How to be an active learner

These ideas come from a very good little book, Striving for Excellence in College: Tips for Active Learning, by M. Neil Browne and Stuart Keeley (2d ed., Prentice Hall, 2001, ISBN: 0-13-022058-2). If you're serious about your college career, I recommend that you read more from it. My comments and additions appear in brackets.
What is an excellent college student? "a student, like you, who is preparing for a life of continual learning and who knows that the primary habits of mind required for such a life require an understanding of how to squeeze meaning from the confusing multitude of facts, ideas, and experiences. Central to this search for meaning are two fundamental skills: (1) the ability to think critically, to distinguish sense from relative nonsense and (2) the ability to think creatively, to generate new ideas and connections among ideas." [Striving, p. 2. Both these qualities are necessary to conceive and write quality interpretations of the historical past.]
Active Learners are:"curious, eager for challenges, feeling responsible for their learning, desiring to improve their learning potential, looking forward to finding new information, confident that they can learn." [Striving, p. 14] Active learners function as intellectual inquirers rather than partisan idealogues. They evaluate and analyze evidence rather than forming conclusions based on pre-conceived biases.
How can I function as an active learner?
  1. "Accept personal responsibility for your learning.
  2. Focus on the process of learning, not just the results.[Quality learning is a journey, not a destination.]
  3. Take risks to build self-confidence. [Stretch yourself.]
  4. Tolerate your mistakes [and learn from them. Striving, pp. 14-15.]
  5. View doubt as an essential ingredient for excellent in college. . . . . Take pride in doubt." [If you already know it all, why are you here?]
  6. Accept reality; certainty is rare. [Other than in basic math functions, certainty rarely exists. Don't just look for right answers; look for intriguing questions.]
  7. Treat answers as beginnings, rather than endings.
  8. Use the library [and other resources] to challenge your most certain beliefs." [Striving, pp. 40-42].
If you do the above things, you'll move much closer to William G. Perry's model of a mature intellect. That will truly reflect excellence in college. See also Learning Issues and Differences for further suggestions.