Steve Ransom on 2009-09-28
Hear hear!
This link has been bookmarked by 12 people and liked by 1 people. It was first bookmarked on 28 Sep 2009, by Steve Ransom.
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01 Oct 09
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30 Sep 09
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By respecting students as thinkers and meeting them where they are, we set the stage for good pedagogy and take a critical first step toward rebuilding the public's trust.
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Even the best teachers will not convert every student into a lifelong learner who embraces knowledge for its own sake. That is a commitment that must come from within; it is an intentional decision to swim against powerful cultural and economic currents.
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29 Sep 09
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that the change has been a long time coming
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paying little heed as the American populace shifted from widespread respect for the academy to considerable skepticism of it.
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"It is imperative that someone studying this generation realize that we have the world at our fingertips — and the world has been at our fingertips for our entire lives
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I found few in awe of their institutions or faculty, many averse to lectures, and most ambivalent about anyone's knowledge claims other than their own
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It simply means that they arrive at college with well-established methods of sorting, doubting, or ignoring the same.
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indeed, it is inseparably conjoined with personal economics
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one who appears polite and dutiful but who cares little about the course work, the larger questions it raises, or the value of living an examined life
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The onus is on us to better convey the value that a robust intellectual life adds to the public good.
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Specifically, we must respect students as thinkers,
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wering the lofty opinion we hold of ourselves and accepting the public obligation that our privileged position entails.
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28 Sep 09
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"It is imperative that someone studying this generation realize that we have the world at our fingertips — and the world has been at our fingertips for our entire lives. I think this access to information seriously undermines this generation's view of authority, especially traditional scholastic authority." Today's students know full well that authorities can be found for every position and any knowledge claim, and consequently the students are dubious (privately, that is) about anything we claim to be true or important.
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Of course, this new epistemology does not imply that our students have become skilled arbiters of information and interpretation. It simply means that they arrive at college with well-established methods of sorting, doubting, or ignoring the same. That, by itself, is not troubling. Many professors encourage students to question authority, and would welcome more who challenged and debated ideas. But this new epistemology carries some heavy baggage — indeed, it is inseparably conjoined with personal economics. Short of fame or a lottery win, today's students recognize that a college degree is the minimum credential they will need to attain their desired standard of living (and hence "happiness"). So this new epistemology produces a rather odd kind of student — one who appears polite and dutiful but who cares little about the course work, the larger questions it raises, or the value of living an examined life. And it produces such students in overwhelming abundance.
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we must respect students as thinkers, even though their thinking skills may be undeveloped and their knowledge base shallow. Moreover, our respect must be genuine. Students have keen hypocrisy sensors and do not like being patronized.
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transparent
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It is not just residential-college students who live in a bubble — many faculty members do as well.
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Steve RansomAn excellent read for those interested... and those who need a kick in the pants re: engaging meaningfully a new culture of students, especially in higher education.
highered highereducation change paradigmshift lecture students studentcentered
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Good pedagogy is the product of instructors who respect, understand, and creatively engage their students.
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make transparent
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I am asking instructors to see the two questions that the new epistemology emblazons across the front of every classroom — "So what?" and "Who cares?" — and then to adjust their teaching accordingly.
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show no patience for lectures
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Good pedagogy is the product of instructors who respect, understand, and creatively engage their students.
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except for the occasional late bloomer, we fail miserably at creating sustained intellectual fires among the vast majority of our practical, credential-driven students.
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better and more widely achievable educational goal should therefore be to inculcate a respect for learning and the pursuit of knowledge.
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public scholarship
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Public Stiky Notes
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