Bloom's Sixth

By Doug Ward A recent study about reading on mobile phones surprised even the researchers. The study, by the digital consulting firm Nielsen Norman Group, found that reading comprehension on mobile phones matched that of reading on larger computer screens. The results were the same with shorter, easier articles (400 words at an eighth-grade level) and longer, more difficult articles (990 words at a 12-grade level). A similar study six years earlier found lower comprehension when…

By Doug Ward Rajiv Jhangiani makes a case for free and open course materials in very personal terms. As a student at the University of British Columbia, he and his cash-strapped roommates fashioned “pretend furniture” from sheet-covered cardboard boxes. When his roommates wanted to add a second phone line for dedicated dial-up Internet access, Jhangiani couldn’t afford the extra $8 a month. His grandfather, who had taken in Jhangiani in Bombay after his father died and his family lost their home, was paying for his schooling. There was no room for frivolous expenses. Rajiv Jhangiani…

The annual conference of the Association of American Colleges and Universities(link does not exist) offered many thought-provoking sessions, teaching tips and discussions about the future of higher education. I wrote earlier about some of the themes. Here’s a sampling of some of the other ideas that stood out. The importance of engaged learning A session on engaged learning offered some of the most insightful observations of the conference. Engaged learning…

SAN FRANCISCO – A sense of urgency pervades this year’s meeting of the Association of American Colleges and Universities(link expired). The tenets of a broad, liberal education have been under assault at the state and national level, many Americans have grown skeptical of the cost – and debt – that college brings, and the terms “evidence” and “value” seem mandatory in any conversation about higher education. The sessions at the AAC&U’s annual meeting this week have been filled with discussions about telling the story of liberal education, effecting change across departments and…

Consider a few of the changes roiling public higher education. Technology has created new ways for students to learn and to earn credentials but has also eliminated the need for a physical presence in many courses. …

By Doug Ward When it comes to seeing the truth, the facts sometimes get in the way. Audrey Watters makes that argument in an intriguing blog post on the results of the presidential election. During the election, she said, a focus on facts (in the form of data) caused many people to overlook many voters’ willingness to shrug off Donald Trump’s inflammatory statements, conspiracy theories and falsehoods and put him in the White…

Gauging the effectiveness of teaching solely on student evaluations has always been a one-dimensional “solution” to a complex issue. It is an approach built on convenience and routine rather than on a true evaluation of an instructor’s effectiveness. And yet many universities routinely base promotion and tenure decisions on those evaluations, or, rather, a component of those evaluations in the form of a single number on a five-point scale. Those who rank above the mean for a department get a thumbs-up; those below the mean get a thumbs-down. It’s a system that bestows teaching with all the…

This fall’s enrollment figures contained much for the University of Kansas to be proud of, and the university rightly bragged about that. Freshman enrollment has grown for five years in a row, and the incoming class is made up of nearly 23 percent minority students. That was great news, especially because more restrictive admissions standards went into place this fall. Those higher admissions standards show up in the 3.58 average GPA of the incoming class. Two other…

Here’s a glimpse into the classroom of the future. It’s huge, and I mean HUGE: big enough for a football field, a magical playground, a dig site for studying bones, and an area for playing with dogs, bears and dolphins. It has cool carpet and places for listening. The tables are spread out and you can choose among giant chairs, bouncy chairs and floating chairs. It has crayons, of course, but also drawers to hold skulls (from the dig site, no doubt) and a secret room. Best of all, it has a portal to a lake and a monorail that will take you anywhere. Are you on board? I was when I visited…

Here’s a thought to start the semester with: Education offers only a blueprint. Learning takes place in the application. If that sounds familiar, it should. It lies at the heart of active learning, an amalgam of practices that that moves education beyond the mere delivery of information. It’s an approach that improves student learning, especially …