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How can colleges and universities engage students in ways that
prepare them to solve problems in our rapidly changing world? Most
American colleges and universities assimilate students into highly
competitive undergraduate experiences. By placing achievement for
personal and material gain as the bedrock of a college education,
these institutions fail to educate students to become collaborative
learners: people who are committed and prepared to join with others
in developing promising solutions to problems that they share with
others. Drawing on a three-year study of student persistence and
learning at Minority-Serving Institutions, Clifton Conrad and Todd
Lundberg argue that student success in college should be redefined
by focusing on the importance of collaborative learning over
individual achievement. Engaging students in shared, real-world
problem-solving, Conrad and Lundberg assert, will encourage them to
embrace interdependence and to value and draw on diverse
perspectives. Learning with Others presents a set of core practices
to empower students to enter, nourish, and sustain collaborative
learning and outlines how to blend the roles and responsibilities
of faculty, staff, and students; how to adopt best practices for
receiving and giving feedback on problem-solving; and how to anchor
a curriculum in shared problem-solving. Bringing together lessons
learned from more than 300 interviews, along with notes from 14
campus visits, 3 national convenings, and examples from across our
nation's colleges and universities, Conrad and Lundberg explore
ways in which successful antiracist networks of problem-solvers are
learning to contribute to the flourishing of their communities on
campus and far beyond. Outlining strategies for identifying and
dismantling barriers to participation, Learning with Others will
pique interest among faculty, students, and administrators in
higher education and a wide range of external stakeholders-from
families and communities to policymakers and funders.
How can colleges develop learners who pursue innovative ideas that
enable them to flourish and contribute in a rapidly changing world?
Two decades into the twenty-first century, our nation's colleges
and universities no longer embrace a clear and convincing
definition of the purpose of a college education. Instead, most
institutions have fallen prey to a default purpose in which college
is essentially workforce preparation for jobs that already exist,
while students are viewed as commodities instead of being educated
to flourish throughout their lives. But rather than bemoan the
diminishing legacy of liberal education, this new edition of
Cultivating Inquiry-Driven Learners argues that the time has come
to advance a pioneering purpose of college that guides the
undergraduate experience from program requirements to teaching and
learning. This purpose, Clifton Conrad and Laura Dunek write, is
anchored in the premise that the world in which we live is one in
which change-environmental, cultural, economic, political-is a
constant driving force. The authors envision a college-educated
person in the twenty-first century as an "inquiry-driven learner":
a person equipped with the capabilities to explore and cultivate
ideas that will prepare them to successfully navigate constant
change, capitalize on career opportunities, enrich their personal
life, and contribute to the public good. They describe four
signature capabilities that students must develop in order to
innovate and adapt: core qualities of mind, critical thinking
skills, expertise in divergent modes of inquiry, and the capacity
to express and communicate ideas. Guided by this trailblazing
vision, Conrad and Dunek have thoroughly revised every chapter of
the book to reflect current scholarship and emerging trends. In an
expanded conclusion, they provide a cornucopia of ideas for
replenishing undergraduate education accompanied by real-world
examples of innovative programs and practices from colleges and
universities across the United States. Throughout, Cultivating
Inquiry-Driven Learners challenges stakeholders from across higher
learning-faculty, students, staff, administrators, and
policymakers-to reflect on the purpose of college, embrace
innovation, and ensure that students are educated to thrive in and
contribute to our constantly changing world.
In an increasingly diverse United States, minority and low-income
students of all ages struggle to fit into mainstream colleges and
universities that cater predominantly to middle-income and affluent
white students fresh out of high school. Anchored in a study
conducted at twelve minority-serving institutions (MSIs), Educating
a Diverse Nation turns a spotlight on the challenges facing
nontraditional college students and highlights innovative programs
and practices that are advancing students' persistence and
learning. Clifton Conrad and Marybeth Gasman offer an on-the-ground
perspective of life at MSIs. Speaking for themselves, some students
describe the stress of balancing tuition with the need to support
families. Others express their concerns about not being adequately
prepared for college-level work. And more than a few reveal doubts
about the relevance of college for their future. The authors
visited the four main types of MSIs-historically black colleges and
universities, tribal colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving
institutions, and Asian American and Native American Pacific
Islander-serving institutions-to identify strategies for empowering
nontraditional students to succeed in college despite these
obstacles. Educating a Diverse Nation illuminates such initiatives
as collaborative learning, culturally relevant educational
programs, blurring the roles of faculty, staff, and students,
peer-led team learning, and real-world problem solving. It shows
how these innovations engage students and foster the knowledge,
skills, and habits they need to become self-sustaining in college
and beyond, as well as valuable contributors to society.
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