How to Create a Good System in Undergraduate Education
Most of campuses face the same kind of problems such as apathetic students, incompetent teaching, and actually these lists of problems grows every year especially in this country, Indonesia. Indonesia government should have concerned about this issue because anyhow education is the best power and resource to create a great country.
How can students and the faculty improve the quality of education?
According to me, there are five principles of good practice.
First point is encouraging contact between students and faculty. Frequent students and faculty contact in and out of class is the most important factor to motivate students. Faculty should concern about helping the students to enhance students’ intellect and encourage them to think about their own value and future plans.
Second point is encouraging active learning. Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not always need to sit in class listening to the teacher, memorizing some notes, and answering some assignments. They must talk what they learn, write about it, relate it with their daily life and apply it into their life.
Third point is giving prompt feedback. Students must focus on what they do not know in their learning process. In class, they should try to encourage their selves to ask anything that they do not know about the subject and at the end of class they should reflect what they have learned that day.
Fourth point is good expectation. Students should expect more and they will get more. High expectations are important for students because they will be motivated with those expectations in their mind and affect them to make extra efforts.
And the last point is respecting the differences in talent. There are many talents in each student’s selves and also there are many ways to make it exist. Faculty should give them good facility and opportunity to show their talents.
As the conclusion, teachers and students hold the main responsibility for improving undergraduate education. But they need a lot of help. College and university leaders, state and accrediting associations have the power to shape an environment that is favorable to good practice in higher education.