High school students vs college s tudents: Are they really that different?

1. High school students vs college students: Are they really that different? Mike Martynowicz Manchester University IHSPTA Conference September 18, 2015

2. My Teaching Background • Huntington North High School – 7 years • Taught US History, AP US History, Intro to Psychology, AP Psychology • Social Studies Department Chair, Union negotiations team, Policy Committee/Discussions chairperson • Sponsored ECA’s: Future Educators, Cadet Teaching and Teacher Internships, Psychology Club, Peer Counseling & Suicide Prevention • Manchester University – started Fall 2011 • I have taught 8 different courses • Active in service events on campus • Focused on scholarship currently • PhD program

3. Isn’t this SO much better?!?! • I was fielding certain questions/statements so often that I decided to keep track….. • Top 3 (paraphrased) • Aren’t you glad to be away from high school students? • Mainly new higher ed colleagues • Isn’t it nice to teach students who actually WANT to learn? • Mainly high school teacher colleagues • Good for you. You’re finally making some REAL money! • High school teacher colleagues, friends, and family members

4. The Answers • Aren’t you glad to be away from high school students? • No. I loved my students. • Most importantly, college students are not that different…. • Isn’t it nice to teach students who actually WANT to learn? • My high school students wanted to learn. The system had just made many of them really, really, really jaded and frustrated. • I’m teaching many college students who don’t truly want to learn…. • Good for you. You’re finally making some REAL money! • No. Not really. • That’s not why I made the move. I was a teacher….I don’ t make decisions based on their monetary value.

5. High School vs College – Similarities for Students Both systems…… • Require students to meet specific criteria (e.g., grades) in order to remain enrolled • Mainly punish undesirable behaviors • Positive reinforcement is sparse and mainly reserved for those at the “top” • Mandate specific types of courses taken in a certain order • Students are required to take courses that do not interest them • Ask students to build on skills as they progress • Typically occur during a critical time of development • Emotional, social, and brain development

6. High School vs College – Differences for Students • Financial impact • An element of choice involved; presumably, students at least want to be in college • Choice is basically removed for high school students • More “independent” choices in college • Major, core classes, schedule, study habits • Not as many advocates in college • Most academic programs do not have standards to meet or outside accrediting bodies to worry about • Academic freedom • More freedom in college • “Nobody watching our back all the time and keeping us in check”

7. Emotional, Social, and Brain Development • Prefrontal Cortex development continues into mid-20’s (Turnbridge, et al., Wickert et al., 2007) • Recent research is challenging previously held beliefs about the onset of “adulthood” • It has become commonplace to blame everything on adolescents and attribute questionable decisions to age (Kuhn, 2006) • Virtually impossible to pinpoint a specific window in which cognitive development accelerates to allow for formal operations (Keating, 2004) • Adolescent brains are driven to seek rewards and struggle inhibiting responses, even more than children and adults (Ernst et al., 2005; Galvan et al., 2006; Bjork et al., 2004)

8. Typical Questions Below are examples of questions I’ve been asked during my first 4+ years in teacher preparation at Manchester University…… • “I know that teachers work hard, but something just isn’t working…..these kids can’t write. Why can’t they write?” • “Do they even remember what college is like? They’re supposed to get kids ready for us. I’m basically doing remediation!” • “The lack of critical thinking skills displayed by first-year students is remarkable and scary. It’s like they’ve never had a real thought.” • “Mike, do high school teachers just do everything for their students? Are they ever forced to be independent and responsible for their own learning?!?!?”

9. Why do I get asked these questions? • It’s not because college professors are evil and disrespect teachers. Most are generally supportive of public educators and THINK they know/understand how hard teachers work. • They are well-intentioned, but not educated in the ways of “modern” education and policy • They have absolutely no idea what teachers truly have to deal with and how hard it is to educate all students, particularly given the climate • Some, not most, college professors have forgotten where they came from and have a very elitist attitude towards teachers • These aren’t mean-spirited people; they’re content specialists who have never worked in a school • They’re partially right about the students • I hate saying it, but it’s true. Far too many incoming students, generally speaking, are riddled with anxiety, act helpless, and are woefully afraid of making mistakes.

10. Small Group Activity • I’ve essentially focused on 3 issues that I think high school teachers AND college professors should focus on • These are issues that I’m seeing in high school AND college students • And it appears that open communication between the levels might help….. • In groups of 3-4, brainstorm and try to guess what these three issues might be. • Have someone write down your group’s responses. We will share/discuss as a group.

11. Vertical Alignment • Part of my job involves working with local schools and surrounding colleges/universities. • There is a shocking lack of communication between people at all levels; education is still very departmentalized, so to speak. • Middle school teachers don’t often talk to elementary school teachers, high school teachers don’t often talk to middle school teachers, and college professors don’t often talk to high school teachers. • I admit, I don’t know if/how this gets remedied on a grand scale – particularly as it relates to college professors talking to you. • I have come across a good number of college professors who say that they would gladly sit down with high school teachers to discuss content/skill alignment

12. Critical Thinking Skills • Two primary concerns • Accessing higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy • Summative AND formative assessments being used simultaneously • Again, brain research indicates that adolescents will develop critical thinking through early adulthood • Students appear very robotic; they’ve clearly been good at adjusting to the system, but they aren’t comfortable with opposing viewpoints or stepping outside of their comfort zone • This particular issue likely doesn’t apply to teachers like you, people who are voluntarily attending PD to improve your teaching

13. Workload & Independence • Facilitate, care for them – but resist the urge to do too much • “Too much” is in reference to making things TOO student-centered • Intentionally create assignments/projects that force them to think critically and independently • Give rubrics/instructions, but make sure that some part of the assignment is open-ended, almost unclear • Making them uncomfortable is fine • Don’t be afraid to pile on meaningful work • Don’t apologize for it, either • Differences between smaller and larger college campuses • I realize that the current climate makes this difficult for high school teachers in some school districts. I also realize that most of you already do these things.

14. What can we do? • Conferences and organizations like this one. • More are needed….. • Initiatives to connect higher education content professors to high school teachers • Grant money? • PD/release time for teachers? • Administrative support… • Breaking down stereotypes • Focusing on student achievement and success

15. Takeaways • There is a gross misunderstanding of what high school teachers do on a daily basis • Most college professors would love to collaborate • In terms of brain development, in particular, high school and college students are eerily similar in many ways • Encourage your departments, administrators, and school districts to collaborate with local college professors and departments You do great, important work that most other people aren’t cut out to do. Some say, “Those who can’t, teach.” I believe, “Those who can, teach.” THANK YOU for what you do for students!!

16. Questions??

17. References • Bjork, J.M., Knutson, B., Fong, G.W., Caggiano, D.M., Bennett, S.M., & Hommer, D.W. (2004). Incentive-elicited brain activation in adolescents: Similarities and differences from young adults. Journal of Neuroscience, 24, 1793-1802. • Ernst, M., Nelson, E.E., Jazbec, S., McClure, E.B., Monk, C.S., Leibenluft, E., et al. (2005). Amygdala and nucleus accumbens in responses to receipt and omission of gains in adults and adolescents. Neuroimage, 25, 1279-1291. • Keating, D. (2004). Cognitive and brain development. In J. Adelson (Ed.), Handbook of Adolescent Psychology, New York: John Wiley & Sons.

18. References • Galvan, A., Hare, T.A., Parra, C.E., Penn, J., Voss, H., Glover, G., & Casey, B.J. (2006). Earlier development of the accumbens relative to orbitofrontal cortex might underlie risk-taking behavior in adolescents. Journal of Neuroscience, 26, 6885-6892. • Kuhn, D. (2006) Do cognitive changes accompany developments in the adolescent brain? Perspective on Psychological Science, 1, 59-67. • Turnbridge, E.M., Wickert, C.S., Kleinman, J.E., Herman, M.M., Chen, J., Kolachana, B.S., et al. (2007) Catechol-O-methyl- transferase enzyme activity and protein expression in human prefrontal cortex across the postnatal lifespan. Cerebral Cortex, 17, 1206-1212.