The Confident Student - Softcover

1. BECOMING A CONFIDENT STUDENT. Confidence Builder: How Flexible Are You? Choose Success and Plan For It. Use Self-Assessment to Build Confidence. Define Your Goals. Think Ahead to a Major or Career. Awareness Check 1: Are You Ready to Achieve? Form an Academic Support Group Faculty. Advisors and Counselors. Mentors. Extend Your Support Group. Computer Confidence: Use Technology to Build Communication Skills. Embrace Diversity. Your Diverse Campus. Diverse Students, Needs, and Services. Adult Learners. Students with Disabilities. International Students. Students with Diverse Sexual Orientations. Critical Thinking. Be An Active Learner. Know Where to Find Help. Inform Yourself. Get Involved. Ask Questions with Confidence. Special Challenges for Commuters. Guided Chapter Review. Chapter 1 Review Quiz. Your Reflections. 2. MOTIVATING YOURSELF TO LEARN. Assess Your Strengths and Weaknesses. Confidence Builder: Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences Theory. Awareness Check 2.1: What Are Your Strengths/Weaknesses in Basic Skills? Discover and Use Your Learning Style. Your Five Senses. Awareness Check 2.2: What Are Your Sensory Preferences? Your Body's Reactions. Awareness Check 2.3: How Does Your Body React? Your Preferred Learning Environment. Your Level of Motivation. Your Source of Motivation. Awareness Check 2.4: What Is Your Source of Motivation? Critical Thinking Applying Gardner's Multiple Intelligences Theory. Adapt to Others' Styles. Develop Critical Thinking and Learning Strategies. Guided Chapter Review. Chapter 2 Review Quiz. Your Reflections. 3. THINKING CRITICALLY AND CREATIVELY. Confidence Builder: Are You Willing to Take Intellectual Risks? Think for Yourself. What is Critical Thinking? What is Creative Thinking? Awareness Check 3.1: Are You a Critical and Creative Thinker? You Can Improve Your Thinking. Recognize Inductive and Deductive Arguments. Spot False Reasoning. Ask the Right Questions. Critical Thinking: Applying Bloom's Levels of Thinking. Prepare to Learn. Build Background. Test Your Assumptions. Predict Topics and Test Questions. Make Inferences. Read and Listen for Meaning. Integrate New Information with Prior Knowledge. Define New or Unfamiliar Terms. Evaluate Information and Sources. Reliability. Objectivity. Usefulness. How to Evaluate Website Content. Guided Chapter Review. Chapter 3 Review Quiz. Your Reflections: How Do You Think? 4. SETTING GOALS AND SOLVING PROBLEMS. Confidence Builder: How to Develop a Positive Attitude. Define Your Values. Awareness Check 4.1: What Are Your Reasons for Attending College? Differentiate Between Long-Term and Short-Term Goals. Set Reachable Goals. Write Your Action Plan. Think Through Decisions and Problems. Apply the COPE Strategy. Critical Thinking: Applying Your Problem-Solving Skills. Guided Chapter Review. Chapter 4 Review Quiz. Your Reflections. 5. SHARPENING YOUR CLASSROOM SKILLS. Confidence Builder: Academic Honesty and You. Prepare for Class. Awareness Check 5.1: Are You Prepared for Classes and Lectures? Become an Active Listener. Commit to a Note-Taking System. Awareness Check 5.2: How Effective Are Your Note-Taking Skills? Guidelines for Lecture Notes. The Informal Outline/Key Words System. The Idea Cluster. Computer Confidence: Organize Your Notes On Your Laptop or PC. Engage in Learning With Others. Participate Actively and Confidently. Become an Effective Presenter. Critical Thinking: Present a Skill to the Class. Guided Chapter Review. Chapter 5 Review Quiz. Your Reflections. 6. MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR TIME. Confidence Builder: "I work better under pressure" and other myths. How to GRAB Time. Goal. Responsibilities. Analysis. Balance. Awareness Check 6.1 Where Does Your Time Go? How to Schedule Your Time. The Semester or Quarter Calendar. Your Weekly Schedule. A Daily List. Time Management and Learning Style. Make Time for Reading. Challenges for Community College Students and Others. Time management Tips for Student Athletes. How to Avoid Procrastination. Awareness Check 6.2 Are You a Procrastinator? Why Do People Procrastinate? Awareness Check 6.3 What Is Your Attitude Toward Studying? Tips to Beat Procrastination. Manage Your Study Environment. Critical Thinking: No Excuses. Guided Chapter Review. Chapter 6 Review Quiz. Your Reflections. 7. BECOMING AN ACTIVE READER. Confidence Builder: How To Calculate Your Reading Rate. Active versus Passive Reading. Awareness Check 7.1: Are You an Active Reader? The Reading and Study Connection. Skimming and Scanning. When English is Your Second Language. Improve Your Reading Comprehension. Read for Ideas. Find the Main Idea. Identify Supporting Details. Make Inferences From Reading. Look for Organizational Patterns. Use a Textbook Marking System. What to Mark in Textbooks. How to Mark Your Textbook. Summarize Information From Textbooks. Critical Thinking: Evaluate Textbook Marking. Guided Chapter Review. Chapter 7 Review Quiz. Your Reflections. 8. CONTROLLING ATTENTION AND MEMORY. Confidence Builder: Relax to Concentrate. Control Your Attention. Awareness Check 8.1: Where is Your Attention Going? Eliminate Distractions. Your Study Place: Six Characteristics. Attitude, Active Learning, and Attention. Manage the Stages of Memory. Awareness Check 8.2 What is in Your Memory? The Three Rs of Memory. Sensory Memory: Input and Attention. Short-Term Memory: Record. Long-Term Memory: Retain and Recall. Forgetting and Remembering. Power Your Memory: 10 Tips. Critical Thinking: Choose Your Best Strategy. Guided Chapter Review. Chapter 8 Quiz. Your Reflections: Your Memory is Your Experience. 9. CREATING YOUR STUDY SYSTEM. Confidence Builder: Be Proactive About Studying. SQ3R: The Basic Study System. Awareness Check 9.1: Are You Using Your Textbooks Efficiently? Survey Books and Chapters. Question As You Read. Read Actively. Recite To Focus and Record. Review To Aid Retention and Recall. Computer Confidence: Survey to Save Time on the Net. Understanding Graphics. Critical Thinking: Apply the PRT Strategy. Study Systems and Learning Style. Studying for Different Disciplines. Composition and Literature. The Social Sciences. The Natural Sciences. Mathematics. Guided Chapter Review. Chapter 9 Quiz. Your Reflections: Your Study System. 10. STUDYING AND LEARNING FROM TEXTBOOKS. Confidence Builder: Adjust Your Attitude. From Notes to Study Guides. Awareness Check 10.1: How Do You Study From Textbooks? Graphic Organizers. Concept Map. Hierarchy Diagram. Process or Function Diagram. Branches or Clusters. Comparison Chart. Computer Confidence: Your Computer as a Study Buddy. Flashcards. Informal Outlines as Study Tools. Critical Thinking: Study Tools Teach-in. Guided Chapter Review. Chapter 10 Quiz. Your Reflections: Take the Risk to Commit and Persist. 11. GAINING CONFIDENCE IN TAKING TESTS. Confidence Builder: Help for the Math-Anxious Student. Know When, What and How to Study. When to Study. What to Study. How to Study. Awareness Check 11.1: How Well Do You Prepare for Tests? Critical Thinking: Pre-Exam Checklist. Develop a Test-Taking Routine. Before the Test. During the Test. After the Test. Master Objective Tests. True-False Tests. Multiple-Choice Tests. Fill-in-the-Blank Tests. Standardized Tests. Answer Essay Questions with Confidence. Awareness Check 11.2 Do You Have Test Anxiety? The Causes of Test Anxiety. Fear of Not Meeting Expectations. Equating Grades and Self-Esteem. Feelings of Helplessness. How to Reduce Test Anxiety. Learn to Relax. Talk Positively to Yourself. Find Your Best Solution. Guided Chapter Review. Chapter 11 Quiz. Your Reflections: Your Response to Testing. 12. BUILDING SKILLS FOR CONFIDENT COMMUNICATION. Confidence Builder: How to Reduce Speech Anxiety. Building Interpersonal Skills. Awareness Check 12.1: Are You a Confident Communicator? Are You Listening? Critical Thinking: What Kind of Listener Are You? The Posture of Involvement. Let's Be Civil. Manage Your Relationships. Guidelines for Successful Group Interaction. Collaborating. Resolving Conflict Within the Group. Using Communication Technology. Developing Your Public Voice. Planning Your Speech or Presentation. Presenting Your Ideas to an Audience. Researching and Writing. Finding Information. Avoiding Plagiarism. Planning and Writing a Paper. Taking Essay Exams with Confidence. Guided Chapter Review. Chapter 12 Quiz. Your Reflections: Communication and You. 13. MAINTAINING YOUR HEALTH AND WELL-BEING. Confidence Builder: Emotional Intelligence-What is Your EQ? Health, Well-Being, and Success in College. Awareness Check 13.1: Are You Leading a Balanced Life? Eat Sensibly. Get Fit, Stay Fit. Avoid Harmful Substances. Computer Confidence: Are You Spending Too Much Time on the Net? Managing Stress. Critical Thinking: What Stresses You? Managing Your Emotions. Understand Your Feelings. Find Purpose in Your Life. Accept the Need for Change. Maintaining Healthy Relationships. Your Sexuality. Understanding Acquaintance Rape. Dealing with Sexual Harassment. Guided Chapter Review. Chapter 13 Quiz. Your Reflections: Getting Your Life in Balance. 14. FACING YOUR FUTURE WITH CONFIDENCE. Confidence Builder: College Is the Real World. Choose Your Future. Awareness Check 14.1: Are You Confident About the Future? Your Career Assumptions. Your Major or Course of Study. Computer Confidence: Researching Careers on the Internet. Your Action Plan. What Employers Want. Awareness Check 14.2: Assess Your Career Skills. Career Skills to Develop. Workplace Ethics. From College to Work. Critical Thinking: Your Assets and Accomplishments. Build a Firm Financial Foundation. Set Financial Goals. Follow a Budget. Live Within Your Means. Be Credit Card Wise. Guided Chapter Review. Chapter 14 Quiz. Your Reflections: Becoming a Confident Student.

"The Confident Student, International Edition", provides practical and immediately applicable skills and critical-thinking strategies by emphasizing self-discovery, self-management, and self-assessment, with an underlying theme of helping first-year students to be more confident in their approach to learning. "The Confident Student"'s core values of individual responsibility and confidence through accomplishment remain at its forefront by showing students they can succeed by applying themselves. The seventh edition pays particular attention to today's student diversity, not only in their backgrounds but also in the ways they learn. Some learn best by reading, some are more visually oriented, and some learn best through practice and assessment. The conversational writing style coupled with the variety of strategies and exercises enhances the journey students take to becoming more successful in college and life.