How many academics does it take to change a light bulb?

How many academics does it take to change a light bulb? Answer: Change!? I also heard someone say that they believe it is easier to change the course of history than to change a history course.

No one likes change. It never seems to be convenient to go through change. If one looks at education, however, many things are done the same as they may have been a hundred years ago (think lecture) even when we have had so many advances in technology. When in graduate school, I was told that the reason there was a requirement for all graduate students to take a non-credit, one-semester foreign language course was because “that is the way we have always done that.” Too often, I fear, this is the way academia works.

Take a look at the article entitled What You (Really) Need to Know written by Lawrence H. Summers in the January 20, 2012 Education section of The New York Times. Summers is the former president of Harvard University and a former Secretary of the Treasury. In the article, Summers wonders how university education might change in light of today’s world. He states:

Nonetheless, it is interesting to speculate: Suppose the educational system is drastically altered to reflect the structure of society and what we now understand about how people learn. How will what universities teach be different? Here are some guesses and hopes.

He outlines six possible transformations in the way people learn in the university.

• Focus will be more on how to process and use information and less about imparting it.
• Because of the knowledge explosion, tasks will be conducted with more collaboration.
• New technologies will significantly change the way knowledge is transmitted.
• Technology and collaborative experiences will be used to promote dynamic or active learning.
• It will be essential that the educational experience become more cosmopolitan; that students have international experiences and see examples from around the world.
• Much more emphasis will be placed on the analysis of data.

I believe that we in COPHS are doing some of these things now. What are your thoughts on Summers’ suggestions? How could we incorporate his ideas to increase our commitment to helping our students in their careers and their ability to contribute to society?