Learning Strategy
Overview of learning experience at Rider
From China to the United States: it is a big change. You may discover many differences between eastern culture and western culture. In order to be successful, you should change your learning habits and use the right strategies.
- It will be a tough two years. So, you must focus on your study not only physiologically, but also psychologically. Take care of yourself and be positive and optimistic.
- Place emphasis on preview and review. Plan everything in advance and do not do anything in at the last minute.
- Manage your time effectively. Combine study and entertainment properly.
- Make more friends and have face-to-face communication with other people, not only to improve your English but also to learn more about cultural differences and adapt to them.
- You should learn the knowledge by heart and try to apply the knowledge from books to practice. Applying knowledge to actual life and career experiences will benefit you in the future.
- Never stop learning. Take advantage of the valuable resources here and build your networks.
Learning Resources
Updated by Gaoxing Feng (Jason)
-Making an Appointment with Tutors
Why meet with tutors?
When you study in Rider University, you may meet many professors who offer you homework such as case analysis or writing a paper. English is the second language for Sanda students. It is helpful to have your grammar corrected by a writing tutor. During our first semester at Rider, there was a course called Research Writing. This courserequired us to write several papers. Discussing these papers with the tutor before handing them in to the professor is a wise choice, which could likely result in a better grade.
You may also meet your course tutor more often in order to discuss with him/her the doubts you have encountered during your studiesor in your homework. Moreover the appointments that you make with tutor in Rider University are all free (joking). Who doesn’t like a free lunch?
How to make an appointment with tutors
You can meet your tutor in one of two ways:.
- You can choose to go to the BLC[y1] , on the third floor, where in the student success center, you can make an appointment with the officer at the information counter.
- You may also choose to make appointment online. You can log in to the Website of Rider University. Click the academic support and service and then in the left side will appear the ‘tutortrac’. You can click here to schedule your appointment with tutoring schedules
-Equipment in Library
- Computers
Most of computers in the library are available for students. They’re totally free and very easy to use. You can take advantage of those computers in the library to deal with daily emails and documents.
- Printers
Tips for Printing
When you are going to print a document, you should choose a proper printer and number of copies. Each printer in the library has its own name. So you should choose the proper printer you want before printing materials out. Especially, when you want to print a PPT, you should be careful to choose the slide or handout. Slide means one slide is printed on one page. However, 2- 6 slides can be in one page when you use handout.
After hitting the print button, you will see a Printer Selection box; click print again. You will now be prompted to enter two items into the display box:
1. On “Enter a job name” type in a short name for your print job (you can input any words or characteristics).
2. On the next line, type in a short name for your Easy Pass User Name
3. Then click on the “Print” button below this.
Pick up your printouts
1. Go to Print Release Station (the black computer to the left of the printers against the brick wall)
2. Enter your Easy Pass User Name and Password
3. Select documents you want to print by clicking them
4. Click the “Print” button on the lower left of screen.
5. Pick up printouts at the appropriate printer
Warning note: After 4 hours, your print jobs will be purged! If you meet any problems (such as a paper jam), contact the people who are working there for any help.
Places to print
1. Bart Luedeke Center 126
2. Bart Luedeke Commuter Lounge
3. Daly’s Dining Hall
4. Fine Arts 1st Floor Lobby
5. Fine Arts 3rd Floor Lobby
6. Memorial 1st Floor Lobby
7. Moore Library Public Area
8. Moore Library 24-Hour Study Lounge
9. Science Building 1st Floor Lobby
10. SRC First Floor Lobby
11. Switlik C106
12. Sweigart Hall 1st Floor Lobby
13. West Village Building B
- Scanner
Instruction of scanning
1. Click on “ Scan”,
2. Click on the “Scan” button on the scanner (the first left button)
3. You will see the scanned file on desk top
4. Click on the scanned file on desktop, and then click on a “Send Text to Word” icon on the Tool bar, which can convert the scanned image to Word document.
5. You can use USB to take documents out, using “copy” and “paste”.
-Databases/ Indexes (for accessing periodical articles)
Click on the “library” button (on the top of the webpage), then click the “Databases and Indexes” button, Choose the “Subject list of databases” to get to Rider’s Databases & Indexes and then scroll down the subject list to find the subject you want.
- Find Books on Your Topics:
Search Tips: Follow the form prompts to construct a Boolean search. Use the "Search:" box to enter terms. Then, select the relationship of terms to the right of the search box. Use the "within" menu to search for the terms in a particular field. To combine sets, choose the operator you want: AND, OR, NOT. Select filters as desired. Then click the Search button to complete your search.
To locate books at RU Libraries, Use Online Catalog (Matilda):
It’s on the library home page (https://www.rider.edu/15478_6195.htm )
Then you can search the book by: (a) Search keyword subject keyword (b) Book call number and availability (c) Sort by Date Descending Order
- Find Periodical articles on your topics:
To locate the Library’s periodicals, to Find Articles on the Library Home Page, search database: 1. Alphabetical order of the database’s name 2. Subject
Note: find the actual Periodical Article at Rider University
From the library home page, follow the Find Full Text Journals link. Type the name of the periodical that you are looking for in the dialog box.
- MLA Format with NoodleBib (MLA Works Cited list)
NoodleBib is an interactive online tool for generating, editing, and publishing your MLA ”Works Cited” list to “Word” document.
Click link (https://www.rider.edu/15478_5857.htm) to enter the NoodleBib & Style Guides link and choose the format you want, such as useful MLA sites. First, you should create your own NoodleBib Personal ID & Password. Once signed into NoodleBib, click on “Create New List” and select MLA Advanced.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Guidelines for Projects and Presentations
-Presentation
Updated by Xiaoyun Jin (Summer)
The presentation could be divided into two parts: group presentations and individual presentations. Generally speaking, during the undergraduate periods, there are more group presentations, which require team work. You should be aware of the importance of cooperation with other team members, such as distribution of tasks and communication. It is unavoidable that conflicts may happen. You should communicate with your team members or ask the Professor to solve the problem. Professors evaluate the group presentation from both the overall quality and each member’s part. The requirements of the presentation are usually given in the syllabus, and sometimes the Professor will give some samples as references. If you have some questions about the presentation, don’t hesitate to contact your professor. The evaluation standards of the presentation are as follows:
1. Preparation: You should prepare a PPT and set it up before class. Be sure to start the presentation on time. Use of visuals and color will help your presentation to be more vivid and persuasive. Also, pay attention to your appearance in the presentation, as some professors require you to dress formally and others do not.
2. Organization: It’s very important to make your presentation clearly organized. You should pay attention to effective transitions, professionalism of presentation, use of time and originality. If doing a group presentation, you must have good coordination with your group members.
3. Content: Cover all the key points required (usually on the syllabus). Moreover, handling of questions is also very important. You should express your own opinions and give your solutions with real life examples.
4. Interaction with students: pay attention to eye contact with your audience. You could also use questions or small games to make the atmosphere more relaxed. Aside from that, the use of body language, like posture or gesticulation can help your audience to better understand you. Meanwhile, don’t speak too fast in the presentation, because this will detract from the focus of the audience.
Note: Generally, in addition to the oral presentation, you should also provide a written report. This could consist of 10 to 15 pages, depending on the requirements of different Professors. In addition, writing an outline of your presentation also helps it to turn out smoother and more logically sound.
-Papers and Projects
Almost every course requires students to do papers and projects. Professors specify their requirements in the syllabus. Some common requirements are:
1) Format, pages, space, and font size requirments
2) Proper spelling and grammar
3) Proper quotation and citing of sources
4) Handing in the paper on time
5) Ability to find resources from database
Some common types of paper and projects are listed as follows:
1) Anotated bibliography: It includes a summary and/or evaluation of each resource (books, journals, websites, periodic, etc.) you find.
2) Research paper: It will take a lot of time to do a research paper and there are also strict standards.
3) Case analysis: You should read a given case first And then answer some questions based on your understanding of the case.
4) Financial analysis: In some finance courses, in order to help students learn about current events, Professors require students to do a project based entirely on the “real world”. You should provide a specific analysis about the market with charts or graphs.
Note: There is a writing lab at Rider, which provides students assistance with their papers. After you finish your draft, you could make an appointment with them to revise your
[y1]Add a linkage to the campus map