First feature in our on-going series of "FOCUS ON LEARNING"

A Student-Focused Learning Culture
By Denise Webster

As defined in Wikepedia: Student-centered learning is an approach to education focusing on the needs of the students, rather than those of others involved in the educational process, such as teachers and administrators. This approach has many implications for the design of curriculum, course content, and interactivity of courses. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student-centered_learning)

The mission and vision statements of the vast majority of higher education institution's incorporate a similar statement regarding learning, using terms like student-focused, student-centered, learning-centered and learner-centered. An institution's faculty, administrators and staff all play a role in the transition of the institution's culture from an instruction paradigm to a learning paradigm. (Tagg, 2003) That is, "a shift from providing instruction to producing student learning." (Barr, 1998) Are we at CMU ready and willing to embrace the learning paradigm? If we are and were to pursue this direction, how would we know if we are successful? What would the indicators of success be? How would we demonstrate that we have made this change and we value our role in the learning process for our students?

At the center of this shift from a teaching paradigm to a learning paradigm is the assumption that faculty love their disciplines and want to share their knowledge and enthusiasm with students. As educators our desire above all else is for students to learn and succeed. But does standing in a classroom and assigning a student a grade really provide us the best evidence that our students have learned? How do we know if they have integrated their learning or are prepared to continue their learning once they leave CMU? Have students developed and synthesized increasingly complex ideas, skills and values in my course? Have they done this throughout their educational experience? A learning culture goes beyond an isolated course; it promotes an integration of learning across all parts of a students' educational experience including out of class experiences.

To transform an institution to a student-focused learning culture everyone must appreciate their roles in student learning. Two of the most important activities within this learning culture are to identify learning outcomes for students and establish ways to ensure that graduates achieve these outcomes. Learning cultures use a language of mutual responsibility for creating an environment conducive to student learning. The challenge for us in higher education is to accept our responsibility to establish expectations for learning outcomes, assess whether these expectations are realized, set new goals for improvement and share these results with our colleagues, students and the public. A campus community that embraces a learning culture needs to engage in purposeful discussions that foster conditions in which meaningful questions are raised and addressed and assessment is valued and evidence is collected, analyzed and shared. A learning culture is interested in the individual student's progression, but it also is about the ability of that student to view the educational process in a holistic way. A learning culture supports assessment, at all levels, as a process that focuses on student learning.

"Fostering students' abilities to integrate learning—across courses, over time, and between campus and community life—is one of the most important goals and challenges of higher education." (Huber & Hutchings, 2004) Can this simple, but meaningful quote, help direct us to defining what student-focused learning means at CMU?

Readings:

Association of American Colleges and Universities. (2004). Our students' best work: A framework for accountability worthy of our mission.

Barr, Robert. (1998). Obstacles to implementing the learning paradigm. About Campus. Wiley Interscience. 3 (4).

Barr, Robert & Tagg, John. (1995). A new paradigm for undergraduate education. Change The Magazine of Higher Learning. November/December.

Council for Higher Education Association. (2003). Statement of Mutual Responsibilities for Student Learning Outcomes: Accreditation, Institutions, and Programs. September

Huber, Mary & Hutchings, Pat. (2004). Integrative learning mapping the terrain. Association of American Colleges and Universities.

Integrative learning [Special Issue]. (2005). Peer Review. 7 (4).

Miller, Ross & Leskes, Andrea. (2005). Levels of assessment from the student to the institution. Association of American Colleges and Universities.