CandidProf: Leading the unprepared
by Miki SaxonCandidProf is a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at a state university. He’ll be sharing his thoughts and experience teaching today’s students anonymously every Thursday— anonymously because that’s the only way he can write truly candid posts.
I teach physics and astronomy. Physics, in particular, is a very mathematical subject. That means that students are expected to be able to solve complex problems. The introductory astronomy for non-majors also has some mathematics, though it is very simplistic. Both classes require reading and studying. Unfortunately, most of my students come to college not having learned these skills at the level needed to be successful in college. While teaching any student is difficult, teaching the unprepared ones is particularly challenging.
There are many reasons that students are not well prepared. Where I teach, the state has mandated a series of tests. School funding is tied to these tests. The more students who do well on the tests, the more money the school gets. So, there is pressure to teach to the test, not to prepare students for college or a career. Unfortunately the tests are not good predictors of how students will fare in college. These tests are fairly simplistic. Students learn to memorize key words. This word matches that word. If you ask them the shape of the Earth, they will say that it is round. That is the answer as worded on the test. But, round in what way. A surprising number of my students don’t realize that round means spherical. Many of my students envision Earth as a disk. Anything that is not tested is seldom taught in school. So, my students come to me with great holes in their knowledge and skill base.
Students need to be properly prepared in order to be led to learning. An Army officer cannot lead troops into battle that have never fired a weapon. No matter how good of a leader someone is, he will fail if he tries to lead troops that have never been trained. No matter how wonderful a corporate leader someone may be, he will be unsuccessful in leading an airline that does not have anybody who knows how to fly an airplane. The best surgeon on Earth will lose his patient on the operating table if he tries to head up a surgical team composed of himself and people taken from the street who have never even seen an operation, much less assisted in one. The most loyalty inspiring leader on the planet will fail as a fire chief if no one in his fire department has ever had any fire fighting training.
Now, these may be extreme examples, but similar principles occur in education.
What do you think?
Your comments—priceless
Don’t miss a post, subscribe via RSS or EMAIL
Image credit: jaden
June 19th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Interesting post. By the way, I am from Canada, so we really don’t have much pressure from .provinces (states) on the universities.
Its quite surprising to see that the states fund schools that do better on tests! I think they should be funding the schools that do worse on the tests more, so that it will actually help those students succeed.
I have one piece of advice for these state colleges. Focus on the innovation that students can bring out, instead of forcing them to memorize key terms, thats what really shows in the working world.
Sir, you must watch this video: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/66
June 19th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Ram,
Thanks for your comment, and for the link.
A college education should definitely be teaching people how to learn and to understand, and not just memorizing terms. Many of my students don’t understand that. Their education before college was just memorization. Those that try to get through my classes by memorizing and not learning do not succeed. But, the colleges have to deal with students who have never been taught how to learn.
The problem with educational funding is that those who do the funding know next to nothing about education.
November 14th, 2008 at 6:53 am
[…] says that his students don’t know that round means spherical, so they think the Earth is a […]