This AACU report (PDF) validates our efforts at Purdue through the Purdue Polytechnic Institute (PPI) initiative led by the College of Technology to transform the learning experience for students.
Many of the findings are items we are addressing through our curriculum innovation as part of PPI. Here are a few of my key takeaways:
Science Insider has posted this evidence-based article that shows that lectures in undergraduate courses are ineffective. The use of active teaching techniques are much more effective.
This is one of the founding principles of the Polytechnic Initiative that we are advocating as we transform the undergraduate curricula in the College of Technology at Purdue.
This week a very interesting Gallup-Purdue study was published. The results have elements that are closely aligned with the learning transformation we are attempting as part of the Polytechnic Initiative. Many of the attributes measured in the study are about being engaged at work and experiencing high well-being after graduation.
I think the most important part of the article is this question posed by Thomas Friedman to the person in charge of hiring at Google:
“Are the liberal arts important?”
“They are “phenomenally important,” he said, especially when you combine them with other disciplines.”
Although this article is about private colleges, it describes the general enrollment challenges that will be facing all of higher education. To compete and grow our enrollment, we need to show greater value than our competition.
I believe that curriculum transformation and adopting the principles of the Purdue Polytechnic Institute will result in greater value and enrollment growth.
This Forbes article describes the ranking systems in higher education and how they can be misleading to prospective students, parents and the general public.
The New York Times article titled The Professors’ Big Stage by Thomas Friedman explains the impact of MOOCs (massive open online courses) as well as the challenges higher education faces, especially in how we deliver instruction.
This articles goes to the core of what I have been talking about when I say that not only do we need to transform the curriculum but we also have to transform the student’s learning experience.
We have begun a soft roll-out of an initiative related to sustainability for the College of Technology. Sustainability is important not only for the future of the world but also to the future graduates of our college who will become industry and community leaders. Sustainability is important because all of the choices we make today will affect the future. By continuing with our current unsustainable actions, the opportunities for future generations will become increasingly limited.
I just read a survey conducted by IBM that looks at the opinions and views of students and CEOs. The survey’s primary findings include:
