What are you really learning?

Ok, so it is the start of the academic year in Australia, so I probably shouldn't be this cynical yet. I just happen to think that it is important to really think about what students are really learning and what teachers are really doing. A recent Chronicle of Higher Ed article


The authors reported that:

"While higher education is expected to accomplish many tasks—and contemporary colleges and universities have indeed contributed to society in ways as diverse as producing pharmaceutical patents as well as prime-time athletic games—existing organizational cultures and practices too often do not put a high priority on undergraduate learning. Faculty and administrators, working to meet multiple and at times competing demands, too rarely focus on either improving instruction or demonstrating gains in student learning."

"More troubling still, the limited learning we have observed in terms of the absence of growth in CLA performance is largely consistent with the accounts of many students, who report that they spend increasing numbers of hours on nonacademic activities, including working, rather than on studying. They enroll in courses that do not require substantial reading or writing assignments; they interact with their professors outside of classrooms rarely, if ever; and they define and understand their college experiences as being focused more on social than on academic development."

- Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa, 18 Jan, 2011

These questions aren't new. Event the comedian Father Guido has had a go at universities for being ineffective:

While I think I certainly gained more from my education than you might in Guido's 5 minute university, I do wonder why we keep piling on the content. We know that no one will remember all that detail 2 days after the final exam but we keep doing it. I know that the things I learnt and remembered were taught in interactive classes, with case studies or examples. AND they weren't those awful forced, boring case studies. They were interesting and got me thinking why I was really studying psychology. These activities made me stop and think about the fact that someday, I would be applying these skills and someone's education, happiness, or health would depend on me doing a good job.


When universities are being pressured to focus more and more on research, what can be done to insure teaching quality?  I'm not suggesting that research isn't important. It is. So much of our society progresses because there are passionate scientists and researchers using their amazing analytical and creative skills to cure disease, explore frontiers of knowledge, and innovate beyond boundaries.  I just think that there is no future for research or any other profession if we aren't prioritizing teaching. 


I wonder what kind of staffing models we should have for Higher education.  What would happen if we allowed some academics/faculty to nominate research as their main interest and lightened their teaching load?  What if we allowed academics who want to teach to pick up more classes and lighten their research load?  Would we be making the most of people's passions? Or would this be a recipe for disaster?