October 1988, Page 2 aa iad ci Mi ee Weber State College Comment, Wy \ s Wee LS OR mee Oe fe oa nore ete we) eee ar Students: tudents need to master the concepts they are learning in school, but most just skip across the surface without getting any real depth to their learning, and some educators are worried. The last half century has seen an expansion of knowledge that has put the squeeze on teachers who are becoming hardpressed to cover every topic in depth. ‘We’re rushing through education so fast that no way can they learn it all. The kids don't have a chance to absorb everything,” said Dr. Benne D. Williams, a professor in the WSC psychology department. “If I were to point to the weakest part of education, that would be it.” Students today are given much more to learn, but do not have any additional time to gain a complete understanding of the concepts. In fact, too often the opposite is true, Dr. Williams said. Advanced placement courses in high school, CLEP tests in college that allow students to skip classes, and a job-oriented motivation all combine to encourage students to get through school as fast as possible. Some claim that if the student knows enough to pass the CLEP test or to complete the advanced placement course it indicates an understanding of the material. But Dr. Williams is not convinced. “Because of the ‘hurry up and get out’ attitude, that’s exactly what students think is the goal, not the mastery of the subject,” he said. “We don’t have time to teach mastery anymore. We teach to pass tests,” Dr. Williams said. Students now do learn more than their counterparts of 50 years ago, but they still are not learning all that is available and in a world comparison U.S. students are slipping behind. The United States was ranked fifth in a recent international competition that measured students’ academic ability. More to learn in less time “We’re not keeping up,” said Dr. R. Michael Smith of the Weber State teacher education department. “We still provide most people with a good basic education in high school, but we’re losing a lot of things,” Dr. Smith said. The loss comes from a kind of “Catch 22.” New discoveries give teachers more to teach in sciences, history, and other core subjects, but society has also required the schools to include AIDS education, saying no to strangers and other non-academic programs. The result is a nearly impossible task of trying to cram everything in as quickly as possible, he said. “How do teachers get it all in? They don’t,” Dr. Smith said. The same holds true on a college level. With so much more to discuss, a quarter or a year or even four years does not give sufficient time for students to master subjects, Dr. Williams said. “College kids have a real dilemma. We stress getting through college fast, and students end up rushing through so quickly they cannot learn all they need to know,” he said. College research papers are a good illustration. Not long ago a lack of available reference materials meant that students only had one or two books with data ona specific topic. The student would read the book in its entirety, take notes by hand, contemplate the material and then time to sit down, read and take notes about definitions students give, the more diver- the relevant ideas expressed. I wonder if many students today would have time to locate and recognize a piece of writing that they could continue to refer to for years to come,” said Sally Arway, a librarian in the Stewart Library. “T don’t think we’re any dumber than we used to be. We’re smarter, it’s just that we don’t have the background to figure out the problems,” Dr. Williams added. gent their background, write. Now references exist for literally children, but they spend more time in school. Their longer school days. and and help their students towards a deeper comprehension. But even then subject longer school years give them time to master subjects, and time to be exposed to a wide variety of information, Dr. mastery is largely based on the student’s individual efforts. Williams said. “We have the brains, we just don’t have the background,” he said. The professor illustrates this idea by asking students in his classes to define the reading, dedicated to finding the concepts behind what they are learning. The average student goes to school and puts in an average effort. Consequently they only hit the highlights. A student in the word “pitch.” The word has some 63 different definitions—pitch—black, musi- hurry-up, short-cut method just wants to do the bare minimum, just wants to give cal pitch, pitch a tent, the roof’s pitch, sales pitch, a fever pitch, and so forth. The more the least effort. That’s not a good way to learn,” he said. thousands of books, magazines, and speeches. In addition, there are local, regional, national and international computer research banks. The result is an avalanche of information that allows much less time for students to digest the material. “T sometimes wonder if the student who collects 50 references, photocopies 10 of them and then scans five in order to quote them in a paper, is any better off than students of the last generation who located two thoughtful references and then had Dr. Williams said he is a great believer “We don’t have time to teach mastery anymore. We teach to pass tests.” Dr. Benne D.Williams and the more ability those students have to solve problems and learn new ideas, Dr. Williams said. “A kid with some background is much easier to teach than someone with no background,” he said. He suggested that an ideal elementary school should teach for mastery in the early grades. Students could then add more knowledge through high school and college at a time when developmentally they are better able to work in abstraction and apply their knowledge to life. Dr. Williams tests his concepts in his freshmen classes and students are often shocked by the 15 pages of vocabulary words they are required to understand and 45 tests that are a part of the one-quarter course. The students have to memorize the vocabulary words as well as their meanings in psychology and in other academic areas. The tests measure differ- ent levels of knowledge and require far in learning to do things the long way-long-hand mathematics instead of using calculators, for example. To effectively solve problems people must first master the concept then they can effectively use the technology, he contends. Japanese students, who are ranked first in academic ability, do not have more of a capacity to learn than do American more than simple memorization, he said. “The amazing thing is that they always learn the material, and that surprises them.” Teaching students all that is known is an impossibility, Dr. Williams said. Even teaching them most of what they should know is difficult. Educators must therefore pick and choose their topics carefully “They have to be dedicated to do extra