A Newsletter from the Center for Teaching and Learning at Western Kentucky University

July/August 2000                    "Ideas not Absolutes"                       Vol. 10, No. 4

   Since I require my students to be aware of current societal trends and how those trends impact their profession, I have chosen to consider changes in teaching at Western using much the same technique used by John Naisbitt, Faith Popcorn, and others.  Taking a broad perspective, I have categorized changes in teaching at Western 1980-2000 and beyond as shifts along a continuum.  Eight of these change shifts were identified.
 1. Institutional Help—> Self Help
   In the 80’s if you wanted a professional presentation you had to rely on a graphic designer and precut lettering available within or outside the university.  Today, computer graphics make it possible for faculty and students alike to utilize PowerPoint or other sophisticated programs to present material combining multimedia to achieve spectacular effects.
 2. Didactic—> Participatory
   Another change shift has been from the teacher dispensing most of the information to more participation and involvement of students, not only in the classroom but also in the work setting and distance education via interactive television.
 3. Either/Or—> Multiple Options
   In the early 80s, handouts and exams could be typed on ditto  masters—remember  the purple copies—or  if you had
thermomasters, a good original, and the right machine you might not have to retype some documents.  In “some” departments, mimeograph machines made copies in black, or you could have the print shop make copies, but only if you planned ahead.  Today, the typewriter has been replaced by the word processor and laser printers giving us crisp black and white or multiple colors.  We are not limited to paper, but can create transparencies, slides, or combine print, clip-art, graphics, animation, music, and other components for a multimedia, action-oriented, or even interactive presentation.
 4. Homogeneity—> Diversity
 In the 80s, both students and faculty at Western were primarily middle class, Anglo-Americans, and no one thought much about the fact that we were perpetuating middle class white values.  Today, both faculty and students are more diverse, and we must accept the challenge to not only be sensitive to cultural diversity, but also to instill that sensitivity into our students.  In many situations, an ethnic minority will be the majority, and graduates must be prepared to live and work within diverse cultural settings.
 5. Regional—> National—> Global
 In the 80s, my area of expertise, textiles and apparel, was still very much a regional/national industry.  Our focus was on textile/apparel opportunities in Western’s geographic area, and most graduates took positions within 100-200 miles of Bowling Green.  As we move into the new millennium, the world is definitely a “global village.”  To succeed our graduates need to be able to interact with people anywhere in the world.  Manufacturing retailers search the world for design concepts and develop their own lines under private labels.  They may source fabrics from Italy, notions and findings from South America and the Far East, develop patterns and do the cutting in the U.S., and have the garments sewn in the Caribbean.  Graduates without this global perspective are less than prepared to face the future.
 6. Forced Technology—> High Tech/High Touch
 At the present time there is said to be a widespread yearning and concern about the dehumanizing effects of technology.  There is no question that as we acquire and adapt the latest technology in the classroom and workplace, the need for personalization increases.  But, in the past 20 years, many tasks once performed by the teacher have been transferred to computers and other technologies.  This frees us, as teachers, to spend more time with motivation, psychological well-being, and socialization, that is, in providing more personal interaction with individual students.
 7. Information Available—> Information Accessible—> Information Overload
 In the 80s, information needed for research papers was available in excellent libraries in various geographic locations.  We simply sent out students to the library where the information was available.  Today, computer access to libraries throughout the world is available through multiple data bases and web sites.  The emphasis is increasingly on “how” to find information and use of critical thinking/problem solving skills to overcome information overload.
 8. Classroom Setting—> Learn Anytime/Learn Anywhere
 In the 80s, the majority of our classes were taught in classroom settings, either on- or off-campus. In 2000 and beyond, we have the capacity to learn anytime/learn anywhere.  Computer technology and the Internet provide instant access to information, and web-based courses may be taken in one’s home, boat, or airplane; at the beach, in the mountains, or elsewhere.  Interactive tv/distance learning provides learning centers at multiple locations at the same time and permit teacher and students to speak to one another and engage in visual displays.  In the future, it is probable that the tactile dimension will be added so that participants can touch and feel objects.  Personal computers will not be limited to desktop and laptop, but they will come in many sizes and many  shapes.  They will be embedded in clothing and jewelry and will provide, among other things, communication similar to today’s cell phones and pagers.   People will spend the majority of their time acquiring new skills and knowledge.  WHAT AN EXCITING TIME TO BE A TEACHER!!!
 

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by Nancy Zimpher
Presented in the keynote address of the conference, Changing Demands on College Teachers: A Conference for Teaching Support Providers, April 27, 1998. Used with permission.

1. Teaching will be more public than it ever has been before. It will be open to inspection, discussion, and increasing accountability.

2. The nature and quality of assessment will change. Faculty will teach within a culture of evidence that will place great importance on demonstrating learning outcomes.

3. Evaluation and documentation of teaching will change. It will be done more systematically and rigorously and will involve multiple methods and sources.

4. Teaching will be come technologically enabled. Instructional technology will be used within the classroom as well as for anytime, anyplace learning.

5. Content transmission will not be the focus of teaching. As information continues to grow and be readily available in many forms, the focus will be on helping learners to know how to access information, evaluate it critically, and use it to solve problems.

6. Curriculum and program design will be inseparable from teaching and learning. Coordination, integration, and teamwork will be hallmarks in the future.

7. Diversity will be seen as asset-based. Higher education will realize that all benefit when different perspectives and cultures are included.

8. Different pedagogies that students have experienced prior to college will change their expectations about good teaching. They will come with values for collaborative and active learning, and for contextual, experiential approaches, such as service learning.

9. Higher education facilities will have to look different. Rooms will have to be flexible to accommodate the new pedagogies and they will have to be technologically sophisticated.

10. A new scholarship of teaching will occur. Value will be placed on systematically exploring teaching issues and researching experiments with new approaches and conditions affecting student learning.
 

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    Virtual Learning Environments: Cases from the Field.  contains a collection of essays and speeches designed to provide university policy makers with an overview of the issues that higher education professionals must address as they implement the delivery of distance learning. It examines each functional area of the university and how it would be impacted by virtual learning. The issues were addressed from an administrative perspective because the report was compiled by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admission Officers (AACRAO). Five major issues were explored: student support services, quality assurance, technology, academic environment, and public policy and legal issues.

· The chapter on student support services contained articles about: marketing and recruitment, financial aid; records management and security; student advisement; academic support services; and accreditation.

· The chapter on quality assurance contained articles about: the validity and effectiveness of virtual learning; accreditation; standards for transnational education; and resources for evaluating distance learning.

· The technology chapter was relatively weak and contained generic articles about: the importance of universal Internet access; local infrastructure challenges; and a description of a particular courseware product.

· The chapter on the academic environment contained articles about: the virtual library; the characteristics of the virtual learner; learner-centered distance education; and the time-consuming task of curriculum development.

· The chapter on public policy and legal issues contained articles about: access to student records and privacy; and intellectual property issues including copyright and the ownership of course materials.

    I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a quick overview of the administrative policy issues a university must address to offer distance learning.  Faculty issues related to the implementation of distance learning were not addressed.

American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, Virtual Learning Environments: Cases from the Field (Washington, DC: AACROA, 1998)

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