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Niara Mitchell

Dr. Smith

ENGL101- 2COB

June 5, 2017

Possible Changes to the Collegiate Education

Do you know if your school has a set curriculum for each subject? Students like you,

who have not come from a wealthy background, did not have the tendency to have that extra

help in their academic studies. While other students, who may have had tutors or family

members help them, have a higher probability to understand the course better. This defeats

the purpose of having these types of students where one has the higher privilege and the other

doesnt in the same class. Some schools fail to realize is the number of students that struggle to

complete homework and/or classwork. College education has failed Blacks and Latinos learning

in the classrooms. Teachers should consider building the classwork and homework around the

students different learning styles, and with this idea; students will become more interactive

within the classroom.

There are various styles of learning that each person has uniquely. I am a kinesthetic

(tactile) learner; a person who learns by keeping their hands occupied, or simply learning by

hands-on. I have experienced the struggle of learning myself when I first started school in

general. Most of the classes that I was taking were lectures and PowerPoint presentations. My

major, Music Production, is a hands-on study. Classes that werent related to music were a big

disadvantage for me. I noticed that there were other students who had more experience than I

did in music and I felt isolated. At first, I didnt think to seek extra help or ask the professor for
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different ways to improve myself. I didnt let the way I learned stop me from continuing my

studies.

Students should have classwork equality in their subject area. The professors assume

the students dont study hard enough or say the students dont do the work or dont attend

class. From the students perspective, they feel as if the professor is giving too much hard work

or whether the course material isnt explained thoroughly, and the professor isnt available for

tutoring for the class. According to The New York Times Sunday Review, Annie M. Paul notices

that some colleges are unfair to certain undergraduate students. She says that most students

that have the most trouble are the ones that are students that come from low money making

families, which they are mostly girls, and they are the first out of their family to go to college.

Many students know that professors tend to ignore the challenges and struggles that they face

in everyday life. In general, undergraduates that have problems at home affect their

performance in class and homework. Some may not even have parents that could help them

with school overall.

The problem is that teachers and students havent discussed what the

miscommunication situation is and thats what causes problems. These students feel

undereducated students feel that anyone with higher privileges has a better chance at passing

the courses. A. Paul says that two psychology teachers, James W. Pennebaker and Samuel D.

Gosling, had the idea of having a quiz at the start of the semester to see where the students are

starting at. She also says that most students feel uncomfortable when other people are

answering questions and they may not know what the question means so they become less

interactive in class. This feeling of embarrassment holds back many students from asking
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questions, learning the material better, and failure to complete assignments. Students of

higher class poke fun at others that dont know as much as they do and it does affect the

underprivileged overall school performance. According to these psychologists, having these

beginning of the semester quizzes as a starter can help improve undergraduate education.

These active-learning courses greatly increase the number of non-wealthy undergraduates

knowledge of the course material because it isnt your regular traditional lecture.

In the state of having all classes made simple for all students, whether they are high

class or not, greatly encourages more low-income and first of the family college students to

exceed their careers. People have agreed that this active-learning process is a go, but I feel like

that it isnt as well thought out for all learners. I do agree that this is a good way to start off for

people who havent had the wealthy experience of having a good education. But I disagree that

this will work for all types of undergraduate learners. Yes, some people learn photographically,

kinesthetically, or technically; in reality these studies of the active-learning courses isnt proving

how well the students learn. All the text is saying is that the number of students succeeded

using these inversed format courses and did better than the normal lecture. I have encountered

people that can learn better in a smaller class sizes than classes of greater numbers. This goes

to show that these learning courses are only helping the ones that want the help. If I were to try

these active-learning courses, it would prevent me from truly knowing my style of learning. I

understand why they created these courses, but these psychologists need to understand the

overall accomplishment of how the students learn their natural learning style. Overall, students

should consider seeking ways that they learn using the active learning courses in sync with their

learning style. By then, their education will increasingly improve throughout the semesters and
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in the near future. Knowingly, teachers will realize the outcome of their students due to these

inversed formatted courses will overcome the regular lectures that are given at each school.
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Works Cited

Paul, Annie Murphy, James W. Pennebaker, Samuel D. Gosling, The New York Times,

Sunday Review; Are College Lectures Unfair? Gray Matter. September 12, 2015. Print.