Changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic indicate the need for reform within the higher education system. Embracing online and flexible learning certainly spurs the industry in the right direction when it comes to equitable access, however these measures alone are not enough to fully address the root problems facing higher education.
Socio-economic barriers still impede access to quality education, whether for traditional learning or online learning. Additionally, many programs across the globe focus on easily outdated knowledge rather than nurturing applied, hands-on learning. What, then, can institutions do to bring about true reform?
According to the World Economic Forum, in the past year, experts in the field have noted four trends shaping the future of higher education:
- Learning from everywhere
- Replacing lectures with active learning
- Teaching skills that remain relevant in a changing world
- Using formative assessment instead of high-stake exams
Learning from everywhere:
The onset of the pandemic sparked an abrupt change in the mode of traditional learning as schools around the world scrambled to pivot to online learning. As the possible detriment to student learning became apparent, the forced experiment in online education jarred a reexamination of how time and space influence student learning.
In fact, some students found that learning at their own pace was beneficial and conducive to their personal learning preferences and styles. Some classes took their science lessons to the kitchen, effectively linking the study material to a tangible learning experience. Hybrid learning has the potential to allow a truly immersive and experiential learning experience, granting students the critical skills to apply classroom concepts to real world practices. Shifting the focus from the “learn from anywhere” mentality to the “learn from everywhere” perspective will make all the difference in the quality of immersive hybrid learning experiences.
Replacing lectures with active learning:
Lectures, though an efficient method to teach and disseminate knowledge, do not effectively promote student learning. With mass information being readily available and free in the digital age, many question the need to spend thousands of dollars to listen to someone speak of a material that can be relatively discoverable online. During the pandemic, when lectures took place online in family living rooms, the ineffectiveness of lectures became exacerbated and even more apparent.
Research demonstrates that learning does not occur through listening alone. True and fully active learning relies on spaced learning, emotional learning, and the application of knowledge. This approach not only improves student learning outcomes, but also reduces the education gap as experienced by socio-economically disadvantaged students. Paul Quinn College, a Texas-based HBCU, for example, implemented fully active learning within their honors program, partnering with regional employers to provide students with internship experiences. This program provides traditionally marginalized students the opportunity to apply learned knowledge in a real-world context.
Teaching skills that remain relevant in a changing world:
Research indicates that where nearly every Chief Academic Officer agrees that their institution does a good job preparing students for the workforce, less than half (41%) of college students and only a tenth of business leaders share that viewpoint. Universities need to pivot from teaching skills and technologies that quickly become obsolete to instilling skills that remain relevant in the continuously changing economic climate.
Minerva University in San Francisco, for example, has enveloped competencies such as critical and creative thinking into foundational concepts and habits of mind. Instilling skills that are relevant across disciplines better prepares students to enter the workforce and hold an education that can remain relevant in novel and evolving contexts.
Using formative assessment instead of high-stake exams:
Unfortunately, many individuals are admitted into higher education institutions based on standardized testing that skews to higher socioeconomic classes. These tests do not measure any real competency level, rather they test what and how much information was retained at that point in time. The reality is that most professionals, if asked to sit for an exam of the subject they majored in, would fail tragically. Many universities, such as Harvard, are starting to forgo standardized testing, and higher education professionals are exploring alternate measures that would not only assess student learning outcomes, but would also improve student learning.
The time is ripe for higher education institutions to undergo true reform. The field must move towards active learning, adopting a curriculum and pedagogy that is inclusive and accessible and that applies learning and imparts skills that will endure in a changing world.