Course overview and impacts

Course overview and impacts

This course was very educative and informative. Through this course, I have learned a lot of things. The course has enabled me to understand various things related to student participation. I have learned that the most effective way to maintain more students is by offering them opportunities where they feel more connected to their choice of school. This means that more students are retained when feeling that they are part and parcel of the school through involving them in school activities. However, this course has enabled me to look beyond the student involvement.

Instead of seeing involvement as just a way to retain the students, I am now interested in viewing how various programs can boost the rate of keeping students in school, especially students from a poor background. I have also learned that students and teachers can work as a team to implement some practices within the academic space.

Therefore, I believe this course has contributed positively to my personal development. It has created self-awareness on issues like the peer mentoring program, which pairs do not only unite students according to their ranks but unites them according to how they demonstrate their attitude towards success. Through this course, I became aware of student involvement theory, which measures the level of physical and psychological energy that is invested in the educational life of students. The approach focuses more on the motivation of students and their behaviors. The theory has educated me on how to gauge what the student has gained through his or her development. I can comfortably apply the student involvement theory to guide the students during their development processes.

The intellectual abilities I gained after studying this course are critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and the use of creativity. The course has enhanced my analytical capabilities, improved my social and intercultural awareness. It has enabled me to understand issues from different approaches, which have helped me create a connection between learning to real-life experiences. Through student participation, I am now aware of social entities. Finally, the course has laid a good foundation skill in my writing and verbal communication.

The most valuable things I have learned from this course are various theories of student involvement and how to apply them in different scenarios. Learning more about the developmental approach enlightened me a lot. Through this theory, I have learned that different students exhibit various rates of involvement in a given object. I have learned that involvement includes both qualitative and quantitative elements; for example, it is possible to measure the number of hours which student spend during the study, and that is a quantitative element.  The qualitative component of student involvement is weighing whether the student understands reading assignments, or they are just daydreaming. The development theory has enabled us to understand how the personal development linked with an educational program is directly proportional to the quantity and quality of involvement of the student to the program.

I am still struggling to comprehend traditional pedagogical and subject matter theories. This theory tends to see the student as a type of black box, and I don’t understand what the approach tries to mean when it refers to students as black boxes. The subject matter theory is very confusing, especially where assigns students a passive role while learning. This learning favors students who are bright and motivated. Motivated students are both good readers and good listeners. The subject matter theory tends to discriminate against the students who are learners and have no idea of the course they are learning.

The course has enabled my critical and analytical thinking because I am in a position to apply various theories to study the behavior and character of students. For instance, given a class full of different kinds of students, I can be able to identify motivated and non-motivated students by observing their characters inside the classroom and outside the campus as they move around. By being part of this course, I am also able to understand issues from different perspectives. I cannot fully judge a student who is not doing well in class by just concluding that he or she is a lazy or slow learner. Several factors do contribute towards the success and failure of students.

Through learning this course, I have learned the importance of civil and community engagement. The lecturers do play a significant role in facilitating the learning of students in colleges. The conducive environment creates a quiet learning environment for students, participation, and involvement of students in school activities helps to create a cordial relationship between the students, lecturers, and administrators, thus enhancing a healthy learning environment. My social connection with people surrounding me has improved. This is because the course has assisted by how to be accommodative of all kinds of people, especially in social gatherings or when conducting school projects. During the lessons, students are given opportunities to present their views and ideas. Therefore, through this course, my verbal communication has improved immensely as I no longer fear to participate in any activity since my self-esteem has been boosted.

I do believe that the course has met its objectives fully. By the end of the course, the student was aware of the different theory which supported student involvement. The session discussed various types of development theory for higher learning. We were able to understand the essential elements of the method. The course also talked broadly about the four approaches, which are subject matter, the individualized, resource-based, and the traditional theory. By the end of the course, 90 percent of the student were able to apply methods inside the class and outside the campus. The course also highlighted how to involve student in school activities. We all learnt the importance of student involvement.

The course has also discussed various factors leading to the success and failures of the first-year students in the college. The environment is the critical determinant of the failure or the success of a student. The theoretical perspectives, such as expectations for future performances and affective responses, are well discussed, and this made every student understand the pattern of production all the way from the first year to the final year. In my opinion, the course met its objectives by ensuring students have comprehended what the course was all about. The course provided an opportunity for students to participate fully. There was a good relationship between the lectures and the students, as well as the administrators. Students were fully supported during the entire course by their lecturers. Finally, all the topics were covered and well understood by everybody.