inside this issue:
University of Maine at Presque Isle Volume 42 Issue 7
Sports Galore! Details on page 12
Saying Farewell Details on page 5
Journalism for Northern Maine Visit us at utimes.umpi.edu
FEBRUARY 14, 2014
A Matter of National Security Kayla Ames CONTRIBUTOR
Chances are, you want the most out of your education. You want to have graduated from high school and leave college with the skills and understanding necessary to succeed in a modern workplace. You want to be able to make a difference in your community, if not the world. In that case, you're in luck. The University of Maine at Presque Isle plans to implement proficiency-based learning in accordance with area high schools. In fact, because of a new law referred to as LD 1422, by 2018, all who want to receive an UMPI diploma will have to prove themselves proficient. This means students will need to demonstrate that they've met certain learning expectations, that they've truly grasped the most critically important skills and concepts. Everyone will be held to the same standard. Teachers will have to be very clear about what students need to learn. Only then will the latter be able to pass a course, move on to the next grade level or graduate. If they can't meet the learning expectations, teachers will give them additional time,
support and opportunities to prove they've made progress. “All students can learn and succeed, but not all in the same day in the same way,” sociologist Bill Spady once said. This is a new way of doing things. In years past and present, high schools and colleges have followed a rather old-fashioned educational formula. Most instructors devote a certain amount of time to a lesson with the same standards in mind for everyone. Because people learn in different ways and at different paces, the amount they absorb long term varies. This means that some graduate from high school and even college with surprising gaps in knowledge– unable to read and write well, do basic algebra, locate major countries on a map or explain the scientific method. “I think teaching methods have changed, though. We are much more aware of the science of learning, including brain research. We accommodate students with disabilities much better and routinely incorporate technology. We are much more inclusive. But the basic structure, where time is the constant, has not changed much,” David Ouellette, executive director of
the Central Aroostook Council on Education, said. Those advocating proficiency-based learning hope that, by varying the amount of time teachers spend on lessons and with students, everyone will be able to meet the same standards and absorb “the important stuff.” Ouellette used driver's ed as an example of the philosophy behind it. Not everyone is an athlete, and some people are just plain uncoordinated, but we all take the same test in order to get licenses. If we're weak when it comes to parallel parking, we work on it without having to take the entire test over again. Proficiency-based learning makes it so we can't just assume we'll understand something next year and move on, unprepared. “All my signs are that this is a good direction for us.... It's also the right thing to do, because it will result in better students,” Linda Schott, UMPI president, said during an open forum in November 2013. While learning expectations are fixed, teachers and students will have flexibility when it comes to meeting them. Instructors can instruct and undergraduates can experiment as well as apply knowledge in the ways
that work best for them. For instance, if a professor wants students to learn about the Constitution, they don't necessarily need to write about it. They could, instead, make a rel-
change, and this promises to be a very beneficial one. “Because we live in a democracy that requires the citizens to participate by voting, education is really national security,”
evant video or perform a play. While some may need a little extra time, summer school, online assistance or a tutor to catch up, others will be able meet the standards early. This system takes that into account. Just as proficiency-based learning will vary from school to school, so will it vary from teacher to teacher and student to student. Despite the questions this raises, Ouellette and many others believe it's time for a
Ouellette said. Education can improve our lives as well as those of the people around us. It empowers and liberates, but only if we've truly come to an understanding. The University of Maine at Presque Isle wants as many students as possible to get the most out of their years in college. Proficiency-based learning is the first–though, admittedly, big– step toward ensuring that.