Major project 4:What is the motive behind community colleges beginning to provide student housing?

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Moving out of their parents’ house and leaving on campus is without a doubt one of the most exciting things about starting college. Students enroll in a 4-year college or community college after high school or while still in high school to pursue their further education and obtain a degree in order to enter their desired field of work. However, nowadays the prospect of having a great college experience and saving money has students keen on applying to community colleges, according to Parminder Jassal, an immigrant from India who earned her bachelor’s degree from a community college and her Ph.D. from a four-year university. Even though most community colleges were established to serve local students with affordable higher education, many community colleges are now increasingly providing on-campus housing to provide students with additional academic, social, and networking opportunities. Jassal described in her article “Community Colleges Dorms & Housing Accommodations: A Complete Guide” how Community colleges have evolved dramatically over the years, tailoring their college experience and offerings to the areas they serve, including how they now provide athletics, honor programs, student-centered activities, and, most crucially, dormitories!

Many people who enter college become preoccupied with having an authentic college experience. They imagine late nights spent poring over textbooks, engaging in classroom discussions, and even wild parties on the weekend. But the truth of the matter is that there is no one true college experience. Each college and each student is unique. But there are certain things about going to college that can enhance or detract student’s experience. One of them is on-campus housing. (Barrington)

On-campus housing is clearly crucial, not only for 4-year college campuses but also for community institutions. On-campus housing, in particular, is vital for America’s 553 rural-serving community college districts. Rural community college campuses that offer houses can provide convenience and possible savings to students whose circumstances enable them to reside on campus. In this day and age of high gasoline expenses, many rural-serving community college students may benefit from cost reductions by living on-campus. Furthermore, as the authors state in their research, institutions may possibly generate funds that may be used to expand the quantity and quality of services available to on-campus and commuting students(The Availability, Prospects, and Fiscal Potential of Rural Community College On-Campus Housing).

According to the study “Campus Accommodation in the Community College Setting: Benefits and Challenges for Residential Living,” demand for on-campus housing continues to rise at both two- and four-year colleges. Based on this article, the rising expense of higher education at a four-year university has prompted many students to pursue a less expensive path to a post-secondary degree through community college. Increased community college enrolment offers up the possibility of on-campus housing choices. On-campus housing alternatives are a means to both accommodate and advocate for community college students.

But over the last couple of years, having living accommodations at community college is slowly becoming more of the norm than the exception. This is in part due to the acknowledgment, at various levels of government, that at community colleges across the nation, the challenge for the students is not tuition, as it is already subsidized, but in fact, it is accommodation. An increasing number of students, unfortunately, have had to resort to couch surfing or living in their cars in the college parking lot. This situation has brought up heated debates among state lawmakers on whether community colleges should urgently provide provisional solutions such as free on-campus parking. As of right now, to circumnavigate draconian laws prohibiting community colleges from providing affordable housing, colleges are following a process administered through a local housing authority or a non-profit organization. (Jassal).

 

According to a recent poll conducted by the American Association of Community Colleges, about 25% of community colleges in the United States offer their students on-campus housing. This number has risen dramatically since 2000 and it continues to rise(Barrington).

Data shows that 64.2% of community college students are part-time students, 14% of students are enrolled exclusively online, and over 2 million community college students in the United States are parents of children under 18. This data suggests that a lot of students already have some sort of non-dorm housing figured out. And that makes sense since community colleges are built to be at the center of each community, usually at a reasonable commuting distance. With increasing income inequality, young students are struggling to find affordable housing.  “Our students are struggling; they need housing,” says Compton College president, Keith Curry. He believes that providing housing removes the obstacles that can prevent students from graduating(Jassal).

Additionally, the colleges may be able to maintain revenue that will allow them to expand the quantity and quality of services available to on-campus and commuting students. Beyond enhanced access and convenience, further research is needed to discover how particular community college students may benefit from housing choices. Research, particularly the studies reported by Pascarella and Terenzini (1991, 2005), has shown that living on a 4-year college or university campus has a positive impact on student learning and persistence. It intuitively follows that the same benefits would accrue to community college students who live on campus as well. However, at present, this is merely conjecture, because virtually no research has been conducted on the impact of on-campus housing on community college students.

Ultimately, whether attending a community college or a four-year institution, there are certain pros and cons to on-campus housing that students should consider. Some of them are as Barrington mention in her article are 

prons

  • Living on-campus is something of a safety net for many first-year students, helping them make the transition from living at home to living on their own.
  • On-campus housing options are usually available for double rooms which means that students get to form a bond with a roommate- some of these friendships can last a lifetime.
  • On-campus housing means that students are in the middle of the action at all times – they have easy access to campus activities, amenities, and services.

Cons

  • Campus housing can be more expensive than renting an apartment – according to College Data, the average annual cost of room and board at a four-year school was $10k in 2015. Room and board for community college range from $2.5k to $8k per year, in most cases.
  • Most on-campus housing solutions are limited in terms of space and students will probably have to share a room with someone else, not to mention a floor with many people.
  • Many residence halls have shared bathrooms – they might share with a few suite-mates or with an entire hall of students. Bathrooms are also sometimes shared between both sexes.

Work cited 

Barrington, Kate. “The Pros and Cons of On-Campus Housing for Community College | CommunityCollegeReview.Com.” Community College Review, www.communitycollegereview.com, 22 May 2020, https://www.communitycollegereview.com/blog/the-pros-and-cons-of-on-campus-housing-for-community-college.

“Community Colleges Dorms & Housing Accommodations: A Complete Guide – Unmuddle the Skills-to-Jobs Marketplace.” Community Colleges Dorms & Housing Accommodations: A Complete Guide – Unmudl the Skills-to-Jobs Marketplace, unmudl.com, 6 Oct. 2021, https://unmudl.com/blog/community-college-with-dorms.

“The Availability, Prospects, and Fiscal Potential of On-Campus Housing at R…: EBSCOhost.” The Availability, Prospects, and Fiscal Potential of On-Campus Housing at R…: EBSCOhost, web.a.ebscohost.com, https://web.s.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=8&sid=72ba5abf-f793-46e6-b2b1-bb7960ccca5e%40redis&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWlwLHNoaWImc2l0ZT1laG9zdC1saXZlJnNjb3BlPXNpdGU%3d#db=eric&AN=EJ781134. Accessed 12 Apr. 2022.

Taylor, F., EdD., Buck, K., M.S.Ed, & Kane, T., M.S.Ed. (2019). Campus housing in the community college setting: Benefits and challenges for residential living. The Community College Enterprise, 25(2), 77-93.  https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/campus-housing-community-college-setting-benefits/docview/2343014491/se-2?accountid=11226

Major project 4

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Angel Sabino

Engl-1102

Professor: Rebecca Weaver

April 13, 2022

Image result for badg grade picture

There are a great number of practices that students can do to get over a bad grade. The evidence provided in this project is to help students overcome a bad grade on an assignment. Much of the evidence is supported by professionals in the field of education, books about bad practices students can have, and a survey that was given to college students. The amount of students that let themselves get put down by a grade increases, and the number of unprepared students for this situation is hurtful to the education field. A student’s standpoint on what is believed to be a good or bad grade is important in order to overcome a bad grade, as well as what methods to overcome an assignment, also demonstrating an understanding of the assignment is crucial. 

In the article “ Schools Are Facing a surge of failing Grades During the Pandemic — and Traditional Approaches Like Credit Recovery Will Not Be Enough to Manage It” Betheny Goss claims that “ In New Mexico, more than 40 percent of middle and high school students were failing at least one class as of late October” ( Bethany par. 2). This data taken in 2021 underline the clear amount of student unprepared for classes. Bethany also states that “Nearly 40 percent of grades for high school students in St. Paul, Minnesota were Fs,” and how this number has doubled in the recent school year( Betheny par. 2). The amount of failing students goes way beyond a state. Betheny also states that “ In Fairfax County, Virginia, the biggest drop in grades came for students whose primary language is not English: 47 percent are underperforming in math, 53 percent in English.” (Betheny par. 11). The first step in overcoming a bad grade is understanding what a good grade is to a student.

 Most often students do not know where to start when receiving a bad grade. One of the best places to start is understanding what a good grade looks like. The article “College students’ categorical perceptions of grades: it’s simply ‘good’ vs. ‘bad,” was written by Boatright-Horowitz and Chris Arrudaon. Is a survey that was taken by 561 undergraduate college students(Boatright and Chris sec. participants), and its aim was to show what a good “numeric grade, alphabetic grades, numeric non-grades, and alphabetic non-grades” is to a college student. Boatright and Chris want students to understand what a good grade means, this is proven to be true by the statement that“ratings for letter grades were significantly lower than those for non-grade letters for most low grades,”(Chris and Boatright sec. Ratings of grades) and “ratings for numeric grades were significantly greater than non-grade numbers for high grades” (Chris and Boatright sec. Ratings of grades.) The section on Rating of Grades suggests that students prefer a higher grade. Boatright and Chris also suggest that students categorize grades in two tears, which is either good or bad grade. Understanding what is considered a good grade is the first step in overcoming a bad grade. It helps students understand what they did to recvice that grade. 

When the student has understood the reason for receiving a bad grade. They can ask for feedback, but the feedback should be constructive. Zenobia Chan states in “Good and bad practices in rubrics: the perspectives of students and educators.” that a constudtive feedback has “ several levels of quality is a more visible approach for students  “ ( Chan sect. Implications par. 2). This quality of feedback is very benifical to the students becasuse it allows them too  “achieve a desirable level of performance and establish learning goals” (Chan sect. introduction). With this feedback and startagies student can overcome a bad grade. Kathleen talks about developing skills and awareness as a student in college. Kathleen states that the method “ Supplementary Materials, “  is a very practical method because it “can be assigned for working on out of class and therefore do not take class time away from content” (Kathleen page 57). All this is beneficial to the student but it would not work if the student does not understand their learning style. 

In the book Teaching Unprepared Students: Strategies for Promoting Success and Retention in Higher Education the author Kathleen states that for a student to successfully get the grade they desire, the student must figure out their learning style. Learning styles can be categorized in four ways, “active or reflective,  sensing or intuitive, visual or verbal, and sequential or global.”Kathleen states that active learning works “by trying things out and working with others [but ]reflective learners learn by thinking things through, and working alone”( Kathleen page 60).  Kathleen also states that Intuitive learners want information that is conceptual, innovative, and oriented toward theo-ries and meanings(Kathleen page 61). While “Sensing learners prefer information that is concrete, practical, and ori-ented toward facts and procedures” (Kathleen page 61). Visual learners remember best from pictures, diagrams, flowcharts, timelines, films, and demonstrations. While Verbal learners are the opposite and prefer written and spoken explanations. Sequential learners are linear, orderly, and learn in small incremental steps. Whereas “global learners are holistic, systems thinkers and learn in large leaps.” By understanding what the students’ learning style is they can get closer to success. 

The large amount of students failing classes or assignments in recent years has increased. To decrease this large increase, students can use strategies to help them receive a better grades. What is a good grade also matters and it is important for them to understand that. All this is useless if the student does not know what their learning style is. Overall there are options for decreasing the students failing classes or assignments.

 

Work sited: 

Acadicllu journal:

Boatright-Horowitz, SuL. College students’ categorical perceptions of grades: it’s simply ‘good’ vs. ‘bad’.“ Wiley Blackwell, Medical Education (MED EDUC), Mar2015; 49(3): 307-320. (14p). CINAHL, 10.1111/medu.12659.

Chan, Zenobia. “Good and bad practices in rubrics: the perspectives of students and educators.” Taylor & Francies, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education. Jun2019, Vol. 44 Issue 4, p533-545. 13p.Sociological Collection, 10.1080/02602938.2018.1522528.

Ebook:

Gabriel, Kathleen F.  “Teaching Unprepared Students: Strategies for Promoting Success and Retention in Higher Education.” Bloomfield: Stylus Publishing. 2017. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), 9781579222307. 9781579222291. 9781579229412. 9781620367957.

Popular website: 

Betheny Gross. “Schools Are Facing a surge of failing Grades During the Pandemic — and Traditional Approaches Like Credit Recovery Will Not Be Enough to Manage It” The74million. www.the74million.org/article/analysis-schools-are-facing-a-surge-of-failing-grades-during-the-pandemic-and-traditional-approaches-like-credit-recovery-will-not-be-enough-to-manage-it/. 

 

Major Project 4

Link

Alyssa Harris

Major Project 4

English 1102

 

OVERVIEW:

            When society imagines someone homeless, they immediately think of an older individual with overgrown hair and unkempt clothes. What they do not think of is a college student that seemingly blends in with any other person on campus. In her TED talk “College is Creating Poverty”, Sara Goldrick-Rab discusses how homelessness and food insecurity amongst undergraduates isn’t a rare occurrence anymore. The effect of homelessness and food insecurity on college students has a direct impact on their academic achievement rates, however most institutions barely recognize the substantial scope of this issue.

DISCUSSION:

            Before someone is a student, they are a person; a developing human being with a mind that works in a certain way necessary for survival. Humans require basic nutrition, shelter, and overall good health to function and live. Psychologist Abraham Maslow created a triangle diagram later referred to as “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs” (Mcleod 1). This diagram maps out human motivation (a key aspect needed in learning). The purpose is to show that the needs at the bottom of the pyramid must be satisfied before a person can move up. The bottom tier begins with physiological needs as in food, water, warmth, shelter, and rest. The next level is safety and security. Those two bottom levels are grouped together as “basic needs” and, according to Maslow, are the most important. The next levels are as follows: “Love and Belonging” (friends, family, intimate relationships), and “Esteem” (sense of accomplishment, respect). These middle layers fall under psychological desires, and most people fluctuate between them all the time. Finally at the top is “Self-Actualization” (having the desire to meet one’s full potential) which is the ideal state to focus on striving towards when attending college.

https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

            The top tier is where true academic success can happen because one cannot make learning a priority if the lower levels are lacking in some capacity. One cannot focus on their studies if they must figure out where they’re going to sleep at night or where their next meal is going to come from. As stated previously, food and shelter, level one is the most important. This is what makes students such a unique type of person. How is it that they are the only group able to somehow skip handling level one and jump straight to level five (i.e., attending school or “bettering oneself”)? It is because schools promise to take care of that part. Think of key phrases like student living, meal plans, campus healthcare. It is advertised that all their needs will be taken care of because a student’s job is “to learn” (so they say). The issue is that skipping levels comes with a price; a price that college institutions are not paying. It is falling on the students in the form on rising tuition costs and a higher cost of living. Please refer to Sara Goldwick-Rab’s assertion “Prepare to be punished” in which was a statement she overheard one student say to another (Goldrick-Rab 1). That statement embodies how many college students today feel towards their education. Keep in mind that this was a comment she had to overhear. This is so because students are less likely to voice their concerns directly to faculty members.

            Ronald E. Hallett and Adam Freas, in their article: “The Case for a Single Point of Contact for College Students Experiencing Homelessness”, support the notion of homeless students being at a large disadvantage academically. They state that “students struggling to meet basic needs frequently have a difficult time fully engaging in postsecondary education” (Hallett, Freas 1). Students experiencing this kind of problem miss out on a lot of opportunities and resources because they simply aren’t focused on what is available to them on campus. This includes connecting with professors and other students for help to finding programs that might address their needs. Because of this, unfortunately many students facing housing instability and food insecurity are more likely to not attend class, miss assignments, and eventually drop out of school entirely.

           With this being such a common occurrence, it might seem strange as to why most institutions have yet to recognize the severity of this issue. Schools do have student assistance programs of course, but they assume that because not many students are using them, that the problem must be rare. This is not the case, and it all has to do with social constructs. The reason why colleges don’t know is because the students themselves have been reluctant to say anything. Susanna M. Martinez and Erin E. Esaryk in their journal article titled “Redefining Basic Needs for Higher Education: It’s More Than Minimal Food and Housing According to California University Students”, describe that “students may not consider themselves homeless given the associated stigma” (Martinez, Esaryk 1).  It is not a secret that attending college comes with a set of social pressures. Students lacking basic needs might feel ashamed or embarrassed to speak up about their situation. This then makes it difficult to gauge an actual percentage of those affected.

           Hallett and Freas bring up another good point when they mention that “having a “homeless student center” or a “homeless student advisor” on campus would cause students to avoid using these services even though they might benefit from them (Hallett, Freas 1). This describes how drawing too much attention to these assistance programs would backfire. Students want confidentiality. Even the location of such services must be slightly discreet. At Georgia State Perimeter Clarkston campus for example, the food pantry is located on the basement level of the H building. These measures are put in place to ensure students feel comfortable when seeking help.

Decorative

-Christpoher Catbagan (Unsplash)
Depressed Student

           Being without a stable home and regular access to food takes a direct blow to a student’s success academically. It is not because classes are “too hard” or an assumption that a particular student is unwilling to learn. It is because of the stress placed upon that individual to survive gets in the way of their education. Both sides as in the student and the institution could be held accountable. This is easier said than done, but students have to speak up and colleges must be prepared to listen and respond. It also wouldn’t hurt for society to come together and agree that tuition should be free. Students are the future of society and so that move would unify and benefit everyone in the long run. 

          Homelessness is defined as “lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence”. The phrase nighttime residence holds major significance. Home is a place where a person can retreat to when a day’s work is done. Home is a place to reset; to replenish oneself with rest and nourishment. Home is the root that grounds people and without it they are ill equipped to weather life’s many storms.

 

Work Cited

Goldrick-Rab, Sara. College is creating poverty.TED Talk. May 2019   https://www.ted.com/talks/sara_goldrick_rab_college_is_creating_poverty

 

Hallett, Ronald E.; Freas, Adam; Mo, Elaine. New Directions for Community Colleges , Winter2018, Vol. 2018 Issue 184, p39-49, 11p, 1 Chart; DOI: 10.1002/cc.20326, Database: Education Source

 

Martinez, Suzanna M.; Esaryk, Erin E.; Moffat, Laurel; Ritchie, Lorrene, American Journal Jul2021, Vol. 35 Issue 6, p818 (English Abstract Available), Database: SPORTDiscus  

 

Mcleod, Saul. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Simply Psychology. December 29, 2020. https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

 

Major Project 4

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major project 4

 

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.

Major Project 4

Posted on by

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.

Project 4

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Have you ever wondered why some people consistently do well in school and others don’t at the higher-ed level? And no it doesn’t have anything to do with some people just being naturally smarter than others. The underlining denominator that puts other people over the edge is their ability to use metacognition effectively in their everyday life rather they realize it or not. In this essay I’m going to tell you all about metacognition and how to properly utilize this next level way of learning. 

First and foremost, let’s completely cover what metacognition actually is. Metacognition precisely is one’s ability to think about thinking. The ability to be consciously aware of oneself as a problem-solver. The capability to monitor and control one’s mental processing. And finally, the aptness to be aware of the type of learning that you are doing. Before you even begin to start applying the things that I have just mentioned, you must first get rid of these beliefs about learning that will get you absolutely no where. First, generally you want to get rid of the idea that learning is some kind of race. Truly understanding material takes careful reading and review. Always plan for assignments to take longer than you think. The next idea that you must rewire out of your brain is that “knowledge is composed of isolated facts”. Meaning that you shouldn’t study by trying to remember random separate facts, good teachers more than likely will test for comprehension and application of knowledge, and you would inevitably fail by picking and choosing bits and pieces of the information to remember. You also must not forget metacognition includes being able to be constantly aware of the type of learning you are doing, suggesting that sometimes you need to know when you need a break because learning while being mentally fatigued will have you going nowhere. 

Next, let’s go ahead and way out the most notable flaw about metacognition. According to author Elisabeth Norman of the Artic University of Norway, she suggests an idea that metacognition is not always helpful. Her argument stance includes going in to detail on how metacognition may actively interfere with task performance. Her claim is based around research that has been done on “mindlessness”. Simply put, mindlessness is the lack of attention or presence resulting in automatic application of existing knowledge. Given her outlook comes from a different angle about metacognition, it is really subjective and could easily vary based on an individual’s study technique. Like for instance, complex decisions that largely involve implicit/unconscious knowledge may best be made mindlessly given you have the proper preparation to make that judgment. Coming from personal experience, that’s why I think mastering metacognition to apply not only in school but in everyday life prevails so well. If you haven’t took the necessary steps to develop your mind for a specific task you will never be ready. 

Why does metacognition matter? Well according to psychology professor Stephen Chew of Samford University, metacognition has been linked to improved learning outcomes. This kind of thinking gets students beyond the base level surface and makes them explore deeper for max proficiency. In return this inadvertently builds other skills, like a person’s ability to self-regulate. Self-regulation in education depends on 5 things. Assessing the task’s demands, evaluating one’s strengths & weaknesses, planning an approach, applying strategies, and reflection. As a response, you should notice that your ability to problem solve would get better and more meticulous. I personally think metacognition techniques need to be coached all throughout higher education. It took me up until my second semester of college before I even heard of the word metacognition. In addition to my GPA being tremendously higher since I’ve started applying it, my confidence for taking exams and tests has soared. 

In conclusion, the aim of this essay was to effectively point out some of the benefits and to positively reinforce the ramifications of applying this concept to your life. To say that using metacognition would absolutely guarantee boosted scores for everyone is not being realistic because its up to the individual, but I genuinely feel like it’s worth a glance by any person trying to become a more disciplined learner. 

 

 

 

Sources Cited 

Neal D. T., Wood W., Wu M., Kurlander D. (2011). The pull of the past: when do habits persist despite conflict with motives? Pers. Soc. Psychol. Bull. 37 1428–1437. 10.1177/0146167211419863 [PubMed] [CrossRef] [Google Scholar] 

Dr. Stephen Chew’s “How to Get the Most Out of Studying: Part 1 of 5, “Beliefs That Make You Fail Or Succeed” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH95h36NChI&t=14s 

“Study Better Slides ppd to Week 4”: Slides 1-29 https://gastate.view.usg.edu/d2l/le/content/2488499/viewContent/48692300/View 

Vanderbilt University : “Metacognition” https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/metacognition/ 

Major Project 4

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In March 2020, COVID-19 became a global pandemic, and college schools shut down. Classes were to be taken online to finish the school as school boards looked for a cleaner solution next semester. Online classes have always been a thing, but the new start to the year required face cams, and to show up on a virtual classroom to talk to teacher and peers. Cut to the present, and both online and traditional classes are used in together, with college students picking whichever they feel work more towards their style. While the students get to choose, which classroom gives you better grades across the United States, online or traditional? Should one be removed for giving worse grades? 

First, we must look at what online classes look like in comparison to in person. Online classes give you a flexible schedule and study during your own time. Online classes can also save money. National University “Weighing the Pros and Cons of Online vs. In-Person Learning,” by Todd Prout, which is a website that explains the differences in Online vs Traditional classes, states that “Online students don’t have to pay for student housing, gas for commuting, or on-campus meal programs. That can translate to substantial savings, which is a major perk for cost-conscious students.” (Prout 1). This lets students save significantly while going to college, letting them not have to worry about another thing on top of their studies. Students that go online can also manage their personal lives in conjunction to their school lives. Having kids or spending time with the family is easier while taking classes from home. National University also agrees by saying “so that you don’t have to give up family time, hire expensive babysitters, or cut your hours at work.” (Prout 1). 

However, there are downsides to online learning. In Georgia State Online “Is Online Right for Me?” Which is a checklist for students who are interested in online learning, The writer states that “Virtual learners can’t meet up for pizza or book a study room at the library.” (Georgia State 1) Online learners will miss out on the social environment that students get from in person learning. This also branches out to meetings with teachers. With online learning, it’ll be harder to meet with teachers outside the time they have made clear in their syllabus. Lastly, since virtual classes are online, you will need to meet the technical requirements for it. This includes buying a camera or any software the class might need.  

Traditional classes give the students Hands-On Learning. Learning in person allows you to learn hands on from a teacher in an environment that pushes you to learn. According to Education Loan Finance “Online vs In Person Classes: Which is Better?” By Caroline Farhat, she states that “In a traditional classroom environment, the conversation may flow more naturally than it can in an online class, allowing more of the material to be discussed. The traditional setting can also make it easier to get assistance with a question since it can be asked in real-time and have dialogue go back and forth.” (Farhat 1) This allows for students to get real time learning and knowledge in a good environment. Traditional class also allow students to take time after class to ask questions to the teacher.  Traditional classes also give students more social interactions to talk to peers. This allows them to hang out during breaks or go out to eat after class.  

There are downsides to Traditional Classes as well. Traditional classes require you to get to the class. This means commuting and finding a way to school might be difficult. Prout states that “In a traditional, on-campus degree program, you have much less control over when and where you attend classes than you would in an online program.” (Prout 1) This also means that jobs or extracurricular activities can get in the way of your studies. Cost of traditional classes are also typically more. 

Which Classroom gives a better grade average, Virtual or Traditional? According to Harvard Business Review “Students Get Lower Grades in Online Courses,” The author states “For the typical student, taking a course online rather than in person would decrease his or her likelihood of course persistence by 7 percentage points, and if the student continued to the end of the course, would lower his or her final grade by more than 0.3 points on a 4-point scale.” (Harvard 1). Why is this the case? For starters, taking an online class takes more time management skills. According to “Why do Students Fail Online Courses?” by Best Colleges, “Online students set their own schedules. According to some sources, at least 40 percent of undergraduate students and 76 percent of graduate students are working at least 30 hours a week. Many are single mothers who also must factor in childcare and time for general house routines. When required study time is factored in, the task becomes daunting and the ability for self-discipline is vital.” (Best Colleges 1) Having better time management can cater to your grade being better for an online class. Secondly, people with poor internet or technical ability struggled to stay focused during classes or being able to find the material. According to “Student’s experiences with online teaching following COVID-19 lockdown: A mixed methods explorative study,” by Kari Almendingen “Only one of 16 students (6%) agreed that they needed to increase their digital competence, but approximately half reported having technical challenges at home.” (Almendingen 1) Finally, as the experience is still new, most students are still finding a way to adapt and find good study habits to make sure they are learning fluently online. Almendingen writes “Among the respondents two and 12 weeks after lockdown, 7/16 students (44%) and 9/21 students (43%) reported having previous experience with online learning, respectively (Table 1). After two weeks of forced online education, 8/16 students (50%) expected that their learning outcomes would be inferior with online education compared to their pre-COVID-19 education at campus” (Almendingen 1).  

Both online and traditional Classes both have pros and cons associated with their style of learning, However, even though virtual classes can give a lower grade on average, those classes are more well suited with a student with a busy schedule and good self-study procedure. Before signing up for classes, students should check their metacognition and be able to place if their study style is more suited for a traditional class or an online one. 

 

Sources Cited 

Prout, Todd. “Weighing the Pros and Cons of Online vs. in-Person Learning.” National University, 11 Mar. 2021, https://www.nu.edu/resources/weighing-the-pros-and-cons-of-online-vs-in-person-learning/. 

“Is Online Right for Me?  .” Georgia State Online, 30 Mar. 2022, https://online.gsu.edu/2022/03/30/is-online-right-for-me/. 

Almendingen, Kari, et al. “Student’s Experiences with Online Teaching Following Covid-19 Lockdown: A Mixed Methods Explorative Study.” PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0250378. 

“Why Do Students Fail Online College Courses?” Best Colleges Online, 18 May 2021, https://www.bestcollegesonline.org/faq/why-do-students-fail-online-college-courses/. 

“Students Get Lower Grades in Online Courses.” Harvard Business Review, 30 Mar. 2015, https://hbr.org/2013/12/students-get-lower-grades-in-online-courses. 

Farhat, Caroline. “Online vs Classroom Learning Pros & Cons to Help You Choose: Elfi.” Education Loan Finance, 15 Feb. 2022, https://www.elfi.com/online-vs-in-person-classes/. 

How College Students Should Approach a College Level Project

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Abass Salat
Engl 1102 + Section 312 – Weaver
Major Project 4
Date Due: Apr 25
asalat2@student.gsu.edu

How College Students Should Approach a New Project

            Getting assigned a major project in college can feel very overwhelming. The increased difficulty of projects in the transition from highschool to higher education makes college students feel like they can never get it done. What can really get rid of this anxiety of college level projects and boost productivity is for students to approach projects like this strategically. Thinking ahead is critical to the completion and quality of this sort of project. Students should approach the project by opening up time in their schedule, breaking the project into smaller tasks, effectively combating against burnout, and having a support system.

            At the start of the project, students need to plan how they are going to get it done. Students should identify exactly what time they have available and allocate time to the project. They should also identify at what location they will work on the project. According to the study done by Sean Humpherys and Ibrahim Lazrig in the article “Effects of Teaching and Practice of Time Management Skills on Academic Performance in Computer Information Systems Courses” in the journal Information Systems Education Journal, when students identify the how, when, and where of a plan, they are considerably more productive in executing it (Humpherys and Lazrig). The authors mention this planning benefits students in many ways. They say doing this will lessen the chance of distraction killing the student’s working hours which helps against procrastination. Additionally, Humpherys and Lazrig say that when students preplan the how, when, and where of their plan, their grading results for their goal is likely to be positive. Also, students should make the plan as specific as possible according to Alain Samson, an economist with an expertise and PhD in social psychology, in his article “10 Ways to Get a Big Project Done” (Samson). What Dr. Samson means is instead of a student planning they will complete a specific task the project calls for on Monday, they should plan that they will complete that task on Monday from 10 a.m. to noon in a specific spot at the library. This will lessen the chance of a student having the intention to complete the task throughout the day but not being able to do it because they didn’t allocate a specific time of day for it, or a distraction came up.

            When given a project, students are never expected to get it all done in one day. College level projects are simply too complex. What students should do is approach it strategically and break down the project into pieces. Doing this has many benefits and will facilitate the process. According to Dr. Samson, breaking projects into smaller pieces will lay out the specific things one would need to get done (Samson). Dr. Samson adds that the person will also be able to analyze the difficultly levels of each piece of the project which is an advantage. This is because now the student has smaller workloads to complete rather than trying to tackle the project as a whole. Additionally, now the student can avoid unproductively pausing progress on the project due to a freighting challenge up ahead. Dr. Samson says ending a work session because of a demanding piece of the project up ahead is the opposite of what one should do when working on a project. This is because the student might avoid the next work session because of such a demanding piece of the project waiting for them as soon as they get started. Students should start with the less demanding pieces of the project and end with the slightly more demanding ones. This will help the students against unproductively pausing and will give them the fulfilling feeling of ending a session with hard work.

            Although some pauses on projects are unproductive, there are pauses that are highly encouraged if not necessary. When a student is feeling overwhelmed or just feels stuck, its best for them to take a break. According to Dr. Samson, students in this situation should do a completely different activity from what their project is about (Samson). For example, if a student’s project is about the French Revolution, they should go for a walk or knit a hat. Students can highly benefit from this because when they return to working on the project, they get rid of all their brain fog and their ability to work at their best is not compromised. This will help students avoid burning out and will help them get satisfactory results on the assignment.

            Also, when students are so deep in the project and they deprived themselves of taking breaks, they can’t notice the mistakes that they make. According to Jennifer Oliver, a writer, a speaker, and a creative project consultant, taking a break from working on a project can help students detect the faults in their work (Oliver). She says that sometimes someone is so deep into their project that they do not see the things they are doing wrong. Oliver says that when a student is in this situation, they should take some distance away from the project. Stepping away from working on the project might take away from a student’s work time but it will boost productivity in the long run.

            A student being overworked on a project is not the only thing that can lead to burnout. Lack of encouragement can be a major drag on a student’s ability to complete a project. Also, students are susceptible to procrastinating on doing what they planned to complete. The way students can combat both of these issues is by involving someone or multiple people to act as a support system. According to Philip Oreopoulos, Richard W. Patterson, Uros Petronijevic, and Nolan G. Pope in their article “Low-Touch Attempts to Improve Time Management among Traditional and Online College Students” in the journal Journal of Human Resources, having a system like this in place has been shown to help students achieve the goals they set out (Oreopoulos et. al.). The authors say that the support group should act as reminders for the student. This is because having a person or group of people that care about the student reminding him or her to not fall short of their goals reinforces the student’s commitment. Also, the students should share their progress on the project with their support system. According to Dr. Samson, just sharing their progress can help them achieve their final goal (Samson). He says that a student might also benefit from the positive reaction of their support group.

            Approaching a new project strategically is the best way for students to approach completing it. Instead of students simply starting the project and hoping all goes well, they should think things through. Students just jumping right in can lead to negative results due to lack of planning. The common occurrences like students saying they did not have enough time when they did, or the project was so mentally draining they just gave up are born from lack of planning. Applying these techniques can lead to satisfying results for students and are highly recommended to implement next time a student has a major project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Work Cited

Humpherys, Sean L., and Ibrahim Lazrig. “Effects of Teaching and Practice of Time Management Skills              on Academic Performance in Computer Information Systems Courses.” Information Systems                      Education Journal, Information Systems and Computing Academic Professionals. Box 488,                         Wrightsville Beach, NC 28480. e-Mail: Publisher@Isedj.org; Web Site: Http://Isedj.org, 31 Mar.               2021, eric.ed.gov/?q=time%2Bmanagement&id=EJ1297703.

Oliver, Jen. “5 Reasons to Take a Break from Creative Projects.” J Oliver Designs, 16 June 2020,                     www.joliverdesigns.co.uk/5-reasons-to-take-a-break-from-creative-projects/.

Oreopoulos, Philip, et al. “Low-Touch Attempts to Improve Time Management among Traditional and                Online College Students.” Journal of Human Resources, vol. 57, no. 1, 2019, pp. 1–43.,                                 doi:10.3368/jhr.57.1.0919-10426r1.

Samson, Alain. “10 Ways to Get a Big Project Done.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 23 June                     2021, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/consumed/202106/10-ways-get-big-project-done.

 

Major Project 4 : What Can Be Done About Students Plagiarizing?

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              What Can Be Done About Students Plagiarizing?

A very big issue in higher education, which must be talked about more on ways to prevent it is plagiarism. While some things are being put into place to prevent it, technology is continuing to advance, which means there will be more ways to bypass those regulations. Plagiarism hinders students from forming original thoughts and views on a subject. Students can’t expect to get away with cheating and plagiarizing indefinitely since it’ll be detected, and the repercussions will be severe. So, before all of that happens, more strategies to prevent plagiarism should be talked about and implemented

Now first let’s define plagiarism, and the different types of plagiarism. In his article “The 5 Types of Plagiarism | Explanations & Examples” Streefkerk mentions how Plagiarism may take numerous forms, some of which are more serious than others, ranging from rephrasing someone’s ideas without acknowledgment to taking a whole piece of someone’s work. The five most prevalent kinds of plagiarism are as follows: global plagiarism, in its broadest sense refers to the act of misrepresenting someone else’s work as your own. Directly replicating someone else’s words is known as verbatim plagiarism. To avoid verbatim plagiarism, just quote the original source by enclosing the copied material in quotation marks and providing an in-text citation. (Streefkerk 1)

Paraphrasing plagiarism is defined as the act of rephrasing someone else’s ideas and portraying them as your own. When paraphrasing, mention your sources just like you would when quoting to avoid plagiarism. Patchwork plagiarism refers to combining elements from many sources to produce a new writing. To avoid patchwriting, ensure to credit your sources anytime you quote or paraphrase. Self-plagiarism is when you recycle your own previous work. Except for global plagiarism, these sorts of plagiarism are frequently unintentional, stemming from a lack of understanding on how to quote, paraphrase, and reference your sources appropriately. When you reuse ideas, words, or facts from earlier assignments, you are committing self-plagiarism. It is not plagiarism to rework existing ideas and paragraphs as long as you get permission and credit your earlier work to make their sources obvious. (Streefkerk 1)  

In their article “Strategy for writing Plagiarism free Research Paper” Dhusia D. K and Kesharwani Subodh, state that “Many students simply do not know what plagiarism is. Their awareness, if any, often derives from urban legends and myths that Internet contents are free to copy.” (Dhusia and Kesharwani 91), which describes how some plagiarism might not be intentional due to students not being aware of what it is and/or being improperly informed about it. They also mention that “Many other students know what plagiarism is, but don’t consider it wrong. The belief that “information wants to be free,” and the idea that copying from sources with a few words of one’s own is merely “patch writing,” a normal way to write, support these students in their beliefs.” (Dhusia and Kesharwani 91). This shows another reason why students might plagiarize while knowing what it is because they don’t think its something wrong and have the belief that “information wants to be free”.  

In order for teachers to make students more aware Dhusia and Kesharwani explain how these students require assistance, thus informing them of the resources available to them, such as personal attention from instructors, open debate with student ideas, the environment, teaching assistants, online writing lab sites, and so on, may inspire them to persevere. Presenting the assignment and correct citation of sources in a positive light is one strategy that might work. (Dhusia and Kesharwani 91)

In her article “Preventing Plagiarism (and Other Forms of Cheating): Advice From Students and Faculty” Stephanie Bluestein mentions some advice students had about plagiarism and academic dishonesty in general and what faculty and staff could do about it. Those students described how if a teacher is sitting in front of the class checking over their work, the student in the back has pretty much free reign to cheat. Professors may not be able to catch every instance of plagiarism, but students are aware when they are not. Faculty and administrators would benefit from learning more about incentive theories from the standpoint of educational psychology. By altering your presentation manner and enhancing student interaction with the subject, you may make learning more exciting. (Bluestein 8)

What teachers can do to prevent plagiarism has been mentioned but that about students? In her article “10 Tips for Students: How to Avoid Plagiarism in Your Writing” Zoe Nixon explains that students should allow enough time to write a paper is a simple strategy to avoid plagiarism. Citing sources is one thing, but it won’t help much if it’s not done right. Students should ensure that they understand the standards for the paper they are working on and that they apply them correctly. Scanning through a paper to verify that it has cited all of the sources used does not take long. There is a means to avoid using someone else’s work while yet giving credit where credit is due. When explicitly quoting someone, another approach to give credit is to utilize quotations. (Nixon 1)

To sum it up, in her article “Preventing Plagiarism (and Other Forms of Cheating): Advice From Students and Faculty” Stephanie Bluestein elaborates that academic dishonesty has no redeeming qualities other than potentially giving an instructive moment. Educators must undoubtedly ask themselves, “How do we avoid this tragic situation?” Students, as we all know, are free-thinking individuals with a lot on their minds—and plates. While professors and administrators cannot control their students’ actions, they can regulate their actions by taking preventative measures. (Bluestein 7)

 

 

Works Cited:

Streefkerk, Raimo. ” The 5 Types of Plagiarism | Explanations & Examples.” Scribbr, 10 Jan. 2022, https://www.scribbr.com/plagiarism/types-of-plagiarism/

Dhusia, D. K and Kesharwani, Subodh. “Strategy for writing Plagiarism free Research Paper” Global Journal of Enterprise Information System vol. 11, issue. 2, Spring 2019, pp 90-96. EBSCO, DOI: 10.18311/gjeis/2019

 

Bluestein, Stephanie. “Preventing Plagiarism (and Other Forms of Cheating): Advice From Students and Faculty” New Directions for Community Colleges vol. 2018, issue. 183, Fall 2018, pp 7-14. EBSCO,  DOI: 10.1002/cc.20312

 

Nixon, Zoe. “10 Tips for Students: How to Avoid Plagiarism in Your Writing ” The Writing Cooperative, 4 Jul. 2018, https://writingcooperative.com/10-tips-for-students-how-to-avoid-plagiarism-in-your-writing-11892264deb4

How Metacognition Can Make Starting College Manageable 

Posted on by

Amayah Jones 

ENGL 1102 

Dr. Weaver 

25 April 2022 

How Metacognition Can Make Starting College Manageable 

Many students stress over college, especially first-year students who are unaware of what to expect. One way for these scholars to get the best out of their education and succeed is by getting acquainted with metacognition. Metacognition is a form of self-awareness in relation to one’s thought process or how one learns, and the advantages have been shown by extensive research and experimentation. The use of metacognition can be of service to students in higher education, especially those in community colleges to develop their information processing as well as their sense of self. So, it is important to assert metacognition in higher education because it helps scholars succeed in their classes in turn easing the anxiety brought by starting college. 

Starting College Struggle 

In many cases, scholars starting college may begin to struggle because they are not completely prepared for this transition. Professors Richard T. Ward and Darrell L. Butler in their article published in Education journal mention research supporting that “college freshmen underachievement is related to poor study skills, poor time management, and an overall lack of understanding of how to tackle difficult challenges” (Ward and Butler 122). As a result of the impromptu approach taken by first-year students, they begin to struggle with college challenges. High school provides structure for the students working as bumpers on a bowling lane to keep them on a determined path. Issues such as poor time management and poor study habits stem from students not being used to the free system of college and the idea that once they fall there are no regulations set in place to catch them. However, metacognition has been shown to make the transition more fluid and allow scholars to manage these new trials. John Ottenhoff mentions in Liberal Education that a teacher “. . . came to see that instruction in metacognitive skills may be particularly important for first-year students as they adjust to the expectations of college-level work. . .”(Ottenhoff 3). Students will then be able to assess their understanding according to these expectations and adapt. If first-year students are not advised on cognitive strategies, they are less likely to improve their skills, so metacognition is essential in the progression to college. 

Furthermore, metacognition can especially help students advancing to community colleges who often find themselves at a disadvantage due to fewer resources. Brandilynn Villarreal argues in her dissertation titled When Ambitions Aren’t enough: The Role of Motivation, Self-Regulation, and Individual Agency in Higher-Education Goal Pursuit, “Compared to university students, community college students are less familiar with higher educational systems, less academically prepared, and face greater financial pressures” (Villarreal 29). This results in dropouts and resistance to seeking a four-year degree. These scholars are discouraged because of their circumstances and require self-regulation for long term success. 

Better Study Habits 

As scholars regulate and monitor their learning, they will need to acknowledge unhealthy habits that repress them academically and consider strategies that will help them thrive. This topic is presented in, psychology professor at Samford University, Dr.Chew’s series on how to get the most out of studying giving detailed insight on how metacognition can lead to academic success during the transition to college. Dr. Chew expresses that instead of believing misconceptions from high school such as memorizing isolated facts and thinking multitasking is effective, students should focus when studying and aim for deep processing (Chew 1). Developing awareness leads to better study strategies leading to deep processing. If you know how you learn whether it is through association of feelings or memories or application to another subject, you can enhance your understanding of a topic. Overall, self-awareness is a guide to managing the load of higher-level work, not to mention putting in the effort.   

Putting it into Action 

Another important concept of college success is note-taking, which is a metacognitive skill. The notes are what students study and absorb so it is imperative to use them according to how they learn, which demonstrates a need for self-awareness in test prep. Ward and Butler display the relationship by mentioning “Isaacson and Fujita (2006) found that undergraduate students with greater metacognitive knowledge performed better on tests compared to those with a lower degree of metacognitive knowledge” (Ward and Butler). It is known that proper studying improves test scores, but this further insinuates that the correlation between metacognition and academic success is positive. In other words, the implication of metacognitive skills benefit scholars with subjects as important as test prep. 

The importance of self-regulation is not made apparent to some students in high school so they believe in the end they are destined to succeed without applying ample work. Many college freshmen assume they can bring high school habits to college such as last-minute studying when they should understand that learning is not fast, so it takes time to properly process information which means legitimately learning it (Chew 1). Taking the time to study effectively is a more realistic way to prepare for a test than trying to remember facts the night before. It is also important for these students to realize college-level courses go beyond quick learning and require the use of metacognitive skills for a rooted comprehension of college material. Metacognition can create automaticity once scholars have produced habits for success. In other words, once scholars have established adequate study habits, they will become accustomed to these habits causing them to become active practices towards a successful college career. 

Uncertainty and Anxiety 

As previously discussed, the first year of college can be the most stressful for college students because of their uncertainty in the unfamiliar environment. Among students “. . . enrolled in American colleges and universities, anxiety was by far the most commonly reported mental health problem” (Komfeld 562). Uncertainty triggers anxiety leaving students in academic limbo. Freshmen face mental breakdowns as well as panic brought by a fear of failure so what they need is a way to cope with this stress. Self-awareness generates certainty since it provides a solution to college stress; it is a way of clearing an otherwise obscure trial. Moreover, the lowest-performing students can improve if they take the time to consider where their anxiety is coming from and establish skills to combat these emotional hardships. 

Conclusion 

In retrospect, the distress endured by college freshmen can be expected when facing any new experience. It is understood that there is a possibility they will arrive with years of implanted rules and expectations from high school, but what is important is that they are introduced to metacognition. This is a way for them to shift their perspective and learn that study strategies are most effective when analogous to self-awareness; so, if a scholar knows how they learn they can apply it in their notetaking and studying. Thus, developing these metacognitive skills is crucial for components leading to college success and overall self-development. 

 

 

 

Work Cited 

OTTENHOFF, JOHN. “Metacognition in Liberal Education.” Liberal Education, vol. 97, no. 3/4, Summer/Fall2011 2011, pp. 28–33. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=fth&AN=67148637&site=eds-live&scope=site. 

Chew, Stephen. “How to Study.” How to Get the Most Out of Studying, www.samford.edu/departments/academic-success-center/how-to-study. 

WARD, RICHARD T., and DARRELL L. BUTLER. “An Investigation of Metacognitive Awareness and Academic Performance in College Freshmen.” Education, vol. 139, no. 3, Spring 2019, pp. 120–26. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=a9h&AN=136190808&site=eds-live&scope=site. 

Komfeld, Eve. “History and the Mental Health Crisis: Preparing University Students to Live with Uncertainty through Authentic Research and Metacognition.” History Teacher, vol. 53, no. 3, May 2020, pp. 561–85. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=a9h&AN=145299669&site=eds-live&scope=site.