On behalf of the Center for Teaching and Learning Advisory Committee, Kaplan University is proud to announce our upcoming online conference, KU Village 2010.

KU Village 2010 will be held September 20-23, 2010.

The theme of KU Village 2010 is Connect, Communicate, and Collaborate.  With over 45 presentations (archived for later viewing also!), a virtual showcase of classroom innovations, and a lively discussion area, KU VILLAGE is sure to be an exciting three day event for educators all over the globe.

To register, please go to http://www.kuvillage.org

There is an Alice-in-Wonderland quality to the arguments being used against the proprietary sector in recent weeks. As a founding president of a community college and a state university, I was especially disappointed to see the litany of arguments against for profit higher education paraded out in a recent article in the Huffington Post by Dr. Gail Mellow. Dr. Mellow is a strong leader and a fine president. But these arguments are infused with bias as well as being flat inaccurate. continue reading

Technology-based techniques are beginning to be applied in education, but often just for the solo learner, whether on their own at home, or to do work away from class on their own.  Nothing wrong with this - in fact, matching a challenge to student skills (”Hard but not too hard” as Vygotzky might put it, or “hard fun” as Papert would put it) can be very motivating as well as edifying.

Not so easy, though, to fully integrate teachers and an entire classroom in an adaptive process.  Just by its nature, a group is harder to adapt for than an individual.  Clickers and technology are being used in some classes (e.g., Kurt Mazur’s use of technology before, during, and after his large lecture sessions) to at least gather information about how students are understanding what’s happening, and informally use this to  alter a teachers’ approach - but that’s still not the same as using that information systematically to modify how subgroups within the class might be instructed.

Some experiments are out there, pointing the way.  An article in the July/August Atlantic by Ta-Nehisi Coates, “The Littlest Schoolhouse“, describes how New York City is running an experiment called the School of One, to see what can be done. Joel Rose who created the pilot program, had an idea for how an adaptive classroom might work:  ”The vision I had was a large open space with different modalities happening at the same time.”

As Mr. Coates describes it,

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[F]irst, the student and his parents and teachers are surveyed about his classroom habits. Then the student takes a diagnostic test to see how well he understands basic math. Those data are then sent to the New York Department of Education’s headquarters in Lower Manhattan, where School of One’s algorithm produces a tentative lesson plan. That lesson plan is then e-mailed to the student’s teachers, who revise it as they see fit. At the end of every day, the student takes another short diagnostic, which is used to create another tentative lesson plan that appears in the teachers’ in-boxes by eight o’clock that evening.

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Customized instruction, deeply involving the teacher, relying on a daily cycle of instruction, assessment, evaluation, and new instruction within the classroom, moving students between working with the teacher, working with a virtual tutor, or working with a computer program. Now that’s starting to be an interesting, integrated approach to education - embedding technology within the whole learning environment while leaving open the possibility of transforming dramatically what any one (or small groups) of students experience, if that seems to turn out to be best for them.

We need to be running these experiments all across the educational system. In higher ed, for example, the variance of student backgrounds is even wider than that in high school, middle school or certainly grade school, especially when you consider the large number of students looking for higher education after or while working. Figuring out ways to combine technology, teachers, classrooms, and the right approach to skills provides powerful potential to create engaging, effective, and efficient experiences.

Recently there has been a spate of articles in journals as diverse as Dow Jones, The New York Times, and Inside Higher Education which, when boiled down, ask about the fundamental value of a college education and raise the question of how, when we see that value, we will know what we are looking at. continue reading

I’ve written about how cognitive science should inform learning, and the importance of getting the match between media, the type of knowledge, and the student right. I intend to write more along these lines , e.g., the potential role of cognitive task analysis to more deeply identify what the real cognitive tasks are behind expert work.

Not this time. A recent article in the New York Times by Emily Hager about the passing of a school cook, Richard Worrell, in New York City brought home to me another key dimension of an effective learning environment for students - the sense of engagement, and possibility, that others (not just faculty or students) in that environment can provide.

Learning is hard. Whether you take that as an informal judgment based on experience (I admit, I worked like a dog through school), or as a statement from cognitive science (learning always has to go through working memory, the part of our minds reserved for the hardest, most challenging tasks), the reality is the same: it takes real personal effort, and therefore motivation, to make the mistakes, repeat the practice, and, slowly, slowly, watch progress happen.

The pleasure of the long term provides much motivation - why spend all those painful hours at the barre, but for the beauty of the fleeting moments spent in luminous, complex, patterns with other dancers? Still, for most of us, the daily challenge of learning benefits from some daily recognition.

We need someone to know us:

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After serving lunch, Mr. Worrell, known by all as Richard, roamed through the cafeteria chatting with the students. . . .

Mr. Worrell . . . knew every student’s name after just one introduction. In a school with 659 students, many of whom do not eat the school’s lunch, it was a feat that made many marvel.

“He knew not just the children’s names, he knew the parent’s names,” said Joyce Seares, co-president of the Parent Teacher Association.

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Do the staff where you are know the names of your students? Do you? Do you roam to connect informally with your students, especially the ones who you know could use some help, or do you wait for them to connect with you - “since it’s their responsibility?”

A small thing, perhaps, but simple. And appreciated, even after his untimely passing: after a song at the last spring concert was dedicated to him,

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“You could see the kids’ faces light up,” said Ms. Woods, the principal, recalling how they cheered, clapped and stomped their feet in Mr. Worrell’s honor. “He was P.S. 29. He epitomized the importance of relationships.”

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Learning is a complex process. It surely benefits from the evidence-based design of experiences matched to the learning objective at hand – but basic relationships are also fuel for learning.

Don’t forget the names!

 It is an undeniable fact that with the blending of economic/political spaces between countries and continued growth of international trade, the movement of people between countries is becoming more fluid. There is a steady increase in competition for talented global workforce and businesses are fast becoming increasingly aware that creating a cross cultural environment in the workplace is critical for its long-term success. As educators, it should be our goal to prepare our students to function in a multicultural world. It is important to remember that “cultural diversity” is more than just the languages spoken by our growing diverse student body. To create a better learning environment, we should develop an intellectual awareness of other cultures and how that can impact the learning process of the students.

As educators, we can incorporate global and multicultural components into course materials. As the global workforce becomes more blended, students who are sensitive to cultural diversity and global perspectives will make more valuable employees to employers.  Educational institutions need to ensure that course syllabus and materials contain more international/ globalized content.   It is essential to think global when selecting educational media/technology tools to enhance the courses as well as create the appropriate learning environments.

Educators need to consider the following components when engaging students:

•          Age

•          Gender

•          Race

•          Educational and socio-economic background

•          Work experience (for adult students)

•          Languages spoken

It is important to learn how to promote cultural diversity in a class because this will help the students learn to appreciate other cultures. Their belief in their own culture will be enriched and it will make them more open to diversity. This will also lead to less prejudice.

 With education being delivered in multiple modes i.e. face to face, blended and online, the task of promoting cultural diversity amongst the students requires different approaches. Online education can be perceived as a “detached” environment but this can be changed through more inter-active efforts by the instructors. Creating a caring and enjoyable learning environment will help keep our students motivated as well as reduce anxiety about being different or not as eloquent as the rest. We all know that being accepted has always been important in any environment, especially in an educational institution. Instructors can help reduce the student’s anxiety about being different and help “fit in”.

 USA and most nations around the World are fast becoming melting pots of cultures and it is important for educators to prepare our students to understand cultural diversity even if the students do not intend to seek employment overseas in the immediate future.

A friend once said, “Whether or not I have immediate plans to travel overseas, I always ensure that I have a valid passport”. So, whether or not our students are going to work in USA for a foreign company/workforce or work overseas, we need to prepare our students for changing times and changing workplace needs.

Last sunday’s New York Times “News of the Week in Review” had an article by Jacques Steinberg entitled “Plan B:Skip College”. He is reporting on a fairly short list of people, including Charles Murray, who are serious about capping postsecondary education opportunity for currently marginalized people — read poor and/or of color. I am always impressed when people who have a privilege, like a college education and degree, argue that those without that privilege really don’t need it. continue reading

I have been the founding president of both a community college and a state university. And in both cases, we (me, my co-workers, and the pioneering students at these schools) were subjected to the public skepticism that comes with making change.

·         It was a “waste of money”.

·         The colleges were “low quality”.

·         The learners were “not qualified to go to school.” 

This was, pure and simple, elitism masquerading as a concern for academic quality and fiscal restraint. But the naysayers were wrong. Today both institutions, and many others like them, are recognized as significant contributors to the social, civic, and economic health of their communities.  

As higher education’s private sector, flooded by hundreds of thousands of unemployed and under-employed Americans, steps up to help meet the President Obama’s educational goals, however, the naysayers are at it again, trying to scare people about the changes that are happening. Consider the recent Frontline story. If the dominant perspective lying behind this story were to prevail, the consequences would include:

·         the re-marginalization of hundreds of thousands American students,

·         the loss of a vital source of trained workers and more engaged citizens,

·         and the elimination of hundreds of thousands of jobs just when we need them the most.

But it won’t happen because, when the accurate story is told, including the contributions and the shortcomings of all higher education, including the private sector, common sense will dictate that we fix the problems and hold on to the successes. That’s the only hope we have of meeting the President’s graduation goals.

I, for one, believe that the “shock and dismay” exhibited by some about debt burdens and graduation rates is purposely slanted in an attempt to gain philosophical advantage in a political fight. Excessive debt and loan defaults are very serious problems. But, consider the following.

1.       The only way to meet President Obama’s goals is to succeed where we are currently failing, with millions of high-risk students.

·         In recessions, unemployed and underemployed people go back to school. So, millions of people have returned to school in the last three years. Most of them are, by definition, high-risk both academically and financially. 

·         At the same time, the President wants to dramatically increase college attainment. But the only way to do that is to reach out to those who have not been successful in college historically, people who are currently marginalized. They are, by definition, high-risk both academically and financially.

·         Conclusion:  the people going back to school in a recessionary environment are the newcomers the President wants us to serve.

2.       Low price public colleges are essential in the educational network, but private sector colleges have a significant contribution to make as well.

·         Public colleges receive public subsidies thus driving down their price to learners. This is a positive social benefit. But because of the recession and other constraints, most public colleges are overflowing with students and turning people away. In California alone it is estimated that more than 150,000 current students in community colleges who are nearing graduation will not get the courses they need to graduate this year.

·          Even in good economic times, the private sector’s nimbleness and service-orientation attract students who choose to pay a higher tuition because of the other services and personal attention they receive.

·         Where are these students, and the others who cannot be admitted to the state universities and community colleges, going to go? Or are we supposed to sit by and watch the “remarginalization” of hundreds of thousands of aspiring learners?

·         Conclusion: There is a huge access problem in the traditional sector.

3.       Private sector colleges are part of the solution.

·         Private sector colleges live by their tuition. Absent the huge state taxpayer subsidies received by traditional schools, they are higher cost to the students. 

·         Private sector colleges are attracting the very people who the president has targeted.

·         The Gates Foundation understands the importance of this role

·         Lumina Foundation understands the importance of this role

·         Many members of the Department of Education understand the importance of this role.

·         Conclusion: private sector colleges have the nimbleness, the quality, and the flexibility to step up and help with this critical national objective.

And that raises the point we should be focusing on. All of higher education – the private sector, community colleges, state colleges and universities, and private non-profit colleges – need to do a better job:

·         Of graduating the students who enroll.

·         Of advising students about the financial and economic consequences of the educational choices they make.

·         Of finding ways to pass more money through to reduced costs to the students, not to our bottom lines.

·         And, for obvious reasons, those of us who enroll the highest numbers of at-risk students - community colleges. Private sector institutions, and state colleges and universities - have the farthest to go.

Tainting the entire private sector with scary stories, however, while implying that the non-profit sector does a better job with the same students, is simply not accurate, by the numbers. This demonization is bad economics, bad education, and encourages an America with less educational and economic opportunity, just when we need more.

Conclusion: We are all in this fight for educational opportunity together. Let’s act that way.

In “Midnight Class Is Latest Sign of Higher Education’s Demand,” the Baltimore Sun reports on community colleges that are offering graveyard-shift classes, including a psychology class - “Midnight Madness” coming this fall from 12-3 a.m. at Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland. It certainly provides access and relieves pressure on crowded community college facilities. There’s nothing wrong with the concept and it creates some buzz. Classes in the middle of the night may be just the ticket for some. But … continue reading

A recent piece in the Los Angeles Times about three-year bachelor’s degree programs caught my eye. I recall once having computed that a law student offered a 24×7 class schedule could do all the work needed for a J.D. degree in a mere 40 days and 40 nights. Actually, it would take closer to a full six weeks. At the end of forty days, a student would be about seven class hours short, and then you’d have to factor in a little time for examinations and a midnight graduation ceremony that last night.

That was a handy factoid to know when I worked for the American Bar Association’s law school accreditation group and needed to talk with students who called to complain about the unreasonable accreditation rules, which were preventing them from taking N units in a particular semester - so they could graduate a bit early, or (more encouragingly) because there was so much to take that term. continue reading