Comments on: The role of the university? https://blog.learnlets.com/2010/10/the-role-of-the-university/ Clark Quinn's learnings about learning Mon, 01 Nov 2010 18:37:11 +0000 hourly 1 By: John Andrew Williams https://blog.learnlets.com/2010/10/the-role-of-the-university/#comment-101377 Mon, 01 Nov 2010 18:37:11 +0000 http://blog.learnlets.com/?p=1774#comment-101377 This is a very interesting blog. I would like to add that the effectiveness of the educational system would be incredibly enhanced if the mentioned ideas are paired with informed students. Having learned essential life skills, I have seen all of my students experience a complete turnaround in their lives regarding education and life in general.
It is incredible to think about the potential of learners given meaningful skills and a refined educational context.

]]> By: Clark https://blog.learnlets.com/2010/10/the-role-of-the-university/#comment-101157 Fri, 29 Oct 2010 23:05:30 +0000 http://blog.learnlets.com/?p=1774#comment-101157 Great feedback! Julie, thanks for the example; I think that’s great credit to St. Catherine’s. I agree with the liberal arts focus, though sometimes I wonder if that’s *supposed* to be done in high school (which is what Australia and the UK claim when they have 3 year college degrees without a general ed requirement but are instead very domain-focused).

Angela, I’m referring to what Seymour Papert said: “I don’t want to teach kids mathematics, I want to teach them to think like mathematicians”. Similarly for teaching them to think like scientists, not to just learn science. It’s about systematicity, hypotheses, experimentation, analysis. It’s another take on learning to learn, but it’s meta-cognition in a broader sense. Hope that helps!

]]> By: Julie Michener https://blog.learnlets.com/2010/10/the-role-of-the-university/#comment-101155 Fri, 29 Oct 2010 22:08:02 +0000 http://blog.learnlets.com/?p=1774#comment-101155 It’s something that St. Catherine University leaders have been defining as the University has implemented an academic reorganization. It begins with caring and strategic advising for the student, core curriculum that helps the student discover where they want to go and then guiding them with options for faculty/student research collaborations, internships and other experiences that develop their core skills along with communications and critical thinking abilities. It’s liberal arts based – no matter what the major as students need to learn to learn for a lifetime.

]]> By: On Spoiled Babies, Snowflakes, and Apprenticeship | The Big Picture of Learning and Technology https://blog.learnlets.com/2010/10/the-role-of-the-university/#comment-101146 Fri, 29 Oct 2010 19:09:58 +0000 http://blog.learnlets.com/?p=1774#comment-101146 m thinking of going back to the original Oxbridge model.  In the old days, you were assigned a tutor (and advisor), and you met with that person regularly. They’d have a discussion with you, recommend some activities (read X, solve Y), and send you on your way. It was a customized solution.  Since then, for a variety of reasons (scale, mostly), the model’s turned into a mass-production model.  However, we now have the power of technology. – Clark Quinn, The Role of the University? [...]]]> […] It seems lately that the higher education story tellers are calling for a resurgence of a more apprenticeship-like model of education.  Frustrated with the “mass production” model of education created by the Industrial revolution metaphor, voices are clamoring for a more personalized version of learning: I’m thinking of going back to the original Oxbridge model.  In the old days, you were assigned a tutor (and advisor), and you met with that person regularly. They’d have a discussion with you, recommend some activities (read X, solve Y), and send you on your way. It was a customized solution.  Since then, for a variety of reasons (scale, mostly), the model’s turned into a mass-production model.  However, we now have the power of technology. – Clark Quinn, The Role of the University? […]

]]> By: Angela https://blog.learnlets.com/2010/10/the-role-of-the-university/#comment-101145 Fri, 29 Oct 2010 19:08:47 +0000 http://blog.learnlets.com/?p=1774#comment-101145 Hi Clark,

As always, love your brilliance, and I’m going to require some clarification on a blog statement you made…”thinking like a mathematician and scientist (not science and math)”. If I was following your stream of thought, it seemed that one of the important elements of higher education is to foster one’s ability to learn – learning to learn (which could encompass SDL, LLL, critical thinking, complex problem solving, etc.). Then, the statement about thinkng like a scientist came up….and I lost the flow of the thought. In your view, what does a scientist or mathematician think like (’cause I’m thinking…procedural, ‘right’ answer’, formulaic)? I’m all ears!

]]> By: Clark https://blog.learnlets.com/2010/10/the-role-of-the-university/#comment-101026 Wed, 27 Oct 2010 23:58:57 +0000 http://blog.learnlets.com/?p=1774#comment-101026 Virginia, you raise important issues. I believe, however, that business will start recognizing that professionals whose expertise comes from passion about a topic, with a study plan vetted by experts in the field (there will likely be committees for cross-disciplinary studies), and of course still ‘off-the-shelf’ degrees, are more valuable than the current “pass ’em thru” calcified degrees. Okay, so maybe it’s a few years out ;).

I expect narrow research to continue, but your sort of cross-disciplinary work is increasingly recognized as the source of more useful innovations (as a complement to the deep discipline work, not as a replacement). Yes, funding needs to follow societal recognition of this.

And you’re spot on that it needs to come from both ends. I note that when I designed my own major, I only preceded the market, it’s not that I contradicted it!

]]> By: virginia Yonkers https://blog.learnlets.com/2010/10/the-role-of-the-university/#comment-101025 Wed, 27 Oct 2010 23:48:31 +0000 http://blog.learnlets.com/?p=1774#comment-101025 Coming from an interdisciplinary background both in studying and teaching in the university, there are some other institutional barriers today (besides the strengthening of accreditation requirements and the push at the university level to create standardized testing as there is at the k-12 levels) that prohibit the type of flexibility you propose.

First, the current financial model of higher ed is based on the ability for graduates to find a job after college. More and more, businesses are hiring graduates based on finite skills rather than a person’s ability to learn a job. In other words, you will need to know how to learn a skill for the interview. As a result, many colleges and universities will go to the businesses, ask the skills they need in order to get their graduates hired, and integrate that into their curriculum, programs, etc… The student learns what he or she needs to get a job, therefore, not what they are interested in.

Related to this is that the programs the generate the most employed, get the biggest budget. Those that can generate outside income (through grants, research funds, etc…) will continue to be able to offer their courses. However, interdisciplinary courses do not fair well with this model as grants and research funds often require specialization. Faculty are valued based on the specialized research they conduct which often must fit into a narrow category within a field of study. So, I currently am doing research on knowledge building in distributed groups. This crosses disciplines between applied psychology, communication, management, writing, education, and sociology. While the study is very narrow, and I know of many who are interested in my work, there is no money out there for research because it does not fit into a nice neat category.

So I think to change our current system, it is necessary to start at both ends of the educational system. It is nice to learn something new and pick and choose your major. However, unless you develop a skill that will make you marketable in our society, you should keep the learning limited to your free time.

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