Learning at The Beach
Over the past two months, I’ve enjoyed many student, staff, coach, and faculty conversations that relate to learning, which is, I guess, the bottom line of why we all hang out together. There is also a lively national debate about how much undergrads really LEARN while pursuing their degrees (see Academically Adrift by Arum and Roksa in 2010 for a scary critique and related reading below).
This national debate is fueling federal efforts to rate/rank universities along the dimension of how much “value add” is contained in undergrad degrees. For our students, I define “value add” as noticeable improvements in writing, reading, and thinking skills, along with an increased knowledge base in both general and specialized information. If students leave Cal State Long Beach knowing how to learn and loving the process of learning, I think we’ve made a significant difference in their lives.
Student learning is not confined to the classroom, of course, but can be purposefully enhanced through every interaction students have with staff throughout the Beach community. Important learning also takes place between students through leadership, sports, and service organizations.
The ingredients of successful learning processes sound simple but can be difficult to employ. First, we need high expectations of ourselves and our students. We must anticipate and require that every assignment they complete is done to a rigorous level. Most of us remember our accomplishments with the demanding, rigorous, and fair professor/coach/director as proof that our degree says something important about us. (If students are reading this, I realize that in the short term the easy course or disinterested teacher/coach may seem like a good choice, but in the long term you’ll reflect that your time was wasted because you did not grow from the experience. Trust me on this.)
We assign reading and writing challenges so that we all get practice in the critical analysis of others’ work. Good outcomes result from active learning experiences in which professor or staff input is augmented with peer discussions and projects. Long-term integrative assignments and research mentorship from faculty can facilitate more learning than memorization of disconnected facts. Internships, service learning, and physical challenge opportunities are often very influential in promoting learning. In addition, careful advising and mentoring make a tremendous difference for students.
Obviously, all of what I just said takes a lot of time to plan, implement, and evaluate. Let’s identify any barriers that exist in doing the above and work to remove them.
We can’t know how successful we’ve been without meaningful assessments. Ideally, every class and student-life program can generate some initial assessment data about writing and thinking skills (not just information) so that final assessments can measure growth in these important life skills, as well as in specialized knowledge. We have significant campus resources to help set and measure authentic learning outcomes and assist student learning. I’ve noticed that our coaches and COTA faculty are experts in identifying initial levels of expertise and measuring improvements. We can all learn from each other.
A student walked with me for a few minutes last week and gave the following unsolicited critique of the coming semester: “I figure out who’s giving true and false tests and then I don’t do much in their classes. I focus on the ones that demand that I write essays and do a lot of reading.” Interesting.
Alumni I’ve met are significant proof that Beach degrees certify important learning. We will further distinguish ourselves as a national model when we tell the evidence-based story of student transformation (i.e., significant increases in reading, writing, complex reasoning, teamwork, and communication skills, coupled with specialized knowledge that propels graduates to their next life steps). If our students leave us understanding the realities of our densely interconnected and multicultural world and feeling hopeful and prepared about their place in that world, we can savor the incalculable value of a degree from The Beach.
Got stories about learning? I’d like to know them.
Related reading that “takes aim at higher education” (mentioned in the Sept. 5, 2014 edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education)
Deresiewicz, W. (2014) Excellent sheep: The miseducation of the American elite and the way to a meaningful life.
Arum, R., & Roksa, J. (2014). Aspiring adults adrift: Tentative transitions of college graduates.
Lohse, A. (2014). Confessions of an Ivy League frat boy.
