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

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!

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

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

Even as the recession eases, we are confronted by two realities: state budgets that are deeply in the red and a rising demand for higher education. The President says we need more success in higher education to stay economically viable. and learners are voting with their feet, returning to school in record numbers.  If, however, our objective is to open higher education to more qualified and capable people, and to succeed with them, what is the actual impact of the recession and state budget deficits on most students and colleges? continue reading

President Obama has sent a strong and badly needed  message of philosophical and financial support for community colleges. But they, and their students, are still in deep trouble in many states whose economic recovery is key to the national economic recovery, including California and Florida. continue reading

“Ignorance isn’t bliss. Rather, education is.”
— Catherine Rampell, NYT, 2/18/2010

As reported by the The New York Times, Richard Florida, author of the The Rise of the Creative Class and director of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and his colleague Charlotta Mellander have done some analysis that shows a correlation between educational attainment (earning a bachelor’s degree) and the sense of well-being. This is only a correlation, of course, but apparently it is a stronger correlation than:

* wages
* unemployment
* output per capita

Interesting!

This article was cross-posted at the Innovations Lab Blog.