by Betty Bourquein

Created on: June 28, 2009

Transition from high school to college can be traumatic if students are not properly prepared. A trusted teacher's influence can help smooth the way.

Perhaps the biggest transition is from living and having to still abide to the parents' rules and standards to basically living a lifestyle of total independence. As we all know, at college one must assume the responsibility for his/her own behavior. Too many students arrive on campus without any coping skills which soon leads them into academic probation or worse. Colleges are notorious for their lax enforcement of state drinking laws. Too many students party and fail to maintain their grades. Although this problem is basically a parental concern, teachers can and should also instill a sense of responsibility. An opportunity to discuss what lies ahead during the freshman year of college away from home should never be missed.

Classroom discussions about college can include what to expect when the student arrives on campus. For example, it is highly unlikely that a high school student understands dormitory living, credit hours, or work load. Even with teacher input, the student will not realize the hours of independent study and research which will be required. It is only with the actual experiencing of this that the teacher's wise counsel might be recalled.

Another important skill to help the student transition to college is the requirement of a major research project. While still in high school, academic-level students should be shown how to do proper research and how to properly cite reference material. A strict policy on plagiarism should and must be enforced. Instead of just talking about this, the students' work should be carefully scrutinized for hints of plagiarism, obviously in the paper itself but even during the note-taking stage. Students should be carefully directed through the whole process of what constitutes a suitable thesis, good research, proper note-taking, outlining, writing, and referencing. Each step of the process should be evaluated, not just the final draft. Once the graded paper is returned to the student, the student should be required to provide a revised copy or a revision sheet which addresses the errors marked throughout the work. This revision is best accomplished by using grading codes which refer back to specific issues in the student research handbook.

Another important teaching skill is the requirement of blue book-type essays. Students should

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