Two
distinct curricula exist within a university student's undergraduate
experience (Hettich, 1992). The obvious one—the overt
curriculum—consists of the courses listed on the student's
transcript and the contents (e.g., facts, concepts, and theories) of
those courses that the student has acquired. The less obvious, but
equally important one is the covert curriculum, which is composed of
the skills and characteristics that a student develops as a result
of successfully completing the overt curriculum. Colleges and
universities often call these "life-long learning skills"
because they refer not to the specific information that students
acquired during their formal education (i.e., the contents of
their education), but to how successfully they can continue to
acquire information after their formal education has ended
(i.e., the processes they developed as they acquired the contents of
their education). Put in chronological context, the overt curriculum
stresses the knowledge a person has achieved in the past,
whereas the covert curriculum emphasizes the aptitudes (i.e., skills
and attitudes) that will enable individuals to continue to acquire
new knowledge and to attain new skills in the future, both on
the job and in their personal lives.
Uninformed students often behave as if their occupational and
educational futures depend solely upon their ability to master the
overt curriculum (i.e., to learn all the facts, concepts, and
theories presented in their classes) and to obtain a document that
proves this mastery (i.e., a college diploma). These students spend
most of their time and energy on the acquisition of course content
so they can graduate with a high GPA. More well informed (i.e.,
savvy) students also understand the value of acquiring the knowledge
presented in their classes and performing well on tests and papers
but, in addition, they are keenly aware of the value of the covert
curriculum. As a result, they make a conscious effort to
continually improve their skills and refine their attitudes.
Hettich (1992) lists many examples of the covert curriculum, some of
which are given below. The majority of undergraduate psychology
majors enter the work force immediately after they graduate. If you
are one of these, please consider the value of applying the
following examples of the covert curriculum within the contexts of
both your future workplace and your personal life.
Reading with
comprehension and the ability to identify major points
People who are employed
in management positions (i.e., the kind of position most college
graduates aspire to attain) are constantly in search of new ideas
and methods to help them perform their jobs more successfully. They
understand that they must keep up with the current literature in
their profession and obtain relevant information from other printed
sources such as books, magazines, and trade publications. Reading
complex written materials rapidly, comprehending their contents,
differentiating between relevant and irrelevant information, and
identifying major points are all skills that can be developed and
strengthened in school. Studying the contents of reading
assignments for tests is an excellent way to develop these valuable
job skills. Savvy students do not read assignments just to say that
their eyes have passed over all the words on all the pages; they
read assignments to learn new materials because they realize that
this is a skill that will help them for the rest of their lives,
both on and off the job.
Speaking and
writing in a clear, organized, and persuasive manner
The ability to
communicate in a clear, organized, and persuasive manner is one of
the most crucial characteristics of successfully employed people.
The inability to do so leaves others confused about what we have
written or said (because we are unclear), convinced that we do not
know what we are talking or writing about (because we are
unorganized), and unlikely to do what we ask them to do (because we
are not persuasive). College is full of opportunities to sharpen
communication skills. All students take basic communication courses
such as English composition and fundamentals of speech because they
are required to do so. Unfortunately, most students take these
courses simply to "get them out of the way" rather than to actually
learn something from them. Savvy students take more advanced
courses in these areas and seek out experiences that will require
them to polish their communication skills because they understand
that strong communication skills will help them to distinguish
themselves from others during the employment acquisition process
(i.e., cover-letter writing, resume production, and interviewing).
Listening attentively
Successful employees
listen carefully and attentively to their supervisors' instructions,
understand what these instructions mean (or ask for clarification to
improve their understanding), and then carry out these instructions
in an accurate and complete manner. Lectures and tests serve as
excellent practice for this valuable skill. Think of lectures as
the instructions and tests as the tasks that must be carried out
according to these instructions. Listening attentively and
actively, comprehending complicated and/or complex information, and
then using this information to answer questions or solve problems
are skills that are as valuable in the workplace as they are in the
classroom.
Taking accurate notes
Employees must often
listen to others and accurately remember what they hear. This could
take place in a one-on-one situation (e.g., a supervisor giving
instructions to a employee) or in groups (e.g., during presentations
or workshops). Unless the amount of information provided is very
small or the employee's memory is phenomenally large, it is usually
a wise idea to take notes. This may seem like a simple task, but
successful note taking requires practice. Learning how to listen
for important points, summarizing and organizing large amounts of
complex information, and writing notes so they are understandable at
a later time are important skills. College classes provide
wonderful opportunities to practice this crucial skill, and the
feedback that students receive on tests can provide them with
valuable information about their note-taking ability.
Mastering efficient memory strategies
All jobs require employee's to
remember things (e.g., customers' names, dates of important
meetings, locations of important information, etc.) Memory refers
to the ability to select, store, and use information, and these
skills are vital to effective and efficient workplace behavior. The
results of a lack of memory skills are confusion, disorganization,
and incompetence. Employees who exhibit these characteristics are
seldom promoted, receive minimal salary increases, and often lose
their jobs. College is the natural place to learn about your memory
and how to use it. Psychology majors have an advantage in this area
because memory is a topic in some of their classes (e.g., cognition,
learning, and human development).
Developing critical
thinking skills
Employees must not only
be able to remember vital information (i.e., retention), they
must also be capable of thinking about what they remember in a
number of important ways. They must comprehend information
so they can communicate it to others in an understandable manner.
They must apply the information they comprehend in order to
solve problems in the work place. They must analyze large,
complex problems or sources of information into smaller, more
manageable units and understand how these units fit together to form
the larger whole (e.g., dividing a large task into several sub-tasks
and then setting up a time line to complete the sub-tasks). They
must locate, gather, and synthesize (i.e., combine)
information from a variety of different sources into new and
creative ideas and methods. Finally, they must evaluate
ideas and methods by applying appropriate criteria to determine
their value or usefulness. These are the thinking skills that are
crucial (i.e., critical) for success for in college and in the work
place. That is why they are called critical thinking skills.
Submitting assignments on time and in acceptable form
Employers pay their
employees to perform their jobs accurately, completely, and in a
timely manner. Employees are terminated if they cannot perform
their jobs (i.e., their work is incorrect, incomplete, and/or
late). Learning how to submit assignments that are accurate,
complete, and submitted on time is a skill that has obvious value in
the workplace.
Behaving in a
responsible, punctual, mature, and respectful manner
Employees who fail to
show up for work, who are often late, or whose behaviors can be
interpreted as immature or disrespectful are seldom employed for
long. College is the perfect time to become aware of these negative
traits and to develop strategies to eliminate them before they
become fatal flaws in the workplace (e.g., leaving home a little
earlier so you can arrive for class on time even if the traffic is
bad).
Managing stress and conflict successfully
Employees are often
exposed to stressful working conditions and are required to work
with less-than-perfect fellow employees. Stress management and
conflict management are essential skills that successful employees
possess. The college years are filled with opportunities—both formal
(e.g., a stress management class) and informal (e.g., learning how
to get along with the "roommate from hell")—to develop them. Most
organizations expect their employees to possess these skills when
they begin their jobs, and they rapidly weed out those who do not.
It is vitally important to understand that these skills are also
crucial to the ability to lead a healthy and successful life when a
person is not on the job.
Organizing the
physical environment to maximize efficiency
Employees must be able to
organize their physical environments so they can perform their jobs
competently and efficiently. Appearing confused, making mistakes,
or losing important information are often caused by poor
organizational skills. College is an ideal time to learn how to set
up a workspace (e.g., a desk, a portable file, and a book case) in a
manner that promotes organization and efficiency. Develop a system
to organize the materials for each of your classes (e.g., the
syllabus, notes, handouts, assignments, and tests) so that when
finals week occurs, you will not panic because you cannot locate the
information you need to study for your exams.
Observing and evaluating the attitudes and behaviors of
role models
Successful employees
quickly learn the culture of their organization by observing their
supervisors and successful fellow employees. Learning which
behaviors to avoid (e.g., flirting with fellow employees and coming
to work late) and which to imitate (e.g., dressing in a professional
manner and staying late to complete important tasks) is a crucial
skill for an employee who wishes to remain with an organization,
receive above average salary increases, and earn promotions. Being
willing and able to observe and evaluate the attitudes and behaviors
of role models can be the factors that mean the difference between
(a) just putting in eight hours every day at a dead-end job because
you need the paycheck and (b) actually relishing the idea of getting
up and going to work every morning for an organization that makes
you feel comfortable, productive, and valued.
Maintaining an accurate appointment book that lists dates
of tests and assignments
Successful employees
in today's fast-paced world must be capable of managing their time
and controlling their complicated schedules. Behaving in a
temporally clueless manner (e.g., forgetting meetings, neglecting
appointments, and missing deadlines) are all signposts on the road
to the unemployment office. The ability to maintain an accurate
appointment book that lists the dates of tests and assignments—and
the dates when you should begin to prepare for them—is something
that all college students should master. Without such a calendar,
the complex and demanding life of a college student becomes a series
of frightening surprises ("I walked into class this morning
expecting a lecture and the teacher was passing out the test I
thought we were taking next week."), panic-producing discoveries
("Oh my God, you mean the final draft of our term paper is due
TOMORROW!") and bitter disappointments ("I'm sorry you missed the
test, but if you had read the syllabus, you would know that I give
make-up tests only when I have received an excuse before, not after,
the test is given.").
Working as a
productive member of a team
Employers pay employees
to perform complex tasks that almost always require some degree of
teamwork—almost no one works alone. The ability to work as a
productive member of a successful team and to be seen as a "team
player" requires a set of crucial skills and characteristics that
must be acquired through practice, and what better place to practice
than in school where mistakes are far less costly than in the work
place. "Team players" are those who communicate clearly, are
responsible, work well in groups, prefer to cooperate rather than
compete, and are goal-oriented. Many university students attempt to
avoid projects in which they must collaborate with their peers
because they fear their grades will suffer. What they do not
realize is that even if their grades do not suffer, their future
on-the-job performance will.
Interacting successfully with a wide variety of people
The working world is
filled with people who differ in many ways. Successful employees
are those who have developed the ability to interact in a congenial
and productive manner with a wide variety of people (e.g., a
supervisor who is older, a client of a different race, or a
co-worker with a different sexual orientation). Some people seem to
be naturally comfortable with diversity, but for those who are not,
the university setting is the perfect place to develop this crucial
characteristic. The best way for students to become more
comfortable with people who are different from themselves is to take
advantage of curricular and extracurricular activities that will
bring them in contact with groups of diverse people. The worst
thing they can do is to isolate themselves from diversity by
deciding to live, work, and spend leisure time with only those
people who are like themselves.
Seeking feedback
about performance and using it to improve future performance
Employees are hired to perform certain duties. Those who succeed at
their duties gain rewards such as promotions and raises; those who
are unsuccessful remain at lower positions and pay levels or are
terminated. Savvy employees understand that their performance must
satisfy not only their own standards of quality, but also the
standards of their supervisor(s). The willingness to actively seek
feedback from supervisors about task performance and the ability to
use this feedback to improve future performance are crucial traits
of successful employees. Students can develop these traits by
playing close attention to the written and verbal feedback they
receive on tests and papers, by asking for feedback when it is not
given, and by using the feedback they receive to improve their
future tests and papers. Grades are important components of
feedback, but grades do not tell students how to improve their
future performance.
Accepting responsibility for your own behavior and
attitudes
Being able to act in a
responsible manner is the cornerstone of personal growth and
professional maturity in any occupation. College is the perfect
time to learn how to take responsibility for your own actions
(rather than blaming your failures on others), and to understand
that it is the way you interpret external circumstances that
determines how you will respond to them, not the circumstances
themselves. College is also the perfect time to learn how to be a
person who is regarded as responsible by others. Responsible people
are those who do what they say they will do, in a timely and
competent manner, even when the circumstances are less than ideal.
References
Hettich, P. I. (1992). Learning skills for college and career.
Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.
