Category: College Ready

Is a Student Emotionally Ready for Dual Credit Courses, if They Are 15 Years Old?

4/15/2014

I was recently asked for my thoughts on dual enrollment at my school. Dual enrollment is where students are taking a university course, that counts as credit for both high school and college. While I think this is an awesome opportunity for students - giving them access to college, getting them college credit, making one course count for two similar purposes - there are some drawbacks.

I spoke to Sherri Coon, who wrote the article "Is Dual Enrollment Right For Your Teen?" She interviewed two teens who were helped by duel enrollment, another college professor who talked about the difference between Advanced Placement courses and Dual Enrollment Courses, myself, and a parent. The article is very detailed, and provides a lot more info than I could post here (you should read it, if you are thinking of putting your child into dual enrollment courses).

Here was my response to her question "What should people know about Dual Enrollment courses?

Dr. Amy B. Hollingsworth is an instructor at The University of Akron, who works closely with dual enrollment students in her biology course. "One of the known issues with dual enrollment (DE) is that students don't feel like they belong in either high school or college," Dr. Hollingsworth says. "A student who is 16, and in a college course, may have trouble relating to the other students in the class, which can make them feel isolated. In my lab course, where my students work in groups, I have seen 16-year-olds feel very uncomfortable when the others are talking about drinking or going to fraternity parties," she adds. These students may not feel that they belong in high school, either. "While I feel it is an advantage curriculum-wise, I don't think students are truly emotionally prepared for college at 15 or 16. Unless they are in a distance-learning situation (where the college course is broadcast to their high school via the web or on a screen in a lecture hall) or have excellent counseling, first generation students may feel isolated," she shares. "The word we use for it is 'liminality.' This is where they are at a crossroads between being a teenager and being made to skip the crucial years of understanding oneself, and going straight into college without the emotional maturity," Dr. Hollingsworth adds.

I think back to all those things I learned during high school, that were not part of the curriculum. Learning to be a social person. Learning to navigate the school system. Learning to drive, playing in the band, being a cheerleader, working with my peers. And then, I think about college. During that time, I took courses, learned to live on my own, learned about credit cards (ouch!), went to parties, joined a sorority, worked as a waitress to pay my bills.

Maybe students NEED these two sets of experiences (high school, and college), in order to work their way through their young adult years. If you do high school and college at the same time, you skip some experiences from both high school and college. In order to give students more academic experiences, are we forgetting about them just needing TIME to grow up?

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How Not to Be a Jerk to Your Students - Using Kind Canned Responses

4/13/2014

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I've always found that anything worth achieving will always have obstacles in the way and you've got to have that drive and determination to overcome those obstacles on route to whatever it is that you want to accomplish.

Chuck Norris

One of the biggest obstacles students face in being successful in college is learning that there is a whole new set of rules, which are much different than in high schools. These rules often trips up students who did not attend a rigorous high school, still think they are in high school, or are just (sadly) clueless.

Instructors are challenged daily by these students, and their misperceptions of “how school works.” There is a certain intersection where each instructor must say, "I deal with my students in context, and I expect my students to understand the reasons for my course being organized as it is, as well."

An excellent instructor explains WHY things are the way they are. I have a giant Google Doc I keep of "canned responses" that are both informative, and kind. When a student asks me about extra credit or makeup exams, I can tell them what the answer is, and why. Sometimes, the answer is that I can't do whatever they ask me, because I can't do it for the 640 students in my class also. Here are some of the canned responses I use:

1. When asked if I can override the school's class limit (usually so they can get into a lab that meets at a different time) - I respond:

"Hello student,

I wish I could help you. The labs for this course are capped at 40 students per section, because each student needs to be seated at a lab station. If this were a lecture, I could help. But I can't for the lab.

My best suggestion is to check back for the course registration daily, so that if someone drops the lab, you can grab it. Otherwise, there are other labs that are still open.

Thanks, and good luck!

Amy"

2. Then, I am often asked if the student can bring a friend /their child/some random stranger to lab with them. I respond:

"Dear Student,

Unfortunately, only the students registered for the lab can come into the lab. Part of this is due to our university liability insurance. The other part is that the TA for the course needs to know exactly is in the room, so they can make sure people don't get hurt. If everyone brought a person to lab with them, that would be 80 people in the lab, which is dangerous.

I appreciate you asking me first. I'm sorry I can't let any additional people into the lab.

Thanks,

Amy"

3. Another is on missed quizzes. Usually, students miss a quiz or two over the course of the semester (they have a weekly quiz). Many ask to make them up. We don't allow makeups (partly because the quizzes are given via computer), and they have the whole week to take them.

"Dear Student,

If you check the syllabus, you will see that there are no makeup for the quizzes. You are lucky that you are allowed two dropped quizzes for the semester, so missing this one won't affect your grade at all. Just make sure you keep coming to class, taking the quizzes when they are open, and studying for them.

If you end up missing more than the two that I drop, please send me the doctor's excuse, and you can take the quiz on paper during my office hours.

Thanks,

Amy"

If we explain to the students WHY we flip the class, why our syllabus is set up as it is, and why we have the procedures and rules - we have the chance to be fair, be kind, and be firm. We all know that students are students, and they are learning to navigate this game called college as well.

I dislike courses where the professor is a jerk, and is mean because they don't like students asking those silly *questions*. Like, how dare these students not *get it.* What if they've never encountered the change to "get it?" You can be kind in explaining your pedagogy, and every educator should improve their FAQs regularly. I post a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) for my courses, and I find it is really helpful. Having a detailed syllabus is also helpful.

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Is the Path Out of Poverty the Path Right Back Into Poverty? Is Pushing For "Diversity in STEM Education" a Bad Idea?

4/4/2014

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STEM education is in the news, and is often touted as the best college career path ANY student can take. STEM is also criticized for not having enough minority student interest. Historically, STEM is very white, and very Asian. Pushing low-income, first-generation minorities into STEM fields may not be the “great idea” that it appears to be, from the outside. The headline on The Inside Higher Education blog reads:

New Push to Boost Numbers of Minority STEM Ph.D.s

California Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and the University of California campuses at Berkeley and Los Angeles jointly announced a new effort Thursday to increase the number of minority Ph.D.s in science, mathematics and technology fields. The four universities will create "a unique, cross-institutional community of underrepresented minority Ph.D. students, postdoctoral scholars and faculty members in the targeted fields; developing faculty training to better recognize and help these students thrive and advance; and conducting research that includes annual surveys of Ph.D. students about what factors impact their attitudes, experiences and preparation for the future," the announcement said.

On the surface, this seems like a noble goal. Get more minority students into STEM. Exciting! But, on the same website, is this headline about how blacks and Latinos are taking on more debt than their white counterparts:

Debt, Race and Ph.D.s

Colleges and universities -- not to mention many businesses -- have been pushing for gains in the numbers of black and Latino students who earn doctorates, especially in STEM or social science fields.

A new study may point to one hindrance in making progress toward this goal. Black and Latino graduate students are more likely to borrow and more likely to borrow larger sums to earn a Ph.D. than are white or Asian graduate students. The figures are particularly striking for African Americans and for STEM fields.

And in light of the reoccurring theme on The Chronicle of Higher Education, Insider Higher Ed, The Huffington Post, and countless other websites, it is becoming almost impossible to find a tenure-track, high paying job. One article talks about rejection, frustration, giving up searching, and living in despair. Here, a report from Congress about adjuncts, and the lower compensation and unpredictable schedules they face:

The median respondent salary was $22,041, below the federal poverty line for a family of four ($23,550), although the typical course load was difficult to ascertain from the online forum (with adjuncts reporting as many as 10 courses per semester). Some 89 percent of respondents teach at two or more institutions, and most can’t depend on assignments from semester to semester. Many also said they relied on help from family members and government assistance to survive, despite having advanced degrees. More than 50 percent of respondents had Ph.D.s and 30 percent held master’s degrees.

Respondents also reported low prospects for advancement to tenure-line or full-time jobs, and 89 percent said they received no professional support for teaching or research from their institutions. The average length of time respondents said they’d worked as an adjunct was 10 years. The median length of time was four years.

“Growing up in a poor neighborhood … I believed earning several college degrees would be my path out of poverty, but that is no longer the case,” one adjunct said.

So, is the path out of poverty a path right back into poverty? The likelihood of achieving the tenure-track dream is so small and wrought with emotional turmoil and anxiety, is it worth it to push minority students down this path? They may end up in a worse place – saddled with student loan debt, stuck in an adjuncting position that pays below the poverty level, and without the necessary skills to advance in a non-academic position – than they were before they began “pursuing their dreams.” Is higher education the path out of poverty, or the dream-crusher that mounts added liabilities and wastes precious time? How do you know when higher education is the problem, or the solution?

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Why do I believe so strongly in Common Core standards and testing?

4/1/2014

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Why do I believe so strongly in Common Core standards and testing?

First, if you are not aware of the Common Core, here is a crash course from NPR.

Then, several articles featuring reasons for the Common Core, and what they do.

The Common Core and the Common Good: Our educational system is not keeping up with that of many other industrialized countries, even as the job market becomes more global and international competition for jobs becomes steeper. “American students rank 25th in math, 17th in science and 14th in reading compared to students in 27 industrialized countries.” That same report found that fewer than half of our students finished college. This ranked us 14th among O.E.C.D. countries, below the O.E.C.D. average. In 1995 we were among the Top 5.

Some rightly point to the high levels of poverty in our public schools to adjust for our lagging performance, but poverty — and affluence — can’t explain all the results away. One strategy of changing our direction as a nation is the adoption of Common Core State Standards, meant to teach children the skills they need to be successful in college and careers — skills like critical thinking and deep analysis.

The problem is that, in some states, Common Core testing has been implemented before teachers, or the public for that matter, have been instructed in how to teach students using the new standards.

Bill Gates: Commend Common Core: Right now,45 states are implementing new academic standards, known as the Common Core, which will improve education for millions of students. Unfortunately, conversation about the standards is shrouded in myths.

The standards are just that: standards, similar to those that have guided teachers in all states for years, except these standards are inspired by a simple and powerful idea: Every American student should leave high school with the knowledge and skills to succeed in college and in the job market.

Today, 80% of students say they expect to go to college while only 40% of adults have an associate's degree or higher. Clearly, the old standards didn't help them achieve their goals. Common Core was created to fix that. And at least 75% of teachers support them, according to several surveys.

Inconsistent standards like the ones we've had until now punish students who have to switch schools. Either they're expected to know material they've never been taught, or they're re-taught material they already know. But with standards that are not only high enough but also consistent, students will be able to move without falling behind.

Myth: Common Core was created without involving parents, teachers or state and local governments.

In fact, the standards were sponsored by organizations made up of governors and school officials. The major teacher unions and 48 states sent teams, including teachers, to participate.

Myth: Common Core State Standards means students will have to take even more high-stakes tests.

Common Core won't necessarily add to the number of annual state tests students take. States will introduce new math and language arts tests based on the standards to replace tests they give now.

Myth: Common Core standards will limit teachers' creativity and flexibility.

These are standards, just like the ones schools have always had; they are not a curriculum. They are a blueprint of what students need to know, but they have nothing to say about how teachers teach that information. It's still up to local educators to select the curriculum.

Six Ways the Common Core is Good For Students:

1. Common Core Puts Creativity Back in the Classroom

2. Common Core Gives Students a Deep Dive

3. Common Core Ratchets up Rigor

4. Common Core is Collaborative

5. Common Core Advances Equity

6. Common Core Gets Kids College Ready

Student success is the outcome every education professional works so tirelessly toward, and the Common Core will help them get there if it’s implemented well, according to the panel of educators.

“Yes, it’s an extra workload as a teacher, and it’s difficult…but it’s for the betterment of the students,” says Davis-Caldwell. “And if we keep that our focus, I don’t see why we can’t be successful.”

The Common Core's Unsung Benefit: It Teaches Kids to Be Good Citizens: The Common Core has started to take political flak from the right and the left. Conservatives worry about the overreach of federal incentives, while unions don’t want the standards connected to teacher evaluations. What is being lost? The standards’ significant emphasis on reinvigorating the democratic purpose of public education. Making good on this promise presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to redefine and reprioritize the special role that schools play in preparing students for active civic participation.

The Common Core identifies three texts—and only three texts—that every American student must read: the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution (Preamble and Bill of Rights), and Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address.

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I will make an amazingly bold, perhaps unbelievable claim. If a school district would hire me as “The Common Core Director,” within four years – if allowed complete control over the system – I could take any low-performing district, and get them to over 80% passing the graduation tests. This would be without firing ANY teachers, with ANY population of students (poor, rich, white, black, brown, ESL), and without expending ANY additional funds. How much do I believe I could be successful? I’m willing to stake my paycheck on it. An average Ohio school superintendent makes $150,000 a year. As a teacher, I made $50,000 a year. Pay me $50,000 a year for a director’s position for those four years, putting the extra $100,000 in a savings account for me. At the end of four years, if I have been successful, everyone wins. The students see success, I get the paycheck. If I have been unsuccessful, take that money and provide free tutors for the students.

How do I know I would be successful? I have done it all before, as part of the science department in Eagle Pass. We went from a 39% passing rate on the state science tests, to an 89% passing rate in four years.

I believe in the Common Core. A bare minimum helps all kids get at least a rigorous education, and a shot at college. Schools are always free to extend education, and should – teachers can still teach fun and exciting lessons in their content area, while providing each child with a quality education. And every teacher in the public school system is being paid using taxpayer dollars. Those teachers can teach however they choose, as long as they provide AT LEAST the common core that every other teacher is responsible for. It just makes sense.

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Is a Student Emotionally Ready for Dual Credit Courses, if They Are 15 Years Old?

How Not to Be a Jerk to Your Students - Using Kind Canned Responses

Is the Path Out of Poverty the Path Right Back Into Poverty? Is Pushing For "Diversity in STEM Education" a Bad Idea?

Why do I believe so strongly in Common Core standards and testing?

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