The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.
-Alvin Toffler, Futurist
When students continue their education from high school to college, they may need to unlearn some familiar patterns. In high school, students are told what to do and corrected if their behavior is out of line. In college, students are expected to take responsibility for their actions as well as for the consequences of their decisions. High school is a learning environment in which students acquire facts and skills. College is a learning environment in which students take responsibility for thinking through and applying what you have learned. In high school, effort counts. In college, results count.
When transitioning from high school to college, the problem may not be learning how to be a college student: it is unlearning how to be a high school student. Going from high school to college is a good example of how students may be operating with mental models that have grown outdated or obsolete.
