Mind the Gap: Connecting K–12 and Higher Education Educators to Improve the Student Experience — from educause.edu by Matthew W. Stoltzfus, Ben Scragg, and Cory Tressler
Excerpts:
With such vastly different and equally important skill sets in the educational spectrum, it’s unfortunate that high school teachers and college professors do not collaborate more often. Strong collaborations would enhance instruction for both parties, would increase the understanding of what types of teaching and learning are happening in each setting, and would assist students in their transition from high school to college. The increasing popularity of MOOCs, open-education resources such as OpenStax College, and freely available course content on platforms such as iTunes U brings an incredible opportunity for high school teachers and college instructors to collaborate and enhance each other’s instruction.
Ohio State is leading one such project. College Ready Ohio seeks to provide K–12 teachers with college-level content and professional development related to digital pedagogy, the incorporation of mobile technology for teaching and learning, and digital content creation. Through a partnership between Ohio State, the Ohio STEM Learning Network, two regional Education Service Centers, and ten participating school districts across the state, College Ready Ohio aims to expand students’ access to—and increase the affordability of—higher education for Ohio’s students. By piloting dual enrollment, known as College Credit Plus in Ohio, for students in the partner districts, College Ready Ohio will help ease the financial burden of higher education by providing students with an opportunity to earn college credits in high school, while simultaneously preparing students for the rigor of college-level coursework.
From DSC:
I love to see this type of collaboration! It makes a world of sense and I wish that there were more of these kinds of efforts/collaborations — and efforts that help bridge the gaps between higher education and the workplace. Such efforts would make for smoother transitions from K-12 to higher ed — and then from higher ed to the workplace.