Educational Question of the Year Comments
The following comments are reproduced from our discussion of the "Educational Question of the Year." They have been featured as an entry in order to include them in the publication of the COPPER Blog Book.
What knowledge or skills will students need most to be effective citizens of our world in the future?
As a nursing professor in a community college, I find that the most useful knowledge or skill that our students need is the art of critical thought and the ability to learn how to access resources. In this rapidly changing healthcare environment, it is expected that the new nurse comes to the table with technical ability and expertise in the safe performance of nursing duties. The missing part of this scenario is that this inexperience leads to the potential for error. Without the past experience to draw from, this new nurse must rely on others to assist and guide the process of learning. Unfortunately, many of these novice nurses begin their jobs on the night shift where there are few seasoned peers to help them make critical decisions that could impact patient care. Therefore, we, as teachers, need to teach these students when to ask for help and how to find answers to their questions. Without this learned ability, many a new nurse may find that the job is too overwhelming and stressful and will opt leave the nursing field all together. With the critical nursing shortage we have now in our nation, it is imperative that each nursing educator arm her students with survival tools for their future nursing careers.
Posted by: Susan Stone | May 04, 2005 at 08:53 AM
I am grateful to Susan Stone for sharing her insightful comments on nursing education. Her response to the 'educational question of the year' highlights the problems that novice nurses face when they enter the healthcare profession. I agree with her suggestion that nursing education should foster critical thinking skills and socialize students to ask for help. I also think we shouldn't let our community partners (hospitals etc.) off the hook.....possibly they could provide more support for the newly graduated nurse...mentoring programs etc.
Another thought would be to get some input from Patricia Benner....She is directing the Study of Nursing Education at Carnegie....also, she wrote the book that captures this problem..... From Novice to Expert....
Posted by: Marie Ryder | May 10, 2005 at 01:35 PM
The National Council of Teachers of English in partnership with a number of other organizations is planning a conference on 21st century skills for Fall 2006, so I am very interested in what contributors to this blog identify as important for what students need know how to do and be.
Having recently read Etienne Wenger's Learning for a Small Planet, I am intrigued by his "curriculum for meaningfulness" that would include the following experiences:
experience of localized depth
experience of boundary crossing
experience of time depth
experience of time dislocation
experience of cultural dislocation
experience of agency and power,
experience of scale.
He summarizes, "I would suspect that one needs at least one serious, transformative experience of each kind to be a full participant in the 21st century."
Real food for thought as we consider how we contribute to structuring educational experiences for students.
Posted by: Barbara Cambridge | August 15, 2005 at 11:33 AM
As I read the above comments and remember last semester's research papers, I find myself agreeing that students need transformative experiences, and that these experiences often help them hone their critical thought processes and research skills. (Though most students equate critical thinking with pit bull inquiry -- “Why? Who says? How come?”)
However, I also think we as educators must remember that transformations aren't always accompanied by lightning bolts. It's often the quiet encouragement of a caring professor or continued success through hard work that provide fertile ground for growth. Community colleges are perfectly placed to provide students with the skills so necessary for success in the ever increasing complexity of the 21st century. Let’s not forget that even when we’re buried under the five class schedule or a work-to-rule order, taking the time to encourage and require excellence make the difference for our students.
Posted by: Dona Cady | September 02, 2005 at 06:29 PM
What knowledge or skills will students need most to be effective citizens of our world in the future?
I know I’m echoing Barbara Cambridge and others when I say that I think that interdisciplinary critical thinking and problem solving, which requires the ability to locate and use resources as necessary, along with a willingness to think and act globally and “out of the box” present the biggest challenges for us in higher education. The reason that I think that these understandings and skills present us with the greatest challenges is because I believe it is difficult, though not impossible, to nurture the development of skills and attitudes that one does not him or herself possess, and many of us are products of an educational system that valued “following the rules” over “thinking outside of the box”. I started my education in Catholic schools, and quite clearly remember being punished by having to sit under the desk for having been too active and talkative in KINDERGARTEN! Certainly times have changed, but I, along with my same-age colleagues, are all products of those times and similar educational practices. As an undergraduate education major, I learned how to “manage a classroom”, create thematic bulletin board displays, and present content. I do not remember learning how to engage students in the process of learning, create ill-defined problems for them to work collaboratively to solve, nor how to create multiple and varied opportunities for them to demonstrate their learning. I do remember learning how to create multiple choice tests and use student grades as a mechanism for feedback to students regarding their learning process.
As a community college faculty developer and adjunct faculty member, I am particularly concerned with our role in preparing our students to take leadership, as opposed to “worker bee” roles in the future. Certainly we need employees as well as employers, but I worry that many of our students are products of K-12 learning experiences where the only way to succeed was to “follow the rules”, and by the time they reach us, they have become passive “consumers” of the educational experience, seeking the credentials necessary for employment, rather than the critical thinking capacity necessary to lead. I believe it is our particular challenge, as community college educators, to provide our students with the kinds of relevant learning experiences that require their active participation and demand that they learn to articulate, in multiple formats, as well as defend, their thought processes.
Posted by: Elise Martin | September 06, 2005 at 12:22 PM
One of the biggest challenges facing Americans in general and American students is truly feeling like a member of a global community. We are proud to be Americans, rightly so, but we need to feel tangibly connected to people in India, China, Palestine, Pakistan, South Africa and many other places. We need to believe that we share experiences with these people, that their successes and failures are allied to our successes and failures and that we are responsible for their lives as they are for ours.
The alternative, believing that we are separate--better, smarter, more deserving-- has been a dangerous ideology historically.
Our students will work with people who have grown up in others countries and cultures. They need to see this as a plus and realize that the American way of doing things is not the only way and not the best way. Learning about the native, grass-roots HIV/AIDS prevention and education effort in the townships of South Africa or the documentation of Pol Pot's regime by Cambodian artist Van Nath brings a powerful realization--that there are courageous, intelligent, moral and insightful people beyond our borders.
Posted by: Jan Arabas | September 15, 2005 at 11:43 AM
It seems to be part of human nature to initially reject others whom we perceive as being different from ourselves. Our students need to be prepared to accept and work cooperatively with others who are not similar to themselves. They need knowledge of other cultures, and should realize that their own personal assumptions about basics like time, space, and interpersonal relations won't necessarily match with those of someone from another location in our global community. If our students learn to suspend judgment and work around any barriers, they will be prepared to work transnationally in our increasingly interconnected world.
Posted by: Darlene Furdock | September 27, 2005 at 02:00 PM
Great discussion...
An effective citizen should realize that the truth is not so easily arrived at but which everyone believes they know and therefore reality must be an illusion (BEAUTY (and TRUTH) IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER).
This in itself is TRANSFORMATIVE. How do we get there? As educators we need to provide those seeds for growth. We need to be transformed. The key is MINDFULNESS.
We need to become aware of how our minds work, how we deal with the myriad of responses we make each day. Then we need to change the direction of the ship we call Public Higher Education in this state.
We need radical changes in our thinking and unfortunately there are few, if any, signs that this is happening.
Posted by: George Medelinskas | October 25, 2005 at 08:41 AM
What knowledge or skills will students need most to be effective citizens of our world in the future?
It may very well be that what our students need most we are ill-suited to provide: a sense of certainty, a feeling of stability, and an assurance that meaning can found in the chaos that dominates and defines our world today. As an English professor, at ease with textual ambiguity and skeptical of reductive readings, I can hardly simplify things for my students. But this brings me squarely to my point: perhaps our students need to be at home with difficulty, with complexity that strains the mind and heart. If we say to our students that the problems awaiting them will probably call upon multiple approaches and upon an easiness with not knowing one-size-fits-solutions, we are doing them a service. But we can't stop there: we need to endow our students with habits of thinking that are highly complex and anything but dualistic. Don't dis difficulty, let's tell them; embrace it and learn.
Posted by: Howard Tinberg | January 30, 2006 at 02:48 PM
Comments in response to Carol Cowan’s featured entry:
One of the biggest challenges facing Americans in general and American students is truly feeling like a member of a global community. We are proud to be Americans, rightly so, but we need to feel tangibly connected to people in India, China, Palestine, Pakistan, South Africa and many other places. We need to believe that we share experiences with these people, that their successes and failures are allied to our successes and failures and that we are responsible for their lives as they are for ours.
The alternative, believing that we are separate--better, smarter, more deserving-- has been a dangerous ideology historically.
Posted by: Jan Arabas | September 15, 2005 at 11:29 AM
Building on Carole's points--re: globalization and lifelong learning.
Historically, influence of globalization has been from US and other countries in the Global North towards those in the South (LA, Southeast Asia, Africa). Increasingly, it's going the other way--not only in fields such as textiles and agriculture, but also in software engineering and on-line technical advice. The latter are being outsourced to India, for example. What are implications for US practitioners in the field and for how we educate them? Enrollment of foreign students in US educational institutions is also dropping dramatically--a de facto brain drain that may increase movement of high-value jobs overseas.
Second, regarding Carole's point on need for lifelong learning. To her list, I'd add that students--and current job-holders--should pay attention to their involvement in "communities of practice" in their chosen fields. It is through peer relationships with colleagues on the job--shared experiences, peer coaching, conversations, story-telling, problem solving, support--that we go beyond the textbook to gain deep expertise. It is by participation in our professional networks that we gain reputation and job leads. Your community--your network of colleagues--is what will be a constant when you leave one organization for another. So, who's your community now? How strong are your relationships? How well do they support your own learning, opportunities, and sense of connectedness? Latter is important: it accelerates learning, makes it fun, and often we find our best friends through sustained collegial relationships.
Posted by: Bill Snyder | October 05, 2005 at 04:03 PM
Continuing to build upon what Carole and others have said but with an eye toward thinking locally in a global context.. It is clear that the combined forces of technology, global economics and demographics are dramatically changing the world and communities that we live in. It will be critical that we adapt to these forces and learn to make connections and be responsive through building competencies in education, business and at the community level. It will be more important than ever to have individuals become involved in their communities. I would encourage students to become engaged in issues that effect their environment, values and socio-economic well-being. Working in "collaboration" versus "isolation" is critical in today's political and economic environment. Educational opportunities that provide for understanding the strategic interplay between governments, educational institutions, businesses, non-profit organizations, and community sectors is vital to a student's understanding of this ever changing world; and hopefully inspire individuals to be apart of building sustainable economies and livable communities.
Posted by: Michael Creasey | October 24, 2005 at 05:42 PM
From a concrete perspective. . .Building upon the ideas that have been expressed by Carole and others such as the importance of working in “collaboration” versus “isolation”, it is critical that we give students the opportunity to acquire public speaking skills as well as writing skills to articulate their ideas, influence and persuade others, and truly contribute to collaborative endeavors. We need to encourage students to share their ideas effortlessly and enthusiastically both in front of a group and in collegial settings. Communications skills are essential to effectively contribute to an organization and a community. When students find their voices, they can give life to their ideas and convictions, participate in our democracy, and enrich society.
Posted by: Susan Kavanaugh | October 28, 2005 at 12:18 PM
Comment in response to John Chafee’s featured entry:
What a thought-provoking analysis of an issue we all wrestle with in the classroom! There's good material here for my Day 1 orientations to Management and Human Resources courses. It is essential that managers and HR professionals view issues from a variety of perspectives, solve problems and make informed decisions, analyze complex issues, establish goals and plans on how to get there . . . in short, manifest all of the "specific abilities" that you posit for critical thinkers! Well said!
Posted by: Robert D. Lewallen | October 24, 2005 at 10:37 AM
Comment in response to Ellen Langer’s featured entry:
Ellen Langer's statement "mindlessness is at the root of virtually all of our society's problems" weighs heavily on me. I ask myself how can I take a mindful approach to Math teaching and help the students learn in a mindful way? I agree that "having students think about and apply the material as they encounter it, they are able to demonstrate greater understanding, increased ability to apply concepts, and better retention".
In Mathematics, at the lower level, it is relatively easy to mix theory with applications. But at the higher levels, it is hard to present and work with meaningful applications to complex theorems in the classroom setting within the timeframe of a semester.
Maybe instead, we can help students develop a self-awareness of how they learn Math and what the stumbling blocks to their learning may be.
Posted by: Hayat Weiss | November 15, 2005 at 08:00 AM
Comment in response to John Saltmarsh’s featured entry:
As two leaders who have developed and coordinated the service learning program at Middlesex Community College, we would like to respond to the issue raised in John’s article, which is “students need to have civic learning outcomes as part of their education across the disciplines” We believe the answer to be yes, and would like to tell you why.
With over 13 years of experience, we have guided students in their academic learning experience as they have met vital community needs.
Service-learning at MCC is now responding to the changing face of national service by incorporating a broader civic engagement focus. With the resources from a three-year Learn and Serve grant, Middlesex Community College and Lowell National Historical Park in Lowell, MA have joined together to form The Lowell Civic Collaborative (TLC).
The implicit goal of this initiative is to invigorate the SL program and to redefine its emphasis to be more closely and explicitly aligned with civic engagement themes. Thirty one Liberal Arts and Science faculty have received substantial professional development monies to support civic engagement curricula development.
In addition to faculty support, one of the most exciting parts of The Lowell Civic Collaborative has been the opportunity to offer students, faculty and staff opportunities to participate in citizen gatherings. In October 2005, over 170 participants were involved in a civic dialogue supported by McNeil/Lehrer By the People-America Program. Participants gathered to discuss the question, “What knowledge or skills will students need most to be effective citizens in our world in the future? “
The most common response by all was the need for compassion and respect toward others. Many agreed on the need to develop respect, tolerance and compassion as well as being responsible, having good work ethics, the ability to compromise and work on teams.
Additional responses include:
*having reading and writing skills, the ability to adapt to technological changes,
*having math skills including money management
*the importance of learning a trade
*a knowledge of the world around them
*knowledge of how all levels of American government work, voting and the election process
*knowledge of social change – how we can get things to really happen.
*The importance of having an education, having an understanding of the economy
*understanding different cultures and languages and learning why people act the way they do.
In two years of hearing directly from students, we have learned they do genuinely care about their communities, but often are unsure where to start to make change and how to take on a leadership role. They often feel they do not have a voice, but when given the opportunity to express ideas, they do so.
There’s no doubt that civic learning outcomes are important in education, as Saltmarsh believes, and from our work with students we are convinced higher education has an obligation to give students the civic skills and knowledge to be effective citizens in the future.
Sheri Denk, MCC Service Learning Coordinator
Geralyn Vasile, MCC Service Learning Coordinator 1993-2000, and The Lowell Civic Collaborative Program Associate, Present
Posted by: Sheri Denk & Geralyn Vasile | February 16, 2006 at 12:03 PM