College: A Multi-Tiered Learning Experience

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College is an experience unlike any others that have been previously faced by the average freshman. It is the first taste of freedom most students have in their life. No one is dragging them to class, social events like dances and parties happen almost every night, there are no parents telling them when to be home for the evening, and your roommate isn’t going to ground you for being drunk when you come home. All of these newfound freedoms can be positive things. Students can learn responsibility for their own actions; they meet hundreds of people from different places throughout the country; they can learn social skills that will be valuable for the rest of their lives; and they can learn to balance extra-curricular activities while they prepare themselves for a future career. A college or university campus can be an amazing learning experience. But in order for a college student to enjoy this multi-tiered experience, they must be able to find a balance between academia and the new social experiences college can bring. The first step to finding this balance within the whole college experience is to understand that changes occur in the way we actually acquire knowledge at the college level. In his essay “The Difference Between High School and College,” Jack Meiland, a distinguished professor of philosophy, explains, “In high school, one learns physics and chemistry, trigonometry, American and world history – all subjects in which the ‘facts’ to be learned are harder, but the method is much the same as elementary and junior high school” (104). The method of learning before college is one of memorization and regurgitation. A teacher tells you a fact, you write it in your notebook, memorize what you have written, and then regurgitate it for a test in order to show that you have acquired knowledge. Although you may know facts, you may not know how or why

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