Spring 2012 Assessment Workshop
Spring Assessment Workshop with Pat Hutchings:
The Difficulties and Pleasures of Student Learning in the 21st Century
Friday, April 27, 2012
Workshop Resources
- The Difficulties and Pleasures of Student Learning in the 21st Century
- From Excellent Courses to Connected Learning: How Students Experience College
Workshop Description:
Some say that higher education never changes, but, in fact, changes are all around us. Today's students are more diverse in all kinds of ways that matter in teaching and learning. The disciplines are in transition. New or newly discovered pedagogies-like problem-based learning or service learning-are gaining ground. New technologies offer exciting opportunities for the classroom but bring with them new challenges. Beyond all this, much more is now known about the science of the brain and how learning occurs. In the face of these changes, faculty may feel the ground of the classroom shifting beneath their feet.
In this workshop, faculty were invited to treat their classroom as a site for exploration-posing questions about students and their learning, and strategizing together about ways to answer and respond to those questions. The following questions were explord: What difficulties and strengths do students bring to your courses and other interactions with them? How do they develop key concepts and skills in your field? Where do they get "stuck" and what helps them get "unstuck"? What have you found most effective in engaging their attention at a deep level?
The purpose of this workshop is to start a conversation, to be continued in departments and other settings, about these and other questions about the quality and character of student learning at EWU.
A follow up workshop was held on June 1st. This workshop was designed around faculty feedback, including what you want to know more about and what new questions emerge as you try out some of the things you learn at the April workshop.
Pat Hutchings
Consulting Scholar
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
Scholar in Residence, Gonzaga University