The most successful students


By Wayne Artis		  

The list below, compiled by Wayne Artis and Kathy Sturdevant, both with Pikes Peak Community College in Colorado, is good food for thought as high school students prepare to move on to college.

My Most Successful Students

  • attend class consistently
  • are attentive in class and participate actively in discussion.
  • take enough of an interest that they bring in additional resources such as news and magazine articles without my solicitation.
  • read ahead in the textbook.
  • seek additional information even if not required.
  • follow the syllabus from week to week.
  • have goals, focus, and self-discipline.
  • ask for as much feedback from me as they can get.
  • make friends and form study groups.
  • take such thorough and clear notes that other students want to borrow them or that the student can tell the teacher where we left off last time.
  • do not behave in a juvenile manner is class (whispering, “goofing off,” being a “smart aleck,” sleeping).
  • do not behave in an inappropriate manner (cursing, threatening, arguing, making personal remarks, etc.) toward the instructor or other students.
  • never cheat, copy, or plagiarize.
  • pride themselves on their writing, always seeking to improve every aspect of it.
  • take longer than anyone else to write essay exams, staying and writing as long as the instructor allows.
  • stay after class or otherwise have enough individual exchanges with the instructor that I easily learn who they are early in the semester.
  • sooner or later use my phone numbers to converse with me and/or visit my office.
  • turn in rough drafts of papers to receive early feedback.
  • behave almost as nervous over-achievers, asking me many questions (especially before tests) and worrying a lot about every detail.
  • study for tests for hours, especially by outlining and recopying information from their notes.
  • study, read, and write about 2-3 hours for every hour of class time.
  • pour enthusiasm into the subject.
  • are usually students with plans to go on for at least a four-year degree, and usually with at least tentative career plans.
  • usually share what they are learning with family members when they go home.
  • find quiet times and places to study away from family.
  • always study by writing things down, not by just rereading, watching videos, or listening to tapes, because the act of writing assists memory.
  • follow the instructor’s guidelines carefully.
  • are willing to come forward when infractions are serious.
  • apply for scholarships and awards, asking for letters of recommendation.
  • question those who say or do inappropriate things and then are willing to come forward when infractions are serious.
  • seriously fill out evaluation forms on instructors, writing comments.
  • take part in or attend selected student activities on campus (but do not usually have the time to do many).
  • seriously consider how to balance jobs, class load, and private life, carefully cutting back to preserve quality.
  • judge their school achievements by what they have learned, not just grades they have earned.
  • have a sense of humor.
  • stretch their vocabularies for self-improvement.
  • often ask for more time to write a paper or take a test if they know the teacher is flexible, but will knock themselves out to meet deadlines when necessary.
  • are generous and kind toward other students and the instructor.
  • often panic before a big test.
  • see the relationship between their own daily lives and the subject they are studying.
  • register early for classes.
  • rarely drop or withdraw, but when they do, make the decision promptly and carefully, and take care of their own paperwork.
  • rarely take incompletes, but then finish the courses and still earn high grades.
  • carefully plan their schedules over the years, using the college catalog.
  • take some classes just because the subject fascinates them.
  • do not hesitate to seek additional help, such as a lab or center on campus, if they need it.
  • consult their faculty frequently.
  • often consider or plan to teach themselves someday.
  • recognize their own responsibility for how well they do in a class.
  • enjoy learning.