Above video from Steve Kerr’s statement on school shooting in Texas
From DSC:
Steve Kerr has it right. Powerful. Critically important.
“Enough!” “We can’t get numb to this!”
On 05/19/2022,
in business side of he, career development, change, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, cost of getting a degree, curriculum, faculty, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, leadership, parents, participation, society, United States, universities,
by Daniel Christian
The Exit Interview Nine departing presidents on how the job — and higher ed — is changing. — from chronicle.com by Eric Kelderman
“One of the things I’ve learned in this job is that it’s time for us to really think hard about the obligations the postsecondary educational sector has to the country,” Quillen said. “What is, as it were, the social contract between that sector and the society that supports us? And what do we need to do to fulfill our obligations there?”
Carol Quillen
Carol Quillen
On 05/04/2022,
in active learning, adjunct faculty, collaboration, colleges, community colleges, culture, Daniel S. Christian, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, face-to-face, faculty, higher education, ideas, innovation, instructional design, law schools, leadership, Learning Experience Design, pedagogy, real-world assignments, strategy, student-related, teaching & learning, traditional / tradition, United States, universities, vision/possibilities,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
The resource below (from The Chronicle of Higher Education) is one of the best, most useful articles I’ve read in a long time. It’s full of innovative and/or powerful ideas. I like the part about seeking to give students “more voice, more choice, more control.”
5 No-Cost or Low-Cost Ways to Improve Your Campus — from chronicle.com by Richard J. Light and Allison Jegla
Change doesn’t have to be expensive. It’s often sparked by a simple suggestion and a leader willing to give it a try.
Excerpts (emphasis DSC):
No. 1: Reward innovative teaching. Lynne Schofield, a professor of statistics at Swarthmore College, has fundamentally changed the way her students learn basic and intermediate statistics. She lectures and assigns problem sets but she also teams up with local Philadelphia organizations such as food banks and blood-donation centers to give students an opportunity to solve real-world problems using their classroom knowledge. The organizations benefit from data and analysis that they may not have had time or bandwidth to collect themselves, and the students see the practical application of what they might ordinarily have perceived as a dry subject.
No. 2: Solicit ideas from students. …
They met with a dean and proposed a public event called, “10 Big Ideas, 10 Professors, 10 Minutes Each.”
When the dean agreed, the students took the lead on selecting and inviting professors to each present the “most exciting new idea” in their academic field, in less than 10 minutes.
On 05/04/2022,
in 21st century, Alternatives, business side of he, change, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, content development, corporate / business world, cost of getting a degree, culture, curriculum, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, Emotion, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, faculty, future of higher education, game-changing environment, health, higher education, leadership, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, more choice more control, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, traditional / tradition,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
After seeing the item below, I thought, “Hmmm…traditional institutions of higher education better look out if alternatives continue to gain momentum.” Perhaps it’s wise to double down on efforts to gather feedback from students, families, parents, businesses, and other stakeholders in the workplace regarding what they want and need — vs. what the faculty members of institution ABC want to teach.
A Third of U.S. College Students Consider Withdrawing — from news.gallup.com by Stephanie Marken
Excerpt:
Editor’s Note: The research below was conducted in partnership between the Lumina Foundation and Gallup.
About a third (32%) of currently enrolled students pursuing a bachelor’s degree report they have considered withdrawing from their program for a semester or more in the past six months. A slightly higher percentage of students pursuing their associate degree, 41%, report they have considered stopping out in the past six months. These are similar to 2020 levels when 33% of bachelor’s degree students reported they had considered stopping out and 38% of associate degree students said the same.
On 04/26/2022,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Alternatives, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning / Deep Learning, business side of he, career development, change, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, content development, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, curriculum, education technology, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, higher education, ideas, innovation, IT in HE, leadership, learner profiles, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, more choice more control, new business models, online learning, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
Why One University Is Moving Toward a Subscription Model — a podcast from edsurge.com by Jeffrey R. Young
Excerpts:
One big theme in education-innovation circles is that the professional world is changing faster than ever, and so schools and colleges must adjust how they teach to meet those needs.
One college in St. Louis, Maryville University, is embracing that argument in a big way by revamping its curriculum and even changing its business model to include options like a subscription model—with the goal of helping its students get good jobs after graduation.
“By the end of this decade or before, students should pay for higher ed the way they pay for Netflix or their cell phone bill,” Lombardi says.
From DSC:
I thought this was an interesting conversation and I agreed with much of what Mark Lombardi, President of Maryville University, had to say.
I appreciated Jeff’s attempts at trying to get Mark to hear that “learning styles” aren’t supported by the research. I wish Mark would have used the word “preferences” instead…as I do think learners have preferences when it comes to them learning about new topics.
On 04/25/2022,
in assistive technologies, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, education, education reform, Emotion, engagement / engaging students, face-to-face, future, homeschooling/homeschoolers, ideas, innovation, instructional design, K-12 related, leadership, learner profiles, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, learning preferences, love of learning, more choice more control, motivation, parents, participation, passions, reinvent, society, special needs, strategy, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, United States, user experience (UX), vision/possibilities, youth,
by Daniel Christian
K-12 education in America is like quickly moving trains that stop for no one.
From DSC:
A family member struggles with spelling — big time. This causes her major amounts of anxiety in school.
Another family member had some learning disabilities and reflects back on school with some bad memories.
Another family member struggles with social graces and learns at a much different pace than her peers — the move to her education being (predominantly) done via homeschooling has helped significantly.
A friend of mine has Dyslexia. He recently said that school was hell for him.
Another person I know doesn’t understand his daughter’s learning disabilities — at all. He’s asking a fish to climb the tree and yells at his daughter when she doesn’t produce like the other kids do. Her school is for college-bound learners, and there’s always pressure to maintain the school’s “blue-ribbon” status (i.e., sorry if you don’t fit in…but please board the train anyway, as it’s about to depart).
These people and stories about their educations got me to reflect on all the people who went through the school systems in the United States (over the last few decades) that didn’t work well for them. In fact, not only did the systems not work well for them, they were the sources of a great deal of pain, anxiety, depression, anger, frustration, and embarrassment. Instead of being a place of wonder or joy, school was a painful, constant struggle to get through.
For those who can keep up or even excel at the pace that the trains travel at, school isn’t that much of a problem. There are likely different levels of engagement involved here, but school is manageable and it doesn’t cause nearly the stress for someone who struggles with it.
For those with learning disabilities, I’d like to apologize to you on behalf of all the people who legislated or created rigid, one-size-fits-all school systems that didn’t understand and/or meet your needs. (Why we allow legislators — who aren’t the ones on the front lines — to control so much of what happens in our school systems is beyond me.) I’d like to apologize on behalf of all of the teachers, administrators, and staff who just accept the systems as they are.
Please help us reinvent our school systems. Help us develop the future of education. Help us develop a more personalized, customized approach. For those who are working to provide that, thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
To everyone working within Pre-K through 12th grade, help us offer: More voice. More choice. More control. The status quo has to go. School should not be a constant source of pain and anxiety.
On 04/20/2022,
in adjunct faculty, career development, colleges, community colleges, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, faculty, future of higher education, higher education, K-12 related, leadership, learning ecosystem, strategy, teachers, United States, universities,
by Daniel Christian
Teacher Job Satisfaction Hits an All-Time Low — from edweek.org by Madeline Will
Exclusive new data paints a picture of a profession in crisis
Excerpts:
Teachers’ job satisfaction levels appear to have hit an all-time low this year as the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage schools.
That’s according to the Merrimack College Teacher Survey, a nationally representative poll of more than 1,300 teachers conducted by the EdWeek Research Center and commissioned by the Winston School of Education and Social Policy at Merrimack College.
In interviews, teachers say they still love teaching—but they’re fed up with everything else. They feel burdened by a constantly growing workload, especially with more students having greater academic and social-emotional needs than ever before. They don’t feel like they’re paid appropriately for all the work they do. And they don’t feel respected as professionals.
Also see:
- Here’s How Many Hours a Week Teachers Work — from edweek.org by Ileana Najarro
- Despite More Money Than Ever for Summer School to Aid With COVID Learning Loss, Teacher Shortages Threaten Programs — from the74million.org by Alex Baumhardt
From DSC:
But it’s not just in K12 where our learning ecosystems are malnourished:
- Ep.77: Turnover, Burnout and Demoralization in Higher Ed — a podcast from insidehighered.com and hosted by Inside Higher Ed Editor Doug Lederman
Excerpt:
Faculty and staff members are leaving colleges and universities in droves. Other employers are experiencing these trends, too, but are some issues unique to higher education? Employers of all kinds are struggling to hold on to their employees in the wake of the pandemic and amid a white-hot job market. Data recently released by the University of North Carolina system, for instance, shows that faculty and staff turnover in the first half of this academic year was about 40 percent higher than the average of the last four years. Are colleges and universities just dealing with the same issues other industries are facing? Or are there unique problems in higher ed that campus leaders need to acknowledge?
Also relevant/see:
- How to Make Your Campus a Better Place to Build a Career — from chronicle.com by Aaron Basko
Seven ways to improve the work environment for everyone in higher education. - Here’s How Rising Inflation Is Affecting Higher Ed — from by Audrey Williams
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On 04/19/2022,
in colleges, community colleges, digital learning, distance education, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, Hyflex learning, instructional design, law schools, leadership, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, learning preferences, learning spaces, library / librarians, online learning, remote teaching and learning, smart classrooms, strategy, traditional / tradition, United States, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
The Digital versus Brick-and-Mortar Balancing Game — from educause.edu
Excerpt:
The blended campus required after two years of upheaval calls for out-of-the box thinking about what to keep and what to discard from both digital and physical work and learning spaces. Technology leaders face critical decisions regarding workplace culture, physical classroom design, and traditional campus spaces.
Making the move from fully in-person instruction to a learning environment that also accommodates remote students (and remote faculty) requires rethinking and redesigning physical learning spaces to provide an equitable experience for all learners. Technology leaders will need to overcome sizable obstacles to create inclusive classrooms that enable faculty and students to reap the many benefits of hybrid [hyflex] learning.
Also see some of the other most urgent issues in higher education here:
