>> Dr. Beverly Walker-Griffea: You're going to your classes,
you're studying hard, but you're just not performing as well
as you'd like in class.
Need help?
We'll give you some tips on how to work with an instructor
when things aren't clicking for you in class,
up next on MC 101: On the Real.
[ Music ]
>> Dr. Beverly Walker-Griffea: Hi!
Welcome to MC 101: On the Real.
I'm Dr. Beverly Walker-Griffea, Senior Vice President
for Student Services at MC.
In college, some classes you're going take to like a fish
in the water and they're going to be a breeze for you.
In other classes, however, you begin to struggle
to get the grades no matter how hard you try.
To whom do you turn for help and advice?
Try talking with your professor first.
[Music]
>> Dr. Karen Roseberry:
Most students do experience academic difficulty
at some time during their college career.
It's very common and it can be caused by a number of things.
Seek counseling to find out just what kind
of difficulty they're experiencing because it can be
such a wide variety of reasons.
Counselor would sit down with a student and talk
about what they're experiencing and kind of explore some
of the options available.
One of the suggestions they might make would be to visit one
of the learning centers.
Each campus has a math center, a science center,
a writing center; and there are tutors there,
faculty level tutors that can help them
if it's an academic problem that they're experiencing.
Often times though it's not just purely academic,
sometimes life just happens and they may need some help kind
of organizing their life
or doing some time-management workshops and they can work
with a student services specialist to do
that on a one-to-one basis, or they could join one
of the many DS classes that we have that address study skills
and other time-related issues.
Most first-year students are encouraged to take DS 107
as our first-year seminar.
As a part of that course and available
to all first-year students is our student insider's guide.
It's like a student handbook; it has a planner in it
and also resources of the college,
but in particular it has chapters on how to take notes
and how to read a textbook,
and just different study success techniques
that all first-year-and-beyond students should know in terms
of their study habits.
So this is a good book.
It's electronically available
through montgomerycollege.edu/fye,
or the hard copy is available at the beginning of every year
and we have enough copies for all first year students
and the continuing students that are interested
in getting a hard copy.
Some students might want to consider
if they're having learning difficulties,
there might be a reason where they need to be tested
by a specialist to see if they have a learning disability.
There may be a reason they're having difficulty learning.
I would suggest at any campus to ask for a DSS counselor.
They can do some screening and ask questions
to determine whether it's really warranted to --
you get a full assessment in the community, it's not something
that we do here at the college,
to find out if there is a true reason
that the learning difficulties exist.
We certainly want all students to succeed and we hope that,
especially when midterm comes along
that everybody has great grades and they're pleased
with their progress so far.
But sometimes that doesn't happen.
If you're disappointed, if a student is disappointed
by their grades or don't feel that they're working up to par,
see a counselor, explore what's going on and it may be
that there is other options for you in terms
of supplemental instruction, in terms of supplemental support,
in terms of academic coaching
or it may be some success strategies that are needed.
So please take advantage of counseling.
It's on a walk-in basis at all campuses
and the counselors are waiting to help you.
[Music]
>> Dr. Beverly Walker-Griffea:
So now you know what services are out there for you to use,
but the main factor for you
to get better grades is your professor.
Are professors willing to help you out?
Let's let them answer for themselves.
[Music]
>> Dr. Ben Nicholson: Professors love to help the students
who are struggling in the classes.
We want the students to succeed as much as anybody.
>> Elizabeth Benton: We have a delightful responsibility
with the struggling students, with every student
to meet his or her needs.
And the earliest we can find the ways to intervene,
then we can really make a difference in someone's life.
>> Joyce Jewell: It's natural to want students to succeed
because you're my student.
If you're not succeeding, then I have to look at myself.
>> Elizabeth Benton: Our faculty come up with all types
of creative ways to work with students.
They meet them online or Montgomery College email.
We have numerous faculty
who have office hours different times of day
to help the students...
>> Dr. Ben Nicholson: I like to talk to the students not only
about what's going on in the class, but what I often find is
that students are having problems
with other things outside of class
that are interfering with their abilities.
Faculty can give a perspective to students on the things
that are content-based but also the things that are just student
and learning and is life based.
>> Joyce Jewell: The one-on-one mentoring,
I mean it's been proven in the literature
that the number one reason people stay
in school is almost always an individual faculty mentor.
We recommend scholarships, we recommend them for internships.
We point out things that come
up that we think might suit particular students,
we direct them towards those things.
>> Elizabeth Benton: That one-on-one time
when we sit down, I listen, I ask questions,
and the student hears some of my advice and becomes open
to new ways of learning.
After that, the student may leave the office hours,
go to the writing center, complete the assignment,
and more often than not, come right back at his
or her earliest convenience.
And then we look at it again and sometimes again
until we meet the student's needs and educational goals.
>> Dr. Ben Nicholson:
The students I think appreciate hearing from faculty
that we understand those issues of time management
and life balance, and that we're -- we will work with them.
>> Joyce Jewell: We have to constantly be, I would say,
massaging egos and convincing people that,
yes, you can do this.
A lot of students have done it and it's great when we hear back
because it makes us feel good.
The circle has come full.
>> Elizabeth Benton: A student's success is a measure
of their effort and our effort.
And most importantly, students deserve our best work
that gets them to their own best work.
>> Dr. Ben Nicholson: Come see us.
This is why we're here.
We're here for you guys to learn and for you to come see us
and get the help that you need.
>> Elizabeth Benton: Montgomery College students must know
that professors are here for you.
Come see us during office hours.
Stop us after class.
Meet us on your way to lunch.
We want to get to know you and we want to see you succeed.
>> Joyce Jewell: It's good for you if you succeed and it's good
for me, so it's a win-win situation.
It's something you just have to do.
It's part of why you teach.
>> Dr. Ben Nicholson: We're all here to help you
and the college has a fabulous network of help available to you
and a variety of ways and you should use it.
>> Elizabeth Benton: You deserve our best
and you will see the success
that you didn't even know you could achieve.
>> Joyce Jewell: Montgomery College is very good
at providing support for students in a lot
of difficult situations
and that's really what we're here for.
[Music]
>> Dr. Beverly Walker-Griffea: Now that you've heard
from administrators and instructors,
what about other students?
What do they do when they're having trouble making the grade?
Hmm. Why don't we ask some of our fellow students?
Torian?
>> Torian: When I have trouble in the class,
I set up a meeting with my professor.
>> Dr. Beverly Walker-Griffea: Hmm, it sounds like good advice.
Marie, what about you?
>> Marie: Joining or forming a peer study group always helps.
>> Dr. Beverly Walker-Griffea: Sounds like good advice as well.
Well, here is what other students are saying.
[Music]
>> Tonimaria Hawkins: What I do is I go to the library
and the student lodge to study just so I could concentrate more
on what I want to study.
>> Leathicia Younsi: Go
to the tutoring center and ask for help.
>> Avesta Ebrahimi: I would try to speak to my professor
about ways I can go about helping improve my score
and meet with them and see what I'm doing wrong.
>> Romain Asima: You can try forming study groups
or you can see a counselor; and we have many opportunities
like tutoring center and like they can help you.
>> Peng Gao: Start earlier and to give you enough time
to prepare for your test and you will feel better.
>> Sebastian Cohen: I go on campus and I find my classmates,
I find a place you can study together like right here.
I find people who've done the class before, or, just,
you know, go to my professor's office hours
and ask some questions.
>> Prosper Rakimy: Usually,
I'll go see the professor during his office hours
and usually they're very helpful usually to help you.
I understand my theory a little better
and help you improve your grade to an A.
>> Edie Cohen: I talk with my professor and see
if there's any suggestions or like practice problems
or extra worksheets that I can maybe do
to just get extra practice in whatever I'm struggling on.
>> Mitchell Vanderhall:
I look over my notes, I stay after class.
I try to schedule my classes where they won't be back to back
where I can get my two-hour study time
and per hour of class that I have.
>> Avesta Ebrahimi: I would definitely suggest joining study
groups because when you're surrounded by kids that are,
you know, striving to achieve the same goal
and studying then you can pick each other's brains
and definitely it's an easier way to learn.
It's like having a professor, you know,
without your professor there.
>> Patrick Ellis: Whenever I need help on campus,
I go to the technical center and meet with any of my teachers.
They're all helpful.
>> Leathicia Younsi: Sometimes I ask my mom and most
of the time I ask my mom or my father.
>> Tonimaria Hawkins: Sometimes I go to the math lab
and the science lab because - since I'm taking math
and the science course, that's what I use to help me.
>> Mitchell Vanderhall: Studying
in groups is what give students a better grade.
It's been proven that students who study in a study group,
their grades raise about 10 or 15% higher.
>> Avesta Ebrahimi: If you think
that an education is what you need in order to succeed,
then I'd recommend you take advantage of the money
that you're spending and get the grades.
[Music]
>> Dr. Beverly Walker-Griffea: That's the end of our show.
Hopefully, you'll be able to use the tools we've given
to improve your classroom performance.
Thank you so much for watching MC 101: On the Real.
But before we go, let's chill
out to a jazz concert featuring Germantown music professor,
Keith Mathis.
See you next time!
[ Music ]