General Education Requirements at the University of Oklahoma

The University of Oklahoma is conducting research in an effort to improve the general education requirements for students.

The research is being conducted by Clarissa Thompson, an OU psychology professor, and Michele Eodice, director of the OU writing center. The research efforts hope to improve the quality of students’ general education and experience.

Their research is aimed at asking students to share their perceptions of the benefits they receive from general education at OU, Eodice said.

In order for OU to maximize its general education for students, professors and students need to meet in the middle, Thompson said.

“I think we both have to meet together and it’s not just that we are here to fill these empty vessels of students, but they have to want to learn,” Thompson said.

The results and analysis may take awhile, but their goal is to provide the best learning experience for students, Thompson said.

One thing students can do is find out what methods of learning and studying works best for them in certain subjects, Eodice said.

Michael Wenger, a psychology professor and researcher at OU, believes an internal discussion about how students and teachers could come together in an effort to maximize the benefits of general education is something that could help OU.

For now, student evaluations are a prominent method of changing courses, but Thompson and Wenger both said the evaluations are usually only completed by students who love or hate the professors. 

The students in between, who would help the most, are the ones often not completing the evaluations, Thompson said.

Also, the response rate on the evaluations have declined ever since they switched to the online evaluations, Thompson said.

Anything that can be done in order to make students realize the importance of the course and teacher evaluations is something that needs to be discussed, Wenger said.

Along with an internal discussion, publishing the results of student evaluations and showing students they can create positive change to the courses are some ways Wenger feels could help general education be a more effective educational tool at OU.

Travis McKinney, an OU energy management major, is currently enrolled in meteorology in order to fill his natural science requirement. Without this class to meet the requirement, McKinney would be unable to graduate in the spring of 2013.

Although he feels that some aspects of general education are pointless, he said that he is glad to see some things being done to improve it.

“There are classes that are too hard and too easy, but there’s also classes in [general education] that really help. I think there is a way for [students, professors and faculty] to find a solution so that each student can take the classes they need to or should take, instead of take what they [are required] to,” McKinney said.

OU requires that students take 40 hours of the general education curriculum in five core areas; symbolic and oral communication, natural science, social science, humanities and senior capstone experience.

To meet those 40 hours, OU offers over 400 classes to meet the five core areas of general education requirements.

The American Council of Trustees and Alumni, a nonprofit organization, is also performing a study on general education aimed to help students and parents find out what colleges and universities have to offer for their money.

An ACTA operated website, “What Will They Learn?,” grades schools based on their education requirements. OU received a “B” from the website.

Thompson and Eodice plan to continue their research project for the foreseeable future. The results will hopefully find their way to the general education board and fix any problems they can, Eodice said.

Student Housing Complexes Sweeping Across The Nation

The Grove is opening a new location in Norman, Oklahoma. PHOTO: Chad Hudson

The Grove aims to offer a great living experience
to college students. PHOTO: Chad Hudson

 The Grove apartments are opening a new location in Norman, OK to offer students at the University of Oklahoma more housing, but with an upscale environment.

Students can look forward to another option of student living aimed to deliver a great place to live during their college experience. This growing industry of student-only housing complexes is sweeping across the nation at a rapid rate.

“Real-estate investors and developers, hungry for new areas for growth, are finding a lucrative and previously untapped market in these areas surrounding college campuses, one marked by low inventory, booming enrollment and an increasing appetite for luxury living,” The Wall Street Journal 

reports.

Norman has seen a few new complexes added for students in recent years. Loft 401 opened for students in 2011, the Cottages of Norman opened for students in the fall of 2009 and Crimson Park apartments opened in 2005.

Astra Holmes, the general manager of The Grove in Norman, said students should come in for a tour and look on their website to see everything The Grove has to offer. She feels they have a lot of exciting things to offer students.

“Generally we are extremely proud of the entire clubhouse. It’s a multi-million dollar facility with a 24-hour gym, free tanning, and a Harvard-style library,” Holmes said. 

The clubhouse will offer free coffee and espresso and a gamer lounge complete with pool tables, foosball and much more, Holmes said. There will also be a sand volleyball and basketball court, resort style pool and a fire pit and grilling area enclosed in the future gated community. 

The Grove began construction in the fall of 2012 and are already getting involved in the OU community by participating in their outreach programs.

“We definitely don’t want it to feel like a place students are just living, but we want them to feel a part of the community,” Holmes said. “We are really big on outreach programs, donating and volunteering to the community.”

The Grove Norman, located south of highway 9 on 12^th Avenue SE, plans to open for move-in August 17, 2013. 

Dust swirls as trucks and tractors carry supplies to the construction crews at The Grove apartments
in Norman, Oklahoma. PHOTO: Chad Hudson

Construction of The Grove in Norman is underway in the fall of 2012. The Grove plans to
open to students in the fall of 2013. PHOTO: Chad Hudson

Pallets of bricks waiting to be transported into the construction zone.
PHOTO: Chad Hudson

The Shifting Learning Landscape

OU Professors/Researchers Clarissa Thompson and Michael Wenger talk about the changing learning landscape at OU, as well as colleges and universities nationwide.

The University of Oklahoma is offering classes in different formats in an attempt to better student's individual learning experience.

At OU they are offering traditional in the classroom courses, online courses and hybrid courses. Hybrid courses are taught partly in class and party online.

Clarissa Thompson, an OU psychology professor, is offering her course online and feels that it enables the students to learn better than a traditional lecture style course.

Michael Wenger, an OU psychology professor, said that lectures consisting of hundreds of students and traditional testing formats of a mid-term and final exam are not the best way to learn in some cases. He also mentioned that there is not a logical way to provide students in this highly enrolled courses with the benefits of better learning formats.

However, OU is increasing there totals of hybrid courses in an effort to help students have a better learning experience, especially when taking courses with hundreds of classmates.


These formats will only help students retain the materials better, while providing less boring lectures, Wenger said.

OU students can expect to see more hybrid and blended courses in the future in an effort to improve their overall educational experience.

Giving It The Old College Try

University of Oklahoma faculty are researching the psychology of studying. Psychologists have concluded cramming, a common study method of students, is a poor way to study.

Finals week is coming quickly at the University of Oklahoma and students are in a frenzy to get some last minute studying.

The form of studying large amounts of information before an exam has been termed “cramming” and is not necessarily the best way for students to learn.

Michele Eodice, director of the OU Writing Center, said that cramming is something students often do, but it is not the best method of studying.

However, students still find themselves cramming information into their brains before finals across the campus. Many psychologists, including Clarissa Thompson and Michael Wenger, warn students that spacing out their studies is much better than cramming when it comes to studying.

Research at OU, as well as across the nation, has shown that cramming is not helping students.

"Academic success may depend on finding strategies to avoid having to give up sleep to study, such as maintaining a consistent study schedule across days, using school time as efficiently as possible, and sacrificing time spent on other, less essential activities," Andrew Fuligni, professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral at UCLA, told ScienceDaily in an article.

Finals have begun this week, and continue into the week of December 10, 2012. Students are packing libraries, coffee shops and many other places in an attempt to cram as much information and material as possible. However, it seems to be a poor method for retention.