Following these guidelines will help you not only at Acadia, but also in your future.
Dr. Shelley MacDougall & Dr. Rick Mehta
With thanks to Drs. Karmen Bleile and Connie Foote

Behaviour in the Classroom

Interacting with your Professors

Group work & Class Participation

Attendance is important

Punctuality

Cell phones

Laptop use in class
 Not mandatory to use in every
class
 Have the laptop on before class
 Do not use the laptop for material that
is unrelated to the course
▪ Respect!

What if you are sick or have a
family emergency?
 Documentation and contacting the
professor
 Missing class, but not a test or
assignment
 Assignments and tests

If you do not have a documented
reason for missing class, do not
expect the same type of
accommodations
 Class
 Assignments
 Tests

How to address your professors?
 Take your cue from the professor
 When in doubt, be formal

Office hours
 Make use of office hours
 Come as soon as possible
 Be prepared

E-mail
 Use your Acadia e-mail address
when communicating with faculty
members
 Check your Acadia e-mail regularly
Saturday, 3:00 a.m.
hey! i cudnt make it ta class yesturday
because i wuz out late with my budies lost
nite lol. i would of been there but i slept in
and woke up with like this a magor wiked
hungover dude:( did i miss anything
important. send me notes of what missed.
oh & whats on mundays test
-- 2 minutes later -hey! whazzup man why hevent you guten
back to me

Group work
 Choose group members wisely
 Offer to do what you are good at
 Do not be shy to state what sections
interest you
 Do not always do the same thing
 Do not be afraid to contribute your
ideas to the group
 Be involved in presentations.

Class Participation
 Students often asked to discuss
ideas
 Feel free (raise your hand) to
▪ ask & answer questions,
▪ express your viewpoint.
 Student-led discussions and
presentations in class are common
 Always be respectful of classmates
and professor.

Equality
 All students at Acadia are considered equal.
 If students are asked to participate, all
should feel free to do so.
 Classrooms and group meetings should be a
safe place to speak and state your views
and even make mistakes.

Time Management

Study Strategies

Preparation for Class

Academic Integrity

How much time?

Use the course outline (syllabus) as a
time management tool

Look closely at point values and allocate
your time accordingly

Testing and Grading Schedule
 Class Participation – 10%
 Lab reports (5) – 10%
 Term Assignment – 30%
 Midterm – 20%
 Final Exam – 30%

It’s Monday. You have a lab report due on
Wednesday and the term assignment due
on Friday. What should you do?

Make sure you are well-rested

Take occasional breaks while studying

Don’t passively read over your notes

Set specific goals for each study session

Active studying
 3R: Read, Recite (set notes/books aside),
Review
▪ Most important element: Testing yourself
 Try to anticipate what might be asked

Give yourself cues to help you
remember the information

Be prepared for lectures and labs by
 Read assigned chapters
 Do assigned tasks (questions, reports, etc)
 Forming a study group is a good idea.
 Get sufficient sleep, arrive on time
 Be aware of penalties for late papers, i.e.:

Cheating and plagiarism are not
tolerated in university.
 Read pp.35-36 of the 2010/11 Acadia
University academic calendar.
 Penalties vary.

Cheaters cheat themselves

Passing in someone else’s words or ideas
as your own
 In reports and tests
 Copying, buying term papers, plagiarizing.
 Using the same paper in two or more
courses.
 Helping someone else cheat.

What is plagiarizing?

Plagiarism is taking another
person’s work or ideas and
presenting them as if they are your
own
 Failing to cite sources of information
used,
 Improper use of quotes.

How can you avoid plagiarizing?
 Read enough articles to educate




yourself
Summarize in your notes,
Write your own words,
Cite any idea that was not your own
Never copy/paste text.

When & how do you cite a
source?
 You do not need to cite a source if
it is general knowledge.
 When in doubt, cite the source.
 Check out the plagiarism tutorial
on the Library website:
▪ Tutorials

Including the findings of other
researchers in your term paper
makes your paper better …
just give credit where credit is due.

If you are having difficulty with
your assignment or paper,
seek help from:
 Professor
 Academic librarian
 Writing centre
 Numeracy centre.

After graduation, you will represent
Acadia and your department. Your
conduct at Acadia should be that of a
professional on the job, starting
today, starting now!
Ask for help if you need it.
Use resources at the Student Resource
Centre http://counsel.acadiau.ca/ .
 Socialize with a variety of people.
 Take time to exercise & eat healthy food.
 Most of all:


Do your best and
enjoy the Acadia experience!