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The Transform your Teaching podcast is a service of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio. Join Dr. Rob McDole and Jared Pyles as they seek to inspire higher education faculty to adopt innovative teaching and learning practices.
Hello. Transform your teaching listeners. It's Jared. Whether you are new to the podcast or have been around since day 1, we want to hear from you. Please take a minute and fill out our quick survey and help us make the podcast even better.
Speaker 1:Click the link in our description. We'd be very grateful if you did. And for participating, you'll be put into a drawing for a handcrafted transform your teaching mug. And we're doing a drawing in the month of October, November, and December. So be sure to participate and help us out.
Speaker 1:We'd be grateful if you did, and as always, thanks for listening.
Speaker 2:When professors believe in their students, it makes such an impact telling us you can do it. You are smart, you are capable, you're intelligent, you guys are great students. It took us so far.
Speaker 3:This is the Transform Your Teaching podcast. The transform your teaching podcast is a service of the center for teaching and learning at Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio.
Speaker 1:Welcome back to the transform your teaching podcast here on the campus of Cedarville University. My name is Jared Piles. With me is doctor Rob McDowell. Hello, doctor McDowell. Hello.
Speaker 1:We are continuing our series on understanding the new college student. We've had several episodes now with some students. They are the experts on how they have come to Cedarville and their experiences and how their, previous education, their high school experiences made an impact on their own student experiences here at the college level.
Speaker 4:So today, we have Anna and Kalyn with us, and, we wanna thank you for coming. And I think I'll start with you, Anna. Just let us know how you got to Cedarville, your background. Like, were you homeschooled, Christian school, public school? And, how did that how did that experience prepare you for Cedarville?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So my name is Anna Edner, and I am a senior organizational communication student. I'm actually a staff kid. Both of my parents work here at the university, and both of my older siblings went to older, the university. And I'm actually 3rd generation as well, so my grandparents also went here.
Speaker 2:Wow. So, Centerville has been instilled in me from a very young age. But my educational background, I went to Dayton Christian, which is a private Christian school. And, yeah, it was a wonderful experience. Was a great transition into Cedarville, and I feel like it did prepare me very well because I had a great biblical foundation coming into it.
Speaker 2:It is really nice to have a community and to have a Christian based, foundation for your education, and I think it just allowed for a very seamless transition here. Okay.
Speaker 1:Cool. My
Speaker 5:name is Galen, and, from Florida. I was homeschooled most of my life, and then, in 7th grade, went to a private Christian and kind of bounced around different kinds of schools, but stayed out of public schools, traditional public schools that is. But I feel like it was pretty pretty solid transition. Only problem was in high school, didn't really have to study, didn't really have to, do homework except because I would get it done in class. I feel like it was too easy almost.
Speaker 5:So then getting to college was a little bit of a shock, you know, because it I did have to study. I did have to take notes. I did have to do homework at after class. So yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1:So you grew up in Dayton, so clearly a rural area.
Speaker 2:Actually grew up in Cedarville. I just went out to school in Dayton.
Speaker 1:So So technically
Speaker 4:Kind of
Speaker 5:rural. Rural.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Still rural.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Cedarville has no being rural. You grew up, Kalyn, Tell us about the rural your urban, suburban.
Speaker 5:Yeah. So I I grew up in, Colorado Springs. It was, urban, I believe is what you would call it. Because it was there was it was a city, you know. But, so not really anything like cedar here.
Speaker 5:It was a lot bigger. And when I was growing up, it was just in a crazy expansion because of some of the things that, Colorado passed. Okay. But when
Speaker 1:you were at school in Florida, would you say that was a rural area, urban, suburban?
Speaker 5:Again, urban. Definitely smaller than Colorado Springs. I was in Lakeland, so it's a kind of a smaller area in between Orlando and Tampa Okay. But still, still bigger than Cedar Hill, still more urban
Speaker 1:rural. Gotcha. So let's let's go back. You're a sophomore, Caitlin, and you are you said you were a senior, 5th year senior.
Speaker 5:Let's go
Speaker 1:back to that 1st year. What do you think prepared you? What were you prepared for? What were you unprepared for that 1st year you feel like when that transition from high school to college? And, Caitlin, we'll start with you.
Speaker 5:Yeah. So, like I said before, I think things that I was not prepared for was, just the the difficulty change from high school to college. It was you know, I had to do a lot more work and had to, really put a lot more time into, into my classes individually individually. And along with that, I think something I was prepared for though was to be away from home. That is something I had kinda looked forward to, you know, and be out of Florida because it's way too hot all the time.
Speaker 5:But yeah. Yeah. Being away from home, being able to be, out on my own was something I was excited for and had a lot of fun doing.
Speaker 1:So how did you overcome that? Though you said academic struggles or Yeah. The needing to study and all that stuff, how did you find a way to overcome that? Or maybe are you still having issues with it?
Speaker 5:Yeah. Well, so it really 1st semester was tough. 1st semester was tough. 2nd semester got better. And then over the summer, I worked, in an internship with, a ministry, Good News Ministries.
Speaker 5:And I was seeing that some of the things that I had been studying over those first two semesters at college, were coming into actual practice, and it kind of a switch got flipped in my head of I'm not going to school to pass a test like I was in high school. I'm going to school to prepare for my career that is gonna be in ministry. So it it was kind of the shift of, you know, this schooling is not just schooling to be schooling. It's it's schooling to prepare me for what is next to come, and I need to be faithful in where God has placed me to prepare for what is to come. Okay.
Speaker 5:Anna, you?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I kinda actually had the opposite experience. In high school, I was a solid b, borderline c student, and I had a really hard time. And so going into college, I had very low expectations of what I was capable of. And honestly, part of me was like, let's see how far I can really get, honestly.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. And I got here and I've gotten 4 point o's. I'm in the honor society. I'm doing better academically than I ever have been. And a lot of it is because the schedule for college students is so different than what it is in high school.
Speaker 2:In high school, you're doing school for 7, 8 hours a day, and then having to go home and do more school. And as a college student, you are in charge of your schedule. You get to decide how you spend your time. And for me, that was just revolutionary, and I was able to prioritize what I need to prioritize and take care of myself while also getting things done.
Speaker 4:Is that something you just had? You saw that, and you're like, yes, this is who I am, and you've always wanted to own your own educational path and you did that? Or was somebody teaching you or showing you how to do that?
Speaker 2:I think it was just being allowed to have the flexibility to create my own schedule and to do what worked for me. Mhmm. So I definitely catered my schedule to how I work and how I function. And if that meant taking 12 12 credit hours instead of a full 15 17, then that's what I did.
Speaker 4:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And just limiting my involvement when I needed to and things. So for me, that flexibility and having that option to be in charge of my own schedule was truly life changing.
Speaker 4:Yeah. It seems like, Kalyn, you also had this sense of ownership of your education. Like, it was not something you had to do or perform per se Yeah. As much as it seems like you realized, oh, this is really
Speaker 5:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 4:This is something that I own.
Speaker 5:Yeah. It was it was that that switch into, like, this is, you know, preparing me. It's not just quizzing me. You know? So yeah.
Speaker 5:Yeah. It was, something that came more under my power, and, then I started, building my schedule, and and kind of thinking about, time management and what really matters to me and what is able to kinda be pushed to the side a little bit.
Speaker 4:So it's interesting to me that we have 2 different, perspectives, Jared, here.
Speaker 5:Mhmm.
Speaker 4:1, both of them coming toward to ownership of their education, which I think is crucial in anyone's life, and it's also kind of a dividing or developmental line as well when you move from being a, and I don't say this with disrespect, but when you move from being a child to an adult. Right? Yeah. It's part of that. Oh, wait a minute.
Speaker 4:This is something I have to own.
Speaker 1:I wanna get right to that point. You both mentioned a point where you kinda flipped a switch. You said, like, I flipped a switch, and I went into academic mode or or college student mode. What was the next the very next step for you? Like, was it learning how to manage your time?
Speaker 1:And if so, what did you use? Like, I I'm curious about that very next after the switch was flipped, what was the first thing you did? Anne, I'll start with you.
Speaker 2:I think it's honestly knowing yourself, and that introspection of knowing your limits
Speaker 5:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:And also knowing your strengths. So what works for me is not gonna work for other people, and just knowing what my breaking point is and making sure that I'm being mindful of that moving forward.
Speaker 1:K. Caitlin?
Speaker 5:Yeah. I would agree, knowing what you need to do and what you what you can do and what you can't do. For me, it was, I knew I struggled with, time management to get assignments done, because that was the biggest struggle I had with, last year was just I wouldn't get assignments in, so they would either drop as a 0 or, you know, get a late grade. Mhmm. So it's just being, consistent with the calendar, really, is what what really got me out of that rut.
Speaker 4:Were there any, like, peers or mentors that you had that that you went to or that kinda helped you, do these things, Kalyn?
Speaker 5:Yeah. I mean, 1st semester, I had humanities. After fall break, I had a 16% in that class. It was just it was not a fun time. But I had another friend who was also in that class, and I would just was asking her about it and how she would get everything, you know, done on time.
Speaker 5:And she kinda gave me some tips and tricks and, you know, would yell at me when I didn't turn things in. And so I ended up, passing that class with a 78 or 76. So good. You know,
Speaker 4:to go from a 16 to 70. Yeah. That is
Speaker 5:a turnaround. Yeah. For sure.
Speaker 1:So you had some peers that helped you out. Anyone else?
Speaker 5:I mean, had my parents yelling at me back home.
Speaker 1:Yeah. That'll work. That'll do it. That'll do it. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Anyway
Speaker 2:So freshman year can be so difficult, especially with taking gen eds because everyone has such different strengths. So I know a lot of people really struggle with algebra. A lot of people really struggle with like earth science and biology, and then other people really struggle with speech. And it really just all lies with what your strengths are. And so sometimes people have a way harder time with gen eds their freshman year than they do with their actual major specific classes because those are catered to what your strengths are and your interests and passions are.
Speaker 2:So that's a really good thing to note that just because you're really struggling in your freshman, sophomore year with the gen eds does not mean it's always going to be like that. Because if you pick the right major, you're not going to have as hard of a time. Mhmm. So that's a really good thing to keep in mind. But, also, for me, the biggest thing was communication.
Speaker 2:Go figure it. The communication student is telling people to communicate. But I was always so transparent with my professors, and I was the one that I would go talk to them after class. I would meet with them outside of class if there's something going on, which there always is. I mean, we're college students, but we're also humans and stuff happened.
Speaker 2:And there's always gonna be reasons that, you know, we have to turn assignment late or if we're struggling, especially because of mental health component when transitioning into college, it's hard. And the professors get that. They understand that. And so being willing to kinda be vulnerable and step out of your comfort zone and just talk and say, hey. I'm really struggling.
Speaker 2:And, I just wanted to let you know. And if there's anything you can do to accommodate me within reason, like, I would love that. But I just wanted to be open and upfront about what I'm struggling with. And I have had the best professors, and they have been so ready to vouch for me and advocate for me, through my entire time here.
Speaker 4:One of the things that we've talked to our students, you would be the 3rd pair of guests that we have had on the show. And one of the things that we've noticed in having conversations with professionals as well is anxiety. You mentioned that word. And I'm just curious, has that played for either one of you? Has that played a role, 1, in your transition or 2, you know, even now?
Speaker 4:Is that still an issue that you see for yourself personally and or others around you?
Speaker 5:Yeah. I know, definitely anxiety, depression, ADHD, those are kind of the big three that you, hear a lot about. I do see them, quite frequently, affecting college students. Myself, I struggle with 2 different kinds of depression, and I know 1st and second semester, I was not I had just been diagnosed, and I was not handling things great. And so when I would start to spiral, it would be not great.
Speaker 5:Mhmm. And and I think being able to have, you know, a solid friend who pointed me towards, the counseling services was very helpful, in just that it taught me how to stop the spiral, and change my outlook so that I would go back up. Mhmm. So yeah. I
Speaker 2:would say it definitely is a factor, and that's something I definitely have struggled with as well, with just anxiety of it. And I think one thing that really helped me was kind of asking myself, okay, if the worst thing happened, what would that look like? So, okay, let's say I forgot to turn an assignment or I didn't get a done time. Okay. What does that look like?
Speaker 2:Maybe I fail the class. Okay. So what if you fail the class and the worst case happens? You can take the class over again. Like, it feels, like, so heavy.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. Like, when you have so many responsibilities and, you know, you have all these deadlines coming up. But truly, I mean, just take it one step at a time. It is gonna be okay. Even if the worst thing happens, like, it is okay.
Speaker 2:The world will keep turning. Life goes on.
Speaker 4:Do do you think that, screen time or these little transistorized tormentors that we call, you know, phones, smartphones, have they contributed to any of your anxiety?
Speaker 5:I would say so. Yeah. I've been I've been careful to stay off of social media. Just for me personally, I I, have found that it's not helpful. But I have found that there's definitely a link between how much I've, you know, what my screen time is and how I am emotionally.
Speaker 4:Well, you'd be in good company because there have been a lot of studies here recently that have shown that there is a significant link between anxiety and especially usage of social media. We had somebody on, Nancy Gillespie
Speaker 5:Mhmm.
Speaker 4:Who, was a former colleague of Jared's, and she is, an adviser at Grove City Christian School, and that's something that she found, in some work that she's been doing for a doctorate, which is that students are spending an inordinate amount of time Yeah. On 3 platforms, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Yeah. Does that resonate with you all?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 5:I I would agree that that is a problem. I'm not on TikTok or YouTube because I know I can struggle with that. Okay. Yeah.
Speaker 4:But it it sounds right to you. That's that's really what I'm I'm not trying to get you to, like, confirm your
Speaker 1:Pull out your
Speaker 5:phone. Let's see
Speaker 1:it soon.
Speaker 4:Let's turn
Speaker 5:on screen time report.
Speaker 4:Yeah. Well, actually, we did have
Speaker 5:we did have
Speaker 4:a couple of students said, well, here, I'll just show you. Yeah. They did. I was like, oh my word.
Speaker 5:Yeah. I mean, I'm pretty proud of mine this week. It was it was It's only Monday, though. So That's true. That's true.
Speaker 5:But, like, overall, this week has been pretty good. Like, the
Speaker 1:last 7 days. Gotcha. Gotcha. Gotcha.
Speaker 2:I think it's very clear that there is a direct effect on productivity, and lack of productivity can definitely increase anxiety Mhmm. Because you feel that pressure even more immensely.
Speaker 5:Yeah. When you when you, you know, go and look on your phone, and then look off at your phone, and it's, like, 3 hours later. Oh, I had an assignment due. Oops. I'm not gonna fail.
Speaker 5:Yeah. It's not great. Not a great time.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I do wanna talk you're you're Anna, you're a 5th year. Kalyn, you're a sophomore. I wanna talk about the impact COVID had on your school experience.
Speaker 5:Mhmm.
Speaker 1:You were here as a student. You were still in high school.
Speaker 4:Mhmm.
Speaker 1:Probably 2 different experiences. So, Calin, let's start with you. How did it have an impact on your school experience, and do you think it's had a lasting impact on your studies here as a college student?
Speaker 5:Yeah. So that, COVID happened my freshman year. So, you know, brand new, high school student, trying to find out how that all worked, and then COVID hits. And in all my classes, I had, I had straight a's, just because like I said earlier, high school really didn't feel like it was challenging me too hard. So just my classes were kinda easy.
Speaker 5:But COVID hit, and, you know, all of all of the schooling was kind of on you pretty much with how especially how my high school did it. It was more just, yep. Okay. Here you go. Here's the schooling, and I respectfully didn't really do anything.
Speaker 5:So I like, there was one class I remember it was my my English or grammar class, whatever it was, that I had a 110% in the class, because I had it was a very it's a very simple class, and I had done everything and done extra credit just because, I could, and I remember I did nothing the rest of the semester, didn't turn in the final essay, and just did the final exam and passed with a c. Mhmm. And I emailed my professor about it. I was like, hey. If I don't do the final essay, will I pass the class?
Speaker 5:And he said, yeah. You will. You'll pass the class because of where your grades at. I'm like, okay. I'm not gonna do the final essay.
Speaker 5:So that is that was not necessarily a a super proud moment of mine of just kind of giving into the the laziness of it, But I do feel that that definitely impacted the way I did college, because it it was like, okay. The schooling's all on me, then I can kinda, like, you know, sit back, relax. It's not gonna matter that much. And like I like in humanities, with the 16% at fall break, it definitely bit me in the butt.
Speaker 1:Mhmm. Anna, share your experience.
Speaker 2:I was, unfortunately, the senior class that got their senior year ruined by COVID. Thankfully, I did have a graduation. It was like we got 2 guests each, though, so it was very small. But I'm thankful we had one. But, yeah, that was definitely a curveball no one expected.
Speaker 2:And, obviously, everything transitioned online, which at first, we're like, this is awesome. We can just pretty much do whatever we want. Like, it's so cool. And even at Cedarville here, a lot of it was online or over Zoom, and that kind of got me in a headspace of kinda just doing the bare minimum and getting used to, like, cutting corners.
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Because when you're online, like, it doesn't require the same presence as in person. And so that was definitely something I had to unlearn is actually sitting down, doing work, taking notes, listening to the lectures, and not just, like, skipping, cutting corners because it's all online.
Speaker 1:Interesting. It is. But you had a major bounce back, though, when you came here as a student, though. Right? You said that you, like, you Yeah.
Speaker 1:You kinda felt like you did the bare minimum, your senior year of COVID, but then you said in your freshman year, you kinda, like, flipped a switch almost.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So in high school, it was more so that I just really struggled. And for me, I guess, I would say it's probably mostly time management.
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 2:But I did I worked hard, and I just didn't get good grades. And so I really thought that was a reflection of my intelligence. And so when I came here, I was like, I'm not gonna try to work hard because, like, I know that's not really gonna matter because it didn't take me far in high school. So why would it take me far here where it's gonna be harder? And in high school, you always hear, oh, in college, you won't get away with that.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And, so when I got here, I I didn't really have high expectations for myself. And I remember I took a class, and I remember I was like, I don't even wanna look at my final grade, and I didn't. And I was like, I have no idea if that was like a CED, if I just hope I passed. And I got an email that summer that I was on the honor, like, the dean's list.
Speaker 2:And I was like, wait. What? I was like, I didn't think I even passed that class. And I got an email that I'm on the dean's list. Like, what is going on?
Speaker 2:And that kinda was like an awakening of, like, I can do this. Like, I did that, and I didn't even think that I was capable of that. And here I am.
Speaker 1:Wow. Yeah.
Speaker 4:This has been really helpful.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I I saw I've asked all of our students this question. I'm gonna ask you guys this last one, to close. I wanna ask you both, what is the one thing that you wish your instructors knew about it could be you specifically, a friend of yours, or your generation of students? What is one thing you wish your instructors would know?
Speaker 2:I think my thoughts are that intentionality goes a long way. I think that for some reason, our generation feels like people don't care about us as much as we think they do. And professors showing me the littlest bit of intentionality and even just encouragement. I was in good doctor Fultz. I love him.
Speaker 2:He's one of my favorite professors. He hyped me up so much and gave me so much confidence. He told me, like he would always tell me, like, you're a rock star. You're doing great. Like, you are capable of so much more than you think you are.
Speaker 2:And he just gave me so much encouragement, and that took me so far. And so just when professors believe in their students, it makes such an impact. And one another thing too is doctor Elliott is, every day he would say, like, you guys are so smart. You're gonna ace this test. Like, I know you all are capable of it.
Speaker 2:And at the end of the semester, he was like, I actually tell my classes that every single semester is I tell them every time that they're gonna do great and that they're really smart, even if I don't believe it. Because if you tell them that enough, they'll believe it and they will do well. And like his class wasn't exactly easy. I mean, it is a challenging class, but we all did really well in it because he was constantly there encouraging us throughout the whole thing and telling us you can do it. You are smart.
Speaker 2:You are capable. You're intelligent. You guys are great students, even if it wasn't true at all. And it took us so far.
Speaker 4:It's amazing what belief does.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Motivation.
Speaker 5:Yeah. Something that, was helpful for me was, some of my professors, like I said, I got diagnosed with the 2 different kinds of depression beginning of my freshman year. So That was a little bit of a curveball. And some of my professors were, really helpful, in in you know, I expressed, like, some things really bad happened. You know what I mean?
Speaker 5:They were accepting of that, and some were, like, well, I'm sorry, but, you know, this is how it, you know, how it is. And I think, there's a little bit of a a give and take of, like, yes, this is this is when the assignment was due, and I did have responsibilities to do that, and I do understand that, but it can be it can be really, really helpful and really encouraging to meet a student where they're at every now and then.
Speaker 2:And give grace.
Speaker 5:Yeah. Not every time. And and grace is not something that should be just thrown around willy nilly because then it's just you know, then you're just loose with it, and then you don't then, the professor is not respected as they should be. But
Speaker 4:And you don't learn?
Speaker 5:Yes, sir. Yeah. And then and then you're like, oh, well, I'm just gonna get grace, so I'm just not gonna turn the assignment in and come up with, oh, I was, you know, having a problem. But, I think just grace when grace can be given is is definitely really appreciated and really will help, those students who are really struggling.
Speaker 4:Yeah. That takes time in a relationship.
Speaker 1:Yep. Knowing the whole student.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Communication is key.
Speaker 1:Thank you. The communications page are coming in. Always gotta plug what she does.
Speaker 4:You must communicate.
Speaker 1:You must communicate. Okay. Well, thank you both so much. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Thank you for having us.
Speaker 1:I really appreciate it. Yeah. That's gonna do it for us on the Transform Your Teaching podcast. Be sure to like and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. Be sure to fill out our survey to help us improve the podcast.
Speaker 1:The information about that is in our description. Be sure you check out our blog at cedarville.eduforward/focusblog, and thanks for listening.