Mar 1 2011: This is both humorous, invigorating and sad all at the same time. If you want people to learn, get them excited about learning. I am very excited about new findings in brain research, and one of the local universities has a course in their psychology department about it. However, if that's taught by one of their professors that lectures for an hour in a monotone drone, why the hell would I pay $500 a credit to be put through hell?
I really like the model of higher education that's emerging at this point in time - the global university. Take courses from several universities around the country, demonstrate your learning, and receive a degree. Put the best out there on the Internet, and let the learning begin.
For the stuffy professor that believes that the classroom discussion model as been the standard of education since Aristotle, I agree with your assertion that engaging discussion is the key to learning...but Artistotle didn't have an iPad.
Educators have this belief that "traditional" education provides the basis for the ability to grasp complex concepts in linearly progressive process, preparing learners for the perpetual "next step." Yet, the goal of every college student is to "graduate." The unfortunate thing is that our society sees achieved goals as ends, rather than plateaus, and thnks that, as things progress, life should get easier (retirement, relaxation, and sittin' on the porch). The sooner we, as educators, teach our charges that life becomes more and more complex and that we need to prepare for the next complexity, the better off our educational system will be.
By the way, that would be my dissertation for my Ed.D., but I'd have to take 15 courses to come to the point of where I already am.
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A comment on Conversation: Are Educational Institutions responding to the challenges of teaching and learning in the 21st Century?
I really like the model of higher education that's emerging at this point in time - the global university. Take courses from several universities around the country, demonstrate your learning, and receive a degree. Put the best out there on the Internet, and let the learning begin.
For the stuffy professor that believes that the classroom discussion model as been the standard of education since Aristotle, I agree with your assertion that engaging discussion is the key to learning...but Artistotle didn't have an iPad.
Educators have this belief that "traditional" education provides the basis for the ability to grasp complex concepts in linearly progressive process, preparing learners for the perpetual "next step." Yet, the goal of every college student is to "graduate." The unfortunate thing is that our society sees achieved goals as ends, rather than plateaus, and thnks that, as things progress, life should get easier (retirement, relaxation, and sittin' on the porch). The sooner we, as educators, teach our charges that life becomes more and more complex and that we need to prepare for the next complexity, the better off our educational system will be.
By the way, that would be my dissertation for my Ed.D., but I'd have to take 15 courses to come to the point of where I already am.