Todd Sumamno
Rigor is a buzzword that you can always hear at conferences and faculty meetings. Yet, it makes a lot of students feel anxious or overwhelmed. Some people get frustrated because they lack a clear understanding of the concept, while others associate it with harsh conditions, strictness, and inflexibility. Yet, is it really what academic rigor brings into the classroom?
Defining Academic Rigor
Rigor is one of the fundamental concepts in academia. Yet, one might have a hard time articulating what it is. Indeed, as it is difficult to find a single definition of academic rigor that would match the varying perceptions of the term.
In the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), academic rigor is described with the focus on cognitive expectations in coursework like analysis, application, evaluation, and synthesis. Gary Wyatt associates it with high academic demands when Roger B. Winston and colleagues approach the definition of rigor by adding workload and students’ investment of time and energy resources.
We can conclude that academic rigor is a standard of excellence. It shows students a reference point they should strive for in the classroom. Rigor integrates critical thinking, deep thought, and constant effort to progress. It also includes real-world relevance and meaning of academic work. Rigor is rather flexible. Teachers and administrators consider a wide range of factors, like learning needs and peculiarities of a subject area, to communicate their expectations to students.
Why We Need Academic Rigor
Academic rigor is the foundation of effective education. It influences attitudes and practices, forming a motivational and supportive environment for students. Here are the key areas where academic rigor makes a difference.
Self-Regulation and Independence
Rigorous learning means that students are able to reflect and evaluate their strong and weak points. Awareness of their own progress helps them to optimize learning. It prepares students to develop their skills without supervision.
Rigorous educational experience can benefit any student regardless of his/her initial set and level of skills. It provides appropriate challenges and support to give everyone a chance to thrive. Academic rigor is all about improvement and personal growth. It makes students self-directed.
Learners become less dependent on teacher’s feedback as they know where to find academic help and resources. For example, they can generate an essay topic at essayservice.com/essay-topic-generator and find writing inspiration. If they want to improve their time management, they download productivity apps. Lectures and tutorials help them to fill in gaps in knowledge. Opportunities to learn are numerous. The only thing students need is to learn how to learn. This is exactly what academic rigor ensures in the classroom environment.
Learning Support
Academic rigor is not only about expectations and achievements. Supporting students on their learning path is an integral part of maintaining a rigorous environment. To progress, students need sufficient resources, learning materials, and quality instruction. Moreover, educators maintain academic rigor by setting an example and providing rubrics and guidelines.
Teachers play an important role in motivating students and showing them that they have the potential to succeed and get high-level competencies. Academic rigor helps them to align course design with the expected outcome. This allows communicating the desired objectives and leading students to them through a series of thought-provoking questions.
Academic rigor supports students by offering them new and new challenges to solve. They learn how to analyze and evaluate information and, most importantly, apply their knowledge. It gives students skills and abilities to take their development beyond the classroom. They learn how to solve real-life issues and make decisions.
High-Level Learning Opportunities
A rigorous classroom environment is a place where students get opportunities to grow and develop. It helps them to form effective learning strategies and reach the best possible outcomes. Students deal with challenges that allow them to form interdisciplinary connections between ideas. It means learning at a high level.
Academic rigor also increases motivation and engagement in tasks. This component of rigor makes learning more student-centered. Students become active and motivated to meet high academic standards. This is the result of learning support and challenges. With every new problem that students solve, they can show their progress and mastery of new and new skills.
Many people have a misconception that a rigorous classroom is all about doing more. In reality, the situation is completely different. Academic rigor means doing what helps you grow and succeed in life. In contrast, the idea of “doing more” means ineffective repetitions and a lot of unproductive low-level tasks.
Instead of getting more homework, educators and students focus on the quality of academic assignments and their relevance. Rigor challenges students to grow, not to make their learning more difficult for no reason. Exciting and interesting challenges lead to more satisfying learning and bring enjoyment that comes when one reaches his/her objectives.
To Sum Up
As you can see, academic rigor goes beyond grades and the number of hours students spend studying. It influences the quality of education as well. Academic rigor challenges learners’ thinking and promotes depth of understanding. It broadens their worldview, inspiring them to think big and do great things.
