Conceept Notes

CONCEPT LIST – NOTES (S02)

1-2: Understanding the Culture of Higher Education

The author, Skip Downing, begins this section explaining the different cultures that first-year college students may be introduced to, depending on where they went to school. The author assimilates enrolling in college to moving to a new land, stating “Like an immigrant to any new land, you'll be successful in college to the degree that you learn and adapt to its unique culture” (1-2). He then goes on to say that it isn’t simply the difference in our skin colors or accents that make cultures different; deeper influences exist that make different cultures unique. He assimilates this belief to an iceberg, that there are certain things, such as what we wear, what we eat, and what we drive, that are visible, or above the water line. But lying just beneath the surface are more significant characteristics which influence those visible features, such as rules, beliefs, and taboos. The author then summarizes his introduction by restating that culture is a combination of “surface- and deep-level” customs and beliefs that are handed down from generation to generation to influence their culture. The nect page goes on further about the possible “culture shock” that a student may experience upon arrival at college for the first time. He lists a few examples of how students may face said culture shock, and lists a positive and negative response and subsequent outcome for the respective situations. He then explains that, at times, culture shock is unavoidable, and, in my opinion, in the end only builds character for real-world situations. The next sub-section deals with the culture of college itself, for instance, the terminology used by professors in relation to resources, such as ‘Drop Box’ or ‘Black Board.’ He also lists two additional terms used often throughout a student’s college career, ‘Moodle’ and ‘MLA.’ To follow that up, he lists an additional section in reference to added “surface features” of the college life. After that, he goes more into the “deep-level” features of higher learning, listing an example, citing a belief that professors desire students to be more “intellectually curious,” meaning ask more questions about subjects in class, or just questions in general. I know that when I began school at IUPUI, in 2008, I was introduced to a smorgasbord of different cultures. I went to elementary, middle and high school in the Center Grove Community School Corporation, and as such, was subject to a predominantly Caucasian and rural group of peers. Once I began college, I was immediately introduced to multiple new cultures, including Arabic and other Middle-Eastern cultures.

1-3: Becoming an Active Learner

The author begins this section relating to the act of learning to how