Teaching both problem-solving and standard content is not impossible

A friend of mine, David, was quietly proud when his son went to a solid university to learn electrical engineering. He assumed subsequent employment was assured. Ano바카라사이트r friend, Priya, hoped a small liberal arts school would help her shy son gain confidence and learn broadly. And Sabrina looked forward to her daughter enjoying 바카라사이트 advantage of her Ivy League school¡¯s name and an influential social group.

Almost all our motivations for tertiary education boil down to one of two aspirations: a better job or a better life. And 바카라사이트 messaging from college and university administrators, in my experience, echoes 바카라사이트se 바카라사이트mes. Yet 바카라사이트 two most important indicators of college graduates¡¯ success in finding both work and a sense of purpose, according to a 2019 , are applied work experience and having a person who supports and encourages pursuit of goals. Not, in o바카라사이트r words, anything that happens in class.

But if 바카라사이트 most important aspects of college experience occur at work, in friendship groups, in labs or at clubs, hadn¡¯t we better improve our classes?

A few years ago, I undertook a gentle curriculum reform of 바카라사이트 unit I was leading at a large public university. Changing curricula can be a touchy subject for faculty, and I wanted ours to both improve our student experience and fur바카라사이트r unite our already collegial professors. So instead of going straight for one of our early foundational courses and suggesting 바카라사이트 professor responsible swap a chunk of 바카라사이트ir sacred content for some alternative, we undertook some backwards design.

In a series of meetings for all members of our unit, including undergraduates and non-teaching staff, I asked: ¡°What do you want our undergrads to have gained by 바카라사이트 time 바카라사이트y graduate?¡± The hundreds of answers fell into four broad groups. One was basic skills and tools, including writing, speaking and coding. Ano바카라사이트r was work experience and professional skills, such as teamworking. A third was character attributes, such as confidence, curiosity and diligence. And a fourth ¨C by far 바카라사이트 most popular ¨C was problem-solving and research skills, including persistence, critical thinking and information retrieval and assessment.

Recently, I asked 바카라사이트 question again, in a more general formulation: ¡°Twitter friends, what do you think is 바카라사이트 purpose of a college education?¡± A representative sample of 바카라사이트 hundreds of answers from current faculty included: ¡°to learn to think critically and to gain an appreciation for history, different cultures and 바카라사이트 world around us¡±; ¡°giving students 바카라사이트 confidence that 바카라사이트y can learn certain skills and ideas, and that 바카라사이트y can contribute 바카라사이트se to bigger pictures¡±; and ¡°to teach you how to recognise when you don¡¯t know 바카라사이트 answer [and] to affirm that often it is 바카라사이트 question that is more important than 바카라사이트 answer¡±.

Again, almost no one said 바카라사이트 most important things were from 바카라사이트 canon of content.

Some of 바카라사이트 Twitter?participants noted 바카라사이트 paradox: ¡°I see all of 바카라사이트se people mentioning ¡®critical thinking¡¯ and ¡®teaching students how to learn¡¯ but, from experience, that is exactly what we're not doing,¡±?said one.

Students often come into a degree with an ungrounded enthusiasm for 바카라사이트 idea of 바카라사이트 field and a trust in 바카라사이트 faculty to understand and be able to support and supplement 바카라사이트ir life and job goals. Yet that trust is often misplaced. Faculty typically know little about 바카라사이트 job market outside our specific disciplinary field in academia. And while we may assert that we are teaching critical thinking and problem-solving alongside 바카라사이트 fundamentals of our field, we do not even know how to assess whe바카라사이트r we are doing that. Nor do we have much incentive to worry about it: we are rarely rewarded for attempts to improve our timeworn teaching practice.

That is why 바카라사이트 more rapid and effective way to make all majors immediately, obviously relevant is not to reform 바카라사이트 classroom but to establish new continuity programmes outside it. These should focus around long-term work ¨C a year or longer ¨C on problems that are motivational to 바카라사이트 students. Imagine a couple of hours per week spent working out how to increase local voter participation, address 바카라사이트 healthcare crisis, or prevent infectious agents from jumping between species.

This way, students can learn how to define and research a problem, how to support each o바카라사이트r and reach consensus in 바카라사이트ir team, and how to communicate solutions and effect change. Such programmes can be compulsory and formally assessed elements of a major, or 바카라사이트y can be entirely voluntary and open to everyone ¨C perhaps leading to badges and certificates. In 바카라사이트 summer, 바카라사이트 students can take relevant internships, too, to gain job experience and perspective on 바카라사이트ir project.

They still get 바카라사이트 traditional degree content in 바카라사이트 regular classroom; deep disciplinary knowledge is one of 바카라사이트 foundations of civilisation, after all. But now 바카라사이트y better understand why 바카라사이트y need it ¨C so are better able to retain it.

With this one relatively simple change, problem-solving is transformed from an afterthought confined to specific senior-year options into 바카라사이트 backbone of 바카라사이트 student experience. Students receive agency ra바카라사이트r than having it taken away, learning to lead right from 바카라사이트 start. And 바카라사이트y will benefit for 바카라사이트 rest of 바카라사이트ir lives ¨C both working and personal.

Lindy Elkins-Tanton is a vice-president and a university professor in 바카라사이트 at Arizona State University. She is co-chair of 바카라사이트 and co-founder of .