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Lifelong Learning Survey Results

Number of Surveys: 58

Please examine the attitudes expressed in the following comments.

Pick THREE that show the BEST understanding of “lifelong learning”

Pick THREE that show the WORST understanding of “lifelong learning”

WORST BEST

Response Votes Response Votes

b) 32 a) 42

f) 29 l) 42

i) 22 h) 17

m) 22 e) 16

z) 17 y) 16

s) 17 d) 14

n) 11 g) 6

c) 11 j) 5

Generalizations drawn from student comments:

1) Students who put in effort get more out of class than those who do not

2) Students who do not put in effort seek to blame or make excuses.

3) Positive comments reflect an understanding of the purpose of education.

4) Negative comments reflect a misunderstanding of the purpose of education.

EFFORT & ATTITUDE are what really matter and most students recognize this. Students who don’t take responsibility for their education are those who don’t try & have negative or apathetic attitudes. Those who do take responsibility are those who try & have good attitudes.

What do you think makes the difference between the positive comments and negative comments? Explain.

Selected Responses:

1) The difference is attitude and willingness. The people with a good attitude who come into this class to LEARN, not just get a grade realize that lifelong learning requires effort on the part of BOTH the instructor and student. Yes, essay is tough—but learning is inevitable while reading & studying for essays. And essay is A LOT more work for the professor—so that is commitment on their part to the student’s comprehension of material on a deep level. [1]

2) The positive comments show a 2-way responsibility. The teacher has the responsibility to know the material and present it with enthusiasm . . . The student realizes it isn’t about being spoon fed & regurgitating the information but rather understanding it. The negative comments are about not taking responsibility for yourself but blaming others for your bad lot in life. [2]

3) The difference between the best & worst is that that best all seem to understand that the goal of schooling is to learn and become educated; and that it’s not about having things handed to you so you can get a good grade with minimal effort. The better understandings of lifelong learning all realize that it’s their responsibility to earn a good grade through hard work and effort . . . The “worsts” seem to be lazy about school and looking for just an easy grade. They seem like they don’t want to take responsibility for their own education, they just want a grade handed to them. [3]

4) The positive comments are from people who actually put an effort into the class and therefore got something out of it. The negative comments are from people who just want a grade and degree without having to actually work and learn anything. [4]

5) Negative comments are the person who doesn’t want to do as much reading or a better way of saying it is where the student wants to do as little work as possible. Positive comments are the ones where students appreciate what the instructor is doing in their learning process. [8]

6) Positive comments are saying if you put in effort and study the material you get more out of the class. Negative comments were on the lines of this is hard, tests should be made multiple choice so there easier. [9]

7) The students in the positive comments may not have liked doing all the work, reading, essay, etc. but they learning more than just filling in a circle on a scantron sheet or a multiple-choice test. [11]

8) Positive show the attitude of the writer and shows the amount of effort they want to put in it . . . [12]

9) The negative comments don’t give reasons for the complaints and don’t look past the now. They deal with grades and not the life lessons/skills learned. The positive comments look at skills learned and offered more information. [13]

10) The best ones seem to have the responsibility on the student. They seemed to take the responsibility for what type of grade they received. The worst ones either blamed the test structure, too much homework, or the teacher for the bad grade. They should have blamed themselves. [15]

11) The positive comments take responsibility for doing the work, learning the material, and earning the grade. The negative comments aren’t concerned with the information learned, only the final result, the grade. [16]

12) Positive comments = made by students who actually put effort into their learning, took responsibility for it. Negative comments = lazy students; students who want to get the good grade without the effort. [17]

13) The positive ones say how the class was beneficial to them and easy to understand, well taught. The negative ones say that the work ethics is said to be lazy and the teaching wasn’t educational to the reader. [18]

14) The positive comments are about the way we learn in ways that we gain a lot of knowledge from the teacher and the course by the way it is done. The negative shows lack of interest in knowledge and just how to get a quick and easy passing grade with little knowledge. [19]

15) The students that asked for less work and easier tests showed that they disliked challenges. When challenges show up in life, these students will probably face defeat. The student who understood the reason behind the essays and took advantage of the opportunity to learn will most likely succeed in the future because he invests the time and effort it takes to conquer. [20]

16) Positive and negative comments are based on what the person has had to put into the class/learning and thereby forming his beliefs on how much work learning should take. It’s really their work ethic and what they are used to doing. [22]

17) Those who wrote the positive comments saw the class & tests as a way of helping them because they knew the teaching method would help them later in life. Those who wrote down negative comments basically wanted to do no work and just get a “grade” out of it. They did not care that the course was bettering them in the long run. I though those who wrote negatively were just lazy. [24]

18) The positive comments seem to come from people that really wanted to learn something from the class. While the negative comments seemed to come from people who just went through the motions. Maybe they had to take the class for some requirement but they didn’t know what they were getting themselves into. [25]

19) The difference between positive and negative comments is the positive ones see the big picture and the negative ones see learning as a drag . . . [26]

20) The biggest difference between positive and negative comments is that most of the negative comments are focused on the individual students likes & dislikes or strengths & weaknesses. The students only have their own personal feelings not really an overview of the general situation. The positive comments seemed to focus on the overall value of the class, not just the fact that the student didn’t like essay tests. [27]

21) Many of the negative comments showed an apathetic view toward the students doing any type of work, especially reading and writing out essays instead of simply putting in rote information. The positive comments came away with an appreciation for what the essays brought about in the end, and showed an appreciation and anticipation to use the skills in the future. [28]

22) Positive comments show people that put in the effort they knew they had to and so they are happy they took this class and learned. The negative comments are from people who probably got lazy or did not show up to class. The reason they got bad grades isn’t because of the essay tests . . . [31]

23) Those that made positive comments were probably those that did halfway decent, at least, in the class. They also cared about their grade and learned the lesson of working themselves. These people should have a good chance at life if they do not forget the lesson of lifelong learning. Those that made the negative comments probably did poorly and probably did not do much of the work. They were lazy students who did not want to learn the information, but wanted to be spoon fed . . . [32]

24) I think that the effort that the student put into the class is a big factor. If the student didn’t care and didn’t do the readings, of course he is going to dislike the course. A student has to put in what he expects to get out. [33]

25) I think a student who cares and takes the initiative to do well is the person who tries hard to do well in class. With a negative student they don’t care and they usually don’t put much effort and therefore get nothing out of the class. [35]

26) The positive comments were more specific and the negative comments were like complaints; they weren’t really tips to help the teacher, just whining, pretty much. [36]

27) The positive comments were made by students who were willing to put a lot of effort into the class, while the negative comments were made by students who just wanted to get through the class with a passing grade but little or no effort. More succinctly, it’s the difference between those who want to learn and those who just want the credits. [38]

28) The difference between the positive & negative comments is the amount of work put forth by the student. The negative comments come from students who expected to be spoon fed the information & the positive comments came from students who enjoy the challenge of thinking. [39]

29) The best answers . . . were the answer from students that are interested in learning and want to get as much out of the class as they can. The worst answers are the students that just want to slide through class; not really learn anything . . . [40]

30) The positive comments are able to show growth and understanding. These comments show that while the student may not have always agreed with the teaching style or the material, they appreciated that this way of teaching was for their benefit. The negative comments reflect people who were not interested in learning, but who were only interested in the grade . . . They reflect a very closed minded look at what learning is. [41]

31) The good answers acknowledge the effectiveness of a true test. They also exhibit appreciation for what they have learned, as well as an understanding of the subject matter wasn’t the only information of benefit that was taught. [34]

32) The main difference between a lot of the positive attitudes and negative attitudes is laziness. Students are still in the routine of easy high school courses. They don’t want to put forth any effort besides making it to class. They think that they deserve a good grade just for going to class. [57]

33) The people that made positive comments understood what was asked of them by the teacher, and even though it might not have been easy it helped them do well in class and taught them life lessons and responsibilities. [42]

34) The students who did poorly probably didn’t do the assigned homework and skipped too many classes. Most likely the student who did poorly will blame the exams for not being multiple choice, thinking that if they had been they would’ve gotten a better grade. [43]

35) The students that had the negative comments are the students that didn’t do the reading and didn’t pay attention in class, therefore resulting in a bad grade. The students with the positive comments are the students that did the reading assignments & took good notes. [46]

36) People with negative comments . . .don’t do all that’s asked of them and fail, they’re not learning, they’re just skating by thinking someone else is always going to hold their hand. People with a positive attitude take more from class. . . [47]

37) Positive comments are very specific. Most people who wrote positive comments sound like they made a lot of effort. Then, they found out how interesting the class was, and at the same time, they found out how to learn in college. Negative comments are short. They should have asked or visited the teacher and asked him how to study or what’s going on in the class . . . [53]

38) Positive comments seem to provide constructive criticism whereas negative comments seem to point blame and give excuses. Also it seems the negative comments failed to realize the purpose of the course structure. [51]

39) The willingness of the student to take on his or her own responsibility for learning. When a student thinks that it is up to the teacher for the student to learn. That is the biggest factor for positive and negative comments. [55]

40) The difference between the positive and negative comments is an overall attitude. Particular views are taken based on people’s own personal experience. All the negative comments seem to be coming from people who only would have taken this class because they needed it. They seem to have little or no interest in the material and would rather just be told what to study instead of being challenged. [58]

What does the phrase “promote opportunities for lifelong learning” mean to you? What are the responsibilities of teachers & students to promote it?

Selected Responses:

1) This phrase means that learning is something that transcends the classroom. The responsibility of the teacher is to aid the student in acquiring skills to facilitate learning. The student’s job is to make themselves available for the knowledge and keep an open mind and willing attitude. [1]

2) It means the individual should always be out to learn new things not just when taking classes. A well rounded person will know that there is much in the world he doesn’t know and will do all he can to correct that. Teachers are responsible for challenging students and helping to show them how much there is to learn. A student has to come in with an attitude and a desire to learn new things, not just to get a grade. [4]

3) Help you better know what you need in life, and how to accomplish the things you want to. It is easy to get information by to find out how to make use of it is another story. People can go through classes or life and not learn a thing, or they can always be learning. [7]

4) It means that no matter how old you are, you are always learning. [9]

5) The phrase to me means that we are not just learning a certain subject but are also being taught principles that we will use throughout life. The teachers give us the tools to learn but it is up to the student to interpret it and the ability to prove with facts & reason. [11]

6) It means to give students abilities that will help them learn in the future . . . The role of the teacher is to provide the skills of continued learning. The student is the one that has to do all the work and put forth the energy to learn the skills. [13]

7) Lifelong learning is more that sitting down reading a text and understanding what it means. It is being able to examine a situation you’re in later down the road and using the knowledge you have toward the goal. The responsibility of the teacher is to show the pupil how to think for themselves rather than recite what has been told to them . . . [14]

8) Prepare the student for situations and obstacles they may face. Also to jumpstart the student’s learning for their future. [15]

9) Learning does not stop with a diploma . . . Students must be willing to do the work and think in different ways. Teachers must be available to clarify, and try to teach information tangibly . . . [16]

10) Teachers must promote it by being knowledgeable about their subject and as available as they can be to their students. Students must be serious about their learning and take responsibility for it. [17]

11) The teacher needs to be committed to teaching the student what he will need to know in order to succeed in the classroom and in life. And the student has to be willing to learn so he can succeed in the classroom and in life. [20]

12) Students need to put effort into learning the material and the teacher has to try his/her best to help the student learn. [23]

13) Giving me the tools I need to help better myself for the rest of my life. The teachers just need to help students get started on the right path. It is up to the student whether or not they chose to follow that path. When a teacher helps us prepare for classes and we (as students) allow learning from this, it prepares us for the rest of our lives [24]

14) Teachers and students can work to promote lifelong learning by coming to class and always working their hardest [25]

15) Once you are done with Kirkwood you should have the ability to learn new things and want to learn new things. The responsibility of the teacher is to lay the road work for getting the students to want to learn. The responsibility of the student is to be open-minded enough and work hard enough to learn new things. [26]

16) Trying to promote or teach the tools needed to learn not only in school settings but also in the real world. [27]

17) Preparing the student with basic knowledge and intelligence skills that will continue to be with them long after college and will provide a basis for learning later on in life. [28]

18) Making sure that we walk away from here with skills that help us to retain and learn new things out in the real world. [29]

19) The student is the one earning the grade, so to receive a good grade the student must in fact earn it by meeting requirements and putting forth effort. [31]

20) Lifelong learning means to me that I should be encouraged to do work myself. Constantly drilled to think for myself and be able to find for myself what actually needs to be learned . . . Lifelong learning, if accomplished, will train the student how to be a student for the rest of their life, because life does not stop teaching a person lessons just because they are out of school [32]

21) To make it possible to keep on learning new things for your entire life. The responsibilities of the teachers to promote this is to teach and stress critical skills needed for learning . . . The student’s responsibility is to give an honest effort to learn these skills. [33]

22) The phrase says “opportunities for learning” not just “learning” or “education”. This implies that the student will only get out of his Kirkwood experience what he puts into it. [38]

23) Learning is a skill that needs to be acquired while in school so that when I leave school I can continue my education. [39]

24) I think it is the teacher’s job to show how the student should go about learning. It is the students to take these tools and apply it to their studies. Personally, I will learn and remember better if I learn them on my own, instead of having the instructor hold my hand through everything. [40]

25) In order to be effective each (the student and teacher) must do what is asked by other and communicate if there are differences. It should not solely by the job of the teacher to teach the students, if they want to learn they need to put effort into it. [42]

26) Kirkwood and teachers instill a students knowledge and abilities to further learn even after college. As people we don’t just learn during elementary years and college years, but also in the “real world.” . . . [43]

27) It means that in class students will actually learn the subject they are studying instead of just memorizing it for a test. They will be taught in a way which will help them remember throughout their life. I think it is a good idea not to have multiple choice tests because then the student can just memorize their notes . . . If there is essay tests, the students have to actually know what they are talking about or they will not do well. [46]

28) That by going to college you’ll learn more than what is taught in class, and apply it to life outside college. You’re learning to learn. [47]

29) Means that Kirkwood will give you the skills that you will need to continue learning even after you leave Kirkwood. [50]

30) It means learning isn’t just important in the classroom. Life itself is a learning process . . . [54]

31) To promote lifelong learning means that the student will still have a huge desire to seek knowledge after they have graduated. It might be easy for a student to stop seeking knowledge after they have a degree because there is no longer a grade to earn . . . [56]

Excerpts from

Turning Teaching Into Learning: The Role of Student

Responsibility in the Collegiate Experience (1993)

by Todd M. David & Patricia Hillman Murrell

The College Student Experience Questionnaire (CSEQ) [designed by Robert Pace] is rooted in the obvious proposition that all learning and development requires an investment of time and effort by the student. Pace is fond of pointing out that when students are asked if they agree with the statement, “If students expect to benefit from what this college or university has to offer, they have to take the initiative,” more than 95 percent agree.

While students recognize their role in the educational process, Pace argues that our colleges and governing boards have lost sight of this commonsense fact. As he plainly notes:

Much of the current rhetoric about institutional accountability and consumerism in higher education is one-sided. If students don’t graduate, the institution is accountable. If students don’t learn, the teacher is accountable. If the graduates don’t get good jobs, the institution is to blame.

Learning in college is a joint proposition. Students are accountable—responsible for involving themselves in their class work, taking advantage of the opportunities and resources provided by the college and the faculty, and carrying their studies into their lives and relationships. Ultimately, students must transform their educational experiences by making these experiences part of their way of being and using what they learn . . . [5-6]

Why is Student Responsibility Important? . . .

First, student responsibility is the key to student development and learning . . . [Research] on student outcomes has unambiguously demonstrated that college outcomes are tied to the effort that students put into their work and the degree to which they are involved in their studies and campus life . . .

Second, irresponsible students diminish our collective academic life. Such students hurt themselves and other members of the academic community . . . The irresponsible behavior of a few students can weaken the fabric that has brought students and faculty together. Within an individual classroom, the behavior of even a few highly irresponsible students or, worse, a large number of passive, disaffected students can drag a class down to its lowest common denominator. For an institution, the erosion of an academic ethos can lead to the development of a culture that is stagnant, divisive, and anti-intellectual.

Third, the habits of responsible civic and personal life are sharpened and refined in college. One of the goals of higher education in a democracy is to prepare students for participation in that democratic society. As membership in society confers both rights and responsibilities on its members, so must it be in a college society. If our colleges are to fulfill this important purpose, they must nurture a climate in which students are active participants in their college education. Will employers, international economic competitors, or future history itself be tolerant of students who fail to develop sufficient self-control and initiative to study for tests or participate in academic life?

Finally, student responsibility has implications for public policy toward higher education. If colleges are to reclaim the public trust, they must learn not to make promises that cannot be kept. Colleges have responsibilities to students and to society, yet colleges are not solely responsible for the outcomes of their students. If students are unwilling to do their part, then outcomes will be less than satisfactory. Individuals who are unprepared to accept their responsibilities as students and who have demonstrated as such should not be expected to complete their course of studies. A discussion of the mutual obligations of all members of the academic community is a prerequisite to restoring the academy’s balance and clarity of purpose. . . . [7-8]

Excerpts from

Changing Attitudes:

A Strategy for Motivating Students to Learn (1998)

by Vincent Ryan Ruggiero

Indisposition to learn seems to be considerably more widespread than it was a generation or two ago.

What is the cause of this indisposition? Depending on which pundit one reads, the fault lies with teacher incompetence, parental dereliction, or socio-economic deprivation. Without denying that these factors exist and in many cases seriously aggravate the situation, I propose that they are not the main cause of the problem. That cause is the attitudes students bring to the classroom, attitudes that obstruct teaching and thwart learning . . . .

The concept of self-improvement has undergone dramatic change since 1911, when Ambrose Bierce mockingly defined self-esteem as “an erroneous appraisement.” Good and bad character are now known as “personality differences.” Rights have replaced responsibilities. . . . A revolution has taken place in the vocabulary of self. Words that imply responsibility or accountability—self-criticism, self-denial, self-discipline, self-control, self-effacement, self-mastery, self-reproach, and self-sacrifice—are no longer in fashion. The language most in favor is that which exalts the self—self-expression, self-assertion, self-indulgence, self-realization, self-approval, self-acceptance, self-love, and the ubiquitous self-esteem. . .

If the main cause of many students’ indisposition to learn is their attitudes, it follows that the most important educational reform is not increased funding, curriculum revision, or expanded technology (desirable as those initiatives may be) but the restoration of attitudes favorable to learning . . . .

This book helps teachers understand and appraise the negative attitudes that are all too common today and identifies positive alternative attitudes. [Preface, xi-xiii]

Examples of Negative Attitudes & Positive Alternative Attitudes:

Negative: “If I have high self-esteem, I will be successful.”

Positive: “Self-esteem is of two kinds: earned and unearned. Only earned self-esteem is healthy and satisfying, and it doesn’t precede achievement but follows it.” [78]

Negative: “Perfectionism is a serious threat to my well-being.”

Positive: “Perfectionism is less a danger to me than mediocrity, and the way to avoid mediocrity is to aim high, for excellence.” [95]

Negative: “I have a right to my opinion, so my opinions are right.”

Positive: “I have a right to my opinion but since my opinions don’t come with a guarantee, I can’t have confidence in them until I’ve tested them thoroughly.” [106]

Negative: “The teacher’s job is to entertain me.”

Positive: “The teacher’s job is not to entertain me but to guide my learning, which depends upon my active participation.” [147]

Negative: “Whatever doesn’t deliver pleasure or satisfaction immediately isn’t worth pursuing.”

Positive: “In most important matters, satisfaction comes only after a significant investment of time and effort.” [152]

Negative: “My ways of thinking, speaking, and writing should be respected.”

Positive: “Any improvements I can make in thinking, speaking, and writing will benefit me both now and later.” [167]

Excerpts from

Engaging Minds:

Motivation and Learning in America’s Schools (2003)

by David A. Goslin

It is widely understood and accepted by professionals and most other members of American society that both individual effort and innate ability play important roles in all learning. Most cultures recognize the existence of inherited differences in the ability of individuals to acquire knowledge and skills, both academic and nonacademic . . . Just as some people are genetically endowed to grow to be taller, stronger, or more adept physically, so too do some inherit greater mental capacity or intelligence than others . . . .

A great deal of research has been done over the last century on the relative contribution of inherited capabilities and individual effort to a wide range of intellectual and other achievements. Although significant disagreements remain among scientists on this matter, four important facts stand out.

• First, there is no doubt that both innate characteristics and individual effort play important roles in the capacity of humans to acquire most knowledge and skills.

• Second, it is clear that no matter how great or limited an individual’s inherent abilities, whatever potential the individual has will remain unrealized without effort on his or her part. The more effort that is expended, the more likely it is that an individual’s inherited potential will be realized.

• Third, inherited abilities matter most at the extremes. Both individuals with severe limitations in their capacity to learn and those with extraordinary capabilities present special challenges for parents, teachers, and schools. For the majority of us, however, inherited differences in intellectual capacity (or, for that matter, other abilities) matter far less than differences in the amount of effort we are prepared to exert in order to learn.

• Fourth, at least as important as actual differences in inherited capabilities are the beliefs that we hold about them and the influence of these beliefs on our behavior, in particular on our willingness to expend the effort necessary to learn. [33-34]

[The] thesis underlying this book: namely, that learning anything complex is serious business, requiring concentration and effort on the part of both students and teachers. The concept of quality time spent on the task captures the idea that simply attending a mathematics class is not necessarily more likely to result in learning mathematics than putting one’s math book underneath one’s pillow at night. . . .

[Our schools] seriously overstate the amount of quality time they actually spend on learning . . .

Quality time spent on learning tasks in school is not the only time children spend engaged in learning academic subjects. Most students spend some time on a regular basis outside of school engaged in school-related learning tasks . . . The amount of time students spend doing homework and studying for tests is directly related to the demands placed on them by their teachers and the stringency with which these demands are enforced.

Expectations for student work outside school increase steadily from elementary to middle to high school in the United States . . . Overall, recent data suggest that high school students spend on average less than five hours a week engaged in activities directly related to coursework in school—for example, homework and studying for tests. Many observers have noted that this is less than one-third the amount of time children report watching television . . . [104-107]

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