#9: How to Get Better Grades…And Have More Fun! – Dr. Phil Bishop

My guest on this episode is Dr. Phil Bishop, emeritus professor of Kinesiology at the University of Alabama, where he taught for 34 years. In 2006 he was appointed the first professorship at Alabama named after Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. (For more see his “Meet The Prof” page, and his personal page.)

As a Christian professor, Phil most enjoys the opportunity he has to love and care for his students. One of the ways he shows this love is speaking often on how to succeed at college, and at life! His talk, “How To Get Better Grades and Have More Fun,” is full of extremely practical and useful tips, gleaned from over four decades as a student and a professor. 

Not only does Phil provide helpful tips to get better grades, he also weaves in lessons important to succeeding in life and sustaining a vibrant relationship with Christ. 

In our conversation, based on his “Better Grades” seminar, we discuss:

• Why he cares so much about students getting better grades 
•  How to navigate the distractions of college life 
• Skills to maximize learning while in class 
• Skills to maximize learning outside of class
• How best to retain information you are reading
• The one strategy that will increase your GPA a full point or more (and reduce stress)
• How best to take advantage of your professor’s office hours 
• The importance of doing extra credit work
• Proven strategies to prepare well for final exams
• The importance of having a specific place to study 
• Finding and leveraging your learning style 
• One poor strategy that won’t help you succeed in college
• The importance of exercise for stress relief 
• The importance of prioritizing our walk with Christ during the college years
• How to determine your major, and when to start   
• The value of internships 
• How and why to take classes outside your major that you are interested in
• Strategies to identify and offset your academic weaknesses 
• Using summer to prepare well for the next academic year
• The pros and cons of websites that rate professors 

Resources mentioned during our conversation:

• Google Scholar