How to have a great Spring break without ever leaving town
With Spring break just around the corner, most students have already decided how they’re going to spend their glorious week of freedom. They’re going home to visit family, flying or road-tripping to see friends, or perhaps even making the more extravagant trip to Europe or South America. Then again, there’s always the predictable trip to the beach – Panama City or Tybee Island are popular spots for students in Georgia – or the somewhat less common but gaining in popularity alternative Spring break, in which students volunteer their time to work with various...
Read MoreAvoiding the dilemma of the “broke college student”
I recently read an article on honestcollege.com entitled “Three ways to avoid being broke during the college years.” The author, Samantha Rodgers, suggested 3 ways to make more money in college – tutoring, participating in medical trials, and doing odd jobs. While these are all good methods, I have to say that she missed a few things. At the end of the day, saving money is a simple result of spending less than you make. No matter how much money you make, if you are spending more than that you’re going to have financial difficulties. So what are some ways to...
Read MoreMaking the most of your study time
It’s that time of the semester again. After nearly a full month of relaxing over Christmas break, and then several weeks of light reading and assignments due now that class is back in session, we are finally getting to the first round of big assignments. This is the week during which many students have to juggle multiple papers, projects, assignments, and other such college-y things. It’s also a very stressful week for most students. Figuring out how to balance everything, how to prioritize it so that it all gets done but you still get at least a modicum of sleep, is a tricky...
Read MoreBe positive and be 31% more productive!
The end of the school year can be a stressful time for both students and professors, but as Shawn Achor points out in his recent TED talk, “The Happy Secret of Better Work,” stress stunts productivity. Our schools and institutions promote the common paradigm that hard work leads to success which leads to happiness, but Achor argues that this is backwards. Our brains change the definition of success as soon as we hit our target, so if we put happiness on the other side of success, we will never truly get there. In reality, success starts from being happy, not the other way...
Read MoreHOPE Scholarship Cuts and its Effects in the Classroom
In the wake of the Great Recession, governments everywhere have tried to slash spending. Unfortunately, education has not been spared from these cuts. In the past four years alone, the state contribution to Georgia Tech has been reduced by 90 million dollars or approximately 31%.[1] Colleges across Georgia have had to cope with shrinking funds, which have led to pay freezes, reduction in faculty, decrease in admissions, fewer degree programs and course offerings, and even a controversial maneuver to merge eight colleges in the University System of Georgia into four. In addition to these...
Read MoreStudent’s response to “Dreaming of the Ideal Student”
While reading over professors’ responses from the article “Dreaming of the Ideal Student,” I was surprised to see what was most commonly mentioned. Half of the professors specifically use the word “engaged” to describe their ideal student. This is interesting because if you were to ask students to describe their ideal professor, I bet “engaging” would be the popular answer. While classroom engagement requires effort from both the student and professor, I offer a student’s perspective about what professors can do to meet us half way. Keeping students engaged is a...
Read MoreThe Learner's Voice
The Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning at Georgia Institute of Technology presents "The Learner's Voice." The blog is a forum for student perspectives on teaching and learning in higher education. We invite your comments and contributions.
Recent Comments