James Gregory
Professor Emeritus, Texas Tech University
Designer of WizED
James Gregory was reared on a family farm in Missouri. He attended the University
of Missouri- Columbia and completed his BS and MS degrees in Agricultural Engineering.
He served as the Repair Division Officer in the US Navy on the USS Intrepid, now
a floating museum in New York. After completing his military service, he attended
Iowa State University and completed his PhD in Agricultural Engineering and Soil
Physics.
Dr. Gregory started his professional career as an assistant professor in the Agricultural
Engineering Department at the University of Missouri teaching and researching topics
in soil and water conservation practices with a focus on mathematical modeling of
processes and systems. After eight years working at University of Missouri, Dr.
Gregory moved to Texas Tech University and completed 22 years of work there in the
Agricultural and Civil Engineering Departments. He also served as the Associate
Dean for Undergraduate Studies in the College of Engineering for 10 years.
At Texas Tech University, Dr. Gregory continued to teach and research soil and water
conservation topics with a focus on soil erosion by wind. He also began to mathematically
model learning processes including benefits of group study, effects of timing on
academic success, value of multisensory communication in the teaching process, etc.
These mathematical models were grouped into an interactive computer program, GREG,
written by Dr. Gregory. GREG was first available for student use in 1991. Dr. Gregory
added a sleep management component to GREG and a web version of GREG became available
in 1997.
The associate dean for undergraduate studies and the assistant dean began using
the GREG program with students returning from suspension. Students who used GREG
and who had follow-up mentoring had a much higher success rate than those who did
not. In 1995, Dr. Gregory was asked to server as the associate dean for undergraduate
studies in the College of Engineering. The process of using GREG and mentoring to
help students experiencing academic difficulty was continued during the next decade.
The process was also expanded and used in the BRIDGE program for entering students
in the College of Engineering.
After the initial work to develop GREG, Dr.Gregory continued to work to improve
the learning model. After his retirement from Texas Tech University, he redeveloped,
expanded, and reprogramed the learning model now known as WizED. Working with Mr.Robin
D’Souza one of the student peer mentors during Dr. Gregory’s time as associate dean,
the process has been expanded to integrate and automate both the learning model
and the mentoring process.
Many students do well in high school but have not learned how to be good learners.
High school generally has daily classes and only one day between classes. Good timing
is a default of daily classes. Many students in high school do well on test and
earning grades without much investment in doing homework and study away from class.
Unfortunately, in many schools the standard for what is learned has also declined
leaving a weak foundation in math, English, and the sciences on which to build a
college education.
When students make the transition to college, the process generally changes. Classes
usually meet Monday, Wednesday, and Friday or Tuesday and Thursday. If students
do not study and review class notes after class on the same day before sleep, they
have a high risk of academic failure. College classes are more in depth and require
both a good foundation and much study. If a student gets behind, it is very difficult
to recover. Student who fail to plan for academic success often have a default plan
for academic failure.
The WizED model to develop an academic plan and the scheduling and mentoring process
provided in FreshmenSuccess provides both a process-based academic plan for success
and a schedule and monitoring process to keep the student on schedule. Professionals
often use day planners to schedule work events, plan trips and meetings, set deadlines,
and evaluate work progress. It is logical that students (future professionals) should
also learn to plan and manage academic work to improve performance and prepare for
a professional career. ...readmore...hide