Colleges are said to be at war to attract the best students through wave pools, rock climbing walls, whirlpools and movie theatres. When he heard about the operating budgets an engineer friend of mine shot back … “You could build a Taj Mahal around student with few benefits back - if they’re asleep from boredom.”
According to January 24, 2000 findings UCLA’s Higher Education research Institute, surveys of more that 260,000 fulltime college freshmen reported
boredom, drudgery, and disengagement in class. If you survey brainpower at any college campus you’ll find much more hidden and unused volts than faculty or students turn on at most campuses.
Colleges who reboot their vitality through engaging more student brainpower tend to….
1. Engage students through multiple intelligences rather than deliver facts through lectures that work against the brain.
2. Build vibrant communities that tap into multiple intelligences rather than promote racism or sexism in its practices.
3. Foster faculty development rather than award tenure which assumes faculty’s brains are hardwired for stagnation as they age.
4. Reward excellence through the evidence of measurable results surpass workplace politics.
5. Replace bureaucracies with leadership that is accountable and in touch with the community of learners it serves.
Revisit answers to your survey here one month after you’ve added new voltage through any of the five brain based steps listed here. Note any profitability surges that could reboot your organization’s brainpower? Why not stir us faculty questions about how to help. Let's ask college students too ... I did just that recently.
I really like the theme I perceive when I read your articles Ellen. That theme is the development, mastery and utilization of our multiple intelligences as we approach learning and improvement of any skill. It makes a great deal of sense.
As in learning, the more of our five senses we can engage in the learning process, the greater results we'll see from our learning activities, especially over time. The same can be said for our numerous intelligences.
I believe that part of the problem with so many people, especially young people, is a general lack of engagement at all. You used the word boredom. Motivation seems to be lacking. I'm not certain why, but I have often attributed it to a general lack of maturity, especially when compared to prior generations, and a sense of disconnect from society. Whatever the reasoning, it remains a problem.
Posted by: Daniel Sitter, Idea Seller | July 22, 2007 8:53 AM | Permalink to Comment