opinion
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KANSAN.COM | MONDAY, MARCH 28, 2016
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I woke up to snow, and now it's 50 degrees. Kansas spring.
White dress and blue underwear was a bad combo
National Puppy Day is just like any other day, except it just gives my girlfriend another reason to watch puppy videos
Editor's Note: My condolences.
I yearn
Editor's Note:
Cool me too.
Went to church for easter this morning but the cheesecake factory afterward was a more religious experience
Villanova? More like Villain-ova.
They changed the pinched nerve test sign on 23rd. End of an era.
Standing in line behind the women negotiating coupons at Hobby Lobby is the bane of my existence.
Do you think there's a black market for organs? Like the musical instrument? Get it. Ha. Haha. Ha.
When Pandora suggests "spring break radio," and it feels like you're being taunted since break is over
The semester is nearing an end, let the existential crisis ensue
Dogs love to be pet
When did stopping for pedestrians in crosswalks become old-fashioned?
KU lawsuit counter 3,547
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Issawi: College students' awareness is too narrow
▶ DANYA ISSAWI
@danyasawi
As college students, we find ourselves in a purgatory of overstimulation. Life on a large campus involves incessant schoolwork, internships, rigorous classes and more often than not, an intoxicating and electric nightlife. In our effort to keep this juggling act in motion, we become secluded. While broadening our horizons in
the realm of education and opening doors for future individual success, we are simultaneously closing our minds and shutting out the rest of the world.
Because beyond the hashtags on Twitter and temporary profile pictures propagating solidarity with recently ravaged European countries, we have become numb to the world.
We forget about the 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram in Nigeria and the mass genocide perpetuated by the group. We are unaware of the inequities and lack of freedom currently present in North Korea. We are so encompassed by the world immediately at our feet that we are ignorant to issues occurring in our own backyard.
We can't help but have
one-track minds, though. We've been trained to focus on the immediate task at hand, because if not, we run the risk of slipping — of losing our footing and falling behind in the rat race of college. As a result, we've created a cocoon; a bubble that shields us from exposure to the outside world.
As a generation, we aren't necessarily the only ones to blame. Since entering the threshold of organized education as young children, we have been socially primed to believe we are meant to endeavor through life on a specific, predetermined path and hit pinnacle milestones along the way. Finish high school. Go to college. Get a degree. Get a job. Make some money. Get married. Settle down. Have some kids.
But what happens if we deviate from the path? What happens if we become divergent ourselves and take hold of our own future and help influence the future of the world on a grander scale?
How are we—at our peak, our most able-bodied and sharpest of wit—expected to bury ourselves within the fallacies of campus life and allow the real world to continue on without our influence or opinion?
Our youth should not go wasted. It should not be thwarted by those who came before us. Our minds are fresh, and we have yet to become truly jaded by the everyday. If we, as a generation, utilized our full mental capacity and reached beyond the breadth
of our campuses, we could potentially create change in the world. We could trump global inequities and be proponents of peace, as far-reaching as it sounds.
We can no longer listen to the voices telling us to remain complacent and merely only focus on the now by burying ourselves under piles of schoolwork. Because while education is important, true learning occurs when we put forth effort into questioning the world we live in and attempt to restructure it to how we best see fit.
Danya Issawi is a sophomore from Kansas City studying journalism.
- Edited by Skylar Rolstad
Illustration by Jake Kaufmann/KANSAN
Nasseri: Group projects fail to stimulate learning
▶ BROOK NASSERI
@enasseri32
As if good old-fashioned homework and tests weren't enough, college students have even more serious worries associated with many of their classes. Some call it the grade wrecker; others, the soul destroyer. Regardless, students at all levels shudder at the thought of the horrendous group project.
In spite of general disdain of group projects, professors absolutely love to assign them. Group projects truly do have potential to be amazing learning experiences. A 1992 neurobiology study by Drs. Eric Kandel and Robert Hawkins shows how each person's brain
architecture is shaped by their unique experiences, demonstrating that learning is intrinsically linked with individuality. In an environment such as a college classroom, where people have come from all walks of life, students have the potential to teach each other how they see the world.
There certainly are benefits to learning from one's peers in a group. However, group projects as typically assigned in college classrooms are far from the best way to accomplish this learning. First, teachers lack an understanding of how logistically challenging group presentations are.
Additionally, a 1984 study by Carl Benware and Edward Deci reveals students who learn new material with the goal to teach others are better able to learn compared to students who learn simply to be examined.
When students working, dealing with family or personal obligations, and taking five other classes
in order to graduate on time are put together in a group, simply finding a time to meet as a group can be next to impossible.
In addition, group projects can stifle creativity rather than encourage it. As demonstrated by the 1951 Asch experiment, 3/4 of people are willing to agree with the obviously incorrect answer when everyone else in a small group does. This tendency to conform means group projects are no guarantee that the group's final project reflects what every member of the group believes. Even in small groups, more vocal members can easily outvote their peers, and the final product a group turns in imperfectly represents every person's vision.
When grading a group project, professors lose the insight of individual students and can only look at what the group collectively agreed upon. Instructor perceptions of group projects are vastly different than that of their students in other ways as
well. A 2003 survey of 69 university students conducted by Marilyn Ford and Jenny Morice, revealed a huge discrepancy between student and faculty perceptions of group assignments.
This is in part due to the fact that while 64 of the students reported having problems with group assignments, less than 8 percent approached their lecturer with the problems. If instructors were clear that students can come to them with concerns, the experience of the group project would become more positive for everyone, as students would not need to suffer silently, and professors would be able to assign and grade projects more fairly.
Some professors might be interested in assigning group projects for reasons other than merely antagonizing their already-overworked students. In this case, they have a lot more work to do than simply assigning a project.
First, professors should clearly state their expectations for the project, setting students up for success at working efficiently as a team. Second, grading scales should be adjusted so that students are not depending on perpetually absent or irresponsible peers for their own scores. Finally, teachers should encourage their students to come to them with concerns.
But, take heart, fellow students. We can learn a lot from group projects as they are currently being assigned. For example, I've learned time and time again that sometimes it's easier to shut up and go along with what other people are saying — also, that trusting anyone ever is a bad idea and all people are terrible. These are valuable lessons that I'm sure will stick with me for the rest of my life.
Brook Nasseri is a sophomore from Topeka studying microbiology and English.
- Edited by Deanna Ambrose
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