Your students come to class or log onto an online platform and complete required tasks, which must mean to some degree they are interested in learning. Somehow, through class lectures or informative posts an educator has taken time to develop, these students will acquire knowledge they need, and through the activities designed to ensure they take the time to read and apply what has been read, they will meet the required outcomes. That’s the plan when a course is designed and implemented.
But the reality is many students are going through the motions of repetitive, reactively responding to the course materials and activities they are required to complete. If it is a class discussion, their response may be based upon a world view held now,
which is closely protected and rarely challenged. Few will take the information received and apply in such a manner they can demonstrate critical analysis and original thought, unless this is a doctoral-level course, and even then, there is no guarantee responses will reach beyond rote reactions.
Written papers offer the same form of response, and if there is poor academic writing, this will interfere with the thought process students are attempting to establish. While this may seem as if it is a negative view of higher education,
it is not meant to be a comment on the state of the industry itself. Rather my experience within the for-profit online school industry has taught me students often come to the classroom unprepared to be fully engaged in the learning process and even if they are willing to participate,
they may not know what it means to be an active participant, or have the skills necessary to do so. This puts the responsibility on me, as the educator, to make the extra effort, not wait for “the system” to change, or become upset because I want students to come to class better prepared.
What I’ve learned is students take the first step when they decide to begin a new degree program. There is some measure of interest and willingness to become involved in their studies. However, they often do not understand what the requirements will be until they begin taking their first class, and this is a time when they will decide if they have the motivation necessary to continue.
