Dean of University of Oklahoma Honors College Discusses Higher Edu Change

A recent video dean David Ray of the University of Oklahoma Honors College discusses the value of higher education and how that education will need to change to encourage greater skill development in students. He talked for nearly 20 minutes on TEDxOU to discuss the changes in higher education, how that education is viewed by students and faculty, and where it should move. 

The discussion includes information on past recessions and when the economy recovers most employers began to hire again. More modern recessions, including the Great Recession, have seen a jobless recovery. This means that it took 12 or more months for employers to start hiring and this in turn created a shift in the type of jobs and skills employers are looking for. 

This shift has created a need to encourage more rigorous academic standards. Students read about half the amount they did in the past and engage in college much less. There is a lack of motivation from students while the job skill requirements are increasing. Students may be graduating from the unchanged academic system not being prepared for the working world. More radical change is needed to make it work again.

Technology affords some changes and benefits in education. Content rich information that helps students understand and apply concepts is important. However, these content rich formats need to include reading and writing as part of the coursework. Without the skill to write well it is difficult for students to formalize concepts and express them accurately. 

Because of a lack of motivation MOOCs have not done as well as originally thought. Free classes mixed with an instant culture and lack of motivation means that 90% of students either fail or drop out. There are 10% of students that are highly motivated and they are willing to learn on their own and use the MOOC system to enhance that learning. 

The speaker offers a suggestion for engineers and scientists in the audience to go read about Iliad. For those with Liberal Arts Degrees they should take a MOOC on math to develop their skills. This type of humanities balanced with analytical skills helps people understand the development of greater lives and societies.

Webinar: Department of Education Gainful Employment

The Department of Education estimates that 20% of degree programs will not pass their more stringent Gainful Employment requirements.

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Is Higher Education Crashing? Report Indicates Major Problems on Horizon

States are cutting funding and college tuition is rising and student loans are exploding and we are officially in a public higher education crisis. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities more states are pushing the burden on students and this may have an impact on the skill level of the next generation and their ability to successfully navigate the economic environment. The problems are a result of a number of issues related to budget cuts, increased tuition, and policy decisions. 

The primary issue is that public college education is increasingly being removed out of the hands of the average student. During the recession it was necessary to cut state budgets to ensure that the books were in balance. Despite these cuts many states still were not able to balance their budgets in other areas. State appropriates from 2008 to 2013 for higher education declined around 19%, student expenditures rose 27% and enrollment has increased over 11%.

The report indicates that policy decisions appear to be the major problem. Although one cannot disagree with the concept that the decisions we make impact other things down the line we have to wonder if there is something more fundamental going on. Has the college education refused to change with the times and bulky systems are now eating a larger lion’s share of personal, state, and federal costs?

There are three fundamental problems. 1.) States must raise revenue and become more efficient, 2.) Higher education needs to reform to make it cost effective and convenient, and 3.) Higher education should become more relevant to both the individual student and their employment prospects. 

Raising revenue doesn’t necessarily mean raising taxes but can mean raising economic activity that leads to greater revenue generation. Updating appropriate infrastructure and encouraging economic activity can create efficiencies and better long-term budgeting. Higher education must focus on their core responsibilities and encourage the development of the entire human being through innovative development that lowers costs. Higher education should be aligned to the needs of the modern market while still respecting the arts and other programs that foster the creativity needed to succeed. 

We know that this is a huge problem and no one is likely to have all the answers. Yet through working together, brain storming, taking action, and implementing we can change the foundational aspects of higher education that allow more members of society to learn the skills they need to make their lives successful. We can no longer afford to bury our heads in the sand and pretend we don’t have some work to do. There are lots of bright people with bright ideas….we only need to find the one’s that will work. For now…we are engaging in a public discussion with few right or wrong answers.

Report

Webinar: Faculty As Teachers & Mentors

How To Build A Student-Focused Culture & Increase Retention

Type: Webinar

February 12^th, 2014

Location: United States of America

We will provide a set of proven strategies designed to build a student-focused culture throughout the entire institution. The strategies introduced may be implemented at your institution to guarantee quality interactions between faculty & students. 

Website: http://www.innovativeeducators.org/product_p/2101.htm

Understanding the Universal Traits of High Performance

Giftedness is often seen in the context of culture and therefore may only partially explain the phenomenon. The authors Foreman and Renzulli (2012) argue that giftedness should be seen as those unique traits that apply to the population across various cultural vantage points. As each culture emphasizes certain behaviors as appropriate they inherently skew the recognition of the traits that lead to higher performance.  Having universal and global gifted traits will help in the proper identification and development of this unique population.

North American scholars are seen as advanced within their gifted assessment and understanding. They still struggle with finding practical applications of such ability and falter under the multiple perspectives and conceptions. Certain traits may be more universal in nature and transcend local cultures depending on which philosophical perspective the researcher desires to take.

Philosophical traditions focus on different fundamental aspects of truth. This naturally impacts their scientific understandings and can lead to skewed understandings. For example, pragmatist’s perspectives by William James and John Dewey believe that truth is from putting concepts into practice.

Social constructionists would argue that science is culturally oriented and cannot be easily separated unless one believes in a global culture. Pragmatists focus on emic and etic understandings while constructionists focus more on the emic side. Emic looks at the person within a culture while etic is focused on universal traits that can be applied to other cultures.

The author argues that understanding giftedness should now move beyond culture to more pragmatic etic approaches whereby the traits have universal application. Culture, when studying the gifted, can be seen as a bias, whereby specific traits are accepted or rejected only because they have or do not have cultural relevance to the people judging them.

Let us put this to an example. You have two tribes. One tribe values hunting while the other tribe values writing. If a gifted person is raised as a hunter and excels in this skill and is then transferred to the other tribe they would be viewed as less competent. The person may have been able to master both but has no training or experience in the other culturally laden occupation.

The author argues that giftedness research should begin to focus more closely on universal traits. Through universal traits that apply across multiple cultures a more beneficial understanding can be found and applied for development. Through new theoretical and culturally neutral approaches the research can advance to higher levels of understanding and development.

Comment: If gifted is primarily a biological trait that cannot be ignored or thwarted then it will be universal in its nature. If that development includes a more connected brain that efficiently processes information and sees the multiple possibilities of different situations then culture will determine how it is manifested. Depending on culture, family, and educational perspective the gifted will be pushed down varying paths as artists, laborers, theorists, sports players, religious figures, writers, actors, etc. through the value projections of their upbringing.

Foreman, J. & Runzulli, J. (2012). Culture, globalization and the study of giftedness: reflections on persson’s analysis and recommendations for future research. Gifted and Talented International, 27 (1)