Chemical Education Today
Association Report: 2YC3
Teaching Nontraditional Students1
edited by Ann Cartwright San Jacinto College, Central Campus Division of Science & Mathematics Pasadena, TX 77501-2007
by John G. Shiber Science, especially chemistry, and math both seem to have an aura about them that strikes fear into nontraditional college students. Indeed, as a scientist attempting to teach scientific concepts to community college students in central Appalachia, over half of whom are nontraditional, I spend a lot of time attempting to quell such fear. At first, I found it extremely difficult to do because when I began teaching here in 1990, my background had been chiefly at the university level with some advanced high-school science teaching, and I had had no exposure whatsoever to rural, nontraditional students. Consequently, successfully reaching this group came long and hard, with much frustration. Many students could barely understand the meanings of words I would use casually, and were thus unable to fulfill my expectation of their comprehending a whole new language of scientific terminology! I faced blank stare after blank stare as I was lecturing, or students would reveal their cluelessness to what I had been teaching them. I did one thing right away that helped their comprehension immensely: I started preparing my own instructional objectives on the material they were expected to learn. They were required to complete each one, with the understanding that tests and quizzes would cover only the material in those objectives. I would go over all of the objectives in class, noting those that seemed problematic so that I could edit and make them more comprehendible for the next semester. To complete the explicitly worded objectives, students had to read the textbook to find the terms and topics they were supposed to define or expand upon in writing. Although they complained about how time-consuming this was, they invariably added that they learned much as a result. Another more important thing I did was to take the extra time to know my students’ educational backgrounds and cultural attributes—something not discussed in my faculty orientation sessions. In the beginning, this was an informal, personal endeavor. But as I came to understand the students’ struggles more fully and the poor schooling they had, with little training in the sciences, I began to believe that others could benefit from knowing their stories and learning about how nontraditional students managed to get through college despite often overpowering odds. The fact that they were in college at all was, to them, quite a success! With this in mind, I began a project in which nontraditional students voluntarily wrote essays about their personal backgrounds, the forces that drove them to enter college, and their expectations for their lives once they graduated. It was through doing this that I really came to understand, respect, and admire the tenacity of my students. The essays were eventually put together in a booklet (1) for other (or potential) students to read, with the hope that it might give them courage to continue (or start) college. If the authors of the essays can do it, surely they will see that they can, too. New incoming teachers and administrators can also
benefit from reading the booklet to familiarize themselves with the people they will be serving. So over the years and through doing the booklet project, I learned several ways to help my students get over the “fear” hurdle and into a self-confident mode of learning in the sciences. As soon as classes begin, I provide them with control over their grade. I make it clear that it is what they do during the course that will determine their grade. I allow them to earn points for everything they choose to do that is mentioned in the syllabus. It is surprising how much they work (and learn!) to earn even one point. To those hard workers who do poorly on tests, due to “drawing a blank” or “panicking” rather than a lack of study, these opportunities to earn points mean a great deal. They get points for reading assignments in textbooks and journals, for example; completing all of the objectives in writing; taking home problems to solve; attending guest lectures; completing take-home essays of one to two pages, with emphasis on the importance of thinking before writing and of being as concise as possible; watching relevant videos or reading short scientific articles in class and writing a one-page summary. This trains students to focus on the main idea or concept. With practice, there is always distinct improvement within a month or two. Community service activities also give them points while enlightening their intellect, since an important aspect of learning is doing. They work in real-life situations appropriate to the course—discussing matters with others; observing, recording, and using information; and solving problems—excellent exercise in the scientific approach. As the students are actively involved, I observe each person’s pace and the time committed to learning. They do not need to be penalized for being slow learners. Instead, they are given several options for course-related involvement that are vital to their achievement. There is no dilution of course material with this approach. On the contrary, I often find myself covering more topics each semester than most of my colleagues who teach the same course. Although tests are a good measure of how well one is learning, they often scare nontraditional students, particularly when teachers use tests as a tool for their own empowerment rather than as a learning reinforcement for students and a means of correcting their mistakes. Students frequently feel, and not without cause, that they are being punished with tests. Making tests tricky or very difficult can give this impression. Of course, tests should not be easy, but they must be fair and cover only the required material discussed thoroughly in class. Adult community college students need to learn without a psychologically stressful atmosphere. Not only does it undermine their learning per se, but it also encourages two things: cheating or dropping out. Avoiding talking over the students’ heads and discouraging them from memorizing terms and concepts without interconnections and interrelations, I found that using simple,
JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu • Vol. 76 No. 12 December 1999 • Journal of Chemical Education
1615
Chemical Education Today
unsophisticated words to explain complex concepts were very effective. As often as possible, I related such concepts to everyday situations, sometimes giving absurd but easy-to-remember analogies. Then I would introduce the actual term(s), formula(s), and graph(s). This circumvented the automatic “comprehension-shutdown” that I often used to witness. However, the most important thing I’ve learned that increased my instructional effectiveness with these adult students was to feel with them. They usually have families to care for, outside jobs, complicated personal problems, and very often severe financial worries. Some are going to college despite the protests of a spouse or a partner, while others have serious physical disabilities. A big difficulty for them is finding time to do all that they have to do. Most don’t get their homework done until after they’ve helped the children with theirs and put them to bed, which means that they get little sleep and sometimes none. But they are determined and not afraid to work hard, realizing that this education is their best (and perhaps last) means to improve their status in all aspects of their lives. They want to learn, achieve, and succeed. They want to graduate and feel pride when they land a job that gives them a better life. Therefore, our responsibility as science educators for this unique group of individuals is to respect their determination to learn by finding ways to make the information we teach as comprehensibly approachable as possible. It takes hard work, but it can be fun—and mind-stretching! After all, don’t we want them to understand and learn the material so that they can use it throughout their lives? If we manage to achieve this,
1616
we can be just as proud as they in the knowledge that they have become truly educated, not just “graduated”. Science and education are for everyone, for all Americans. As our own Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) has coined, “Education Pays” (in all ways!). Notes 1. The best description of nontraditional students at our college is that two-thirds are female; most have been out of high school for five or more years (if they completed high school); they may be single or married but probably have children; and the majority live in low-income situations that require financial aid to attend college. If employed, they are usually in service-type jobs. Even if they are high school graduates, their educational backgrounds are often very weak, especially in English (reading, comprehension, and writing), math, and the sciences. Most possess great potential and determination and quite frequently come from abusive situations (parental or spousal), which means they are hungry to become self-reliant and self-confident enough to determine their own future and to improve the quality of their lives. They are extremely hardworking and will be more focused than the younger, traditional student in attaining good grades.
Literature Cited 1. If I Can Do It, You Can, available from the author at $5 per copy, plus $3 S/H.
John G. Shiber is Associate Professor of Biology, Prestonsburg Community College (KCTCS), 1 Bert T. Combs Drive, Prestonsburg, KY 41653; phone: 606-886-3863, ext. 302; email:
[email protected].
Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 76 No. 12 December 1999 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu
