THE NEXTtime you may think that a University student will be able to help you figure out if you have enough gas to make it to the nearest station, you may want to think again.
A recent report by the American Institute for Research earlier in the week found a disturbing trend amongst college students in terms of comprehension and application. According to the report, which tested students from 80 randomly selected two and four year colleges, as many as 20 percent of students from four year colleges were not able to comply with simple tasks, such as calculating the amount of gas needed to get to the next station.
Sadly, this report comes out along with a survey last month by the National Center for Education Statistics observing that 25 percent of randomly selected college graduates scored high enough on the test to have a "proficient" level of literacy, such as understanding the argument in an editorial. While it is unlikely that the University is significantly contributing to the negative results of these tests, there must be a change in the fundamental information provided to students both within and outside of the University.
One of the best solutions to this problem would be to decrease class sizes, so that students would be more involved in the learning process, not just simply restating the concepts taught to them.Unfortunately, due to the high demand and short supply of professors, this option is not very realistic, especially among colleges with very few funds.
A more viable option would be to establish links within the classroom to the real world applications, such as problems associated with the class that could regularly appear in the working world or everyday life, rather than just purely teaching the material. Within many classes, large class sizes and emphasis on purely the material at hand has created a large gap between what is memorized and what is applicable.
Many professors have a deep love of what they teach, but many students do not yet understand what those concepts apply to, and that professors should teach students to think, not just to repeat facts, Page Miller, director of the University's Center for the Study of Higher Education, said in an interview. Professors at the University should make it a priority to explain what could be the useful application of what they are teaching. Fortunately many of the courses within the University do just that by relating many of their classes to real life scenarios. However, all professors need to make sure that the skills that they teach can be applied to the real world, whether directly or indirectly.
Additionally, University students themselves could also able to help others achieve. One of the best ways to improve college literacy and quantitative understanding is to target students before they apply to college. So far, the University has been effective in creating many tutoring programs for students in the K-12 school system through venues such as the Madison House.
However, a new program should be created, which would be designed to educate students not only in subject areas such as writing and mathematics, but specifically concentrate on everyday application of those subjects in real-life scenarios.
University students would help to provide additional training in general literacy and quantitative application to students in the K-12 school system by creating different scenarios and asking students how they would apply what they learn. Many University students have a deep enough comprehension of what can be used with concepts such as calculus and higher English skills, and therefore a new student program would help many children in the Charlottesville education system who do not understand why they are learning concepts foreign to them. It is one thing to learn algebra, but it's another to know how those concepts apply to real world situations, such as using algebra to figure out how much gas would be needed for getting to the nearest station.
Additionally, other areas in need of focus, such as realizing the argument in an editorial, could also be emphasized. Once public school students learn why they should understand a concept, they will have more of an incentive to continue learning the subject, and be more able to apply their skills to the working world.
These sobering reports hopefully will create a new investigation and proposals to a solution for the declining literacy and application of basic concepts in the nation.Hopefully, students and administrators in the University will make the right steps to ensure that both current and future University students, as well as students in general, will be better educated. A nation of ignorance cannot stand. Besides, you never know when you'll need to gas up.
Adam Silverberg's column appears Fridays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at asilverberg@cavalierdaily.com.
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