After 30 years of teaching undergraduates, masters, and PhD students at brick and mortar schools to online institutions, I have seen many different types of students. There seem to be a number of things that students learn in K-12 education that end up hurting their growth as scholars and creative members of society.
I’ve broken it down into five things that seem to make successful students – at all levels. If we can work towards meeting these five things, students will be better prepared to enter higher education programs and become scholars capable of contributing positively to the society
1. Encourage Critical Thinking
If someone is going to be a scholar, they need to be able to identify questions that need to be answered and come up with solutions. This takes much more than responding with a fact. A scholar must be able to create new knowledge.
It is hard to do something that you have never done before. Getting good at something like critical thinking takes practice. Therefore, primary schools should be giving students the chance to practice identifying and solving problems.
Unfortunately, as a former teacher reminds us, the american education system often suppresses critical thinking rather than encouraging it. If we want our young people to grow up to be effective scholars (or at least some of them, anyway), we must address critical thinking in our school systems.
2. Eliminate Standardized Tests
Standardized tests are great if you want to be able to grade quickly and have numbers that administrators and regulators can compare programs. However, preparing students to answer standardized test questions does not prepare them for real life or for being scholars.
In fact, there are many problems associated with standardized tests. If we want to prepare students to become scholars, we should test them by asking them to apply their knowledge to unique situations and to solve problems. This will prepare them for a creative future.
3. Focus on Writing
As a PhD mentor, I’ve found that one of the most common struggles for students is writing. The sad thing is this: it doesn’t have to be that way. There are some unavoidable challenges associated with scholarship, but when I see students struggling with the basics of writing, I can’t help but think that the school system has failed them.
They shouldn’t have to struggle with how to express their ideas in words–the school system should have taught them this much earlier on.
Indeed, many PhD students make it through all of the required coursework and develop a strong idea for their research, but end up not finishing their dissertation. This happens to so many students (about half) that there’s even an acronym for it: ABD, which stands for all the dissertation. While there are many factors that go into why students drop out at this late stage, in my experience, struggles with writing plays a big role.
4. Build Communication Skills
Communication is a vital part of being an effective scholar. I’ve found that even very intelligent students who lack effective communication skills struggle with getting their PhDs. For example, I’ve seen students conduct excellent research projects for their dissertations, but when it came time for their dissertation defence they weren’t able to communicate well enough about it to pass.
This only compounds after graduation. A person may be a brilliant researcher, but if they’re unable to communicate well with others about their findings and ideas, they will have trouble contributing to their field and to society.
5. Encourage Learning From Failure
This may seem intuitive, but scholars have to be able to work hard and handle failure. Students need to learn that failure just means that that things did not work but other options are available. Failure actually Helps knowledge grow, so it should be embraced as part of the learning process. There are many setbacks on the path to getting a PhD, and if students understand that failures are a part of the process, they will be more likely to achieve their goals.
Anyone who can encompass the 5 skills mentioned here will be ready to face the world moving forward. Not only will students have the basic skills necessary to become a scholar, but they will have the skills needed to be a leader in most fields. Individuals who can think for themselves, communicate with others in all ways, and work hard will be successful in any endeavor.
Bio:
Steve Tippins, has been a professor for over 30 years. He has published over 50 times in academic journals and presented at many conferences, and wrote a book that was translated into Japanese. He has Chaired over 80 dissertation committees and held tenure at two universities.
With these accomplishments his biggest joy is in working as a PhD coach for students and graduates. He enjoys helping people define their goals both related to school and after school and setting up programs and plans to help them get there. You can read more of his articles on his blog or connect with him on Linkedin
