Today’s news headlines are filled with startling reports about U. S. higher education. Calls for dramatically reduced cost are paired with critiques of higher education outcomes, demands for jobs for graduates, and images of online learning (especially the massive open online course or MOOC) as the new magic bullet that will remake our system of higher education by bringing learning to the masses for free. But what do these developments have to do with institutions that focus on liberal education? How are liberal arts colleges and universities preserving a focus on their key missions and goals during a time of dramatic change in higher education?
This workshop will focus on technology-enabled disruptions challenging the traditional high touch liberal arts model—e.g., the massive open online course or MOOC, blended learning, big data, the globally networked world, etc.—and investigate creative responses that adapt these disruptions in service to the essential learning outcomes and high impact practices of liberal education. Participants will discuss disruptive innovations, examine cases of adaption to the liberal education context, and consider how they might implement such adaptions at their own institutions.
HMCS Max Bernays Pre-Deployment Brief (May 2024).pptx
Using Disruption to Stay on Course (for Liberal Education)
1. Using Disruption to Stay on Course!
2014 Annual Meeting #aacu14!
Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)!
2. Liberal Education in a Networked World!
• Rebecca Frost Davis, Director of Instructional and
Emerging Technology, St. Edward’s University!
• Fellow, National Institute for Technology in Liberal
Education (NITLE)!
– Intercampus Teaching!
• Digital Humanities and Undergraduate Education!
• Digital Pedagogy in the Humanities: Models, Keywords,
and Prototypes!
• http://rebeccafrostdavis.wordpress.com !
• @frostdavis #aacu14!
3. Agenda!
2:00 PM
2:30 PM
!
3:00 PM
!
3:30 PM
3:45 PM
!
4:30 PM
!Introductions!
!Presentation: Mapping the Landscape of
!Disruption!
!Reflection: What is the most significant !
!disruption for your campus?!
!Break (Independence Foyer)!
!Breakout Discussions: Disruption & Liberal
!Education!
!Final Discussion!
4. Disruptive Innovation!
• A process by which a product
or service takes root initially in
simple applications at the
bottom of a market and then
relentlessly moves up market,
eventually displacing
established competitors !
• http://www.claytonchristensen.com/
key-concepts/ !
19. Big (Learning) Data!
• Improve learning
resources based on
usage data!
• How do you achieve
scale?!
• How do you adapt
resources to your
context?!
20. Blended Learning
in a Liberal Arts Setting!
• Bryn Mawr College, NGLC grant-funded program!
• “Using Blended Learning in a Liberal Arts
Environment to Improve Developmental and
Gatekeeper STEM Course Completion, Persistence,
and College Completion” !
• Open Learning Initiative modules!
• http://nextgenlearning.blogs.brynmawr.edu/!
21. Outcomes!
• Student preparation = better student-faculty
interaction!
– Metacognition!
• Assessment data for learning analytics!
• Mastery vs. grades!
22. Challenges!
• Uneven availability of resources!
– OLI had poor coverage of economics, biology,
geology, chemistry, developmental math!
• Start-up costs: time to find, evaluate, apply &
integrate computer-based materials!
• Doesn’t apply in every case, e.g., basic math
skills!
23. Creating Resources!
• Spohrer (Bryn Mawr) reports 50 hours!
• Collaborative Projects from ACS!
– Analyzing and Creating Maps!
– Beyond the (Online) Handbook: Writing Resources
Designed for the Digital Environment!
24. Participatory Culture!
• Low barriers to artistic expression and civic
engagement !
• Strong support for creating and sharing one’s
creations!
• Informal mentorship by most experienced for
novices!
• Members believe their contributions matter!
• Some degree of social connection!
Henry Jenkins, Confronting the Challenges of Participatory
Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century!
!
29. World is Flat!
• Global access to information & people!
• Creating citizens & workers for this context!
• Challenges!
– Vs. residential liberal arts experience or immersive
study abroad experience!
– Developing skills in this context!
– Communicating across domains!
30. High
Impact
Prac.ces
(Kuh)
• First-‐Year
Seminars
and
Experiences
• Common
Intellectual
Experience
• Learning
Communi5es
• Wri5ng-‐Intensive
Courses
• Collabora5ve
Assignments
and
Projects
• Undergraduate
Research
• Diversity/Global
Learning
• Service
Learning,
Community-‐Based
Learning
• Internships
• Capstone
Courses
and
Projects
31. Situating the Global Environment!
• Lewis & Clark College!
• https://sge.lclark.edu/ !
• Jim Proctor,
“Situated Social Learning”!
• Interdisciplinary
environmental research!
• Situated research!
– Local focus on global issues!
36. Prototype!
• An early sample, model or release of a product
built to test a concept or process or to act as a
thing to be replicated or learned from!
• Prototyping serves to provide specifications for a
real, working system rather than a theoretical
one.!
• from πρῶτος (protos), "first" and τύπος (typos),
"impression"!
37. Individual Reflection!
• What other disruptions are there?!
• What opportunities do you see? !
– Identify a model or suggest a prototype!
• What challenges does your campus or institution
face? !
• Which disruptions could be adapted or
redirected to meet challenges on your campus or
at your institution? !
• What would have to change?!
38. Breakout Discussions:
Choose One Disruption!
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Big Data or Information Explosion!
Gaming!
Globally Networked World!
MOOC (Massive Open Online Course)!
Networked Learning!
Online Education!
Open Educational Resources (OER)!
Participatory Cultures!
39. Discuss!
1. What is the nature of this disruption? What
threat does it present to liberal education? !
2. Can you achieve liberal education learning
outcomes or practice high impact practices in
this context? Does this disruption change liberal
education? If so, how?!
3. Can this disruption work for liberal education on
your campus? How would you implement it/
have you already implemented it?!
40. Prototype!
1. Design a prototype based on this disruption that
would advance the goals of liberal education.
You can adapt a model suggested earlier or
come up with something completely new.!
2. Who is the intended audience, e.g., traditional
or non-traditional undergrads, grad, residential
or online, etc.?!
41. Prototype!
3. How would this prototype be received by
different stakeholders, e.g., students, faculty,
staff, administrators, trustees, etc.? How could
you address their concerns or use them as
champions?!
4. How would this prototype impact different areas
on campus, e.g., curriculum, learning
outcomes, faculty development, academic
support services, student life, other initiatives
on campus or various schools? !