留学美国最好有备而来

2016年01月28日 美国留学快报


除了适应不同文化之外,来美国留学的外国学生还需要了解美国的课堂教学方法。在这方面,美国高等院校可能与学生本国学校有很多相同之处,但对那些不同的方面,留学生最好做到有备而来。


美国大学评分标准


来自孟加拉国的学生伊萨芭·哈克(Ishaba Haque)说,孟加拉国的大学都有各自的评分标准,对某些人来说,美国的评分标准可能会出乎他们的意外。这是因为考试、论文和课题项目使用的是字母计分制,从A到D,F为不及格。至于期末成绩的评分,不同的教授对考试、出勤和课堂参与都有不同权重。每一个作为评分的字母都有对应的分数值。期末成绩的分数值将用于评定学生的平均成绩(GPA)。


哈克说,重要的是学生应熟悉大学的评分政策,并特别注意每个教授是如何评估学生作业的。


课堂发言


美国高校与世界各地许多大学的不同之处是强调课堂讨论,而不是学生一边听讲一边做笔记式的方式。来自中国的帕特里克·王(Patrick Wang)说,“我的许多朋友都发现美国的课堂教学要求进行大量的独立阅读和学习,同时教授鼓励课堂参与和表达个人观点,在这方面的要求远远高于亚洲地区的教授。”


在线课程信息


与世界许多地方一样,美国高校也使用网上资源以扩充课堂上和教科书使用的教材。学生在网上就可以找到教学大纲、阅读作业甚至有关课程的完整视频。如果学生不注意教授上传到网上的资料,也不知道如何去找的话,这将对他们非常不利。


来自巴西的朱莉娅·卡多索(Júlia Cardoso)说,乔治∙华盛顿大学(George Washington University)使用的在线平台“对我来说完全出乎意料,实际上我在大一开始时曾一度落后,因为我不知道如何使用这类工具。”


团队合作


有些学生习惯于独立学习和个别给分的方式,对于参加一个小组完成课堂作业可能有些不适应。在职场上,相互合作的能力已成为一个越来越重要的部份,大学教授都会在课堂上再三强调合作的重要性。


帕特里克·王说,“美国教授很喜欢小组作业,尤其是在商学院。我想这大概是在美国留学最好的一个方面。你可以了解你的同学,学会沟通以及如何与团队一起工作。”


原文:

Coming to the U.S. to study? Don’t get taken by surprise.

In addition to adapting to a different culture, international students who come to study in the U.S. need to understand aspects of U.S. classrooms that can be very different from their home countries. There are lots of things that are common among schools in the United States and other countries, but it’s best to be prepared for the ones that are not.


Grading standards


“Universities in Bangladesh all have different rating scales,” said Ishaba Haque about her home country. “The grading system in the U.S. might come as a shock to some.”


Exams, papers and projects receive letter grades (A to D and F for failing). Different professors will give different weights to exams, attendance and class participation in your final grade. Each letter grade has a numeric value. The value of the final grade in a class is used to calculate a grade point average (GPA).

“It’s important for students to read up on university grading policies and pay special attention to how each professor assesses student work,” Haque said.


Speak up in class


Unlike many universities throughout the world, American colleges emphasize classroom discussion rather than lectures in which students listen and take notes. “Many of my friends found that classes in the U.S. require a lot of independent reading and learning,” said Patrick Wang from China, “and the professors encourage class participation and expressing individual points of view more than they do in Asia.”


As in many parts of the world, U.S. colleges are using online resources to augment materials used in the classroom and in textbooks. Students shouldn’t be surprised if the syllabus, reading assignments and even videos of entire lectures are available online. If students don’t pay attention to what a professor puts online and how to access it, they will be at a disadvantage.


The online platform used at George Washington University “was a complete surprise to me,” said Júlia Cardoso from Brazil, “and I actually fell behind in the beginning of my freshman year because I had no idea of how it worked.”

Working in groups


Students used to working on their own and being graded individually on every assignment might be surprised to be part of a small team for a class assignment. As the ability to collaborate becomes an increasingly important part of the working world, college professors often emphasize it in the classroom.


“Professors in the U.S. really like group projects,” Wang said, “particularly in business schools. I think this is probably the best part of studying in the U.S. You get to know your classmates, learn communication customs and learn teamwork.”


文章出处:美国驻华大使馆

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