March 6, 2007 Parent Education Series

Parent Council Meeting, Tues. March 6, 2008
Notes from Nancy Meyer

David Conley – Professor of Education, University of Oregon– ideas re: what is needed for success in college
These are comments I found particularly interesting. This isn’t meant to be inclusive of all Dr. Conley’s comments.

We’re the only country asking the question ‘what’s needed for success in college,’ since our high schools, colleges, districts, and states all have different operational definitions for success
What’s needed for success in college:

1. HS choices influence college success, so the goal of kids should be to take the most challenging courses – not just for admittance, but for readiness

Worst mistake = to take an ‘easy’ load senior year (tempting, since kids say they’re tired, have worked hard, etc.), but all evidence shows a full set of academic courses as a senior is a strong indicator for first year college success
The senior year should be the most challenging year (include math, science, etc)
Easier loads lead to more risk in college
(my take: I’m sure this is true – both in terms of content challenge, staying in top ‘intellectual shape’ – but also the senior course load is a reflection of the student’s motivation…probably in both high school and college)

2. A major difference (& potential problem) for kids (based on a survey of college freshmen) is recognizing the need for study.
High school – contact hours are about 30 /week of classes; for college – it’s about 12-14 hours/week. Some kids think the extra time is for snowboarding or anything but homework.
Kids who don’t do well spend less time studying (a result of less control, supervision, but also knowing what amount of studying is needed for success)

3. College – focuses on developing habits of the mind (how to think critically, research, reason, problem solve, interpret info, etc)
High school – focus on content; kids show up and do what they’re told (may not want to be in class, etc)

High school kids are often not prepared for college questions asking them to interpret information that wasn’t always presented in class – rather than respond to content (as in high school)
High school kids need more than content – they need to develop a habit of mind – the ability to write that reflects thinking (many believe they can write better than they actually can – they need to learn to spend time thinking, researching, proofreading, and editing a paper. These aren’t skills that many are putting to use in high school.)

4. Comparing AP High school courses w/similarly titled college courses – colleges expect substantially more reading for the same content

5. If kids are having problems, they will show in October – problems need to be caught then (rather than Thanksgiving) since they can’t recover (crash/burn)
Kids are used to being able to make up work in high school (extra credit, rewrites, late work) – none of which happens in college

Four things needed in high schools:

1. Preparation should be more challenging – stress reasoning skills, problem solving, interpretation, research, etc.
Habits of mind – beyond the surface content (eg highlighting key ideas only – not 80% of material; learn to annotate in margins, etc – critical thinking)
Work on expository writing – how to prove points w/insight (colleges want 3-5 page papers frequently; kids must learn to commit to revision process to learn to write better)

2. Key content areas/knowledge – standards

3. Academic behaviors – self-mgmt, awareness (eg of their own writing skills, when they need help), motivation, planning, accuracy (checking for errors instead of haste), study groups, getting along w/other kids (vs high school cliques), how & when to study

4. Contextual knowledge – how to apply to college, how college operates as a culture (getting to know prof, etc); navigating the system (how to get credits, courses, etc)

Ideas to help our kids succeed:

Make sure they have a full senior course load
Find ways to help/support stronger writing skills – revision, accuracy
Math – check kids are learning concepts (not a pattern of problems)
Are kids developing intellectually – are they mature, managing their time, able to discuss
the news with you
Evidence of maturation should be the decision rule for college choice – goal is to find a
fit (colleges are pretty good about transfers, etc – so make sure kids can handle
one level before changing, etc); boys seem to be struggling more, statisically