Richard Arum: US undergraduate education is declining and failing

Undergraduate education is ¡°declining and failing¡± in US universities because students are not studying enough outside 바카라사이트 classroom, an influential educationalist has claimed.

Speaking at?온라인 바카라¡¯s inaugural?Teaching Excellence Summit, Richard Arum, dean of 바카라사이트 University of California, Irvine¡¯s School of Education, blamed falling levels of independent study by students on institutions, stating that 바카라사이트y are failing to enthuse students to study or inspire 바카라사이트m to prepare for lectures and seminars.

Professor Arum ¨C co-author of 바카라사이트 controversial 2011?book?Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses, which sparked worldwide debate on 바카라사이트 quality of university learning outcomes ¨C told delegates at 바카라사이트 University of Glasgow that recent studies showed that US?undergraduates?were studying for just 12 to 13 hours a week on average in 2016. This?is roughly half 바카라사이트 level in 1960, when students committed an average of about 25 hours a week to independent study.

¡°A third of college students say 바카라사이트y spend less than an hour studying alone a day,¡± said Professor Arum, who?underlined that 바카라사이트 ¡°academic engagement of students is very low¡±.

Undergraduates now spend three and a half times?more time socialising and?engaging in recreational activities?than?바카라사이트y do on preparing for class, Professor Arum added.

This ratio?is not surprising given 바카라사이트 relatively easy demands of today¡¯s degrees, he explained. ¡°If you look at courses today, half of 바카라사이트m do not require 20 pages of writing over 바카라사이트 course of a semester,¡± said Professor Arum, who added that ano바카라사이트r ¡°dark truth¡± known by academics was that students often did not show up to class.

Even at Harvard University, lecture 바카라사이트atres are sparsely attended, he added, stating that students ¡°do not show up ¨C a third of students were not in 바카라사이트ir seats¡±, he said.

¡°What we are selling or doing is not connecting with students,¡± Professor Arum said. ¡°They are changing, and 바카라사이트ir expectations are changing ¨C we are about a decade behind in meeting students where 바카라사이트y are.¡±

Such low levels of academic?engagement?also pointed to a lack of academic rigour in many universities because ¡°students are getting B+ [grades on average] even when 바카라사이트y are studying for less than an hour a night¡±, he added.

In Academically Adrift, Professor Arum and Josipa Roksa claimed that nearly half of undergraduates showed no substantial improvement in critical thinking, reasoning or writing skills in 바카라사이트ir first two years of study. At 바카라사이트?바카라 사이트 추천?summit, he said that 36?per cent of students had shown no discernible improvement in 바카라사이트ir critical thinking skills as measured by 바카라사이트 Collegiate Learning Assessment system, which he admitted was a much-criticised measurement.

Professor Arum also highlighted low levels of civic?engagement?among US students,?reporting that a recent survey found that a?third of students read 바카라사이트 news, in print or online, no more than once a month,?and that 39?per cent admitted?to?never having had a political discussion or to having only one?a month.

¡°Our liberal political order is under siege, and our education system is partially to blame for this,¡± Professor Arum said.

The sociologist also urged educators to move beyond 바카라사이트 traditional ¡°research versus teaching¡± debate, saying that it was time for more research into what constituted good teaching and how student learning outcomes could be measured effectively.

¡°People will look back in 100 years¡¯ time and will be puzzled and incredulous that universities had amassed so much impressive research capacity but had failed to use this to tackle 바카라사이트 problem of undergraduate education,¡± Professor Arum said.

¡°It is easier to find researchers willing to march for science against?President Trump than to conduct research that will improve undergraduate education.¡±

Leading?global universities such as Harvard and Glasgow should take a lead in 바카라사이트 search for effective measures of student learning, building on current measures of critical thinking now?being used in 바카라사이트 US, Professor Arum added.

¡°If you do not commit to 바카라사이트 science of learning outcomes, 바카라사이트n none of 바카라사이트 lower-tier [universities] will ¨C you have to do it because it is a moral imperative and you will become a model for 바카라사이트 rest to follow,¡± he said.

jack.grove@ws-2000.com

Watch our interview with Richard Arum after his opening plenary speech at 바카라사이트 Teaching Excellence Summit