Return to Ted’s main page

Comparing learning College Concepts with Teaching College Concepts

Learning is a process which is lifelong for everybody and should be measured in a consistent, ongoing manner focused on improvement

Traditional Learning

• Concerned with individual courses
• Concerned with individual grades
• Quantity not quality is important
• Number of students in class
• Number of classes taught
• Number of hours faculty teach
• Books in the library
• Learning means memorizing content

• A great deal of energy is focused upon getting good grades, not learning
• Learning involves passive transfer of knowledge from expert to novice
• Learning is competitive (bell curve grading)
• What will be on the exam?
• Course testing is on content (midterms, finals, exams, etc.)

Learning College

• Learning is a product and process
• Learning occurs throughout the institution not just classrooms
• Learning is not limited to texts and lectures
• Curriculum is flexible, relevant and responsive to students
• Experimentation is rewarded
• Data are collected on the needs of students on a regular basis
• Each learners needs are met
• Students and teachers learn from each other, from everyone within the institution, and the larger community
• Learning is connected from class to class and experience to experience
• The larger community is directly involved in the learning process
• Everyone is learning how to learn and how to facilitate learning
• The results pf learning are measurable and achievement focused
• Student performance is outcome based
• Student performance evaluation leads to continuous improvement
• There are appropriate, flexible, authentic patterns of evidence for evaluating students learning
• The purpose of measurement is not to find defects but to encourage improvement

Everyone is an active learner and teacher through collaboration, shared responsibility and mutual respect

Traditional Learning

• Production line model
• All students treated the same
• Faculty centered in the classroom
• Responsive to the needs of the faculty and administration
• Faculty, administrators and students function as independent actors
• Each individual operates in a singular environment without regard for the larger environment of family, work or learning styles
• The faculty set the curriculum as experts in their fields

Learning College

• Responsibility is shared by the student and institution through the faculty, staff, and larger community
• The responsibility is lifelong learning
• Collaboration occurs in and out of the classroom and competition is reduced
• Students, faculty, staff, and the larger community are partners in the teaching and learning process
• There are incentives and rewards for experimenting with teaching and learning processes
• Diversity is considered a strength
• The institution reflects the reality of the world’s cultures and mirrors society in its increasingly complex nature
• Everyone is truly open to sharing with each other, learning from each other, and understanding each other
• Everyone is responsible for personal learning and change

The learning process includes the larger community through the development of alliances, relationships and opportunities for mutual benefit

Traditional Learning

• Schools are not generally aligned with K-12 or other colleges or universities
• Schools are not aligned with the larger community
• There is limited involvement with employers in the community
• The community may not understand all the college has to offer
• Learning occurs on campus not in the community
• Overall the community is not involved in learning

Learning College

• Instruction seeks to better understand community needs
• Colleges make efforts to meet community needs
• There exists a strong, supportive relationship between the college and the community
• There is a better understanding of the institution by the community and greater financial and other support results
• The greater community is involved in the learning process
• Collaboration among education, business, industry, government, and all community groups is the key to lifelong learning and working
• K-12 and colleges are tightly connected

Learning occurs in a flexible and appropriate environment

Traditional Learning

• Learning is restricted to classrooms and the college campus
• Typically the faculty member is at the front of the room, lecturing
• Class time equals credits
• The classroom is likely to be hierarchical and authoritarian
• The classroom is rigidly structured, even in its looks
• There is limited state of the art technology
• Textbooks, pencils, paper, chalk, and transparencies are common

Learning College

• Different learning delivery systems are encourage to meet the unique needs of the larger community
• The larger community is directly involved in the learning process
• Appropriate technology enhances teaching and the learning processes
• Many options are available for the students
• Faculty development encourages experimentation with new learning approaches

Materials on this page were excerpted from:

“A Learning College For The 21^st Century”, by Terry O’Banion

AACC- American Association of Community Colleges

American Council on Higher education series on Higher Education

ORYX Press, 1997

Return to Ted’s main page