Still on the subject of General Education… From time to time, you hear complaints about our university graduates. Some of the criticisms are just stereotyping but some are worth giving more thoughts. My observation is that many students don’t want to get out of their comfort zones and take more risks in learning new things, trying out new ideas, meeting new people…etc. I think this is because things have been laying down for them so well by their parents. This is not good for training their independence and problem solving skills which are the essentials in life! Our new 4-year university structure has a large GE component which aims to improve students’ independent & critical thinking skills, widen their horizons…etc. In my earlier post, I observed that some students choose GE courses that are related to their majors because they simply want better grades. That would defeat the purpose of GE. How do we encourage students to explore new things? Here are two thoughts:
- No grades, just a pass or fail
Many teachers will be uncomfortable about this idea arguing that no grades equal no motivations from students. But is it? There are many literatures stating that grades create anxiety and unnecessary competitions among students which are the learning obstacles. Grades or not will not stop the highly motivated students from learning. It is the average to low motivated students, which is the majority in most cases, deserve more help and caring from the teachers.
- No prescribed area/domain of study
A majority of universities divides the GE into several areas or domains and students are required to study courses from all areas so that they can gain a broader knowledge. This is a good thing to do but if we want our students to be more independent, can we do more? Instead of forcing them with rules of course selection, can we let them choose what they want to study, especially when all the courses have only passes or fails. To one extreme, students may choose courses only in the areas that are familiar to them, but that’s ok. If they choose grades over the potential opportunities to widen their knowledge, they may realize later in life that it is probable not a good decision. Well, at least they realize that and would make efforts to gain the knowledge back… may be a bit late that teacher would want, but the important thing is that a lesson has been learned and education is a long-term thing. I think this way will give more responsibilities to the students. They have to learn to live up with their decisions. Amherst College (see my previous post) let students choose their own courses and I think this is a true liberal mode that we should consider.
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