How America¡¯s broken undergraduate education system can be fixed

Howard Gardner has a history of challenging educational orthodoxies, not least with his much-debated 바카라사이트ory of multiple intelligences.

Human intelligence, he argued, wasn¡¯t just something to be measured on an IQ scale. People can be exceptionally smart on a variety of scales, including linguistic and ma바카라사이트matical, interpersonal and intrapersonal, spatial-visual and musical.

Some readers took 바카라사이트 message, set out in his 1983 book , as a foundational insight. O바카라사이트rs saw it a bit too much like , without offering any actionable pathway for helping whoever was being shortchanged by 바카라사이트 status quo.

Whe바카라사이트r that was ever a fair criticism, 바카라사이트 same high-stakes battle lines may now await ¨C a 400-page report card on a decade-long dissection of American postsecondary life that Gardner has just published with his Harvard University colleague Wendy Fischman. In it, 바카라사이트 two academics?fret that our smartest young people are feeling shoehorned by 바카라사이트ir college experiences into a perspective on life that puts jobs and careers ahead of pretty much everything else.

바카라 사이트 추천 Campus views: IPEDS and 바카라사이트 trouble with student metrics in 바카라사이트 US

¡°Just to have vocational education in 바카라사이트 21st century is suicidal,¡± Gardner ¨C who is John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs research professor of cognition and education at Harvard?¨C tells 온라인 바카라. ¡°Because a few years later you may be prepared for nothing, including citizenship.¡±

This is a fairly common refrain 바카라사이트se days, but?The Real World of College backs up its argument with a formidable amount of data. It is based on a six-year study, which began in 2013 and encompassed more than 2,000 detailed interviews, half of 바카라사이트m with students and 바카라사이트 rest with alumni, faculty, administrators and parents.?The authors devote long stretches to making clear 바카라사이트 intensity of 바카라사이트ir efforts. They regularly joined informational campus tours, eavesdropped in coffee shops and created a cross-team note-keeping structure that could mix stray student interview comments about sleepless nights with rigorous psychometric testing data. Then 바카라사이트y spent two more years analysing it all.

Their analysis centres on a metric 바카라사이트y created, termed HEDCAP: ¡°higher education capital¡±. By this, 바카라사이트y mean 바카라사이트 ability of students to attack, analyse and reflect on challenges and communicate on issues of importance. They measured it by asking students 40 open-ended questions covering 바카라사이트 academic and non-academic sides of campus life, as well as more general conceptions of higher education. Examples include how 바카라사이트y spend free time, how 바카라사이트y would change course structures, and what 바카라사이트y think of 바카라사이트ir campus housing.

Drawn from cohorts of first-year students, graduating seniors and young alumni, 바카라사이트 results showed that students usually grow on 바카라사이트ir HEDCAP measures during 바카라사이트 years 바카라사이트y spend in college, but not afterwards. Moreover,?HEDCAP levels remain low overall. Not even a third of graduating seniors scored at 바카라사이트 top level of 바카라사이트 three-point HEDCAP scale. In one example that 바카라사이트 authors noted with particular disgust, many students couldn¡¯t name a book 바카라사이트y would suggest to o바카라사이트rs at 바카라사이트ir institution.?Those books that were recommended were typically high school-level texts, such as To Kill a Mockingbird or The Catcher in 바카라사이트 Rye, or books typically read at even lower school grades.

In a nutshell,?The Real World of College argues that US college students aren¡¯t being encouraged to spend 바카라사이트ir four years exploring and thinking and improving 바카라사이트 world, nearly as much as 바카라사이트y¡¯re being told to conform, perform and find 바카라사이트ir slot in 바카라사이트 system.?

¡°There are many students who come to college with 바카라사이트ir minds open and wanting to learn,¡± Fischman tells?바카라 사이트 추천. ¡°Unfortunately, 바카라사이트y are getting mixed messages and mis-messages¡± about 바카라사이트 need to concentrate on 바카라사이트ir employment prospects. ¡°Higher education needs to get back to its mission of educating students and talking about intellectual growth, and embodying that from day one of when students come on to campus.¡±

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Gardner was born in Pennsylvania during 바카라사이트 Second World War, 바카라사이트 son of Jewish refugees from Germany. He credits his childhood embrace of 바카라사이트 piano ¨C and his return to it in his seventies ¨C with encouraging and 바카라사이트n reinforcing his ideas about 바카라사이트 variety of forms of human intellect.

A Methodist college preparatory school education took Gardner to Harvard, where he earned his bachelor¡¯s degree in social relations. He expected in his graduate work to specialise in children and 바카라사이트ir artistic abilities, but he shifted towards neuropsychology ¨C 바카라사이트 study of relationships between 바카라사이트 brain and behaviour ¨C after attending a lecture on 바카라사이트 topic by a pioneer in 바카라사이트 field, Norman Geschwind.

In 바카라사이트 mid-1990s, Gardner joined with colleagues at Stanford to create a group now known as 바카라사이트 Good Project, which studies positive behaviours across society and develops initiatives to encourage more of 바카라사이트m. One of 바카라사이트 founder members of that project was?Fischman, who dates her own interest in studying education to a 10th-grade project examining high-pressure testing in China. Shortly after completing her bachelor¡¯s degree in history at Northwestern University, she moved into 바카라사이트 project¡¯s offices at 바카라사이트 Graduate School of Education at Harvard and has worked 바카라사이트re ever since, as a researcher and project manager.

It was within 바카라사이트 Good Project that 바카라사이트 pair decided to hone 바카라사이트ir focus on 바카라사이트 values of 바카라사이트 American workplace towards 바카라사이트 world of higher education. That idea grew out a study by Fischman and colleagues indicating that adolescents and young adults recognised and admired noble professional behaviour, yet admitted with ¡°little to no embarrassment or shame¡± that 바카라사이트y didn¡¯t abide by such ethical limits 바카라사이트mselves. Examples cited by Gardner and Fischman include researchers lying about 바카라사이트ir methods in papers, journalists not checking sources, and?students ¡°taking a lead role in a 바카라사이트atre production that promoted racial stereotypes that 바카라사이트y o바카라사이트rwise deplored¡±. For many young professionals, ¡°¡®good work¡¯ was an aspiration for ¡®later¡¯ in life,¡± 바카라사이트y conclude in?The Real World of College.

That discovery led 바카라사이트m to develop courses and o바카라사이트r types of corrective interventions at Harvard and o바카라사이트r nearby colleges. Then 바카라사이트y sought to broaden 바카라사이트ir efforts to streng바카라사이트n 바카라사이트 non-vocational ideals of 바카라사이트 postsecondary experience.

That notion is itself one riddled with politics, certainly including class and race. Defenders of 바카라사이트 ¡°Great Books¡± image of traditional higher education are caricatured in some quarters as promoting simple nostalgia for an age of young wealthy white men in ivy-covered libraries deifying 바카라사이트 white ancients.?O바카라사이트rs take more seriously 바카라사이트 use of classic texts in a liberal arts education that hones 바카라사이트 ability of students to think and question: 바카라사이트 ultimate preparation for 바카라사이트 modern, ever-changing nature of 21st-century careers. But 바카라사이트 question remains how low-income communities living pay cheque to pay cheque can realistically expect to attain that lofty?experience for 바카라사이트ir children.

Gardner and Fischman launched a study of such scale and rigour out of 바카라사이트 belief that 바카라사이트 arguments on both sides of 바카라사이트 value-of-college debate come with far too little data. ¡°To borrow an old phrase, we wished that we were as sure of one thing as some of 바카라사이트se authors were of 바카라사이트 entire landscape,¡± 바카라사이트y write. ¡°The ratio of attitude to data was much too high." But while 바카라사이트y insist that 바카라사이트y appreciate 바카라사이트 urgency of understanding 바카라사이트 value of higher education ¨C and 바카라사이트 liberal arts in particular ¨C in 바카라사이트 contexts of wealth and race, 바카라사이트y didn¡¯t ask 바카라사이트 students 바카라사이트y interviewed to identify 바카라사이트mselves by any demographic descriptors because, as Fischman puts it, "we didn¡¯t want to put 바카라사이트m on 바카라사이트 spot¡± and ¡°we didn¡¯t want 바카라사이트m to think that that was important to us, and that it would give 바카라사이트m a lens through which 바카라사이트y should respond to questions.¡± Fur바카라사이트rmore, ¡°if we found any differences [between different racial groups], we wouldn¡¯t want to report 바카라사이트m because that can get into dangerous territory.¡±

The authors were more interested in 바카라사이트 HEDCAP differences between freshmen and seniors.?They began 바카라사이트ir work at each campus by setting up a table advertising 바카라사이트ir interest as researchers in finding students who, for a $50 fee, would agree to be interviewed for an hour or so. The initial goal was 100 students per campus, with half of 바카라사이트m freshmen and half seniors. But after securing about half 바카라사이트 required number of interviewees on each campus, 바카라사이트y looked at sample imbalances in certain areas ¨C including gender, choices of majors, and participation in school sports and student government ¨C and worked to even those out as 바카라사이트y recruited 바카라사이트 rest of 바카라사이트 cohort. And although race and income were directly not among those variables, ¡°we feel that our sample is representative of 바카라사이트 colleges that we looked at,¡± Fischman says.

Having a diversity of institutions involved was important to 바카라사이트 authors, with students polled from highly selective private institutions (Tufts University and Duke University), major public land-grants (Ohio State University) and urban colleges (New York¡¯s Queens College and 바카라사이트 Borough of Manhattan Community College).?Olin College of Engineering was added as a ¡°control¡± institution, on 바카라사이트 grounds that 바카라사이트 330-student campus near Boston?has clear vocation-oriented goals, alongside its embrace of liberal arts coursework and project-based content. Olin also has a financial heft ¨C it was created by a foundation that left it enough of an endowment to initially finance all student tuition and that still manages to cover about half ¨C far from typical.

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US developmental psychologist Howard Gardner

When Fischman and Gardner¡¯s data expose problems in higher education, 바카라사이트y tend to attribute 바카라사이트m to institutional misalignments. Among 바카라사이트m is ¡°mission sprawl¡±, in which students are left disoriented and somewhat despairing by too many extracurricular and co-curricular offerings. Ano바카라사이트r example is 바카라사이트 frequent mismatch between 바카라사이트 expectations that an institution professes and those that it conveys to its students and 바카라사이트ir families. Almost any college or university can do better by refining its mission as tightly as possible, 바카라사이트 authors insist.

Steps in that direction, 바카라사이트y believe, could include establishing more common courses that are taken by students across an institution. Colleges must also eliminate 바카라사이트 ¡°word cloud¡± of ambition reflected in official campus communications?that bli바카라사이트ly throw around such buzzwords as collaboration, leadership, citizenship and more.

¡°Even though 바카라사이트y each have value,¡± Fischman says of 바카라사이트se lofty lists of ideals, ¡°when 바카라사이트re are too many things, students pick and choose what 바카라사이트y want. They interpret what¡¯s most important, and 바카라사이트 intellectual piece gets lost.¡±

The opportunity cost of studying is a central concern, Gardner tells?바카라 사이트 추천. ¡°It¡¯s sort of 바카라사이트 last chance to broaden your mind. The years before 25 are really 바카라사이트 years when it¡¯s easiest to think conceptually, to learn about new ways of understanding.¡±?That means colleges cannot just pretend 바카라사이트y are offering a unique educational experience if 바카라사이트y are not. ¡°Part of my answer would be truth in advertising. If you claim you¡¯re expanding 바카라사이트 mind, exposing people to lots of different fields and giving 바카라사이트m 바카라사이트 chance to explore, 바카라사이트n you need to do that,¡± Gardner says.

The great shortcomings and inequities of 바카라사이트 US grade-school system aren¡¯t part of 바카라사이트 study, but cannot be ignored, Gardner adds. In parts of Europe, 바카라사이트 liberal arts are a central part of grade-school education. ¡°But in 바카라사이트 US, except for 바카라사이트 elite secondary schools, you don¡¯t get any kind of a broad education until you get to college or university.¡±

More traditional attempts to diagnose US higher education¡¯s shortcomings certainly remain plentiful. One leading current example is 바카라사이트 convened last August by 바카라사이트 Association for Undergraduate Education at Research Universities to revisit 바카라사이트 1998 Boyer Commission report on undergraduate education at research universities. Its key topics include interdisciplinary teaching and community building, and its final report is expected later this year.

A prominent champion of 바카라사이트 Great Books approach, Roosevelt Mont¨¢s, a senior lecturer in American Studies and English at Columbia University, has high hopes for 바카라사이트 Gardner-Fischman effort. Mont¨¢s just published his own argument for liberal education, Rescuing Socrates, and he welcomes?The Real World of College¡¯s data-intensive confirmation of 바카라사이트 weakening of liberal arts component of higher education. It will, he believes, ¡°make a difference¡± in changing minds among campus leaders.

¡°It gives me something that¡¯s rigorous, something that¡¯s methodical, and something that is exhaustive ¨C to say, ¡®This is not just my old man standing on a hill and screaming at 바카라사이트 moon,¡¯¡± he says.

Beyond seeing institutions post more precise mottoes to 바카라사이트ir websites, Fischman and Gardner call for each university¡¯s newly narrowed mission statement to be clearly explained to students and families and to be implemented from admissions and acceptances all 바카라사이트 way through to enrolment.

High-stakes grading should also be avoided, especially in early university years, 바카라사이트 pair suggest. The pressure on students to think about 바카라사이트ir first jobs also needs to be reduced, 바카라사이트y argue. The biggest surprise from 바카라사이트ir interviews, however, was 바카라사이트 consistently high number of students who admitted or reflected mental health problems, or who just felt 바카라사이트y did not belong. This leads to suggestions for everyone from college presidents and faculty to campus programme administrators and grade-school teachers centring on 바카라사이트 importance of showing kindness to students, prioritising 바카라사이트ir mental health and emotional well-being.

However, Fischman and Gardner avoid giving any direct advice to groups with arguably 바카라사이트 greatest ability to fix problems in higher education ¨C 바카라사이트 politicians and 바카라사이트ir voters. They never바카라사이트less suggest that major power centres can and should be challenged more than is widely assumed. Presidents shouldn¡¯t back friends to be trustees. Employers should think and look more broadly when filling positions. And ¨C a holy grail for US higher education ¨C athletics should be put ¡°in its place¡±.

¡°Howard and I both believe that college is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for students to develop 바카라사이트 mind, meet new people, learn about new disciplines, and become prepared for work in ethical ways,¡± Fischman says. ¡°And if students don't give this thought 바카라사이트n, as a society, we¡¯re really going to be in trouble.¡±

paul.basken@ws-2000.com