TEXT 1. TRADITIONAL EDUCATION VS CREDIT-BASED EDUCATION

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  A class with specified learning goals which the student is required to meet in order to pass the course and that may be applied toward the fulfillment of degree requirements at a college or university.
  
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  A course in which A, B, C, D, and/or G grades are awarded. Grades recognize the achievement of a part of or the total requirements for a course or learning module.
  

The question of which method results in the most possible learning is one that has been debated extensively throughout the history of education. The most practiced method is often referred to as the ‘traditional’ system, in which the main method of teaching is still the lecture. Students do not spend much time studying independently, but rather spend their time listening to lectures and taking notes. There are seldom tutorials. Students are unable to make educational decisions on their own, they had no say in the curriculum and/or methods of instruction. Outside the lectures, students are only required to complete assignments. The traditional system does not allow the flexibility in time management to make this the most efficient method.

The traditional educational system focuses entirely on intellectual and ignores experiential learning, it only teaches students how to succeed on standardized tests, has an authoritarian nature, and makes students value education and not learning. The traditional system’s reliance on standardized testing lessens the amount of actual learning that is done in schools.

Unlike in the traditional teaching system, credit based education is built upon a more flexible “syllabus”, which enables students to adjust their own learning process in order to meet the graduation requirements in an optimal time frame. The syllabus also facilitates the division of subjects and training tasks per semester in such a way that a student wishing to follow his own learning pattern at a normal speed can register for any new subject only upon completing the prerequisites. Students can individually tailor their own learning pattern based on the available courses and subjects. However, it is strongly recommended to follow the master syllabus.

Teachers aim to help students develop learning skills and strategies to enable them to cope with the amount of independent workload. Several useful strategies of the credit based education are: the use of concept mapping, problem-based learning (by means of challenging tasks for students), case studies, interdisciplinary approaches, team participation, online learning. Altogether these strategies make a student a life-long learner as he acquires most critical learning skills.