Exploration: Work-life Balance (From U-M Rackham Graduate School)

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From the course by University of Michigan

Preparing for Graduate Study in the U.S.: A course for international students

18 оценки

University of Michigan

Preparing for Graduate Study in the U.S.: A course for international students

18 оценки

This course prepares you to embark upon your future graduate studies in the U.S. with confidence. In this MOOC, you'll have the opportunity to meet other prospective graduate students, hear from experienced international graduate students in the United States, and to practice sharing your own thoughts, stories, and expertise in English. You’ll select a “target” graduate program at a U.S. college or university to use as a case study throughout the course. You may already be admitted to this program, or it may be an institution you hope to attend in the future. You will identify resources that support international graduate students in your target campus. You will have multiple opportunities to practice your English language skills through practice assignments and through interactions with one another. Objectives By completing the course, you should enhance your ability to reach the following objectives for the purpose of communicating successfully as a new international graduate student studying in the United States. 1. Introduce yourself professionally a. Explain your expertise b. Begin networking with members of your target institution 2. Explore the campus climate of your target institution a. Identify the local vocabulary used at your target institution to describe campus climate topics such as diversity, inclusion, or equity b. Identify skills and perspectives you can contribute to the diversity of your target institution 3. For collaboration a. Use English to negotiate group roles b. Use English to express opinions 4. For academic writing a. Identify disciplinary norms in academic writing b. Cite source material appropriately in academic writing 5. For improving English a. Use at least three digital resources to investigate language use b. Use at least three digital resources to practice English fluency c. Use at least two new daily life opportunities to improve English for academic, social, or teaching purposes

From the lesson

Week 5: English in Campus Life

In this last week of our course together, we'll turn our attention to the transition to graduate student life on a new campus. We'll identify ways to connect with individuals and groups, and to foster a supportive community around us. We'll cap off the course with a "final draft" version of everyone's elevator pitches.

Getting Connected2:00

Advice from Experienced Graduate Students (From U-M Rackham Graduate School)7:43

Exploration: Work-life Balance (From U-M Rackham Graduate School)6:27

Meet the Instructors

Pamela Bogart
Lecturer IV
English Language Institute

[MUSIC]

I think it's challenging to have a work life balance sometimes because everything

is new to you.

You think that you want to have,

give the best impression, you want to be on top of everything.

If an assignment requires four hours,

you want to put in six, just because you want to be the best.

A lot of us are here because we're high achievers and we want to just go and

beyond sometimes.

>> You're doing things that you're incredibly passionate about and

that you really love, and so

there is a tendency want to just keep working on your project no matter what.

Coupled with stress and just pressure from your peers if you feel like

you want to compete with your peers or you want to be just as successful,

as well as your advisor can provide another layer of stress.

>> The stresses kind of creep up on you.

So in your first couple of years you're so immersed in taking your classes and

advancing the candidacy.

If you're not paying attention to your research or advancing your own research,

the dissertation process can be a bit more difficult.

Or other people are more focused on their research and

spending too much time in lab and they're sacrificing their performance in classes.

So I definitely think those stressors, or certain stressors can creep up on you.

>> There is this misperception that your whole,

in order to be a successful graduate student, your whole identity needs to be

the graduate student who is in the lab all the time or in the library all the time.

And I think that misperception can make people feel a little bad if they want to

take time out for themselves.

They feel guilty if they decide to take a vacation over the summer or

to take a break at some point during the semester.

And I think that's a kind of dangerous attitude to have because you will burn

out if you keep going in a break next piece without giving

without giving yourself a break.

[MUSIC]

>> The secret is no one is doing everything all at the same time.

Even the people who pretend they are and you think have everything together and

everything tied in a little bow, no, they're stressed and they're tired too.

One thing that really helps me balance life and

balance work is that I write goals for myself, and

I write goals for the week, and then I break those goals down by day.

And when I hit that goal for the day, then I stop.

>> I run first thing in the morning so then I know I fit it in, and

then if I have to work the rest of the day that's okay.

So it's just about really setting up a schedule for yourself and

realizing you can't do everything.

So you make priorities and you do the best that you can do, and make some time for

yourself, because its important and it'll help you be a better student.

>> Make sure that you delegate time to do research, delegate time to exercise,

and delegate time to engage in social activities with your friends.

And don't let anything compromise those times because all three of those

things are very important in your journey as a graduate student.

>> One of my biggest helps during graduate school has been my roommate.

When I moved to Ann Arbor, I sublet an apartment for the summer so

I could find a place to stay and potentially find a roommate.

And when we found each other, she was in political science and I'm in education and

psychology.

So we had different enough worlds but a similar experience.

So when I was stressed out and working on papers, or

when she was worried about a class, that we can talk to each other and understand.

But still have our own separate lives, that revolved in different spaces.

>> Remember that before you became a graduate student

you are a lot of other things as well.

You were someone's best friend, you were someone's partner, you were

someone's child, you are someone's gym buddy, you are someone's coach.

So it's important to remember that in graduate school you don't drop all those

other identities, they're still in place.

And so I constantly remind myself of that, whenever I don't have

time to grab a coffee with a really good friend of mine, because I have to do work.

I remind myself that I'm not just a graduate student.

I need to have time to kind of reconnect with my friends, with my family.

>> My second year here I started a project called mind set with Tau Beta Pi

engineering honor society.

It is basically a K through 12 mathematics education project.

This was such a rewarding experience to me that in fact, it increased my

productivity and my research life in my day to day life, just made me happier.

That's just quoting my personal experience.

So for me an example of how getting involved with an organization that does

something that's really close to your heart.

And for me it was education can really change your outlook towards the research

and your graduate education.

[MUSIC]

>> There are many programs here on campus that will help you to kind of destress and

kind of refocus yourself.

There's the counselling and psychological services that is free for

all students and faculty, where you can go in and talk to someone.

They have a room that has yoga, and games, and massage chairs that you

can just go and give yourself a 30 minute stress free break.

>> One of the things that they do that could be helpful

is workshops, that help people try and

time manage, or to try and manage stress better.

Or if you need more than just a workshop they also have short term counseling with

therapist and counselors where can meet with them a few times and

try to talk about the kinds of stress you're going through and

different strategies to trying manage the things that are on your plate.

We can definitely make an appointment at the psychological services or

the psychological clinic at the University of Michigan.

This is a clinic that's associated with the Department of Psychology and

you can meet with therapists a little more long term to try and

establish how to maintain your long term goals.

Also, how to get to your short term goals in order to get to your long term goals.

And also, how to use different strategies to maintain your mental health.

[MUSIC]

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