College 2.0

Knowledge vs. Learning

There is a movement in higher ed - especially among community colleges - called the "learning college" movement. Led by the League for Innovation, the mission of the Learning College Project is to help community colleges place "learning first and [to provide] educational experiences for learners anyway, anyplace, anytime."

It is interesting that community colleges are at the forefront here. Traditional, four-year, residential colleges have in recent years emphasized the "college life" aspect of enrollment - the social, cultural and relationship-building aspects of the campus. In no small part as a reaction to the perjorative "teaching college" (a term not heard much these days), the concept of "learning college" was hatched.

But if "knowledge is power," why is is now under attack? I think the answer is simple: the power of knowledge derives from exclusivity. If one group has knowledge others do not, then the knowledgeable can have power over the ignorant. Also, the accelerating rate of change detailed by Thomas Freidman and others means, more and more, knowledge is both contingent and frangible. Witness poor Pluto, whose official status as a planet lasted a mere 76 years, barely a quarter of its orbit of the sun. All of us who grew up knowing nine planets are possessed of knowledge now obsolete.

In an age of seemingly instant recall of almost anything, the possession of knowledge is less important that the retrieval, synthesis and application of it. "Knowing" now comes with an expiration date.

And yet, both K-12 schools and higher ed are largely rooted in the business of bestowing knowledge. Professors speak the language of learning - critical thinking, synthesis, evaluation - but what do we measure? Largely, still, recall of facts. We are comfortable with measurability and objectivity. No Child Left Behind insists that we test our K-12 students, and what we test against is a one-size-fits-all curriculum of facts and basic skills, and then we call that "accountability."

Freidman asserts again and again that in a flattened global economy, the United States will no longer be an economy of labor or productivity, but one of creativity. But how are we measuring (let alone encouraging) creativity in our students? How do we assess inquiry? How we will we be held accountable for learning?

--Brad

posted by Brad Reed @ 12:02 PM