College In Focus - Unit 2
LESSON 2.2 - Defining "College" - Part 2
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT:
Introduce the class to the ideas of “Pros and Cons.” Everything has them. Everything has some balance of good and not so good. Draw a line down the middle of the board or on the digital projector and present students with statement one-by-one. Ask the students to work to identify a number of “pros” or positive results of the statement being presented. Then have the students identify the “cons” or negative results of the statement. After the students have exhausted their ideas for each, discuss which one, “pro” or “con,” wins the day.
The list of statements can include:
• All junk food should be banned.
• All schools should require uniforms.
• Homework should be eliminated from schools.
• Song lyrics should be censored.
• Elementary age children should have their own phones.
• Everyone should have a pet.
• Exams should be abolished.
• The voting age should be lowered to 10.
DIGGING IN:
Just like the statements the students reviewed, different types of colleges have different sets of “pros” and “cons.” Encourage students to think about these attributes as they are working to identify the three varieties of colleges and universities that they will be looking at in this lesson.
While there are a number of different credentials or degrees that students can pursue in college, there are also different types of colleges and universities that students can attend to pursue those degrees. For this lesson, students will be working in groups to research different colleges and universities in the state of Indiana and determine their college type.
Assemble the class into the same six groups they were in previously. Alternately, students can be mixed into six new groups. As students are researching schools, they will need to categorize them into one of three types: Public Schools, Private Schools and Proprietary Schools. Each have different “pros” and “cons.” Pass out the “Three Types of Institutions” sheet and discuss each of the three types.
For each team, assign three colleges for the students to research. These colleges and universities include: Anderson University, Ball State University, Butler University, DePauw University, Huntington University, Indiana State University, Indiana Tech, Indiana University - Bloomington, Indiana Wesleyan University, IUPUI, Ivy Tech Community College, University of Notre Dame, Purdue University - West Lafayette, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Ross Medical Center, Summit Salon Academy - Anderson, Taylor University, and Trine University.
In order to determine what type of college it is, students might have to use Google to find the school’s website or find the answer elsewhere.
The second question asks what kind of degrees the college offers. Students can choose more than one answer here, and should be able to find this on the school’s website.
The third question asks students to list the city that the college is in.
The last question asks students to list the school’s “Cost of Attendance.” “Cost of Attendance” means the full cost of attending that school for one year. This includes tuition (the cost of taking classes), but also books, room and living expenses and even miscellaneous costs. Students SHOULD be able to find this on every school’s website. The reality is that SOME schools (particularly proprietary, for-profit schools) try to hide these numbers. If students are struggling to find this, be sure to walk the room to troubleshoot and offer assistance.
INTO ACTION:
Once students have had ample time to research their colleges and universities, take time to let the student groups report out the answers to share their college profiles with the groups. Students may be interested in specifically discussing the “Cost of Attendance” for Indiana colleges and universities and comparing them. Remind students that these costs represent a single year, and include tuition as well as books, room and board, etc.