So much of the rhetoric surrounding education reform centers on fixing a broken system. But is education really broken? Or does it just cost more than people want to pay for it? While online classes are heralded as the answer to everything from budget woes to how to accommodate a “new” generation of learners, if you ask most people how they prefer to learn, you will find out that most people like to learn from other people, in a somewhat structured setting, in a community of other learners. So why don’t we just offer that?
For one thing, it does cost money. Physical space for classes is often at a premium on campuses. Hiring faculty to teach (rather than do research) is not usually a money generating thing. Supporting students with the resources they need to be successful learners (e.g. tutors, advisors, study groups and study spaces) is much more expensive than assuming they can learn everything they need to learn from the internet without facilitation.
The internet is a great tool, no doubt about that. But confusing a tool with a learning environment isn’t something you’d be likely to do under most circumstances. But these aren’t most circumstances. Economic pressures aside, we are in the middle of shift in the definition of learning itself.
At one time, not so long ago, learning was equal to memorization. I remember a friend telling me about her PhD defense in English Literature in the 1950’s that involved the recitation of passages and recall of historical dates — information which I, as a member of Generation X, couldn’t imagine anyone would actually need to “know” because Google. My friend said she would study each day from 9 in the morning until 5 at night prior to her dissertation defense. Studying, in her case, meant memorizing bodies of literature.
So what does “studying” mean now? Or “learning” ? How about “knowing” ? These are the terms we really need to define, because the answers get to the heart of what we truly value at the core. And what we’re willing to pay for.