Saturday 19 December 2015

The transition from k 12 schooling to college education

Students today are arriving in colleges with higher combined ACT/SAT scores and, obviously, increasingly higher hopes for an appealing, world-class education in universities. As students shift from a high school to a college/university background, the teacher’s role in their learning experience alters too. In certain cases, students find themselves attending classes with a higher number of students than they were accustomed to their high school class. What many of us tend to overlook is that most of these students arrive in colleges with little preparation for this change.

Studies demonstrate that between 28% and 40% of first-time undergrads register for at least one corrective course. Amongst community colleges in USA students only quite a few studies have established that more than half require remediation to be complete their college-level work. The conclusion which can be drawn here is that students are finding it difficult to cope with their college education. The vast difference in the mode of instruction is responsible to some extent.

When you compare high school teachers and university/college lecturers you will find several differences. High school teachers are usually experts in pedagogy whereas college instructors are focused solely on their subject fields. Faculty members in universities in USA have countless hours of research to boast of along with strong mentoring of their advisors. However, I would like to point out here that they lack a rock-solid teaching background when compared to high school teachers. Throughout their K 12 schooling, the students are taught by certified teachers who have training in educational practices, education theories, execution of practical academic policies. So, it is a huge dramatic change when they enter colleges and resultantly some of them are overwhelmed.

With such immensely diverse and likewise significant expertise in the educational spectrum I find it very unfortunate that there is very little collaboration between high school teachers and college professors. Strong alliance would augment teaching for both parties, would boost the perception levels of what modes of schooling and learning are occurring in each situation, and would aid students in their shift from high school to college.

The escalating reputation of MOOCs, open-education resources, and liberally accessible course content on platforms like iTunes U fetches an implausible opening for high school teachers and college lecturers to work together and improve each other's teaching. K 12 teachers and college faculties can collaborate with each other, with college lecturers sharing their insights on the changes in their respective fields, their in-depth knowledge whereas the k 12 teachers can give insights on teaching modes, instructional design, and how to develop consequential evaluation aimed on student learning evidence. If we are able to bring about a large-scale collaboration across the country’s education institutions then it will enhance the learning experience for all students.

I believe that joint values and expectations, lucid and accessible information can aid in bridging the gap between the high school and university education. In order to do that we must take the initiative to ensure that this reaches to the maximum number of students in the country!

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