A paradigm shift is taking hold in American higher education. In its briefest form, the paradigm that has governed our colleges is this: A college is an institution that exists to provide instruction. Subtly but profoundly we are shifting to a new paradigm: A college is an institution that exists to produce learning. This shift changes everything. It is both needed and wanted.
said Robert Barr and John Tagg, in a landmark article titled "From Teaching to Learning" published in the Nov/Dec 1995 issue of Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning. According to the editor of Change, this article by Barr and Tagg is "arguably the most widely cited piece that Change ever published."
Barr & Tagg provided a nice comparison and contrast between what they call the Instruction Paradigm and the Learning Paradigm.
Instruction Paradigm Learning Paradigm Mission and Purposes Mission and Purposes Provide/deliver instruction Produce learning Transfer knowledge from faculty to students Elicit students discovery and construction of knowledge Offer courses and programs Create powerful learning environments Improve the quality of instruction Improve the quality of learning Achieve access for diverse students Achieve success for diverse students Criteria for Success Criteria for Success Learning varies Learning varies Inputs, resources Learning & student-success outcomes Quality of entering students Quality of exiting students Curriculum development,expansion Learning technologies development, Quantity and quality of resources Quantity and quality of outcomes Enrollment, revenue growth Aggregate learning growth, efficiency Quality of faculty, instruction Quality of students, learning Teaching/Learning Structures Teaching/Learning Structures Atomistic; parts prior to whole Holistic; whole prior to parts Time held constant,learning varies Learning held constant, time varies 50-minute lecture,3-unit course Learning environments Classes start/end at same time Environment ready when student is One teacher, one classroom Whatever learning experience works Independent disciplines, departments Cross discipline/department Covering material Specified learning results End-of-course assessment Pre/during/post assessments Grading within classes by instructors External evaluations of learning Private assessment Public assessment Degree equals accumulated credit hours Degree equals demonstrated knowledge and skills Learning Theory Learning Theory Knowledge exists "out there" Knowledge exists in each person's mind and is shaped by individual experience Knowledge comes in chunks and bits; delivered by instructors and gotten by students Knowledge is constructed, created, Learning is cumulative and linear Learning is a nesting and interacting of frameworks Fits the storehouse of knowledge metaphor Fits learning how to ride a bicycle metaphor Learning is teacher centered and controlled Learning is student centered & controlled Live teacher, "live" students required Active learner required, but not "live" students required The classroom and learning are competitive and individualistic Learning environments and learning are cooperative, collaborative, & supportive Talent and ability are rare Talent and ability are abundant Productivity/Funding Productivity/Funding Definition of productivity: cost per hour of instruction per student Definition of productivity: cost per unit of learning per student Funding for hours of instruction Funding for learning outcomes Nature of Roles Nature of Roles Faculty are primarily lecturers Faculty are primarily designers of learning methods and environments Faculty and students act independently and in isolation Faculty and students work in teams with each other and other staff Teachers classify and sort students Teachers develop every student's competencies and talents Staff serve/support faculty and the process of instruction All staff are educators who produce student learning and success Any expert can teach Empowering learning is challenging and complex Line governance; independent actors Shared governance; teamwork independent actors
Building on the powerful argument of Barr and Tagg for a shift to the Learning Paradigm, what can we do in the Indian context? I've some thoughts which is fodder for another post.
