Comments on: How to best package higher education http://www.theother85percent.com/2009/10/how-to-best-package-higher-education/ Working adults and the new world of higher education Thu, 20 Jan 2011 03:48:27 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Mike Offerman http://www.theother85percent.com/2009/10/how-to-best-package-higher-education/comment-page-1/#comment-17198 Mike Offerman Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:48:40 +0000 http://www.theother85percent.com/?p=208#comment-17198 Adrian, thanks for your comments. I certainly agree that there is a need for breadth as well as depth in what is learned and that a liberal education is a noble goal. But, I also think there is lots of redundancy in what we ultimately provide or expect in our educational programs. It would be nice not to have to "learn" the same things over and over. But, I suspect that the biggest barrier to accepting a modular or more granular approach has a lot to do with the back-office systems we have put together that are built on the assumptions that education occurs in 1-3 or more credit courses and the fact that folks just don't like change. It takes a good deal of courage to try something that challenges the entire higher education establishment that is built on a very fixed way of doing things. But, it is also fun, interesting and often quite liberating. So, I hope we can keep poking at this idea and see if there might actually be a way to do things better, even if differently. Thanks again, Mike Adrian, thanks for your comments. I certainly agree that there is a need for breadth as well as depth in what is learned and that a liberal education is a noble goal. But, I also think there is lots of redundancy in what we ultimately provide or expect in our educational programs. It would be nice not to have to “learn” the same things over and over.

But, I suspect that the biggest barrier to accepting a modular or more granular approach has a lot to do with the back-office systems we have put together that are built on the assumptions that education occurs in 1-3 or more credit courses and the fact that folks just don’t like change. It takes a good deal of courage to try something that challenges the entire higher education establishment that is built on a very fixed way of doing things. But, it is also fun, interesting and often quite liberating. So, I hope we can keep poking at this idea and see if there might actually be a way to do things better, even if differently.

Thanks again,

Mike

]]> By: Adrian http://www.theother85percent.com/2009/10/how-to-best-package-higher-education/comment-page-1/#comment-17058 Adrian Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:50:20 +0000 http://www.theother85percent.com/?p=208#comment-17058 I'm curious about modular learning as well. A faculty member at my community college suggested this approach for science courses and was promptly shut down. I don't fully understand the the reasons why it is so unpopular, but think you shed some light here. Oversight and assessment are not trivial concerns. Personally, I would love to have the option to skip parts of learning that I find redundant or dabble in others to explore an area of interest, however I suspect there would be some negative consequences. The result of a la carte education might be overspecialization and an "educated" population that has no foundation in classical subjects. I’m curious about modular learning as well. A faculty member at my community college suggested this approach for science courses and was promptly shut down. I don’t fully understand the the reasons why it is so unpopular, but think you shed some light here. Oversight and assessment are not trivial concerns.

Personally, I would love to have the option to skip parts of learning that I find redundant or dabble in others to explore an area of interest, however I suspect there would be some negative consequences. The result of a la carte education might be overspecialization and an “educated” population that has no foundation in classical subjects.

]]> By: Mike Offerman http://www.theother85percent.com/2009/10/how-to-best-package-higher-education/comment-page-1/#comment-15039 Mike Offerman Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:01:50 +0000 http://www.theother85percent.com/?p=208#comment-15039 Paul, thanks for taking the time to comment. Let us know if you examine the Kellogg program. Mike Paul, thanks for taking the time to comment. Let us know if you examine the Kellogg program.

Mike

]]> By: Randy Speck http://www.theother85percent.com/2009/10/how-to-best-package-higher-education/comment-page-1/#comment-15002 Randy Speck Wed, 14 Oct 2009 04:03:41 +0000 http://www.theother85percent.com/?p=208#comment-15002 It's an interesting point of view and one that I would be glad to have more discussion in. Openness to new and innovative ideas will at least get us some good debate. I have included a video my K-12 school produced illustrating a direction we would like to go highlighting the points expressed in the wonderful book, Disrupting Class. Although t isn't higher ed, I hope it illustrates a point of openness. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IynNGev7tVU It’s an interesting point of view and one that I would be glad to have more discussion in. Openness to new and innovative ideas will at least get us some good debate. I have included a video my K-12 school produced illustrating a direction we would like to go highlighting the points expressed in the wonderful book, Disrupting Class. Although t isn’t higher ed, I hope it illustrates a point of openness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IynNGev7tVU

]]> By: Paul http://www.theother85percent.com/2009/10/how-to-best-package-higher-education/comment-page-1/#comment-14978 Paul Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:53:44 +0000 http://www.theother85percent.com/?p=208#comment-14978 I think this is an interesting development, and it offers an opportunity for those with degrees to add to their skill set in a measurable way. It also extends the utility of our education system opens some real opportunities for implementing more technology in learning. I think you are right to voice concern over the management of such structures if they became commonplace. We don't want higher education to turn into a sort or merit badge-like process where students create their own lists and then check the boxes off. I think a gradual process toward a hybrid model is the most likely and desirable track for this. As far as my own personal interest is concerned, I'll have to look at Kellogg's program to see if I would find it useful. I could see how it might be useful in some of the sciences, particularly specific topic areas in mathematics. I think this is an interesting development, and it offers an opportunity for those with degrees to add to their skill set in a measurable way. It also extends the utility of our education system opens some real opportunities for implementing more technology in learning. I think you are right to voice concern over the management of such structures if they became commonplace. We don’t want higher education to turn into a sort or merit badge-like process where students create their own lists and then check the boxes off. I think a gradual process toward a hybrid model is the most likely and desirable track for this.

As far as my own personal interest is concerned, I’ll have to look at Kellogg’s program to see if I would find it useful. I could see how it might be useful in some of the sciences, particularly specific topic areas in mathematics.

]]>