Borland Educational News and Views

Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Distance Learning for High Schoolers

Truly, many roads lead to Rome ... and to successful receipt of a diploma.

I myself am no stranger to "distance learning," a popular buzz-phrase signifying the earning of full academic credit for structured, supervised independent study work done outside the physical walls of a major educational institution. In fact, I earned my undergraduate degree back in the early 1980's from the State University of New York at Albany while enrolled in the Regents External Degrees Program, which was at the time one of only two fully accredited external degree programs in the United States. I remember with fondness teaching myself calculus and studying the history of mathematics though college-level correspondence courses administered by the University of California at Berkeley (UCB) and Brigham Young University (BYU).

In the old days, this meant learning on one's own from an approved textbook, completing assignments on paper, mailing them to the instructor for grading and comments, and then ultimately taking a proctored final exam to receive credit for the course. Nowadays, distance learning courses are typically conducted online, since the miracle of the internet makes possible a much richer and more efficient flow of educational content and course work between student and instructor. But the idea is essentially the same: independent study, followed by submission of course work, followed by assessment and finally the granting of credit.

Over the course of my 29 year career as a professional academic coach, tutor, and mentor, I've occasionally been hired to help high school students raise an unacceptable grade or earn additional course credits by completed various accredited distance learning courses offered through prestigious institutions such as UCB and BYU. These courses offer many advantages over typical high school classes taken during the academic year at school (e.g. being able to work at one's own pace, polish and perfect one's course work before submission and grading, study subjects outside the standard high school curriculum, etc.), and generally grant full academic credit to students completing them. Nevertheless, it's very important to first obtain written approval from your school before enrolling for credit in any distance learning course, to be sure that credits and grades earned will be fully accepted by your school.

Serious independent study work such as this both demands and fosters greater than average self-discipline, motivation, and organization, and requires real commitment of the part of all concerned ... but can be an excellent way to supplement or improve one's academic resume and develop qualities of independence, pro-activity, and responsibility so critical to success in college and beyond. Nevertheless, it may still be a good idea to secure the services of an academic coach or other capable adult to supervise distance learning courses to make sure that timely progress is being made and important deadlines are met. You've got to be committed and follow through ... but if you're a motivated, self-starter who reads well and wants or needs extra academic credit or stimulation, online or other distance learning courses may be just what you're looking for!

Below are links to accredited distance learning opportunities offered to high school students by UCB and BYU:

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UC Berkeley Extension Online

http://explore.ucxonline.berkeley.edu/highschool/body_hscourses.html

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BYU Independent Study

http://ce.byu.edu/is/site/courses/select.cfm?&TYPE=hs&SUBJECT=75

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Contact Chris

borlandeducational.com

Tuesday, February 01, 2011

When Math Is Uncool, Other Nations Eat Our Lunch

Since I attended high school in California in the 1970's, things have changed in so many ways. Not the least of these changes has been the gradual draining of rigor from math and science instruction in America's elementary and secondary schools.

As we faced the threat of Soviet domination in critical scientific fields, American schools (and particularly those in California) were second to none, and produced the most reliable stream of super brains the world had ever seen.

Today, national academic goals and priorities have shifted dramatically to raising the academic floor while virtually ignoring the needs of gifted students. The unhappy result is that the full potential of our best and brightest young minds is going to waste.

Below are excerpts from an article on the subject by Sara Rimer appearing recently in the New York Times:

The United States is failing to develop the math skills of both girls and boys, especially among those who could excel at the highest levels, a new study asserts, and girls who do succeed in the field are almost all immigrants or the daughters of immigrants from countries where mathematics is more highly valued.

... in China math is regarded as an essential skill that everyone should try to develop at some level. Parents in China, he said, view math as parents in the United States do baseball, hockey and soccer.

“There is something about the culture in American society today which doesn’t really seem to encourage men or women in mathematics,” said Michael Sipser, the head of M.I.T.’s math department. “Sports achievement gets lots of coverage in the media. Academic achievement gets almost none.”

In America today, intelligence and academic achievement are not only generally underrated; it has now actually become fashionable to deride intellectual prowess and accomplishment. Increasingly, the doltish are hailed as heroes while those with the sharpest minds are ignored or shunned as undesirable.

One needs look no farther for crystal clear evidence of the victory of mediocrity over excellence in our culture than the recently concluded 2008 presidential election, in which a gifted scholar and brilliant orator was framed as "elite" in contrast to inarticulate intellectual super-lightweights who were touted as "true, genuine Americans."

Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber are the new models. Bushisms and mangled communication have become acceptable. Smart just isn't cool, anymore. Math is for Asians ... not for "real" Americans.

Raise the floor, yes, by all means. But don't forget that raising the ceiling is just as important.

Other countries understand this. We ingore it at our peril.

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Contact Chris

borlandeducational.com

Saturday, January 01, 2011

Thought Boxes Revisited

Last month, I presented a puzzle that I asserted a bright first grader would find easier to solve than a bright well-educated adult.

One would think that education and experience would be advantages that should make solving any puzzle easier, not harder.

Not necessarily true.

Such is definitely not the case with the "OTTFFSSEN" puzzle, which is more easily solved with an open, uncluttered, "beginner's mind" than with a trained, sophisticated, educated mind.

One of the characteristics of human intelligence is that as it becomes more and more educated, more and more experienced, it "learns" to craft specialized shortcuts (generalized assumptions or "boxes") that increase the probability of quickly finding dependable answers to questions and viable solutions to problems.

Normally, this is a good idea. Sometimes, however, it isn't.

This is one of those times.

An adult assumes unconsciously that the "OTTFFSSEN" puzzle I presented last month must have a complicated solution, since if it didn't, it wouldn't merit consideration or attention in the first place. Unfortunately, this puzzle has a very simple solution, so looking for a complex one guarantees much needless frustration, at best. The adult's unconscious aversion to thinking "outside the box" dooms him or her to failure.

A bright young child, however, makes no such assumption of necessary complexity, and since he or she has only really studied two things thus far in school, letters (early spelling) and numbers, easily notices the pattern in the given letters:

One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
(Ten)
(Eleven)
(Twelve)

The answer to the puzzle, therefore, is of course:

TET.

(Click here to go to Part 1.)

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Contact Chris

borlandeducational.com

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Danger In The Dorms

There's a new killer on college campuses these days: meningococcal meningitis.

Though quite rare, meningitis infections are deadly in 10-12% of cases and disfiguring or disabling in many others, and are easily passed among persons in close contact like college freshmen living in dormitories.

Early symptoms of meningitis resemble those normally associated with flu: headache, upset stomach, vomiting. But the disease can quickly progress to organ failure, brain damage, blindness and deafness, and other serious complications, and can even cause death in just a few hours. Limb amputations are often required to remove tissue damaged by the infection. Spread through droplets in the air, direct physical contact with an infected person, or by sharing personal items like drinks or cigarettes with someone who's harboring the bacteria, college dorm residents are particularly vulnerable.

A vaccine exists that is 83% effective against nearly all strains of the bacteria, and pressure is building to pass laws mandating the vaccination.

From a recent article on the MSNBC Web site:

“It’s a safe vaccination, it’s an effective vaccination, and it’s one of those terrible, terrible risks — albeit extremely rare — that you can really minimize by spending money on the vaccine,” says Turner, who is also the chair of the Vaccines Preventable Diseases Committee for the American College Health Association. The vaccine is generally covered by insurance and costs around $120 on most college campuses.”

Meningococcal meningitis can be a terrible ordeal under the best of circumstances, and could easily cost an unsuspecting college student his or her young life. Though unlikely to effect more than a small number of people across the country, anyone heading off to college, especially freshmen planning to live in the dorms, should strongly consider immunizing themselves against this horrible but preventable disease.

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Contact Chris

borlandeducational.com

Monday, November 01, 2010

Gaokao: SAT Stress On Steroids

As insane as the obsessive preoccupation with acing the SAT can seem in the lives of American teenagers ... it's a lot worse in China, apparently. Stressed-out American teens can at least be grateful they don't have to place all their bets on a single test score, as do their Chinese counterparts.

A recent Associated Press article examines the phenomenal pressure faced by students taking the ultra high stakes Chinese "gaokao" college entrance test:

"Education is unrivaled in importance in China, and the two-day test that ended Friday is one of the few events that can bring the country to a standstill. Cities ordered drivers not to blow their horns, construction sites were shut down, streets near test sites were closed and flight paths were altered lest the noise disturb test-takers.

"This is the culmination of years of studies. This test will decide the rest of their lives," said Ma Jingshun, speaking for his son, a hulking 18-year-old whose voice had sunk to a soft mumble because of nerves.

Unlike the U.S., where standardized test scores are just one factor weighed by universities, how Chinese students do on the gaokao determines everything. Students list their top three schools and their major and hope their score is high enough to win a place.

Extracurricular activities, volunteer work and high school grades do not count. There are no essays to persuade admissions officers."

To read the entire article, click here.

Next time you begin to complain about the overblown importance of the SAT, you may want to remember the goakao, and Ma Jingshun's son, and count your blessings instead!

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Contact Chris

borlandeducational.com