Extra Credit Post #2

Student’s speaking from their own experiences can be looked at in a controversial manner.  Again one must consider the various students attending universities and their work ethics.  Some may simply be demonstrating a lack of academic integrity.  However, one has to question:  What if what the student’s say truly reflects the situation?  The student body is heavily reflective of one another.  If students cannot manage the ability to grasp information in an efficient manner, what are universities doing to change that?  Many have started developing ways to successfully connect with students, helping them to essentially teach themselves.  Gregor Novak, a physics teacher of what was previously Purdue University Indianapolis Campus, came to realize the need for change within the process of teaching students at the level of higher education.  The results of his change were remarkable.  Novak simply “broke his course material into a series of fifteen-minute structured activities for small groups and developed examples and exercises that connected physics theory to common sense or familiar activities. The students learned by doing” (Rozycki, 1999).  Understanding the learning needs of his students, Novak demonstrates the successful outcome universities can have when configuring new teaching techniques around the strengths of the individual students.