In the coming years, teaching and learning at Wheaton will undergo significant transformations driven by evolving educational practices and technological advancements. The pedagogical shift towards project-based, collaborative, and student-centered learning will redefine the role of teachers from traditional lecturers to facilitators and guides.
What forces or trends will
impact teaching and learning
at Wheaton in the next 5 years?
Working to attain technology Literacy
v. waiting for Next generation which
will be easier.
Students' reluctance to work hard
Needto shore up student motivation
e.g. lowering departmental grades
Marketable skills need to be
incorporated into curriculum
Student time spent "on grid"
continuous access to web
Need for MWF schedule in basic courses
to minimize
Constant demand on faculty
Possibility of ongoing community across years
Email specific to faculty and future employers
(versus texting)
Short attention units
Twitterization of content
Do we want to accomodate or fight against?
Certification and validation
of content acquisition
Credentialling:
Certificates v. Diplomas
Subtopic
Could increase value of liberat arts education
Availability of Remote Live content
Student monitoring
Problem of student attention
Remote Live Lectures
Availability of online Packaged Content
Packaged instruction, simulation, games
TED Talks
Stored lectures from Wheaton faculty
Value of entertainment vs education?
devaluation of books
Opens possibility of more 1-on-1 time,
Reference Oxford tutor .system,
Focus time on motivated students needing help,
leveraging what faculty does best.
Pressure on faculty to become entertainment
Lectures by famous experts
Hardware & equipment
More faculty using mobiles to keep in touch with
students more frequently.
Desktops & Laptops
for special applications
Mobile computing predominates
Focus on Career Preparation
Move away from basic science to applied science
Political motivation
Product/product motive
Lost awareness of how humanities and basic science are foundation of profits and careers.
IMPACT: Business major
Students' marketability
Collelge as preparation for grad school
Recomposition of academic divisions
for more multidisciplinary programs
Decline of prestige
of humanities
Increasing Blur of Private Life and Professional Life (being available 24/7)
setting clear expectations for students about immediate feedback
Increasing Fear of change among some faculty
need to audit new courses and find other ways to particpate in new forms of teaching and learning
Needs of students to be able to participate in a technology rich society and culture
Need to use digital tools for assessment, types of assessment changes with new tools
Need to focus on differnt forms of writing
Make teaching and learning more public, so that it mirrors the public culture that they are already participating in
Students' expectations and abilities to use technology in their daily lives
Needing to change the pedagogy and curriculum to meet these expectations
more work up front for faculty to change teaching
Mobile Technologies
take advantage of different forms of communications with students (texting)
increasing expertise in staff and faculty
increased ability to collect data in the field. this will lead to helping students organize and analyze data better
Setting up classrooms to better acoomodate mobile computing
MOOCs
new types of course content in addition to traditional textbooks
potential for changing delivery of content for faculty
providing content for alumns and keeping a connection with alumns
Changing trends in pedagogy: project based learning, collaborative learning, student centered learning
The role of the teacher changes, becoming a guide to learning rather than the "sage on the stage"
The ability to equate Family ability and willingness to pay for a Liberal Arts education with the value of LA education
highlighting different teaching models which emphasize high-touch, non-traditional classroom settings
helping parents understand how teaching and learning has changed
Students are in charge of their learning, not faculty
Costs ($$ and human) of using Technology Resources
recognizing that different costs may emerge and fees to pay for them (e.g. paying for MOOCs instead of textbooks)
needing to be smarter about making choices between whether to pay for reources or go with open resources (Canvas vs. Moodle)
Flat budgets and constrained resources
need for better use of resources and knowing who to talk to among the liaisons
Need to recognize LIS as colleagues and consultants