A panel of "instructional technologists" discussed a "sea-change" in the field, a shift from Instructional Design to e-Learning Design. The basic premise is that learning (& therefore teaching) in higher ed is fundamentally different (or it needs to BECOME different). How so?
The panel members' assertion is that the "social compact" of higher ed learning is changing, because students needs & expectations are different. It seems like much of this is wishful thinking. Isn't it possible that folks like us WANT a sea-change, but that there really isn't one going on? The authors in Declining by Degrees argue that the problems in higher ed are deeply ingrained and, therefore, will be difficult to change. The collusion of teachers pretending to teach & students pretending to learn will not be easily undone.
There are, undoubtedly, bright spots here & there. But when the vast majority of faculty members are rewarded for minimizing the amount of time spent on teaching (and students reciprocate by minimizing the time they spend on learning) we need paradigm-busting leadership.
To avoid being a naysayer only, let me suggest a solution (or at least the beginning of one). I think most of our ID engagements are ad hoc & tactical, i.e. w/ individual faculty in individual courses. Change (a "sea-change"?) might begin by focusing time, attention and resources at the department and college level. In this way we can focus on broader curricular issues, maintaining the momentum of accreditation beyond a narrow 1-2 year burst of energy. When academic leaders (deans, chairs, curriculum committees) take ownership of learning improvement, more significant (systemic) change becomes possible.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Monday, January 30, 2006
Observations from the 2006 Educause Learning Initiative Meeting
The inaugural Educause Learning Initiative (formerly NLII) is meeting this week in San Diego (which is nice because I’m from Utah and it’s 65 degrees here).
Without attempting to provide a comprehensive summary of the conference, I want to share a few “a-ha” ideas about learning.
Monday Keynote: Marc Prensky
Prensky argued (convincingly) that today’s kids (in high school today, in our higher ed classrooms tomorrow) are increasingly sophisticated digital natives. They are hyper-connected to each other and to the vast world of information available online. Not only are they engaged, they’re engaged and connected almost all of the time. They play interactive games, they IM, the chat, they use their cell phones (almost constantly), etc.
The exception to this astounding level of engagement and connectivity is when they go to school. Students report having to “power down” or “slow down” in the classroom. They are also chagrinned that their teachers don’t know more about the rapidly evolving digital world they live in.
This is striking because (from a learning perspective), we often fail to achieve the first “event of instruction” (http://ide.ed.psu.edu/idde/9events.htm) –gaining attention or engaging learners. If we fail to engage learners, promoting learning (the goal of teaching) is an uphill battle every step of the way. On the other hand, if learners are engaged, it’s almost impossible to keep them from learning. Our lectures and books can be bland and dense—if learners and engaged and motivated to learn, they will learn. Of course, stimulating lectures and textbooks are often the keys to provoking engagement. But the salient point seems to be that higher education is not adequately engaging the current generation of students who are used to being engaged all of the time, except when they go to class.
This has to change. Academics, professors, instructional designers and instructional technology support staff have to refocus their energy and resources. There’s far to much time and attention given to content presentation and distribution. But if learners aren’t engaged, no amount of presentation and content will make them learn.
Without attempting to provide a comprehensive summary of the conference, I want to share a few “a-ha” ideas about learning.
Monday Keynote: Marc Prensky
Prensky argued (convincingly) that today’s kids (in high school today, in our higher ed classrooms tomorrow) are increasingly sophisticated digital natives. They are hyper-connected to each other and to the vast world of information available online. Not only are they engaged, they’re engaged and connected almost all of the time. They play interactive games, they IM, the chat, they use their cell phones (almost constantly), etc.
The exception to this astounding level of engagement and connectivity is when they go to school. Students report having to “power down” or “slow down” in the classroom. They are also chagrinned that their teachers don’t know more about the rapidly evolving digital world they live in.
This is striking because (from a learning perspective), we often fail to achieve the first “event of instruction” (http://ide.ed.psu.edu/idde/9events.htm) –gaining attention or engaging learners. If we fail to engage learners, promoting learning (the goal of teaching) is an uphill battle every step of the way. On the other hand, if learners are engaged, it’s almost impossible to keep them from learning. Our lectures and books can be bland and dense—if learners and engaged and motivated to learn, they will learn. Of course, stimulating lectures and textbooks are often the keys to provoking engagement. But the salient point seems to be that higher education is not adequately engaging the current generation of students who are used to being engaged all of the time, except when they go to class.
This has to change. Academics, professors, instructional designers and instructional technology support staff have to refocus their energy and resources. There’s far to much time and attention given to content presentation and distribution. But if learners aren’t engaged, no amount of presentation and content will make them learn.
Learning about Learning
Faculty members, administrators and instructional support folks in higher education need to get serious about learning about learning. I do not profess to have all of the answers, or even to know all of the questions. This blog is my attempt to chronicle my attempts to learn about learning and to (I hope) provide some interesting insights and observations about the future of teaching and learning in higher education.
I purposely have not included "teaching" in the title of this blog because I think we need a paradigm shift in higher education. We need to think much more about learning. Instead of asking "How am I doing as a teacher (or instructional designer)?" we ought to ask "What's going on in our students' brains? How will they be different because they "bumped into us" for awhile, be it in a course, a one-on-one consultation, a mentored research project, whatever? I'm purposely forcing myself to take this perspective in hopes that it will help me break out of the traditional didactic, sage-on-the-stage model and instead focus on the most important goals of post-secondary education--preparing students to be productive citizens, parents, neighbors and (oh yeah) participants in the global economy.
I welcome your input, criticism, responses, whatever. Afterall, my attempt here is to learn about learning and I'd love to learn from you.
I purposely have not included "teaching" in the title of this blog because I think we need a paradigm shift in higher education. We need to think much more about learning. Instead of asking "How am I doing as a teacher (or instructional designer)?" we ought to ask "What's going on in our students' brains? How will they be different because they "bumped into us" for awhile, be it in a course, a one-on-one consultation, a mentored research project, whatever? I'm purposely forcing myself to take this perspective in hopes that it will help me break out of the traditional didactic, sage-on-the-stage model and instead focus on the most important goals of post-secondary education--preparing students to be productive citizens, parents, neighbors and (oh yeah) participants in the global economy.
I welcome your input, criticism, responses, whatever. Afterall, my attempt here is to learn about learning and I'd love to learn from you.
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