Preparing for College

Here are two recent articles about preparing students for college. The Essential Cognitive Backpack, and Schoolteachers, Professors Differ on What Students Should Know. The qualities being described as necessary for college success are qualities that would lead to success in any endeavor. As a teacher, I have always felt like we try to get students to memorize too much without enough analysis. As a middle and high school teacher, I felt like I needed to teach students HOW to find information and HOW to attach it to existing knowledge. The first article references knowing your learning style. As educators we know so much about learning styles, I think it is something every ninth grader should be taught. Students should be an active participant in their learning. Knowing whether flash cards, diagrams and graphs or reading aloud helps you retain information is a must. Too many students waste time on activities that don't help them remember/learn and then get frustrated with the process and give up. At the beginning of each quarter I would have my students fill out a survey of sorts. I would ask if they were satisfied with their grade from the previous quarter and what they would do to maintain or improve it. Inevitably, over 1/2 the students would write "I will study harder." I would then ask, what does that look like? If I had a video cam in your house, how would I know you were studying harder? I asked if it I could judge whether they were studying harder by how long their text or notebooks were openned. Then I would talk about re-reading notes, making note cards, turning the TV off, etc. I tried to expose my students to learning styles and the idea that they needed to take control of their learning, but I did also have a curriculum to teach, so could only spend so much time on it. When I taught in a private school in Maryland I developed a study skills course (1/2 the class was in an enrichment program and I had the other half). Determining learning styles was key. If reading comprehension is not a strength, re-reading a chapter the night before a test is a waste of time and energy. Schools are so worried about teaching content that they miss the boat in teaching process and in recognizing that we actually teach students....people who are all different. I always saw a class full of students as a challenge. What can I do to help these kids succeed, not just in Social Studies, but in life?