If you’re planning to take up a course in the US, remember that teaching styles there are a lot different than those in other nations. Teaching style in the US lays more emphasis on interaction, instead of rote memorization. Pupils regularly heckle teachers with questions and doubts or offer constructive criticism. This trend is encouraged as faculty prefers debate and discussion to monologue and silence. You will also observe that the professors and students tend to dress up in rather informal fashion. Besides this, each university will have open office hours for students to drop by and clear their doubts.
In the US, class sizes are generally smaller as compared to other countries. Although, freshers may see a few large classes, majority of classes are small with 15 to 25 students. Large lectures often have small recitation sections administered by teachers or teaching assistants. The aim of recitation sections is to review the study material given in the main lecture, improvise it with extra inputs, and give a chance to ask questions.
Your grades will be determined by how well you score on the tests, quizzes and assignments. So, your active participation in a recitation section can drastically improve your grades. Be sure to remain in the good books of your teachers and teaching assistants…and why? The better they know you, the better they will be able to track your progress.
Unless instructed to make groups with fellow students, you should do all of the assignments yourself. While studying in groups is acceptable, completing individual assignment in groups is considered cheating. Similarly, quoting a text work without properly attributing its source is considered plagiarism, which may result into failing a class or even expulsion from the university.