Community Food Bank

Bring cans of food to your local store to support our Community Food Bank today. Get $10 off your next gas bill with every donation.

Participating stores:

• Safeway on Bell Road
• Albertson on Grand
• City Grocers on Tierra Del Sol

Background

        As a first-year college students, one crucial thing they need to know in college is how to learn. Go to class, take notes, study those notes, and prepare for an exam if a teacher gives one. Those steps seem easy to understand, but one is more complicated than the other. Studying notes takes more than having the instructor’s words written down and memorized during the lecture. It would take them to understand their metacognition, actually to learn thoroughly. As a first-year college student fresh out of high school, it is sometimes hard to transition from a mandatory learning style to a free one. It is hard for one to learn by themselves without a premade path. So, how can first-year college students learn better understand and improve their metacognition?

Discussions

         Every first-year college student’s previous learning style has come from high school. The way they study developed and cemented there, but as they go through college and see that their way of learning is flawed, why not try to change it. In chapter 2 of Teach Yourself How to Learn, Saundra McGuire uses a student’s explanation of why they do not heed warnings about college in high school. “People told me that college was going to require a lot more of my time and effort, but I didn’t believe them because I had heard it before,” Says a struggling full scholarship math major at LSU (McGuire 7). What the quote is saying is that for high school students, it is hard to change their way of thinking when told because they have heard the same thing time and time again but never had needed to do so. So, it would help high school students to know the main differences between high school and college beforehand.

        California State University-Chico gives a complete list of the differences between high school and college. They break them down into five sections; rules and responsibilities, classes, instructors, tests, and grades. With Rules and Responsibilities, one would have to follow the rules in high school, but in college, they choose to be responsible. The fact that you have to chose to be responsible can give a first-year a sugar rush, and they do everything they couldn’t in high school, like miss due dates, skip class on purpose, and choose when to study. They would eventually crash at the end, and this would throw off their balance, which is risky in the beginning because no one wants to start on the wrong foot. With classes and instructors, their guiding principle is that it is up to the learner to learn independently rather than get handed one assigned short reading to get done while in class. While learning with professors in college, one is responsible for using metacognition and applying what they learned unguided. Lastly, the guiding principle for tests and grades is that students are given chances to learn and improve in high school, and grades are rewarded on good-faith efforts. In college, students are given few tests that require mastery, and grades are predominantly based on results. However, even with this knowledge, some students still lack in college, so now institutions would have to bring in reinforcement to help; instructors.

        In “Why Good Students Do “Bad” In College: Why We Should Care and What We Should Do,” The Learnwell Projects writes about how teachers could help students become better learners. They speak of a 20/80; 80/20 rule that students go by when they learn. When a student walks into a class, they intend to absorb 80% of the knowledge out of 20% of the information. To help prevent this, The Learnwell Projects suggest instructors come at students in the past, present, and futures steps. Giving them their past would show them how in high school, they stuck with a specific study approach that was never going to help them. Next, giving them their presence is to help change their mindset on their old way of studying and help them try to adopt the 20/80 rule instead of continuing with 80/20. Lastly, when giving them their future, it would be trying to sell them a future on how much more successful they would be if they took on the 20/80 rule. These conversations that teachers should be having with students could have a significant impact because it shows from a student’s perspective that their teacher is trying to help, so they could become successful when learning. 

With knowledge of the differences between high school and college and the help of some teachers, a student would still need to learn how to use their metacognition. Metacognition is the understanding of one’s thought process. When anyone attempts to learn, they always go in with their metacognition, whether weak or strong. The weaker a thought process, the less one learns. Amy Baldwin’s College success is a book that helps first-year college students feel seen and involved, and when they go over their skills and learning method, they encounter the book’s central theme; “real life doesn’t stop when college starts.” In chapter seven of this book, Baldwin uses a quote, “Becoming aware of your thought process and using this awareness deliberately is a sign of mature thinking.” This quote is like the gasoline of discovering one’s thought process because it presses one to rethink how one thinks. The book uses the example that all students have gone through, reading a page in a book and not understanding a word on the page. Some metacognitive approaches to solving that roadblock would be to try to comprehend what that student read. Like look up different words they do not understand in the paragraph, ask others that can help study, or even reading it out loud so they can understand it better (Baldwin 242). Doing these things are all examples of understanding how one learns and what to do if they ever come to a stop when studying.

Even with all the benefits of knowing how one’s metacognition works, some students may feel like they are the outliers that cannot access theirs, or it takes too long to understand it. In reality, the metacognition process does not add much to anyone’s plate because they are already doing it when they study, just not to the fullest extent. The video by Peterson’s provides a metacognition process that has three steps; plan, monitor, and evaluate. The most important part is the planning; it’s how one would set their steps upon how they will learn a particular topic. The monitoring process is to look over how well one is currently learning, one example would be practice tests. The last step is evaluating, in which after one finished a task, they turn it in and get a grade back; they would look back at how they did the first two steps and see where they would need to modify their approach. The whole metacognition process is studying, but it adds tiny things to help boost one’s understanding while studying and how to approach that understanding after getting some results.

Conclussion and Reccomendations

It will not just take a day to perfect when it comes to metacognition. One would have to go through a process and develop a new understanding of themselves. It helps to know from the beginning (high school) how adjusting to the new learning environment feels. A little boost from teachers would also get the job done because it makes students feel more comfortable knowing they are not being punished for not learning the correct way. Once the understands how one thinks, the process of improvement happens.

Citations

McGuire, Sandra Yancy. Teach Yourself How to Learn. Virginia: Stylus, 2018. E-Book

Baldwin, Amy. “College Success.” OpenStax, OpenStax, 27 Mar. 2020, https://openstax.org/books/college-success/pages/1-introduction.

Krista, et al. “Why Good Students Do ‘Bad’ in College: Why We Should Care and What We Should Do – the Learnwell Projects.” The LearnWell Projects – Making Learning More Visible, Manageable, and Effective, 19 Feb. 2018, https://thelearnwellprojects.com/thewell/why-good-students-do-bad-in-college-proven-insights-2/.

“How Is College Different from High School? – Accessibility Resource Center.” – Accessibility Resource Center – CSU, Chico, https://www.csuchico.edu/arc/resources/college-vs-highschool.shtml.

“Metacognition: The Skill That Promotes Advanced Learning.” YouTube, Peterson’s, 28 Apr. 2020, https://youtu.be/elZFL4FLVLE. Accessed 18 Apr. 2022.

Samuel Zajde

Dr. Weaver

English Composition 1020

27 April 2022

The Tool of Education

             Starting at very young ages, children in America eagerly dream of going to college. Beyond being a dinosaur or a fire-fighter, the thought of going to a top school like MIT or Harvard to be the smartest person in the world is not an unlikely fantasy for first graders, and while its specifics may change, the soul of the dream often lives on until the very end of a student’s career. Universities are seen as places that can mold us into the people that we want to be and a gate way to grasping the things we want most in our careers. Long has this sentiment been at large, but its scope has had far greater limitations in the past. Higher education was not always considered as something for the many, and much effort had to be pressed on for it to be developed beyond its exclusivity. There were immense reasons for the United States government to do this not among them any substantial political mandate pleading for it specifically. It was instead seen as a tool: not particularly to harness ambition, but to combat rampant poverty and enhance racial integration. The Higher Education Act was one of the most consequential pieces of legislation concerning the relationship between universities and the federal government bringing higher-ed into mainstream American society.

            The Higher Education Act of 1965 was enacted by President Lyndon B. Johnson in continuance of his policy campaign known as the ‘War on Poverty.’ The founding goals of this legislation was to significantly escalate the federal government’s role in providing higher education to Americans, and the desire to do this in the context of the ‘War on Poverty’ is because of education’s innate ability to increase economic opportunity. As stated according to David Brown from the University of Kentucky in his article “We have opened the road”: A Brief History of the Higher Education Act, “the Higher Education Act was envisioned as a vehicle for increasing opportunities for traditionally underserved groups, such as racial and ethnic minorities and the economically disadvantaged, to gain access to higher education.” This would not be the first time that higher-ed would be used as an instrument to fight poverty in a grand scope: the NYA, or the National Youth Administration, was a New Deal Program that existed from 1935 to 1943 under President Roosevelt with the goal of offering work and education to those between 16 and 25. In the midst of the Great Depression, the goal of the administration was akin to the HEA (Higher Education Act) which was to offer gateway for unemployed youth to not only be given jobs but training and education required to do them.

            The reforms brought by the Higher Education Act proved to be of great consequence to American society, with many of its programs continuing to exist and be amended to answer a still-developing political vision of how higher education should be perceived and valued. Before it’s signing, President Johnson said “So to thousands of young people education will be available. And it is a truism that education is no longer a luxury” (Johnson 1965). The intention was to transform universities from being a barriered club of elites into an accessible asset any American from any background could choose to attend. Economic aid in the form of grants was offered to both institutions and individuals who did not have the ability to attend college with their own means, as can be seen from this excerpt of the law:

“It is the purpose of this part to provide, through institutions of higher education, educational opportunity grants to assist in making available the benefits of higher education to qualified high school graduates of exceptional financial need, who for lack of financial means of their own or of their families would be unable to obtain such benefits without such aid.” (P.L. 89-329)

To summarize the operational funding of the HEA, funds were endowed by the federal government to each state, which were delegated to form specific agencies that distributed grants to qualified higher education institutions. The grants were then used to develop or maintain universities, and Title IV of the law established provisions for grants to be awarded to individual high school graduates in need of them.

            Fundamentally, the principle of providing economic assistance to students has persevered since the law’s creation, but its implementation has been modified many times often for better or worse. In the late-1970s and 80s, a policy shift had taken place that began to favor loans to provide financial aid instead of grants. As again stated according to David Brown, “starting with the Middle Income Student Assistance Act (MISAA) in 1978, federal policy began to favor loans rather than grants.” (Brown 2016). After the HEA was established, these policy changes pulled higher education away from socialization and towards privatization. Since then, the price of attending college has increased substantially, far outpacing mean household income. The decrease in government subsidies lead to institutions increasing their tuition, and while grant funding also decreased, students began to rely more and more on loans to cover the costs. It has become clear that the original mission outlined by the HEA to use higher education as a weapon against poverty has been drastically altered. Whether or not it is helping people economically, attending college is presently certainly not seen that way, or is at least very rarely spoken about as a serious economic help for the poor and underserved groups.

            The United States has come a long way since 1965, and higher education has certainly changed both being improved and impaired into the vast and powerful institutions they have become today. However different times may be, the founding mission that the Higher Education Act set out to accomplish still today has value. It would be costly unfortunate for such a commanding force such as education to be overlooked for its ability to shape macroeconomic and social struggles in our communities.

Works Cited:

Johnson, L.B. (1965): “Remarks at Southwest Texas State College Upon Signing the

            Higher Education Act of 1965,” November 8, 1965. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. Retrieved from http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?               pid=27356

Higher Education Act of 1965 Section-by-Section Analysis. Washington,

              D.C.:U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Education, 1965.

Brown, D. (2016). “We have opened the road”: A Brief History of the Higher Education

              Act. Higher Education in Review, 12, 1–7.

Mckee, Guian A. Lyndon B. Johnson and the War on Poverty, https://prde.upress.virginia.edu/content/WarOnPoverty2.

Introduction 

The word “college” scares a lot of students, especially ones of low class. This is because these types of students worry about financial issues later on in life that they know their parents would not be able to take care of. “How does being federally defined “low-income” affect first-generation students’ academic performance?” is an interesting topic of words because the federal government appointed a limited amount of money to students who can not afford even what is left to pay for college. The topic of “inequality in higher level education” has been discussed for over 3 decades. With data reports from as far as 1992 from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) showing the percentage of minority students enrolling in public and private universities, the topic creates an even more direct question that has not been answered in its entirety. Students around the globe struggle from poverty, unwillingly, due to many reasons. This tends to outcast these individuals, making them feel as though they are not worthy to achieve a better level of education. With this pressure being placed on individuals, comes controversy across the world. So without further ado, let’s dive right into it. 

 Information 

Between the years of 1992 & 2002, the rate of enrollment for minorities actually grew to about 62% with majority of these student being hispanic, according to the Integrated Postsecondary Educational Data System (IPEDS). Around this time, a lot of first generation students were seeking higher level education at a lower cost. With this mindset, more students started to lean toward community colleges in which they could obtain the same education at a lower cost. The surge of college students attending community college students grew drastically. Along with this growth, a lot of minority student groups pursued an alternative way to maintain a stable way of living, which were to get certifications. The number of certifications that were given to students around the U.S. were the highest it has ever been between the years of ’92 to ’93.  Although, over the years more students started to obtain their associate’s degree and surpassing the time required to obtain a certification. 

With this information being presented, data shows that around 13% of students are less likely to graduate with a bachelor’s degree after attending a community college. There has also been controversy in graduate schools according to Michael Bastedo, with one legal scholar presenting an analysis that showed the minority students were passing the bar exam with far lower rates than others. It has been hypothesized that low SES (socioeconomic status) students are less likely to attend 4-year colleges and are more so to attend community colleges over the years. A lot of comparisons across cohorts, in which statisticians group together a particular race and gender together, tend to cause controversy. This is because students in more recent cohorts may be more likely to pursue the idea of attending a 4-year university than the previous cohorts, according to Bastedo and Maquette in their section titled “Limitations.”  

It has been proven through extensive research that the socioeconomic status, also known as the SES, is one the strongest correlations to academic performance according to Senior researcher, Marjolein Muskens. The relation between a students’ SES and academic performance is primarily based upon several factors such as differences in cognitive development related to experiences presented from poverty, low SES students’ have a higher chance of encountering lower educational expectations from their parents and they have a higher chance of being placed in low resource schools compared to high-SES students, according to Muskens. Being placed in these social classes, alter the minds of young students created a stigma of incapability. The statistics that are discussed are also similar in the Dutch. In both Europe and the U.S., secondary school (high school) is followed by tertiary school (college) during the late years of adolescence. 

The general view is that disagreements are undesirable and have a long-term negative impact on wages and work conditions. Subjective experience at university is also important from the perspective of graduation and life course development. These experiences are accumulated in adulthood and can have lasting consequences. However, little is known about the relationship between underestimation in higher education and  the student’s subjective experience, and the potential role of student SES in this context. Using a consultant pattern of 22,521 adolescents, the modern examine tries to beautify information approximately those members of the family and their improvement over the direction of college students` time in better education. From an educational misalignment perspective, undermatching ends in much less delight due to the mismatch among college students` excessive capability and the much less rigorous instructional software in much less selective institutions. However, from a social misalignment perspective, undermatching could have distinctive affects on low SES and excessive SES college students, and social misalignment skilled in much less selective environments than extra selective facilities. Students with a low SES historical past are anticipated to be extra glad because of their much less experience. .. In addition, the position of studying time in those relationships (ie, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year) is investigated.

With low SES students coming from low resourced schools, they are only taught what the state curriculum allows teachers to present. Scores from the core subjects were compared from 1982 to 2004 and there was a significant increase. The lowest SES rose from a 2 in algebra 1/geometry to a 3. This was a major deal for researchers at this time. The scores from the SAT & ACT were also compared and there was an increase of .3 from 1972 to 2004 (Bastedo, Selection Into the SAT). With their being many statistics to prove that low SES students are less likely to move forward with higher level education, the government still does not want to acknowledge this problem. These students that come from a lower social class are working just as hard as others, and are still underfunded due to laws that were established 50 years ago. 

Conclusion

Students attending less selective colleges tend to have fewer employment opportunities and lower long-term wages than underrated students. Therefore, undermatches are primarily seen as an undesired result in the literature, especially among low SES students who are prone to undermatches. Due to the importance of subjective experience for adolescent development to adulthood and the literature gap on disagreement, SES, and student satisfaction, current studies include adolescents. It contains 21,452 respondents (67 men). Large-scale cohort study. How student satisfaction and undermatching in college using propensity score matching are related. The results show a negative link between underestimation and satisfaction with the increasing social and academic environment towards fourth-year college students. This relationship appeared to be negative for both low SES and high SES students. For example, below-average students, regardless of SES, are less satisfied with their academic environment than students who match the end of the new year. In addition, the satisfaction of the matched students is stable, although the satisfaction is reduced during the first year. These findings have important implications for understanding student development-related discrepancies and for policy intervention. The high likelihood of absenteeism from students with a low SES background can exacerbate their educational disadvantages. This is because low satisfaction associated with disagreement can adversely affect college graduation, and because the long-term experience of adolescent stress can have detrimental consequences for their health and well-being in adulthood.

Samira Abdi 

ENG 1102

Professor Weaver

04/26/2022 

INTRODUCTION

Low-income families do not only have to worry about learning the material but think about the funds for the material. This research project examines families’ financial insecurities when it comes to paying for school.  Paying for a school shortens the ability for an individual to attend the school that they desire. In the Challenges Low Income Families Face When Paying for College by Ismael Camara, the author states,” It is to show that most low income students in America are not even able to go to the colleges of their dreams due to the lack of financial aid, and the fact that attending these colleges would lead to their families having to take on more stress financially compared to middle and high income families.” (Camara, Sample page 1) Attending college opens up financial struggles that families were not even aware of, but are forced to deal with. The purpose of this research paper is to address and explain why low-income families face such financial hardships during and after their college experiences?

DISCUSSION

 In The New York Times magazine author Anthony Jack discusses “When I was learning to chart the hungry days on my calendar, I was one of the nearly 40 percent of undergraduates who struggle with food insecurity. Before all else, colleges must meet students’ basic needs — it is hard to focus and function when you’re hungry.”( Jack, Interactive) Financial dilemmas are not the only problems to come up after paying for college. With this it is a cause and effect. Paying or trying to pay for a semester leads to not being able to pay for life necessities. Such as eating, having a place to stay, and etc. 

Attending a normal college semester can cost up to a thousand to two thousand dollars and this is only one semester. For the family and especially the student this becomes the only thing that you need to address. This would oftentimes lead up to racking up debt. The article on the marketplace discusses a family who talks about the debt that piles up. In the article, author Samantha Fields states that” roughly 70% of American students end up taking out loans to go to college. The average graduate leaves school with around $30,000 in debt and all told, some 45 million Americans owe $1.6 trillion in student loans — and counting.” ( Fields) This goes to say that college is not cheap at all.

This is an important topic to discuss because of how normal it is for a family to not have the funds to support the tuition that a school has. Obtaining the funds is not easy and pathways should be paved for families to help pay that money faster. With problems, there needs to be a solution to help eliminate the problem. Low-income families need help overcoming this financial obstacle. Author Anna Helhoski helps gather solutions on what we can do to help with existing and upcoming debt. In the article What Would It Take to Solve the Student Debt Crisis? By Anna Helhoski, Helhoski gives solutions that can help.

“Forgive the Student Debt”- Which would be the government just forgiving current students who have debts.

“Streamline existing forgiveness programs”- This would not be a definite solution or a temporary solution. This would help students who borrow qualify.

“Make college tuition-free”- This would be an efficient way to stop debt because there wouldn’t be anything to pay. It wouldn’t limit debt completely but would immensely change the outcome one has to pay to attend school.

One can think that a low-income family would just have to worry about the costs of the college and just paying its tuition. When in reality it leads to more problems and restricting certain aspects in your life to fit the lifestyle you need to have so you can pay for the college. It not only takes a toll on a family financially but also emotionally and mentally. Having these dilemmas can cause immense stress and a sense of duty to fulfill your tasks.  Having to pick up two to three jobs just for it not to cover a fraction displays how we as a society don’t do enough to support these families. These individuals have just the same willingness to learn as students who can afford to attend these colleges. The only thing in their way is finding the money to pay for it . In the article, Poverty’s Long-Lasting Effects on Students’ Education and Success by Kelley Taylor, Taylor states,”It does not have to be this way [for low-income students]. Across the country, there are schools that teach us every day that these children absolutely can achieve at the same high levels as anybody else,” she says, adding that to change the status quo, however, everyone involved “has to organize around that mission.”( Taylor)Presented this opportunity our students can prosper and do bigger and better things but we as a society have to help them.

The students who can’t afford to pay for schooling are only increasing and school tuition is only increasing. One can conclude that these families do need help. We have to determine what we can do to help these families attend a four year schooling without worrying what their next meal or where they are sleeping tonight will be. Extending our help will not only be better for this generation but the rest to come. Let’s help these students because we can easily be or become them.

CITATION

Camara, Ismael. “The Challenges Low Income Families Face When Paying For College” The Global North Carolina Gallery,

https://localculturesglobalforces2018.web.unc.edu/2018/04/the-challenges-low-income-families-face-when-paying-for-college/. Accessed April 23 2022.

Jack, Anthony. “I Was a Low-Income College Student. Classes Weren’t the Hard Part” The New York Times,  Magazine.https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/09/10/magazine/college-inequality.html . Accessed April 23 2022.

Fields, Samantha. “70% of college students graduate with debt. How did we get here?” Marketplace,https://www.marketplace.org/2019/09/30/70-of-college-students-graduate-with-debt-how-did-we-get-here/ . Accessed April 25 2022.

Helhoski, Anna.” What Would It Take To Solve the Student Debt Crisis” Nerdwallet, https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/loans/student-loans/what-would-it-take-to-solve-the-student-debt-crisis . Accessed 25 2022.

Taylor, Kelley.”Poverty’s Long-Lasting Effects on Students’ Education and Success” Insight Into Diversity, https://www.insightintodiversity.com/povertys-long-lasting-effects-on-students-education-and-success/ . Accessed 26 2022.

Zion Culbreath

Professor Weaver

English 1102

21 April 2022

Introduction

            Everyone is aware of the virus called COVID-19. Professor Esther Castro and visiting assistant professor Jessie George of the University of Houston authored “The Impact of COVID-19 on Student Perceptions of Education and Engagement”. COVID-19 was mentioned in their article published in an e-Journal of Business Education & Scholarship of Teaching. A novel coronavirus, COVID-19, emerged in 2019 and became a pandemic in 2020 (Castro and George 19). Also, Xi’an Physical Education University affiliates Zhaohong Zhu, Pu Li, and Luyao Hao wrote “Correlation of Childhood Psychological Abuse and Neglect with Mental Health in Chinese College Students During the Covid-19 Pandemic.” In their publication published in Front Psychiatry, they described COVID-19. The pandemic adversely affected the humanity, particularly students, who have experienced varying degrees of deleterious effects, such as loneliness and isolation (Zhu et al. 1). Studying the negative impacts of COVID-19 on pupils is an absolute need. Besides, China Medical University doctors Mengyao Li, Li Liu, Yilong Yang, Yang Wang, Xiaoshi Yang, and Hui Wu wrote “Psychological Impact of Health Risk Communication and Social Media on College Students During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Cross-Sectional Study.” In their publication published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, they mentioned the impact of the COVID-19 on the psychological health of college students. Li et al. (2) noted that college students are critical population to be addressed as college years are peak periods for symptom onset of psychological issues. As a result, it appears essential to look into the negative impacts of COVID-19 on students’ everyday choices and mental health.

The Effects of COVID-19 on the Psychological Health of the Students

With the spread of virus, numerous universities began shifting from the normal learning modalities to emergency remote learning strategies. This modification in modalities also forced students to modify their learning style in diverse ways. For instance, some students were unable to cope with online courses, and some other students had no appropriate infrastructure, such as access to home computer, the internet, or a webcam, to accomplish the requirements of online courses that was stressful (Castro and George 19). It was also found that in the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, chemistry students found it stressful to switch to the online learning strategy (Castro and George 30).

Aside from these issues, quite a lot of students also experienced additional stresses, such as having children at home or caring for older people or younger siblings at home (Castro and George 19) that can cause stress. For instance, it has been reported by Castro and George (30) that students in certain catastrophic and tragic situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, could be exposed to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other psychological disorders. West Virginia University affiliates Ilana Haliwa, Rachael Spalding, Kelly Smith, Amanda Chappell, and JoNell Strough wrote “Risk and Protective Factors for College Students’ Psychological Health During the Covid-19 Pandemic.” Their publication published in the Journal of American College Health mentioned college students’ psychological health and the COVID-19 pandemic. In this regard, Haliwa et al. (1) assessed the effects of COVID-19 on the psychological health of college students. The researchers found that when the perceived risk of being infected with COVID-19 increased, the students began experiencing intensive levels of anxiety, depression, and stress (Haliwa et al. 1). These points are thought to become stressors and distractors for students, negatively affecting their engagement in studies as well as their psychological health (Castro and George 19).

Citing the previously published researches, Haliwa et al. (1) also noted that the negative effects of COVID-19 on psychological health could be higher among undergraduate students as compared to graduate students, staff, and faculty. They also asserted that COVID-19 could have implications for the life satisfaction and happiness of college students (Haliwa et al. 1). For instance, with an increase in the extent of mindfulness and social support, students would be able to overcome several detrimental effects of COVID-19 and would be able to have more happiness and greater life satisfaction (Haliwa et al. 4).

            Li et al. (1) also conducted a study on psychological health problems confronted by college-going students in China in association with COVID-19. They found that the prevalence of panic was about 17.2% among these students, while the prevalence of anxiety was about 24.3% among these students. Furthermore, researchers have delved into the detail and extracted the data showing that among the most serious factors associated with health anxiety negatively affecting the psychological health of students were perceived lethality of the virus, effect of pandemic on social contacts, and being affected by the worldwide spread of COVID-19 (Li et al. 1). Additionally, limited knowledge about the pandemic also resulted in an increase in the psychological symptoms of anxiety and panic (Li et al. 2). Another factor that has been found to be associated with detrimental effects of COVID-19 on the psychological health of students is that of childhood psychological abuse and neglect (Zhu et al. 1). In this case, Zhu et al. (1) conducted a study on the relationship between childhood psychological maltreatment and mental health in college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. They found that approximately 37.6% of these students were found to have psychological health problems at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic (Zhu et al. 1). In this regard, the study conducted by Zhu et al. (4) is different from the studies conducted by other researchers, such as Li et al. (1) and Haliwa et al. (1), as Zhu et al. (4) reported the effects of internal psychological factors rather than external psychological factors such as negative information obtained from other people or concerns about infection.

The COVID-19 pandemic not only affected the psychological health of students by changing the ways in which they were accustomed to learning, but also affected their mental health by reducing the activities of students, such as collegiate athletes. Florida Institute of Technology professor Morgan Davies and Anthony LoGalbo wrote “Collegiate Athlete Experiences with Covid-19 and Attitudes About Returning to Sport”. Their publication published in the Journal of Athlete Development and Experience mentioned collegiate athletic departments and the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been found by Davies and LoGalbo (172) that the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the sports-related activities of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletes in educational institutes, and it has also caused sleep-related problems and an increase in feelings of loss and sadness. It has also been noted that sports-related activities are usually helpful in providing multiple mental health benefits, such as higher self-esteem, increased levels of emotional and social support, more social interaction and social networking, and a sense of belonging. With a decrease in sports-related activities, collegiate athletes began experiencing problems associated with the lack of these benefits.

The Effects of COVID-19 on Daily Decisions Made by Students

The pandemic of COVID-19 has not only resulted in negative effects on the psychological health of the students but also affected the decisions of students. These decisions could be related to different aspects of life as, for example, decisions related to managing finances, taking in person classes, and vaccinations.

The pandemic of COVID-19 has stirred the financial decisions made by students. One of the examples is that of Roshelle Czar, who reported that when COVID-19 spread in March 2020, like many other people, she also had to confront the trauma associated with the pandemic. Because of that pandemic, she made the unwilling decision to pay about $6,000 in rent for an apartment where she was not living. She noted that the same amount would have been sufficient to cover tuition fees for a whole semester at Sacramento State. She also suggested that campuses can help in healing and addressing the trauma associated with pandemics or any other problem (Czar).

            The pandemic of COVID-19 has influenced the decisions of students regarding online classes or in-person classes. Melissa Ezarik of Inside Higher Ed wrote “Covid-Era College: Are Students Satisfied?”.  In her article, students reflect on post-COVID. Some of the students were of the opinion that they would never like to take a class via Zoom after COVID-19. On the other hand, a number of other students reported that they would like to learn from remote education strategies rather than in-person classes (Ezarik).

Eventually, COVID-19 has affected the vaccination-related decisions. University of South Carolina doctors Shan Qiao, Cheuk Chi Tam, and Xiaoming Li wrote “Risk Exposures, Risk Perceptions, Negative Attitudes Toward General Vaccination, and COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance Among College Students in South Carolina”. Their research published in the American Journal of Health Promotion mentioned risk exposures and COVID-19. Qiao et al. (175) discovered that, while the perceived severity of COVID-19 was associated with an increase in the level of acceptance by students, with an increase in exposure to COVID-19, negative effects appeared in students’ decisions, and they began showing reduced vaccine acceptance. In this regard, researchers suggested that students either have a decreased controllability or self-efficacy to protect themselves from an environment with a high-risk of COVID-19 or they believe that COVID-19 is not a serious problem based on their own experiences, in which they have not been infected even in a high-risk environment (Qiao et al. 177).

Final Thoughts

COVID-19 harmed students’ psychological and mental health. In most cases, pupils are adversely affected by the adverse psychological effects of COVID-19, which exhibit themselves in several ways, such as worry, panic, tension, and depression, to name a few manifestations. The COVID-19 epidemic has created psychological suffering and harmed students’ everyday choices, such as those regarding in-person courses, vaccinations, and money management, among other things.

Works Cited

Castro, Esther and Jessie George. “The Impact of Covid-19 on Student Perceptions of Education and Engagement.” e-Journal of Business Education and Scholarship of Teaching, vol. 15, no. 1, 2021, pp. 28-39.

Czar, Roshelle. “Redesigning College Education: Dismantling Trauma During Covid.” Medium https://hope4college.medium.com/redesigning-college-education-dismantling-trauma-during-covid-97ad3319edbd. Accessed April 21 2022.

Davies, Morgan and Anthony LoGalbo. “Collegiate Athlete Experiences with Covid-19 and Attitudes About Returning to Sport.” Journal of Athlete Development and Experience, vol. 3, no. 3, p. 2.

Ezarik, Melissa. “Covid-Era College: Are Students Satisfied?” Inside Higher ED https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/03/24/student-experiences-during-covid-and-campus-reopening-concerns. Accessed April 21 2022.

Haliwa, Ilana et al. “Risk and Protective Factors for College Students’ Psychological Health During the Covid-19 Pandemic.” Journal of American College Health, 2021, pp. 1-5, doi:10.1080/07448481.2020.1863413.

Li, Mengyao et al. “Psychological Impact of Health Risk Communication and Social Media on College Students During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Cross-Sectional Study.” Journal of Medical Internet Research, vol. 22, no. 11, 2020, doi:10.2196/20656.

Qiao, Shan et al. “Risk Exposures, Risk Perceptions, Negative Attitudes toward General Vaccination, and Covid-19 Vaccine Acceptance among College Students in South Carolina.” American Journal of Health Promotion, vol. 36, no. 1, 2021, pp. 175-79, doi:10.1177/08901171211028407.

Zhu, Z. et al. “Correlation of Childhood Psychological Abuse and Neglect with Mental Health in Chinese College Students During the Covid-19 Pandemic.” Front Psychiatry, vol. 12, 2021, p. 770201, doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.770201.

“What are the next steps in Alternative Grading Methods”

April 25th, 2022

Demostric Ray

Eng 1102

Dr.Weaver

Introduction 

As a student, the main goal is to obtain knowledge. As a teacher, the main goal is to educate. When we look at the grading systems/methods, we stop there; just at the number or letter reflected on a piece of paper, whether it be a test or a paper. The current grading method used in school systems limits students vastly because they are just a number; a grade point average. The higher purpose of grades is to show how much a student has learned and how well they can apply that knowledge to a test. This is not the best method for a lot of students for various reasons. Standardized tests are usually used to measure a student’s understanding of a subject, but not all students test the same. Beyond that, if a student does not demonstrate knowledge per an assessment, teachers will not address what students seemingly struggle with; instead, they simply give the grade and move on to the next section of the school curriculum. This is a disservice to our students and to the future of this world. Children are untapped potential and it is crucial to utilize other methods for evaluating the work and knowledge of students in order to best serve them in the classroom.

Discussion

When the focus of a test is the result of the test rather than the student taking the test, seeking knowledge to better the student is lost. This is what is referred to as “product-based learning” (Hope, 2020). With this method used as the primary grading system, students will often cram as much as they can just to pass a test rather than actually be able to retain that knowledge and information to apply in the future. Though it is not unknown what the grading system is, what furthermore proves the disservice we have to students is often, teachers do not allow students to retake a test or show that they can grasp a concept beyond the first attempt. Sometimes, we as people/students do not know what we do not know until we are faced with it on our own. It almost is a double punishment because not only will the student receive a grade that is not “good”, they also may have the insecurity of feeling dumb or discouraged. At the school Michelle Hope teaches at, she shares that students had optional work but still chose to complete those assignments because they were given feedback as a substitute to a numerical or letter grade. While her students are in elementary school, should this approach continue on, it may reflect students actually cooperating more with assignments and seeking to be in the classroom. Taking a step back to evaluate the work of students through commentary and feedback is a “grading” method known as process-based grading. This is not a one and done grading system, but ensures students are checked in on to address why a student may not be understanding a concept. Furthermore, it also allows grace to students. As Hope mentions, students may receive a grade 0 for an incomplete assignment and the teacher will plug that in not caring about how that affects the student/their future and also simply why an assignment may not be complete. She goes on to ask questions such as: “Was the student ready for practice or was he still struggling to grasp the concept? Did she have a “space” or the “time” to do homework at home? Is there a language barrier or a cultural reason for why the work was not completed?” and these are all valid questions to wonder about without punishing a student and gaining a deeper understanding as a teacher/educator. By using the product-based grading system, it treats students as if they all walk and live the same life with no other circumstances. This is an injustice to students. As mentioned before, the job of a student is to seek knowledge, but if they do not retain that knowledge the first time around, the response is basically “oh well” and that does nobody any good. 

There are other methods being adopted in U.S school systems to measure/grade students. Another method used is proficiency-based grading. This grading method focuses on students being able to master units/topics of the curriculum. Proficiency-based grading focuses on the progress of learning rather than just the letter grade (Erbes, Wizner, and Powlis, 2021). Workforce. Through this grading method, the goal is for students to fully understand each learning standard, and when that does not happen, the next steps are to give more support and attention to the child to help them understand and be able to reach a more mastery level of the subject. This alternative approach also is catered to each individual student and breaks down each learning target. If the goal truly is no child left behind, this approach is definitely more cultivated to see the success of students in the classroom. It requires more patience in the classroom and that can also help build rapport and encourage students to keep going rather than seeing themselves as failures. This approach really emphasizes what a student has learned from what has been taught. It does no good to pass a test and have a decent grade point average, even if that does take you all the way through college if you are still missing twenty percent of the lesson or you are not able to apply it to real life situations. An 80% on a test translates as “good”, but if a lawyer only had 80% the knowledge for a case, that does not translate as “good” in the same way. If we continue to let the other 20% go unacknowledged, we really are missing the mark. Imagine a doctor operating on you with only 80% of the tools they need. A study from August 2018 to July 2019 composed of 72 sophomores, found that though students still prefer letter grades, they also feel that traditional grading methods inadequately measure learning (Erbes, Wizner, and Powlis, 2021).A healthy balance is needed and one question about these results is where it stems from to prefer a letter grade; potentially a sense of accomplishment or because that is the standard they have been brought up with and that is primarily what they know. Either way, some form of change is necessary to make students feel comfortable and competent at the same time while still having the same respect for education and classroom learning goals. 

When the sole objective for the classroom standard is to pass a test, that means the focus is the end result; a grade. This emphasis on a grade whether it be numerical 1-100 or alphabetical causes stress and anxiety in students. In a survey conducted through Stanford University’s Challenge Success Program, using data from about 54,000 high school students, 76% of students reported they often worry about the possibility of not doing well in school and 75% of students reported they either always or often feel stressed by their school work (Feldman, 2020). That is a very high amount of stress looming over students’ heads. We teach children and young adults that it is okay to make mistakes, but these traditional grading methods do not support that statement. A student may not test well but always completes homework assignments and does well on them. Typically an assessment has more weight/impact of a student’s grade then the homework, so if a student has an 85 in the class and gets a D (60-65) on an assessment, their final grade for the class is not an accurate measurement of the knowledge the student has obtained or their “success” of the subject. Even if staying with the stress-inducing traditional grading methods, if simply allowing a student to retake a test or redo an assignment, it encourages them to further learn and it can be more at their pace rather than the pace of the school curriculum.

In conclusion, there are multiple benefits to moving beyond the traditional and working with alternative methods of grading. These benefits include encouraging students to keep learning, less induced-stress, a more diverse understanding of the lives of students, and simply grace to be able to make a mistake. The old saying “if first you don’t succeed, try, try, again” comes to mind and knowing it is okay to have to try again without feeling shame or being labeled a bad student motivates students. Every student does not walk the same life and many other factors contribute to academic success. The best educators often have the mindset that when their students do not properly demonstrate knowledge of a subject, it is not a failure on behalf of the student, but rather them as the teacher that something was missed in translation. As stated before, the role of a student is to seek knowledge and the role of a teacher is to educate. The two can happen at the same time without taking away from the rigor of a course or pushing students further to excel.

References

Erbes, Stella, et al. “Understanding the Role of Traditional & Proficiency-Based Grading Systems Upon Student Learning and College Admissions.” Journal of Higher Education Theory & Practice, vol. 21, no.10, Sept. 2021, pp. 54–68. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.33423/jhetp.v21i10.4625.

Hope, Michelle. “The Only ‘F’ That Matters.” Educational Leadership, vol. 78, no. 1, Sept. 2020, pp. 28–33. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

Feldman, Joe. “Taking the Stress out of Grading.” Educational Leadership, vol. 78, no. 1, Sept. 2020, pp.14–20. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

Andre Jackson

English 1102 Weaver

SAR Paper

3/9/2022

Summary

AIMS is a community college where the desired student is someone who seeks to get an introductory level of education in their respective fields or someone who wants to find their interests. With their wide variety of degrees and certificate programs going up to 200 and counting, AIMS has something for everyone. Their goal is to find the precise program for each student that enrolls at an affordable cost.

Analysis

The first words that are displayed on the AIMS community college website are “Small classes, big community” (AIMS) meaning they are targeting people who want a college experience that is a lot more personalized. They also emphasize how much they are willing to help through classes as well as making connections to better your college life. Interaction is a major aspect of this institution as “Aims goes well beyond academics,” (AIMS) they give their students an opportunity to “explore opportunities to meet others, gain experience and find support.” (AIMS) Under their student life section, they provide a wide variety of clubs and associations where someone can be their true self and not see the campus as just school. AIMS is looking for students who want a strong relationship with their peers as well as with their professors to create a healthy community.

AIMS main purpose is to build a stronger community. They make sure to take advantage of every opportunity to “ensure inclusivity, learning, and growth.” (AIMS) With their smaller than average class size, teachers can create a supportive and distinctive learning environment. This appeals to students who do not want to typical lecture classrooms, but instead would want more of an interactive approach to learning.

Another significant part, and perhaps the most important part, of the website is the fact that students can “choose from 200+ full accredited degree and certificate programs,” (AIMS) and this shows that AIMS the perfect college for anyone who wants to experiment with what they would like to do with their future. Some statistics that are in bold are the 82.7% employment after graduation, 847 full-time and part-time employees, with 52% instructional staff. This could potentially appeal to a student who is interested in joining the workforce immediately after college.

AIMS targets anyone who is looking for a deeper education in their respective field. High School graduates, adults and transfers are all welcomed because “Aims offers programs to help learners of all ages and backgrounds advance towards larger goals.” (AIMS) This is even further supported through the fact that there is no application deadline along with “no essays to write and no tests to take.” (AIMS) Along with the minimum requirements to get accepted, they provide programs to award grants to students, aid students in applying for scholarships, and provide students with opportunities to work on campus. AIMS also takes the time to educate its students on how exactly student loans work and when they need to be paid off. Affordable tuition and financial aid, a multitude of degrees and programs, and the light requirements make AIMS’ targeted audience anyone who has the drive to learn.

AIMS attempts to appeal to multiple audiences through their vast selection of degree programs and certifications. An example of this would be how they appeal to two completely different degree programs. The website goes on an in-depth analysis about the agricultural business program “teaches the key operating techniques and business skills used in the modern food and fiber industries.” (AIMS) The skills acquired in this program would be livestock breeding, cultivation of crops, applying principals of finance to farming etc. These skills would not intrigue a student who is more interested in a different degree program such as early child education but AIMS has a program for that as well. This program provides skill such as different teaching methods, curriculum development, advocacy for children and families etc. Even though these are two completely different degrees, AIMS tries to appeal to both audiences, and it does this for hundreds of degree programs.

With up-to-date news and event calendar, students who are fond of joining groups and attending gatherings of large groups of people may show interest with that. From theatre events to tech Tuesdays, there is something out there for all the social butterflies on campus. But for those who are more individualized, the smaller classrooms offered at the institution may peek those students’ interests. This is another example of how AIMS manipulate themselves to pique the interest of multiple audiences or engaging in social roles.

Response

I would go to this school given that all factors such as money and distance were not a problem. This institution appeals to me because there is ample opportunity to achieve a STEM degree with specialized teaching. This means that there is little opportunity to fall behind and teachers are focused on teaching thoroughly instead of quickly. I would not make this school a priority as I do believe that there are better schools out there, but this school would be a very good back up just in case the first plan doesn’t work. I value customary teaching and flexibility with what to do as a career and AIMS provides both of those. Lectures have also never been a strong point for me when it came to learning, so AIMS adapting more of an interactive approach to learning, I feel like it would be a great college option for me. AIMS appeals to all students who just want to develop a skill and further their education in almost any area of learning.

Community College, AIMS. “Small Classes, Big Community.” Aims Community College | Degrees, Certificates, Non-Credit | Greeley, CO, https://www.aims.edu/.

Here’s some great advice about finals that I got: if you can, pre-prepare meals for the week that you’re doing finals.

I made a big batch of soup, pre-cut stuff for sandwiches, and did a big pasta bake. I used budget-friendly recipes found in such places as this cooking for college students website.

Soup, by Henrique Felix, Unsplash