass the study of honesty and truthfulness in
everyday life, development of nonverbal behavior in children, and the social psy-
chology of education. His research has been supported by grants from the National
Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Disabilities and Rehabilita-
tion Research.
W ith the last of his three children completing college, Professor Feldman occu-
pies his spare time with serious cooking and earnest, but admittedly unpolished,
piano playing. He also loves to travel. He lives with his wife, who is an educa-
tional psychologist, in a home overlooking the Holyoke mountain range in western
Massachusetts.
iv
fs
e
t
in
r
1 P.O.W.E.R. Learning: Becoming an Expert Student 1 Be
2 Making the Most of Your Time 30 t
n
3 Taking Notes 54
o
4 Taking Tests 76
C
5 Reading and Remembering 1 03
6 Careers 129
f
7 Technology and Information Competency 158 o
8 Making Decisions and Problem Solving 1 89
9 Diversity and Relationships 2 12 e
10 Juggling: Stress, Money, Family, and Work 235 l
b
A Final Word 2 63 a
Glossary 2 64 T
Endnotes 266
Credits 267
Index 268
v
s
t
n
e
1 P.O.W.E.R. Learning: Becoming an Expert Student
1
t
n
Looking Ahead 2 Discovering Your
o Learning Styles 1 6
Why Go to College? 2
Try It 4: What’s Your Receptive
C Try It 1: Why Am I Going
Learning Style?
to College? 3 PERSONAL STYLES 20
Journal Reflections Speaking of Success
f
My School Experiences 5 C’Ardiss Gardner 25
o
P.O.W.E.R. Learning: Looking Back 26
The Five Key Steps Key Terms and Concepts 2 6
e
to Achieving Success 5 Resources 27
l Prepare 6 Taking It to the Net 28
b
Try It 2: What Are The Case of . . .
a Your Goals? 8 Doubting in Denver 29
Organize 9
T
Course Connections
Looking at the Big Picture 1 0
Work 1 0
Evaluate 1 2
Try It 3: Examining the Causes
of Success and Failure
WORKING IN A GROUP 1 3
Rethink 14
Career Connections
P.O.W.E.R. Learning and
the World of Work 15
2 Making the Most of Your Time
30
Looking Ahead 31 Try It 2: Create a Time Log 34
Try It 3: Set Priorities 3 6
Time for Success 31
Course Connections
Prepare: Learning Where Time Is
Study Time: How Much Is Enough? 37
Going and Where It Should Go 32
Journal Reflections
Try It 1: Find Your Time Style
Where Does My Time Go? 38
PERSONAL STYLES 33
Organize: Mastering
Set Your Priorities 3 3 the Moment 38
vi
Work: Controlling Time 43 Taking It to the Net 52
Try It 4: Find Your The Case of . . .
Procrastination Quotient 46 Time Crunched 53
Career Connections
On-the-Job Time Management 4 8
Evaluate: Checking Your Time 48
Rethink: Reflecting on Your Personal
Style of Time Management 48
Speaking of Success
Edmund Fixico 50
Looking Back 51
Key Terms and Concepts 5 1
Resources 51
3 Taking Notes
54
Looking Ahead 55 Try It 3: Evaluate Your Class Notes 66
Rethink: Activating Your Memory 66
Taking Notes in Class 55
Try It 4: Practice Your
Prepare: Considering Your Goals 55
Notetaking Skills 6 9
Organize: Getting the Tools of
Notetaking Together 56 Taking Notes as You Study 6 9
Journal Reflections Career Connections
How Do I Take Notes? 5 7 Taking Notes on the Job:
Meetings of the Minds 71
Work: Processing—Not Copying—
Information 58 Speaking of Success
Geraldine Mathey 72
Try It 1: Determine Your
Listening Style Looking Back 73
PERSONAL STYLES 59
Key Terms and Concepts 7 3
Try It 2: Outline a Lecture
Resources 73
WORKING IN A GROUP 6 2
Taking It to the Net 74
Evaluate: Thinking Critically about
The Case of . . .
Your Notes 65
Not Missing a Thing 7 5
4 Taking Tests
76
Looking Ahead 77 Prepare: Readying Your
Test-Taking Strategies 78
Getting Ready 7 7
Try It 1: Complete a Test
Journal Reflections Preparation Checklist 82
How I Feel about Tests 78
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Try It 2: Measuring Speaking of Success
Your Test-Taking Style Sonia Sotomayor 98
PERSONAL STYLES 8 3
Looking Back 99
Course Connections
Key Terms and Concepts 9 9
Special Techniques for Dealing
with Math Anxiety 84 Resources 99
Taking It to the Net 101
Try It 3: Form a Study Group
WORKING IN A GROUP 8 6 The Case of . . .
That Sinking Feeling 102
Organize: Facing the Day of the Test 86
Taking the Test 87
Work: Tackling the Test 87
Try It 4: Understand Action
Verbs in Essay Questions 91
Career Connections
Tests for a Lifetime 93
Evaluate: Taking Your Own
Final Examination 93
Rethink: The Real Test of Learning 95
Try It 5: Take a Test-Taking Test 96
5 Reading and Remembering
103
Looking Ahead 1 04
Sharpen Your Reading Try It 3: Discover Your Attention Span
and Memory Skills 1 04 PERSONAL STYLES 1 11
Course Connections
Journal Reflections
Textbook Tips: Starting Off
My Reading Preferences 105
on the Right Page 113
Prepare: Approaching the
Try It 4: Mark Up a Book Page
Written Word 1 06
WORKING IN A GROUP 1 16
Try It 1: Discover How Advance
Organizers Help 107 Try It 5: Do-It-Yourself Acronyms
and Acrostics
Organize: Gathering the Tools
of the Trade 108 WORKING IN A GROUP 119
Dealing with Learning
Try It 2: Create an Advance Organizer 109
Disabilities 121
Work: Getting the Most Out of Your
Reading and Using Proven Strategies Evaluate: What Does It Mean?
to Memorize New Material 110 What Do I Know? 122
viii TABLE OF CONTENTS www.mhhe.com/power
Career Connections Taking It to the Net 127
The Job of Reading 123
The Case of . . .
Rethink: Getting It the Second Time 123 The Five-Hundred-Pound
Reading Packet 1 28
Speaking of Success
James S. Cook 125
Looking Back 126
Key Terms and Concepts 1 26
Resources 126
6 Careers
129
Looking Ahead 1 30
Career Planning 1 30
Journal Reflections
Thinking about Work 131
Prepare: Identifying Your
Career Goals 131
Career Connections
Organize: Finding Career
Starting Over: Once You Have a
Opportunities 131
Job You Want 149
Try It 1: Identifying Your
Long-Term Career Goals 132 Using the Web in Your
Job Hunt 1 49
Work: Creating a
Career Portfolio 135
Job Interviews: Putting
Course Connections
Your Best Foot Forward 1 50
Instructors as Career Guides 1 36
Try It 4: Interviewing 152
Try It 2: Cataloging Your
Personal History 138 Speaking of Success
Dr. Ben Carson 154
Try It 3: Creating a Résumé 142
Looking Back 155
Evaluate: Getting Feedback on
Your Résumé and Cover Letter 146 Key Terms and Concepts 1 55
Rethink: Reconsidering Your Resources 155
Career Choices 146
Taking It to the Net 156
Your References: Who The Case of . . .
Says What About You 147 Interviewophobia 1 57
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7 Technology and Information Competency
158
Looking Ahead 1 59
You and Technology 1 59
Journal Reflections
Could I Live without Technology? 160
Course Connections
Getting the Most Out of Instructors’
PowerPoint Presentations 1 62
Using the Internet
and the Web 162
Using E-Mail Effectively 163
Writing Effective E-Mail
Rethink: Reflecting on What
Messages 164 and How You Have Learned 173
Try It 1: Using E-Mail Netiquette 167
Fact Finding: Developing
Distance Learning: Information Competency 1 74
Classes without Walls 169 Try It 4: Work the Web:
Information, Please! 181
Try It 2: Assess Your Course-
Taking Style Career Connections
PERSONAL STYLES 1 70 Using the Web at Work 183
Prepare: Identifying Distance
A Final Word 183
Learning Course Possibilities 171
Speaking of Success
Try It 3: Get Some Distance
Jordan M. Miller 1 84
on the Problem
WORKING IN A GROUP 1 72 Looking Back 185
Organize: Obtaining Access
Key Terms and Concepts 1 85
to Technology 172
Resources 186
Work: Participating in a
Distance Learning Class 173 Taking It to the Net 187
Evaluate: Considering The Case of . . .
Your “Classroom” Performance 173 The Empty Page 1 88
8 Making Decisions and Problem Solving
189
Looking Ahead 190 Organize: Considering and
Assessing the Alternatives 191
Making Good Decisions:
Work: Making and Carrying
A Framework 190 Out the Decision 192
Prepare: Identifying Your Goals 191 Try It 1: Use Freewriting 193
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