Extra reading, custom textbooks and workbooks, in addition to the regular load of lectures and discussions, could help under-prepared freshmen survive their first year of college, according to a recent study by Zogby International that has Boston University professors and students agreeing that extra work materials spur better academic performances.
The nationwide study surveyed more than 500 college and graduate-school instructors at two- and four-year institutions and reported college freshmen are increasingly unprepared for college studies. According to the study, two out of three professors said supplemental course materials, including study guides and online homework systems, help “retain students who might otherwise fail to complete courses or drop out of school.”
Seventy-nine percent of college-level instructors said their less-prepared students would do “significantly better” in introductory-level courses if they spent more time using supplemental materials. Nine out of 10 professors said these students would do better if they made greater use of the assigned textbook.
But some education experts at Boston University disagree with the finding.
“Personally, I think we have to question this finding,” School of Education professor David Whittier said in an email. “How did Zogby collect that data? What questions did they ask? How do they know this? What does it mean to be ‘ready’ for college studies? If college faculties are reporting this, to what are they comparing? There are many more college students today than 30 years ago, so if they are comparing to then, is that a fair comparison?”
Whittier said he thought there “is tremendous potential” in developing online resources to supplement classroom teaching, but it is not enough for professors to just put additional documents online to read.
“Faculty need to devise appropriate instructional designs that engage learners with the content being studied, provide dialogue and give helpful feedback through various exercises and assessments,” he said. “This takes time, expertise in supporting teaching and learning with technology and it requires technology resources.”
BU professors also said the quality of students has steadily improved.
“I find this year’s freshmen to be among the best I have encountered,” College of Arts and Sciences writing professor James Pasto said in an email. “They are prepared, and they are highly motivated.”
Emily Merriman, another writing instructor, said she uses handouts and requires her students to make use of online dictionaries. She also uses the BU CourseInfo website for small, online projects.
She said she helps her freshmen by providing them with class discussions about study techniques, detailed comments on written work and one-on-one tutoring sessions during her office hours.
Merriman said “not enough time spent reading in adolescence” and “insufficient training in school” could be reasons why the current freshman class might be “unprepared” for college-level work.
Merriman stressed the need for variety in using supplemental material. She said supplemental texts and interactive or online resources “sometimes” help students learn better and prepare them for her class.
“Before they come to college, [high school teachers should] encourage research into the best models of teaching all kinds of skills and implement these findings at college,” she said in an email. “Students should be helped to understand how and why they are under-prepared and provide them with all the resources necessary to make up those deficiencies in as short a time as possible – tutoring, etc. Most students can manage once they realize what is being required of them and how it is different from what they have done before.”
Merriman said professors should be explicit about the differences between academic work at high school and college.
“I do feel like I wasn’t challenged as much in high school as I was during my first month here,” School of Management freshman Kenneth Keller said.
College of General Studies freshman Himali Gandhi said her classes use novels and “stuff like that” as supplemental materials, but she said the material used in her classes was more helpful than her regular textbooks.
“I don’t think it makes a difference,” she said. “It’s just a different perspective. It’s important to know them because you’re quizzed on it [later].”
CAS freshman Jacqueline Meyers said one of her classes uses newspapers as supplemental material, and others of hers have outside readings assigned. She said her statistics textbook has a CD she does not use.
“I mostly read the textbooks and supplemental info,” she said.