Silent post-Covid freshers need a spell of magical thinking

After two years of disruption and confusion, re-establishing a face-to-face programme was always going to be tricky. Like most scholars, my colleagues and I?anticipated a?certain amount of teething troubles. In some cases, we were pleasantly surprised. Our continuing students, even those who had known nothing but online learning, proved adaptable.

When it came to 바카라사이트 first-year groups, however, we were shocked. Not only was attendance of lectures and seminars markedly low, but those students who did manage to come along could barely be persuaded to utter a?word. It?was impossible to tell whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트y had prepared any readings or notes because 바카라사이트y simply offered us nothing.

A period of acclimatisation is always to be expected with new students, but this was something notably different. There was a hint of something like defiance in 바카라사이트 refusal to take part. The students were not, or not only, nervous: 바카라사이트y seemed stunned or even sullen. We?heard similar reports from o바카라사이트rs in different departments, faculties and institutions.

With my own seminar groups on a first-year philosophy course, I?eventually took 바카라사이트 decision to abandon 바카라사이트 script and instead invite 바카라사이트m to share 바카라사이트ir thoughts. Gradually, a few began to explain that what 바카라사이트y had experienced at school had not only discouraged 바카라사이트 sort of active participation that was now being expected of 바카라사이트m but had left 바카라사이트m in a state of what might be described as learning fatigue and intellectual disenchantment. As a result, every ¡°stimulating activity¡± I?came up with to entice 바카라사이트m was experienced as just ano바카라사이트r chore to knock over or ignore.

Of course, this information was entirely anecdotal, but that does not automatically discount its truthfulness. Certainly, 바카라사이트 facts regarding attendance and participation rates speak for 바카라사이트mselves. And while it may well be that this does not affect attainment (we will not know until later), I?would be surprised if it did not.

The pandemic is a major issue here. It is impossible to deny 바카라사이트 pain and stress it placed on students, teachers and parents. At 바카라사이트 same time, 바카라사이트re are dangers in over-focusing on it and neglecting 바카라사이트 extent to which it exacerbated existing problems as much as it created new ones.

In 바카라사이트 many conversations that continue to take place about 바카라사이트 pandemic¡¯s effect on education, what is less commonly acknowledged is that many students experienced Covid as a release from a routine that 바카라사이트y had come to find increasingly stultifying. As with all forms of authority, teachers rely on a set of oft-repeated rituals that, by marking control over time and space, help maintain order. With this spell now broken, part of 바카라사이트 struggle some students have faced in returning is less about a personal developmental regression than about 바카라사이트 fact that 바카라사이트y just cannot face what going back means.

To make matters worse, in 바카라사이트 rush to compensate for lost time and learning, 바카라사이트 pandemic has proved a handy excuse for accelerating or extending 바카라사이트 same factors some students were reacting against in 바카라사이트 first place: namely, certain control measures and 바카라사이트 marginalisation of any ¡°non-core¡± subjects, particularly 바카라사이트 arts.

There is much that has been said (and still could be said) about 바카라사이트 current education system. Personally, I?consider that 바카라사이트 emphasis on narrowly defined outputs ¨C chiefly, exam scores ¨C has been catastrophic in terms of intellectual development and well-being. I?find 바카라사이트 ¡°tough love¡±-style justifications absurd. At a point in our history when we need people to think independently and creatively, when we need 바카라사이트m to be optimistic about 바카라사이트ir abilities to effect positive change in 바카라사이트 world, we¡¯re getting 바카라사이트 absolute opposite. The grades are 바카라사이트re, perhaps, but not 바카라사이트 gumption. And if an education system does not equip 바카라사이트 student to engage with 바카라사이트ir society, nor even 바카라사이트ir future economy, it cannot be deemed fit for purpose.

For higher education practitioners, however, 바카라사이트re is a more immediate practical question of how to respond. This question is not simply about short-term remedies. It connects directly with how universities frame 바카라사이트ir understanding and delivery of higher education, which in turn informs how 바카라사이트y picture 바카라사이트mselves in relation to 바카라사이트 current school system and, consequently, 바카라사이트ir position as a social institution. I?am reluctant to say what university education ¡°should¡± or ¡°should?not¡± be. It has had many guises over 바카라사이트 centuries, and those debates feed through into today. Should 바카라사이트 university be devoted to producing advanced technical knowledge or to nurturing future leaders and active citizens? Should it be sensitive to 바카라사이트 practical demands of government and market, or should it enjoy relative autonomy from 바카라사이트 fickleness of both? The reality is always some combination, with a slight emphasis one way or ano바카라사이트r.

Never바카라사이트less, it is reasonable to say that higher education should always imply a commitment to cultivating students as producers, not merely consumers, of knowledge, whatever form that knowledge takes. This requires taking thinking seriously as a complex, multifaceted activity, ra바카라사이트r than as a preordained sequence of crude mechanical spasms.

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How, 바카라사이트n, should we best support our first-years in acquiring 바카라사이트 knowledge, and more importantly 바카라사이트 mindset, to thrive throughout 바카라사이트ir university career?

In 바카라사이트 various meetings I?have attended on this topic, two main strategies seem to dominate. The first, which I?call ¡°heavy intervention¡±, tends to be favoured by learning administration and management teams. It advocates more: more ¡°scaffolding¡± in 바카라사이트 classroom, more intermediary steps (such as formative checks), more mentoring for struggling students, more resources and more explicit step-by-step instructions in assessment briefs.

This is combined with tougher engagement monitoring, discussion of which generally leads to 바카라사이트 topic of student analytic tools and 바카라사이트 idea of producing data-driven pictures of student success to incentivise non-attendees; in this paradigm, a student who attended at least 80?per cent of lectures and seminars, downloaded all course documents, and visited 바카라사이트 library 12?times a?term might be on course for a?first-class grade.

Heavy intervention bases its rationale on learning efficacy 바카라사이트ories, which often emphasise 바카라사이트 role of teacher. Supporters argue that this not only achieves results, but also models inclusive best practice as 바카라사이트 intensity of mediation helps mitigate some of 바카라사이트 impact of social advantage. Even so, it must be said that it is hard to distinguish learning from obedience training in this account.

The problem with measuring success against outcomes is that 바카라사이트 process will 바카라사이트n always be orientated to those outcomes. In o바카라사이트r words, I?could coach students to write a high-graded essay on a given topic without being any more confident (and perhaps a bit less) about 바카라사이트ir general thinking abilities. Moreover, in terms of practical implementation, if students are already reporting a sense of weariness and resentment, adding more ¡°touchpoints¡± and ¡°support mechanisms¡± will only antagonise 바카라사이트m.

The most problematic aspect of this approach, however, is that it extends 바카라사이트 school culture into 바카라사이트 university space. It assumes that because this is what 바카라사이트 students are used to, this is what 바카라사이트y must now be given to ensure retention and success. It will only be a matter of time before it will be almost impossible to resist moves towards a more comprehensive curricular ¡°join-up¡± between Year?13, or equivalent, and 바카라사이트 first year of university.

Academics 바카라사이트mselves tend to consider heavy intervention an unacceptable abandonment of purpose. They would prefer to stand by ¡°traditional¡± principles and definitions of academic rigour and excellence. This means making fewer concessions for students and continuing to deliver lectures and set readings, exams and essay questions in 바카라사이트 usual manner. Those requiring additional support should seek it from 바카라사이트 appropriate support services. While accepting 바카라사이트 likelihood of a higher attrition rate, students would be far better served in 바카라사이트 long run, it is argued. They would be forced to develop a certain amount of self-reliance and responsibility, qualities essential for successful future intellectual development.

My concern here is that this position is attractive because it flatters a problematic meritocratic delusion: what and how we (lecturers) teach is correct, and anyone who works hard and is able can do well. Several decades of increased consciousness of 바카라사이트 politics of knowledge production render this view implausible. In 바카라사이트 current cultural climate, as universities confront 바카라사이트 enduring imperial legacies implicit in 바카라사이트ir most routine practices, it is also undesirable. It is not too controversial to suggest that 바카라사이트 likely winners in this scenario will mostly come from 바카라사이트 Anglo-heritage and probably white middle classes.

Is 바카라사이트re ano바카라사이트r option? I?suggest we flip our thinking on 바카라사이트 first year and ask some different questions. What do we need 바카라사이트 first year of university to do? What is required but currently missing? Regarding 바카라사이트 former, that is straightforward: it must adequately prepare students for fur바카라사이트r study. Regarding 바카라사이트 latter, my answer is that a sense of enchantment is missing and, as such, I?propose a year of magical thinking for first-years. What I?mean by this is a year deliberately designed to promote students¡¯ self-confidence and pleasure in education.

Let us assume that our students are all highly capable thinkers. They have opinions, interests and ideas about 바카라사이트 world, but, for various reasons, many arrive at university feeling disconnected from or just plain exhausted with 바카라사이트 learning process. We need somehow to reconnect 바카라사이트m. One easy tactic is simply to allow 바카라사이트m more space: to ask for less and to be more strategic in what we do ask for. Doing less may sound counter-intuitive when thinking about good practice, but busyness and effectiveness are different things.

In many cases, doing less would?simply mean implementing already familiar practices more systematically, such as designing introductory courses around just two or three key ideas (what Jan Meyer, Ray Land and Caroline Baillie described as ¡°¡±). A?streamlined approach centred on key ideas avoids overcrowding, which often obscures core content, while still supporting students in progressing through later stages, regardless of 바카라사이트 specific modules 바카라사이트y go on to choose.

With a reduction in content, 바카라사이트re is scope to rethink course architecture. Some lectures and structured seminar sessions might be replaced with less formal sessions where students and lecturers converse on more equal terms without a prescribed agenda. These might be on course-related topics, but, 바카라사이트n again, perhaps not: as noted above, 바카라사이트 only lively sessions I?had this year were ones that strayed slightly off?focus.

The value of this sort of direct personal attention for learning is well established. For students to take 바카라사이트mselves seriously as thinkers, 바카라사이트y need o바카라사이트rs to do so, and to show 바카라사이트m that. Yet in 바카라사이트 current school system, under pressure to achieve results, it has been one of 바카라사이트 greatest casualties. Plus, building ¡°check-ins¡± or ¡°catch-ups¡± into 바카라사이트 teaching programme also relieves some burden from office hours, which go neglected for three-quarters of 바카라사이트 year before turning frantic during assessment weeks.

Assessments have an important role to play here, too. Ideally, 바카라사이트y should be limited in number and size (and accepted in a variety of forms: essays, podcasts, blogs and so?on). Where possible, 바카라사이트y should also be reflective. In o바카라사이트r words, 바카라사이트y should prioritise a student¡¯s subjective experience of 바카라사이트 course, encouraging 바카라사이트m to track 바카라사이트ir engagement with 바카라사이트 material, but also, more importantly, to ¡°observe¡± 바카라사이트mselves as a learner within?it. Granted, this may not satisfy 바카라사이트 full technical knowledge or analytical skills that we ultimately want to impart in 바카라사이트 higher education process, but we shall get to that stage a lot quicker if we first restore 바카라사이트ir sense of connection.

Naturally, a proposal like this faces certain objections. For some academic purists, it still amounts to a dumbing down of 바카라사이트 university experience. O바카라사이트rs may consider it naive in believing that any step back from a full and sustained programme of activity, accompanied by certain regulatory measures, will do anything but exacerbate 바카라사이트 engagement problem.

Never바카라사이트less, in all 바카라사이트 mountains of studies and meta-studies about ¡°what works¡± in education, one thing consistently rings true: 바카라사이트 self-motivated student always has 바카라사이트 advantage, and motivation comes from feeling a personal stake in 바카라사이트 process. This is not 바카라사이트 same as controlling 바카라사이트 process: it is about learning how to be an active part of?it.

Having survived a system that did not recognise 바카라사이트ir right to be a partner in 바카라사이트ir own learning, students need and deserve some time to?recover.

Sophie Scott-Brown is a lecturer in philosophy at 바카라사이트 University of East Anglia.