tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/student-engagement-30280/articlesStudent engagement – The Conversation2023-03-27T20:40:17Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2009552023-03-27T20:40:17Z2023-03-27T20:40:17ZChatGPT: Student insights are necessary to help universities plan for the future<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517716/original/file-20230327-22-vnwa4n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C83%2C6962%2C4575&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What does student feedback about technology reveal about the changing nature of post-secondary education and equitably supporting student development? </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With the launch of ChatGPT to the public, post-secondary institutions are aware of the seismic impact this could have on both the business and art of education. </p>
<p>Educators’ <a href="https://theconversation.com/will-chatgpt-be-the-disrupter-academia-needs-200215">emotions have ranged</a> from intrigue and excitement <a href="https://doi.org/10.14201/eks.31279">to panic about massive disruption</a>.</p>
<p>Public access to this <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/garydrenik/2023/01/11/large-language-models-will-define-artificial-intelligence/?sh=77b788d4b60f">large language model (LLM)</a> raises <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2023/01/12/academic-experts-offer-advice-chatgpt">important questions about teaching and learning</a>, including the design of meaningful assessments, the appropriate use of technology, maintaining academic integrity and quality control over education. </p>
<p>There are also broader existential, ethical and equity concerns, such as those <a href="https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3442188.3445922">raised by AI ethics researcher Timnit Gebru, computational linguist Emily M. Bender and others</a>.</p>
<p>In response to these legitimate concerns, there has been a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/16/technology/chatgpt-artificial-intelligence-universities.html">frenzy of activity from within ivory towers around the world</a>, including faculty meetings, committee formations and policy developments. </p>
<p>Institutions are struggling to keep up with the dizzying speed of AI advancements over the last several months, and what this means for the traditional writing process. Recently, Microsoft announced Microsoft 365 Copilot, an AI writing assistant, which integrates LLM capabilities into products such as Microsoft Word — promising consumers that they’ll <a href="https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2023/03/16/introducing-microsoft-365-copilot-yo*ur-copilot-for-work/">“never start with a blank slate again</a>.”</p>
<p>In the race to get ahead of new technologies, are we forgetting about the perspectives of the most important stakeholders within our post-secondary institutions: the students? </p>
<p>Leaving students out of early discussions and decision-making processes is almost always a recipe for ill-fitting, ineffective and/or damaging approaches. The mantra “nothing for us without us” comes to mind here. </p>
<h2>Student responses</h2>
<p>Let’s remember that young people are far more than passive consumers of educational content and experiences. </p>
<p>They are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-5812.2010.00684.x">creative and savvy participants</a> who are eager for high-value educational experiences. Students have sophisticated ideas educators should be attentive to, and are already deeply <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-tech-savvy-tech-shame-survey-2022-12?op=1">embedded into the techno-social world</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Students seen walking on a campus" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517725/original/file-20230327-16-q2sdjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517725/original/file-20230327-16-q2sdjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517725/original/file-20230327-16-q2sdjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517725/original/file-20230327-16-q2sdjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517725/original/file-20230327-16-q2sdjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517725/original/file-20230327-16-q2sdjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517725/original/file-20230327-16-q2sdjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Students are eager for high-value educational experiences.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)</span></span>
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<p>Our combined experience over the last 15 years includes work in education within kindergarten to Grade 12, post-secondary and non-profit sectors, designing teaching and learning strategies, student engagement policies and programs and curricula. </p>
<p>This work reminds us that post-secondary institutions must resist being swayed by a sense of urgency and giving in to paternalistic impulses in the face of rapid change.</p>
<p>Educators and administrators need to engage students in conversations and decisions regarding AI with a genuine curiosity and openness to their desires, insights, concerns and recommendations. </p>
<h2>Accountability and strategic imperative</h2>
<p>This is a matter of accountability, but also a strategic imperative for post-secondary institutions interested in staying responsive to the changing educational and post-graduate landscape. </p>
<p>The inconvenient truth is that ChatGPT is rubbing salt into pre-existing wounds in higher education. With the rising costs <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/featured-reports/article-the-high-price-of-higher-learning/">of post-secondary education</a>, global economic insecurity and technology-enabled access to information, students have already been asking tough questions about the value of their degrees. </p>
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<p>
<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/low-funding-for-universities-puts-students-at-risk-for-cycles-of-poverty-especially-in-the-wake-of-covid-19-131363">Low funding for universities puts students at risk for cycles of poverty, especially in the wake of COVID-19</a>
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<p>This is the second time in three years that higher education has faced a herculean existential challenge, including the transition online during the pandemic. Still, we can afford to slow down enough to ask what these crises and disruptions reveal about higher education. In fact, we can’t afford not to slow down. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Students seen walking through a campus with face masks on." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517715/original/file-20230327-16-ckgafo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/517715/original/file-20230327-16-ckgafo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517715/original/file-20230327-16-ckgafo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517715/original/file-20230327-16-ckgafo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517715/original/file-20230327-16-ckgafo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517715/original/file-20230327-16-ckgafo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/517715/original/file-20230327-16-ckgafo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Faced with economic insecurity, students are asking tough questions about the value of their degrees.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)</span></span>
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<h2>Shortcomings, possibilities of higher education</h2>
<p>For meaningful answers, we should ask students what the ongoing advancement of AI tells us about both the shortcomings and possibilities of higher education. </p>
<p>What students say might reveal more than simply how to use AI tools in classrooms. They might offer insights into more meaningful, enduring approaches that transform post-secondary institutions and educational practices. </p>
<p>A lot of immediate responses to ChatGPT seem to stem from the assumption that students will jump at the opportunity to use the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/chatgpt-academic-cheating-1.6732115">technology to cheat</a>.</p>
<p>There are undoubtedly risks around plagiarism, and anecdotal accounts suggest some of this has already begun. However, this should provoke curiosity and actions that extend beyond tighter academic integrity policies and smarter plagiarism detection technologies. </p>
<h2>New models for education?</h2>
<p>We might take this as an opportunity to invite students to discuss their motivations regarding ChatGPT, including why and how they use the tool. We should consider what their motivations reveal about the changing nature of learning and opportunities for new models of post-secondary education. </p>
<p>We are reminded of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Paulo-Freire">Brazilian educator Paulo Freire’s</a> seminal work, <em><a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/ca/pedagogy-of-the-oppressed-9781501314162/#">Pedagogy of the Oppressed</a></em>, that stressed how treating students as passive recipients of knowledge deprives both students and educators of the promise of education. </p>
<p>As Freire suggests, the promise, hope and possibilities inherent in education demand a meaningful dialogue between educators and students.</p>
<h2>Equity lens needed</h2>
<p>In this dialogue, post-secondary educators and administrators must also pay attention to how technology always has the potential to <a href="https://www.teachermagazine.com/au_en/articles/chatgpt-education-assessment-equity-and-policy">repair or worsen equity gaps in education</a>. </p>
<p>Having an equity lens from the outset means post-secondary institutions are paying attention to who technologies are accessible to, who is being served and who is not being served. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/university-anti-racism-policies-use-shared-decision-making-to-hear-bipoc-student-insights-185090">University anti-racism policies: Use shared decision-making to hear BIPOC student insights</a>
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<p>We need to engage students in ways that make these dynamics visible to us in real time, so that we can also course correct in real time. </p>
<h2>Student-led research, strategic planning</h2>
<p>Engaging students is not enough; we need to engage them effectively. This means moving beyond the “token-student-representative-on-a-university-committee” model. </p>
<p>Some promising approaches might include investments in student-led research about the changing nature of teaching and learning, mechanisms for spontaneous and ongoing discussions with students and student-centred institutional strategic planning processes. </p>
<p>The stakes are high, but so are the transformative possibilities. </p>
<p>Higher education should be a time and place where students are called to pay attention to, draw upon and activate their knowledge. They need to be invited to participate in projects dedicated to building a common future — the future of our institutions as well as our broader communities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200955/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Post-secondary student input about ChatGPT and other AI matters not only for accountability, but also as a savvy way to strategize about the future of higher education.Alpha Abebe, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Humanities, McMaster UniversityFenella Amarasinghe, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Education, York University, CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1659522021-08-23T20:10:02Z2021-08-23T20:10:02ZUp to 80% of uni students don’t read their assigned readings. Here are 6 helpful tips for teachers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416888/original/file-20210819-25-10wje0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=34%2C0%2C3888%2C2584&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/frustrated-stressed-out-student-looks-high-71947789">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>University course readings are pivotal to advance student knowledge and prepare them for class discussions. Despite this, only <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10963758.2020.1868317">20-30% of students</a> read the assigned materials. Drawing on research findings that help explain this alarmingly low rate, this article offers some strategies to help students engage with their required readings.</p>
<p>Over the past two decades educators have raised concerns about changing patterns of student motivation, engagement and comprehension of academic reading. The power of technology, media and apps have affected student reading patterns. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-you-can-read-this-headline-you-can-read-a-novel-heres-how-to-ignore-your-phone-and-just-do-it-116524">If you can read this headline, you can read a novel. Here's how to ignore your phone and just do it</a>
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<p>Studies indicate that <a href="https://www.edsurge.com/news/2019-09-24-students-are-reading-slower-and-comprehending-less-here-s-what-to-do-about-it">students are reading more slowly and comprehending less</a>. They often struggle to <a href="https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-fall-and-rise-of-reading/">read anything beyond an excerpt</a>. </p>
<p>The challenging statistics on reading show a steep decline in student reading compliance. These trends are emerging not just at primary and secondary education level, but <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2017.1359702">increasingly at a university level</a>.</p>
<p>Students often underestimate the <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2010-11460-001">centrality of course readings</a>. They rarely regard textbooks and academic papers as their <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED418374.pdf">primary source of information</a>.</p>
<p>This often results in a lack of class participation, rich conversations and, at times, assessment quality. </p>
<p>In our increasingly technological world, new online and application solutions have assisted students with motivation and supported their learning preferences. Digital technology has made access to academic texts more flexible. However, some <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9817.12269">researchers</a> argue screen-based reading may compromise the quality of the readers’ engagement.</p>
<h2>Why are readings so often left unread?</h2>
<p>A comprehensive <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2016.1222577">study</a> identifies four main reasons university students don’t engage with course readings:</p>
<ol>
<li>unpreparedness due to language deficits</li>
<li>time constraints</li>
<li>lack of motivation</li>
<li>underestimating the importance of the readings. </li>
</ol>
<p>“Unpreparedness” is an alarming finding, as it highlights deficits in language understanding and use. Some students have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.324">limited knowledge of technical terms</a> used in courses, which explains why they struggle to understand assigned course literature.</p>
<p>Social and cultural dimensions also influence student engagement (or disengagement) with readings. For example, students’ previous experiences, year in university, and native versus non-native (English) speakers can all play an important role in their perception of, and attitudes to, readings. </p>
<p>Students naturally approach the assigned content with their own unique expectations and strategies. Some may review the reading, take notes and google summaries, while others may <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2011.644778">translate each unknown word or difficult concept</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Female student sitting at table with laptop takes notes as she reads in a library." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416892/original/file-20210819-23-1fq0o4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416892/original/file-20210819-23-1fq0o4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416892/original/file-20210819-23-1fq0o4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416892/original/file-20210819-23-1fq0o4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416892/original/file-20210819-23-1fq0o4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416892/original/file-20210819-23-1fq0o4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416892/original/file-20210819-23-1fq0o4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Students vary greatly in how they manage assigned reading material.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/female-student-taking-notes-book-library-516640027">Shutterstock</a></span>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-my-students-taught-me-about-reading-old-books-hold-new-insights-for-the-digital-generation-127799">What my students taught me about reading: old books hold new insights for the digital generation</a>
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<h2>Don’t just blame the problem on students</h2>
<p>The engagement with readings is often seen as an exclusively student-centred problem. I urge a move away from this view. Instead, I invite educators, learning designers and educational developers to reconsider the methods we use to integrate assigned academic literature in the course design.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2019.1696740">Research</a> indicates that educators struggle to clearly communicate the rationale for why students need to read and how these texts contribute to their learning. We need to recognise different student personalities and anxieties, and to develop flexible ways for students to interact with academic literature.</p>
<p>But don’t students know that reading matters? Isn’t that what being at uni is about? Maybe, but here’s the problem. </p>
<p>Teachers regularly engage with complex papers, books and reports. Over the years they develop effective approaches to tackling the academic content. </p>
<p>Most students, on the other hand, have limited, if any, exposure to such texts. Many have <a href="https://ro.uow.edu.au/jutlp/vol17/iss2/2/">low reading confidence</a>. This results in situations where students face a black box (of readings) and are simply expected to know what to do with it, how to do it and, importantly, why. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2020.1779028">First-year and international students</a> are particularly familiar with this scenario.</p>
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<img alt="Male student reads a book with a pile of other books next to hhim" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416916/original/file-20210819-23-onzfql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416916/original/file-20210819-23-onzfql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416916/original/file-20210819-23-onzfql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416916/original/file-20210819-23-onzfql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416916/original/file-20210819-23-onzfql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416916/original/file-20210819-23-onzfql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/416916/original/file-20210819-23-onzfql.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Getting through all their required reading can be hard work for students.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/intellectual-attractive-man-reading-concentrated-book-159921464">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>How can educators improve engagement with readings?</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2016.1222577">Educators often use questions and reflections</a> to determine whether students have learned or missed anything in the readings. While it is a good starting point, quite often these sessions are done to test students rather than foster their learning. So, what else can we do?</p>
<p>With the development of <a href="https://theconversation.com/digital-learning-is-real-world-learning-thats-why-blended-on-campus-and-online-study-is-best-163002">blended</a> (in person and online) and technology-rich learning environments, educators can use mixed approaches to engage students with assigned readings. We can divide these into pre-class and in-class strategies.</p>
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<p>
<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/digital-learning-is-real-world-learning-thats-why-blended-on-campus-and-online-study-is-best-163002">Digital learning is real-world learning. That's why blended on-campus and online study is best</a>
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<p>Ideas for pre-class strategies:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Students participate in pre-class activities online. <a href="https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-teacher-recommended-tools-for-online-learning/2020/11">Learning management systems and collaborative tools</a> – such as quizzes, polls and collaborative apps – offer multiple interactive options. Invite students to practise different approaches, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10790195.2020.1734885">unfamiliar reading strategies</a>. </p></li>
<li><p>Offer clear expectations and strategies on what, how and why to read. For example, should I skim, review the text or look for best practice? Sometimes a discussion early on is enough.</p></li>
<li><p>Gradually introduce <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.324">technical terms and cognitive load</a>. Don’t assume students know all specific terms from the start.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Ideas for in-class strategies:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Invite students to apply the readings to real-life experience, <a href="https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/educational-assessment/keeping-students-engaged-how-to-rethink-your-assessments-amidst-the-shift-to-online-learning">assignments or projects</a>. Activities with clear longer-term agendas not only engage students but also allow educators to observe how students grasp new information.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://doi.org/10.5172/ijpl.2013.8.2.106">Gradually increase informed learning concepts</a> and strategies to help students develop critical and creative academic skills.</p></li>
<li><p>Provide a safe space for students to clarify confusing aspects. Weekly reading groups, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10963758.2020.1868317">talking circles or other collaborations</a> enable students to share and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2016.1222577">ask genuine questions</a>. These conversations can encourage students to tackle complex content.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Various techniques are effective in different contexts. What strategies have you found to meaningfully engage students with readings?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165952/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sandris Zeivots does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Rather than just blaming the students, educators must consider why course materials are not being read and develop strategies to tackle the problems students face.Sandris Zeivots, Lecturer in Educational Development, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1582172021-05-20T19:52:44Z2021-05-20T19:52:44ZGood riddance to boring lectures? Technology isn’t the answer – understanding good teaching is<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401467/original/file-20210519-23-e9scot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C0%2C4315%2C2866&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bored-male-student-listens-lecture-university-1077839498">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>With some universities returning to face-to-face teaching this year, ANU Vice Chancellor Brian Schmidt <a href="https://campusmorningmail.com.au/news/lets-it-hear-for-live-and-in-person-lecturing/">noted</a> that, while his university was one of them, lectures would be much less common and not a “crutch for poor pedagogy”. Since then many have <a href="https://www.aare.edu.au/blog/?p=8996">discussed the issue of lectures</a>, including the deputy vice chancellor of University of Technology Sydney and the director of the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education in Western Australia, with ideas ranging from <a href="https://www.aare.edu.au/blog/?p=8377">embracing the lecture to removing it entirely</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1361073268451463171"}"></div></p>
<p>Condemnation of lectures is <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2014/may/15/ten-reasons-we-should-ditch-university-lectures">nothing new</a>. However, the sudden, massive shift to reliance on technology due to COVID has brought increasing calls for ending the venerable lecture. Lectures will, we are told, be replaced by superior, <a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-killed-the-on-campus-lecture-but-will-unis-raise-it-from-the-dead-152971">technology-enhanced substitutes</a>. </p>
<p>Underlying these messages are two tacit assumptions: that lectures make for bad teaching and that using technology improves it. But are these reliable assumptions? Rather than simply rejecting lectures and embracing technology, perhaps we should be looking more closely into both, and their relationship to each other.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-killed-the-on-campus-lecture-but-will-unis-raise-it-from-the-dead-152971">COVID killed the on-campus lecture, but will unis raise it from the dead?</a>
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</em>
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<hr>
<h2>Our love-hate relationship with lectures</h2>
<p>Discussions about getting rid of lectures follow predictable patterns. The most common complaints centre on lectures as <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2014/05/lectures-arent-just-boring-theyre-ineffective-too-study-finds">didactic, learner-passive and boring</a>. Accompanying these critiques is the oft-cited rule that students’ attention span has a limit of <a href="https://resilienteducator.com/classroom-resources/short-attention-span-class-structure/">10-18 minutes</a>. </p>
<p>While there is <a href="https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/advan.00109.2016">little to no evidence for this claim</a>, we can all identify with struggling to remain awake as we are droned at from a lectern. But most of us can also recall times we were spellbound by a lecture. Anyone who has attended a great TED Talk or even watched one on YouTube knows what it’s like to be captivated for that <a href="https://www.ted.com/participate/organize-a-local-tedx-event/tedx-organizer-guide/speakers-program/event-program">3-18 minutes</a>.</p>
<p>Can lectures hold people’s attention beyond 18 minutes, though? The late Professor Randy Pausch was well known for the power and quality of his lectures, especially his final one, “<a href="https://www.cmu.edu/randyslecture/">Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture</a>”, which he delivered after receiving a terminal diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. That lecture comes in at a little over one hour and 15 minutes, and many consider it to be a masterwork of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/08/health/08well.html">powerful teaching and communication</a>. </p>
<p>Clearly, extended lectures can have great impact. Achieving that impact, however, requires understanding what makes for good lecturing and then committing to improvement. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ji5_MqicxSo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/videos-wont-kill-the-uni-lecture-but-they-will-improve-student-learning-and-their-marks-142282">Videos won't kill the uni lecture, but they will improve student learning and their marks</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Push the boundaries and reflect on your practice</h2>
<p>Pausch challenges the stereotype of what a lecture is. He uses <a href="https://www.talkingaccounting.com/2019/01/07/using-props-in-the-classroom/">physical props, multimedia and other resources</a> to push the boundaries of the lecture beyond a typical, didactic engagement. The result is a lecture that periodically shifts how the audience is engaged and, in doing so, captures and keeps the audience’s attention.</p>
<p>Lecturing at this level requires more than just experience. We must <a href="https://poorvucenter.yale.edu/ReflectiveTeaching">reflect on our teaching practice</a>, evaluate the quality of our lectures in relation to our intentions, and then commit to developing both our lectures and ourselves. </p>
<p>Professor Eric Mazur describes how, while teaching physics at Harvard in the 1990s, he came to the painful realisation that <a href="https://harvardmagazine.com/2012/03/twilight-of-the-lecture">his lectures were failing</a> to keep his students engaged or serve the educational objectives of the subject. He used this realisation as a springboard to improve his lectures and develop his pedagogical knowledge and skills. </p>
<p>Since then, Mazur has become a recognised expert in improving student engagement. He has created a variety of solutions for academics to keep students actively engaged in lectures, even those that go beyond the apocryphal 18-minute limit. The techniques <a href="https://mazur.harvard.edu/presentations/keynote-twilight-lecture-peer-instruction-active-learning">Mazur advocates</a> range from <a href="https://youtu.be/Z9orbxoRofI">integrating peer instruction into lectures</a> to <a href="https://youtu.be/iisnPrQLcNU">using a high-tech, collaborative platform</a> to promote students’ pre-lecture preparation.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/5-tips-on-how-unis-can-do-more-to-design-online-learning-that-works-for-all-students-144803">5 tips on how unis can do more to design online learning that works for all students</a>
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<hr>
<h2>Lose the assumptions, not the lectern</h2>
<p>So then what about the claim that technology is making the lecture obsolete? This seems doubtful for a couple reasons. </p>
<p>Pausch and Mazur’s methods can be transferred to an online space, even if we don’t label the result a lecture. We see many examples of how this works in well-regarded online learning platforms like <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org">Khan Academy</a> or <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/learning/">LinkedIn Learning</a> (formerly <a href="https://www.lynda.com">Lynda</a>). However we label these engagements, it’s obvious technology can actually help lectures rather than just supplant them.</p>
<p>Now let’s turn the question around: does using technology guarantee or even increase the likelihood of good teaching? Technology can make good practices easier, like the use of <a href="https://elearning.uq.edu.au/guides/virtual-classroom/using-zoom-tips">polls and break-out rooms and timers</a>. Technology can even <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6798020/">open new possibilities and paradigms</a> for teaching. But there are no guarantees. </p>
<p>The list of ed tech failures is <a href="http://hackeducation.com/2019/12/31/what-a-shitshow">long and dismaying</a>. Examining what goes wrong, we see some <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-gamma/why-most-ed-tech-fails">common misunderstandings</a>. </p>
<p>One of these is that adding technology equals enhancing teaching. Technology carries no inherent pedagogical value. Swapping an iPad for a lectern does not, in itself move learning from a boring, didactic experience to interactive, lively engagement. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Distracted student struggles to watch an online lecture" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401465/original/file-20210519-3808-mr67wn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/401465/original/file-20210519-3808-mr67wn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401465/original/file-20210519-3808-mr67wn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401465/original/file-20210519-3808-mr67wn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401465/original/file-20210519-3808-mr67wn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401465/original/file-20210519-3808-mr67wn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/401465/original/file-20210519-3808-mr67wn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A didactic, boring lecture is poor teaching whether delivered online or in person.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bored-unhappy-woman-watching-lon-online-1873189777">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Just like lectures, our uses of technology and the resulting impact must first come from thoughtful commitment to improving both teaching and teacher.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-unis-eye-more-instagram-worthy-campus-experiences-they-shouldnt-treat-online-teaching-as-a-cheap-and-easy-option-156585">As unis eye more ‘Instagram-worthy’ campus experiences, they shouldn't treat online teaching as a cheap and easy option</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Be critical, be reflective, be better</h2>
<p>Technology can never substitute for critically reflecting on the pedagogical value of our practice. And while technology can assist a major transformation, it should never be a requirement for improving how we teach. Whether you’re a high-tech or low-tech teacher, you can give a good lecture or find useful alternatives if you remember to put the pedagogy before the technology.</p>
<p>We need to reject the notion that lectures will sink our students and technology will save them. Instead, let’s dig deeply and critically into both, reflect upon how to improve our practices, and apply sound teaching methods and practices to create learning engagements that are captivating and profound.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/158217/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Some students may wonder why they bothered returning to campus. Others are struggling online. But lecturers who do engage students think deeply about how they do it, using all available tools.Christopher Charles Deneen, Senior Lecturer in Higher Education Curriculum & Assessment, The University of MelbourneMichael Cowling, Associate Professor - Information & Communication Technology (ICT), CQUniversity AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1440522020-08-25T17:26:36Z2020-08-25T17:26:36Z5 ways university education is being reimagined in response to COVID-19<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354237/original/file-20200823-24-17zn3ls.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=134%2C50%2C5355%2C3522&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Immersive and collaborative lab experiences are now possible online, and in the future they will complement in-person lab work. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shuttterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With the new academic year beginning shortly, students, faculty and staff <a href="https://www.universityaffairs.ca/news/news-article/covid-19-updates-for-canadas-universities/">returning to higher education</a> or <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/6718713/coronavirus-college-university-students/">arriving for the first time</a> face uncertainty. There is anxiety about a fall term like no other.</p>
<p>Those of us responsible for ensuring the futures of post-secondary students have endured months of existential fears about <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2020/06/15/students-may-know-how-stay-safe-covid-19-doesnt-mean-theyll-do-so-opinion">student and employee health and safety</a>, the <a href="https://www.universityaffairs.ca/opinion/in-my-opinion/online-enrolments-after-covid-19-some-predictions-for-canada/">efficacy of online teaching and virtual learning</a> and what it all means for <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-laurentian-university-warns-financial-viability-threatened-by-covid-1/">enrolment and revenue</a>.</p>
<p>Enough already. </p>
<p>Our responses to the pandemic are helping us reimagine the future of higher education. </p>
<p>Instead of lamenting what’s lost, let’s focus on what we’ve gained. Many of our adjustments to <a href="https://digitalpromise.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/ELE_CoBrand_DP_FINAL_3.pdf">teaching and learning, student engagement</a> and <a href="https://www.eng.mcmaster.ca/news/mcmaster-engineers-bringing-market-home-test-detect-covid-19-antibodies-and-3d-cell-printing">research</a> to adapt to COVID-19 have shown us the way to a better version of higher education. The future our students deserve can be fashioned by heeding the lessons learned from experience over the past few months. </p>
<p>Here is a blueprint.</p>
<h2>Create virtual content for the future</h2>
<p>Research suggests <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0092055X12446624">students are comfortable reading course materials online</a> but <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.3389%2Ffpsyg.2014.01278">prefer discussions and activities to occur face-to-face</a>.</p>
<p>Rather than a 50-minute lecture, virtual learning occurs best over <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2020/03/11/ensuring-online-teaching-engages-students-and-maintains-community-opinion">short sprints such as ten or fifteen-minute modules</a>. </p>
<p>A possible blended learning model is one where learning proceeds seamlessly between a physical or virtual classroom and a continuously refreshed <a href="https://ceea.ca/about-e-core/">online resource library built with open-access resources</a>. Instructors would not individually create new versions of the course each year, freeing them to <a href="https://hbr.org/2020/03/what-the-shift-to-virtual-learning-could-mean-for-the-future-of-higher-ed">mentor challenge-based learning</a>. </p>
<p>Experiential and lab learning is now possible online. </p>
<p>For example, in the faculty of engineering at McMaster, we have collaborated with the educational innovation company <a href="https://www.quanser.com">Quanser</a> to develop software that brings <a href="https://www.eng.mcmaster.ca/news/mcmaster-and-quanser-partner-lead-virtual-lab-innovation-canadian-engineering-education">interactive and immersive lab experiences</a> to students through virtual reality and gaming platforms. This fall, first-year engineering students will learn technical skills in virtual labs and apply them as part of a team in a virtual design studio. They’ll then collaborate with team members to address unique design challenges in areas such as autonomous vehicle design.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/H6Z3MWV5jLA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">McMaster engineering video.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Right now, universities are undertaking such efforts independently. Political support and leadership are urgently required to encourage institutions to collaborate, produce and share virtual content. Developing multiple versions of the same subject matter is wasteful. Collaborations will yield more content and a greater variety of instruction for different learning styles.</p>
<h2>Engage students through virtual experiences</h2>
<p>The success of graduates depends on three ingredients — <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/public-sector/improving-student-success-in-higher-education.html">how they are taught</a>, <a href="https://www.gallup.com/education/194264/gallup-alumni-survey.aspx">how they are mentored</a> and <a href="https://brighterworld.mcmaster.ca/articles/why-learning-from-experience-is-the-educational-wave-of-the-future/">what they experience</a>. The shift to remote learning and social distancing has upended this recipe.</p>
<p>Even before the pandemic, <a href="https://www.gallup.com/services/176768/2014-gallup-purdue-index-report.aspx">only a fraction of students made use of the wide range of curricular and extracurricular experiential learning opportunities</a> offered on campuses. Now, to overcome constraints posed by distance, scheduling and convenience, these are provided online, a template that bodes well for supplementing future face-to-face engagement. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.eng.mcmaster.ca/programs/ember">New online programs</a> are already enhancing the <a href="https://news.ok.ubc.ca/exchange/2018/08/30/introducing-ubc-101-online-orientation-for-new-students/">academic preparation of incoming students</a>, offering them experiences and easing their social transition into virtual teams and groups. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Bikes in a bike share are seen on a rack." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354236/original/file-20200823-14-1332t51.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354236/original/file-20200823-14-1332t51.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354236/original/file-20200823-14-1332t51.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354236/original/file-20200823-14-1332t51.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354236/original/file-20200823-14-1332t51.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354236/original/file-20200823-14-1332t51.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354236/original/file-20200823-14-1332t51.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Students at McMaster University participated in a Change-A-Thon in June, and some teams proposed ways to increase revenue and expand ridership in a city bike share program.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">(Joey Coleman/Flickr)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Students are learning to create <a href="https://www.eng.mcmaster.ca/macchangers-change-thon#June-2020-Projects">solutions that mitigate the social and economic impact of the virus</a>. </p>
<p>As students become more involved in <a href="https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/2020/07/troubleshooting-the-pandemic-engineers-pitch-innovative-solutions-to-help-address-covid-19">addressing the complexity of the pandemic</a>, they are also being trained to address other seemingly intractable challenges, such as climate change, clean water, affordable housing, widespread rapid transit and ubiquitous cybersecurity.</p>
<h2>End the credit hour</h2>
<p>American industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie’s plans to establish a free pension system for post-secondary educators in 1906 led to a model that translated the contact time between an instructor and a learner into a <a href="https://www.carnegiefoundation.org/blog/the-carnegie-unit-revisited/">measure of instructor workload</a>. Even today, we measure workload through that credit hour model, but also use it to <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/09/05/credit-hour-causes-many-higher-educations-problems-report-finds">link “seat time” to a student’s learning and academic progression</a>. </p>
<p>University curricula are created by stacking courses that typically involve three credit hours of instructor workload. With blended learning, where part of the instruction is asynchronous, the credit hour is no longer a surrogate for instructor workload or student learning. Now, student transcripts emphasize academic progress through mastery of credit hours. </p>
<p>This offers the opportunity to reconsider what is conveyed by the conventional academic transcript. The transcript should better reflect the learning, competencies and skills gained by the student, mirroring <a href="https://www.inc.com/justin-bariso/google-plan-disrupt-college-degree-university-higher-education-certificate-project-management-data-analyst.html">developments in professional fields</a> where <a href="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/future-ontarios-workers-how-microcredentials-can-be-vital-part-post-pandemic-recovery">micro-credentialing has emerged</a> as a way to reflect the kind of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2016.1154932">nimble and transferable skills that are most useful in today’s workplaces</a>.</p>
<h2>Broader support for students’ futures</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354240/original/file-20200823-24-78yw0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/354240/original/file-20200823-24-78yw0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354240/original/file-20200823-24-78yw0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354240/original/file-20200823-24-78yw0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354240/original/file-20200823-24-78yw0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=672&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354240/original/file-20200823-24-78yw0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=672&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/354240/original/file-20200823-24-78yw0y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=672&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Students are facing pandemic-related challenges.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Chris Montgomery/Unsplash)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>With job and financial losses, many more students can no longer afford higher education. Work opportunities like co-ops and internships that provide students with important professional competencies and skills have been scaled back by employers. Some students face food and housing insecurity, have poor health and wellness and require better digital access and devices. </p>
<p>University emergency student aid is <a href="https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/july-2020/cutting-post-secondary-budgets-during-covid-a-bad-move/">limited</a>. To nurture future talent, <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-universities-donors-amass-millions-in-grants-for-students-struggling/">some philanthropists have generously donated</a> and governments must continue to <a href="https://www.univcan.ca/media-room/publications/pre-budget-2021-submission-investing-in-universities-for-a-sustainable-covid-19-recovery/">help vulnerable learners thrive and support a bold reimagination of higher education</a>.</p>
<h2>Renew a commitment to listening</h2>
<p>The pandemic has the power to humble us all and open our eyes and ears in new ways. We have been disoriented by COVID-19 and forced to listen more, empathize and fully imagine how to serve the needs of our students, employers and communities. </p>
<p>Faculty, supported by offices of teaching and learning, are finding new <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-when-teaching-during-a-disaster-students-need-to-be-partners-136695">ways to weave student concerns into course design</a>. We must continue to <a href="https://forum.academica.ca/forum/leading-the-way-through-leaders-in-canadian-postsecondary-discuss-covid-19">listen carefully as we design curricula and teaching for the future</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/144052/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ishwar K. Puri works for McMaster University, is past chair of Engineering Deans Canada, the national organization of the deans of all accredited engineering programs, and trains students through funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and Mitacs.</span></em></p>Before the pandemic, only a fraction of students made use of the wide range of curricular and extracurricular experiential learning opportunities, but through online engagement that can change.Ishwar K. Puri, Dean of Engineering and Professor, McMaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/950352018-05-13T20:28:21Z2018-05-13T20:28:21ZRe-envisioning NAPLAN: use technology to make the tests more authentic and relevant<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/216403/original/file-20180426-175054-5ie9lh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We need to look for more engaging and relevant assessments that use the tools available in an online environment for re-envisioning NAPLAN.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>NAPLAN testing starts this week. With calls for a review, many education experts are calling the Future of NAPLAN into question. In <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/future-of-naplan-53601">this series</a>, the experts look at options for removing, replacing, rethinking or resuming NAPLAN.</em></p>
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<p>Think about where and how you read and write most often. It’s probably not on paper. It’s most likely to be online – using the internet, email, messenger, or Facebook. While print-based literacy skills are necessary in these forms of communication, they are not the only “basic” literacy skills we use. </p>
<p>In classrooms, students learn to read and write using a range of resources, for example, books, pens, paper, apps, websites. But they also learn critical thinking and problem solving, collaboration, creativity and communication necessary to achieve their future goals. They are sites of excitement enriched with learning where students are <a href="https://theconversation.com/naplan-only-tells-part-of-the-story-of-student-achievement-86144">encouraged to take risks</a> within a broad curriculum.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tailored-online-naplan-better-for-monitoring-high-and-low-achievers-42613">Tailored online NAPLAN better for monitoring high and low achievers</a>
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<p>NAPLAN online provides students with different pathways through the test based on their responses using <a href="https://theconversation.com/tailored-online-naplan-better-for-monitoring-high-and-low-achievers-42613">tailored testing</a>. Questions get either harder or easier based on the answers to previous questions. But the texts students read and types of questions to answer have not changed to take advantage of the online environment. Tailored testing may provide quicker access to scores, but it doesn’t provide any new or additional information.</p>
<p>Calls to review NAPLAN are coming from <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-07/naplan-call-review-after-report-reveals-no-change-in-decade/9519840">principal associations</a> and <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-21/timeout-on-naplan-needed-ex-principals-boss-stephen-breen-says/9682192">state authorities</a> but we can’t afford to wait for the full roll-out of NAPLAN online. We need to be considering alternatives now to re-envision NAPLAN so it can assess the challenging, more complex skills our students need to acquire for their future. NAPLAN needs to be more relevant to students’ lives and educational experiences. Using the online delivery in a meaningful way is one way we can change tack. </p>
<h2>Alternative tests</h2>
<p>One example is the Online Reading Comprehension Assessment (<a href="http://www.orca.uconn.edu/professional-development/show-me/show-me-overview/">O.R.C.A.</a>). Researchers at the University of Connecticut designed performance-based assessments which assess students during an actual online assessment task. </p>
<p>During the test, students access a limited number of internet sites included within the boundaries of the test system. The O.R.C.A. asks students to conduct research on topics in the human body systems with an avatar as a guide through the assessment task, at a year seven level. </p>
<p>It measures reading to locate information using a search engine, reading to synthesise information across multiple webpages, reading to critically evaluate the reliability of information found on the internet, and writing to communicate a short report of research in an email or wiki. It is a validated and reliable test, being used with 3,000 students across two states in the United States. </p>
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<p>An ORCA-type assessment mirrors embedded literacy practices, and numeracy practices, present in everyday life and schooling that reflect today’s students’ world. Testing of language, vocabulary and spelling could be included based on the websites. There are more possibilities for the writing assessment. It could use another mode, such as a video, multimodal product or images for students’ responses. </p>
<p>Another possible alternative are the digitally-based assessments developed in the United States for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (<a href="https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/dba/">NAEP</a>). NAEP digital assessments use tablet or computer technology to ask a variety of questions and task types. </p>
<p>They assess what students know and are able to do in more authentic or direct ways, including scenario-based tasks, interactive computer tasks, and hybrid hands-on tasks. Some questions include multimedia, such as audio and video, or digital tools, such as an onscreen calculator. Schools are provided with the technology if required. </p>
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<h2>International achievement comparisons</h2>
<p>If Australian 15-year-old students are to demonstrate the skills they need to thrive, like those needed to work and communicate with others required in the Programme for International Student Assessment (<a href="http://www.oecd.org/pisa/aboutpisa/">PISA</a>), then NAPLAN online will not provide educators with information or opportunities to develop these skills with students. </p>
<p>In PISA, students are asked to interpret texts, solve mathematics problems or explain a phenomenon scientifically using their knowledge and reasoning skills. In NAPLAN, they answer multiple choice questions. If we want to improve our standing internationally then we need to change the assessment tasks students have to complete.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/naplan-is-ten-years-old-so-how-is-the-nation-faring-81565">NAPLAN is ten years old – so how is the nation faring?</a>
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<p>We need to look for more engaging and relevant assessments that use the tools available in an online environment for re-envisioning NAPLAN. In doing this, we will also be broadening the complexity of skills being assessed and making it a more reliable predictor of competency and standard of literacy and teaching than the current online test.</p>
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<p><em>This article has been updated since publication to remove quotes from Les Perelman from the write-off at the top of the piece.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/95035/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katina Zammit does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Assessments need to be relevant to the real world and test more complex skills to better predict competency, standards of literacy and teaching.Katina Zammit, Director of Academic Program - Primary, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/867562017-11-27T19:09:50Z2017-11-27T19:09:50ZUniversities are failing their students through poor feedback practices<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193018/original/file-20171102-26478-1k773b5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">For many students, the experience of teacher-led feedback is underwhelming or negative, and they are effectively left to their own devices.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Educators and students often struggle to learn from each other through the use of feedback. Our research into feedback practices has found that students and staff find feedback practices largely unsustainable, de-motivating and without opportunity for improvement. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.routledge.com/Feedback-in-Higher-and-Professional-Education-Understanding-it-and-doing/Boud-Molloy/p/book/9780415692298">Researchers generally describe</a> current feedback practices as lacking in detail, difficult to understand, ambiguous or simply unusable. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Graduate-Course-Experience_20151.pdf">2015 Graduate Course Experience</a> surveyed over 93,000 students within four months of their graduation. It reported that while close to three quarters of graduates felt the feedback they received was helpful, 16.3% could not decide if the feedback was helpful, while a further 9.7% found the feedback unhelpful. Clearly something is wrong when a quarter of our graduates indicate feedback is not working.</p>
<p>The Australian Government funded Feedback for Learning <a href="http://feedbackforlearning.org">project</a> surveyed 4,514 students and 406 staff across two universities. It revealed that while students are generally satisfied with their feedback, there are a number of cohorts, or practices, that need attention. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194120/original/file-20171110-29324-bs30i1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194120/original/file-20171110-29324-bs30i1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=721&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194120/original/file-20171110-29324-bs30i1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=721&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194120/original/file-20171110-29324-bs30i1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=721&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194120/original/file-20171110-29324-bs30i1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194120/original/file-20171110-29324-bs30i1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194120/original/file-20171110-29324-bs30i1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=906&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided/The Conversation</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<p>Feedback underpins students’ effective decision making, and is the basis for improving learning outcomes. Despite heavy financial investment by universities, student experience of feedback continues to be less than desirable, especially for already “at risk” students. Many academics operate with misconceptions about feedback that inadvertently add to the problem. If we are to improve we need to seek out best practices and gain a clearer vision of what feedback should be. </p>
<h2>Feedback is not ‘given to’ or ‘done to’ the learner</h2>
<p>In higher education, the concept of feedback is commonly misunderstood. For example, many academics and students assume that feedback is a one-way flow of information, which happens after assessment submission and is isolated from any other event. In addition, academics and students often feel that the role of feedback is merely to justify the grade. A further misunderstanding is that feedback is something that is done by academics and given to students. These beliefs are deeply held in academic culture. </p>
<p>In contrast, <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Feedback-in-Higher-and-Professional-Education-Understanding-it-and-doing/Boud-Molloy/p/book/9780415692298">leading</a> <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03075071003642449">researchers</a> <a href="https://akoaotearoa.ac.nz/download/ng/file/group-4/n3469-the-black-box-of-tertiary-assessment---john-hattiepdf.pdf">in the field</a> <a href="http://srhe.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02602938.2013.795518">argue</a> that feedback is not a simple input. Instead, it is a process in which information about the quality of a student’s performance is engaged with by the student, and leads to a change in future work or learning strategies. Ultimately, academics need not be involved at all. </p>
<p>The shift from a teacher-centred perspective also provides a valuable opportunity to re-position the academic as just one actor within the feedback process. Indeed, feedback comments can be from, and instigated by, a variety of sources, including the evaluator, peers, and the learner. </p>
<h2>Feedback must have impact</h2>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193015/original/file-20171102-26462-4vukrh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193015/original/file-20171102-26462-4vukrh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=705&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193015/original/file-20171102-26462-4vukrh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=705&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193015/original/file-20171102-26462-4vukrh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=705&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193015/original/file-20171102-26462-4vukrh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=886&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193015/original/file-20171102-26462-4vukrh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=886&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193015/original/file-20171102-26462-4vukrh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=886&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Effective feedback practices require us to look for impact.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<p>In contexts other than education, such as technology or biology, feedback is not an input but rather a process within a system. For example, if a blood vessel is damaged, platelets cling to the injured site and release chemicals that attract more platelets, eventually forming a blood clot. In this system, feedback regulates or optimises the output. Applying this metaphor to higher education, feedback can be usefully understood as a process within our complex teaching and learning system, rather than something that needs to be given to an actor in the system. </p>
<p>Under these circumstances, feedback can be identified by its regulating effect or impact. With this in mind, <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Feedback-in-Higher-and-Professional-Education-Understanding-it-and-doing/Boud-Molloy/p/book/9780415692298">Boud and Molloy</a> argue that assessment feedback also should be seen to require some action or change to occur. </p>
<p>In other words, any information without effect is just information. Anything else is a waste of our time. </p>
<h2>Feedback should come before submission</h2>
<p>Feedback is a process in which information about the quality of a performance leads to a change in student work or learning strategies. Arguably, for the most useful impact, feedback should occur prior to the final submission of assessment. This means we are challenged with finding ways to elicit student performance early, and to facilitate feedback that then leads to improved submissions</p>
<p>In response to this, we might consider carefully designing a series of assessments that are connected by well-planned feedback. However, it is useful to note that the initial performance does not need to be the submission of assessment - it could be in the form of a variety of tasks that expose the student’s understanding or skills that may elicit feedback from a variety of sources. </p>
<h2>Feedback as teaching</h2>
<p>For many students, the experience of teacher-led feedback is underwhelming or negative, and they are effectively left to their own devices. In other words, many students learn despite us. However, feedback is arguably the most important form of interaction we can muster as teachers. Effective feedback requires us to seek out and judge the qualities of student performance, and to craft information and responses to have an impact. In addition, we need to find ways to monitor the impact of those interactions. </p>
<p>Most educators agree that feedback is potentially valuable. However, there is considerable push-back at the thought of greater investment in feedback practices, because it adds to an academic’s already heavy workload. This response is understandable if we persist with the assumptions that feedback is something we “give” to students as a secondary practice of, and costed in relation to, assessment grading.</p>
<p>A counter-argument is that we need to re-conceive of feedback in higher education to be a form of teaching just as important as lectures and tutorials. Feedback also doesn’t need to be teacher-centred. Peer, self and automated systems of feedback are well recognised as sustainable models.</p>
<h2>Feedback design</h2>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193014/original/file-20171102-26483-1489qyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193014/original/file-20171102-26483-1489qyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193014/original/file-20171102-26483-1489qyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193014/original/file-20171102-26483-1489qyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193014/original/file-20171102-26483-1489qyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193014/original/file-20171102-26483-1489qyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193014/original/file-20171102-26483-1489qyn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=536&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Feedback practices generally can’t be replicated across all contexts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<p>While there is a growing body of <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_ylo=2013&q=assessment+feedback&hl=en&as_sdt=1,5&as_vis=1&lookup=0">literature</a> surrounding feedback, there continues to be little agreement on the best approach. Certainly, there is no single feedback strategy or model that has been shown to work across all contexts. This is a significant problem for the higher education sector. </p>
<p>The way teachers, students and institutions interact vary in every instance. This includes policy, workload pressures, academic and student culture, and other broader socio-political issues that can significantly influence what might otherwise be regarded as effective feedback strategies. It is no wonder that simple strategies of feedback cannot be replicated successfully from one context to another. </p>
<p>This leaves us with a simple but frustrating truth – every educator needs to engage in feedback practices with an inquiring mind, prepared for repeated development of their own practices.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/86756/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Support for this research has been provided by the Australian Government Department of Education and Training. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Government Department of Education and Training.
The project team includes: Professor David Boud, Associate Professor Phill Dawson, Dr Michael Phillips, Professor Elizabeth Molloy, Dr Tracii Ryan and Ms Paige Mahoney.
More information can be found: <a href="http://feedbackforlearning.org">http://feedbackforlearning.org</a> </span></em></p>Despite heavy investment by universities, student experience of feedback higher education continues to be less than desirable, especially for at-risk students.Michael Henderson, Associate Professor in Educational Technologies, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/861442017-11-15T19:17:19Z2017-11-15T19:17:19ZNAPLAN only tells part of the story of student achievement<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193347/original/file-20171106-1068-8x3q38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">After 10 years of minimal breakthroughs, NAPLAN doesn't seem to be going anywhere but online.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><hr>
<p><em>Since it was introduced in the 1800s, standardised testing in Australian schools has attracted controversy and divided opinion. In this <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/standardised-testing-series-46310">series</a>, we examine its pros and cons, including appropriate uses for standardised tests and which students are disadvantaged by them.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>The National Assessment Program – Literacy And Numeracy (<a href="https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan">NAPLAN</a>) had its 10th birthday this year, but few well-wishers came to the party. </p>
<p>Administered in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9, NAPLAN measures the performance of educational programs, schools and each student’s literacy and numeracy achievements against benchmarks. In short, the aim of NAPLAN is to ensure that students’ and the nation’s literacy and numeracy skills are improving. This year, 10 years of <a href="http://www.nap.edu.au/results-and-reports/national-reports">data</a> revealed that <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-02/naplan-results-show-small-change-in-school-students-performance/8764994">little has changed</a> since NAPLAN began. </p>
<p>After millions of dollars of investment, as well as the abundance of data that NAPLAN has created, we are still not seeing amazing leaps and bounds in achievement. The nation is effectively standing still. </p>
<h2>NAPLAN is good at measuring differences and change over time</h2>
<p>NAPLAN gives us a picture of several aspects of students’ learning. These include: their performance under test conditions, their basic use of punctuation, grammar, spelling, numeracy skills and writing an exposition or narrative text. </p>
<p>NAPLAN has provided data to help us quantify the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students’ literacy and numeracy, and provide indicators of <a href="http://closingthegap.pmc.gov.au/education">where the gap is closing</a>. </p>
<p>We can see the <a href="http://ftp.iza.org/dp9535.pdf">differences in boys’ and girls’ achievements</a>, and the significant difference that a <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/report/widening-gaps/">parent’s level of education</a> makes to results. </p>
<p>NAPLAN can, importantly, track a student’s improvement, or lack thereof, from one exam to the next. It can also highlight changes, although it can’t specify the factors involved in it. </p>
<p>Finally, NAPLAN can <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=yJ7hCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT171&dq=identify+disadvantage+NAPLAN&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj2yd7R2qjXAhUCmJQKHeMjASoQ6AEIPzAF#v=snippet&q=disadvantage&f=false">identify areas of disadvantage</a> or need, for example geographical areas, state or territory differences or demographics.</p>
<h2>NAPLAN cannot measure creativity or engagement</h2>
<p>Despite all that NAPLAN can measure, it only tells part of the story of literacy and numeracy achievement. Results may not show growth of learning in schools with students from low socio-economic backgrounds or culturally and linguistically diverse students, because it only measures a narrow skill set on one particular day of the year. It does not represent student achievements across the year, nor across the breadth of the curriculum which schools use to evaluate their programs. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193340/original/file-20171106-1014-tqsoqs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/193340/original/file-20171106-1014-tqsoqs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=856&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193340/original/file-20171106-1014-tqsoqs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=856&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193340/original/file-20171106-1014-tqsoqs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=856&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193340/original/file-20171106-1014-tqsoqs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1076&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193340/original/file-20171106-1014-tqsoqs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1076&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/193340/original/file-20171106-1014-tqsoqs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1076&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Bard of Avon’s creative use of language and love of making up words would likely earn him a poor score on a NAPLAN test.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It also does not measure engagement in learning. Engagement can look like students’ enjoying reading, willingness to engage in numeracy tasks or whether they are using these skills outside a test situation. </p>
<p>This leaves little room for creative play with the style of writing prescribed, promoting very structured teaching of the texts. It’s far easier to provide students with a simplistic structure and key language features, rather than encourage a creative response with more complexity. An assessor may not value the difference in writing style, as it is not reflected in the marking criteria. One wonders how Shakespeare would have performed on NAPLAN. Our prediction is that his phrase “the world’s my oyster”, would have placed him in the bottom two bands. </p>
<h2>NAPLAN’s influence on learning</h2>
<p>This narrow version of literacy, numeracy and writing isn’t reflected in the rich learning that occurs in classrooms. NAPLAN places children as young as eight in an exam environment, and asks them to think in a way they aren’t used to. Classroom life in year 3 <a href="http://www.pdst.ie/sites/default/files/Session%203%20-%20PS%20Co%20-%20Op%20%EF%80%A2%20Group%20Work.pdf">is usually more accustomed to</a> collaborative learning, using problem-solving and discovery methods are essential for knowledge and understanding. </p>
<p>In contrast, NAPLAN reflects little of the ways that children understand and interpret the world. Two weeks before NAPLAN, many years 3 and 5 teachers start teaching to the test by developing exam skills, practising answering multiple choice questions, teaching the structure and language features of an exposition and/or narrative text. Teachers feel they must simulate the exam environment, practice and even guess the questions that might be asked.</p>
<p>This narrows the curriculum as well as the types of literacy and numeracy activities that students usually engage in as part of their learning. It takes up classroom time that could be spent teaching literacy and numeracy skills meaningfully, by reading quality children’s literature, creating various text types, engaging in <a href="https://ukla.org/research/projects/details//agentic-writing-across-the-primary-curriculum">process drama pedagogies</a> or trying creative tasks. </p>
<p>Standardised tests like NAPLAN also diminish the joy of learning. Teachers have <a href="http://www.whitlam.org/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/694199/The_experience_of_education_-_Qualitative_Study.pdf">reported</a> that 90% of students feel stressed before the test. In fact, a 2016 <a href="https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/data/UQ_383374/s4261111_phd_final.pdf?Expires=1509676745&Signature=OcZOE8k7ACzOXg86mBn21rIlOM-AP2j5Jxp57p8pLWjER9U5RlHnWj7WpsiYRqpgiqHcj8ra86i8kH%7EbDv3xLoI1QoYz8RLW-Cqs2lmtcNIiYA6HlbNXyZjiIHbToxVa0UcszBfVQAfBYOkOu-l6ns4dMpWuCHTLuUYez0T61adCZ3KtB7nZbN183JLhMbwQWPfgMo5WLjTizf25jIYusOqFdNVRCB3X7kMvas14gEHSW2PnBQ7CRq2YDnDYTqxV9-59UUg4gpwJlCjO4NLXW2PaEd99UyztpIWeTtFaP-coKiWihkY0goWukNdCVGQNT1JblWVEEDtcO8cXat7-MQ__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJKNBJ4MJBJNC6NLQ">study</a> found that students in high school do not see the relevance of NAPLAN to their education. Year 7 students even felt it stopped their learning.</p>
<p>Dangerously, NAPLAN frames mistakes as bad. Mistakes are essential if schools are going to encourage original thoughts. Lateral and creative thinking is required to conquer challenges like climate change, global inequality and rising global conflicts. Students will need to take risks, understand that problems may have multiple solutions and they mustn’t only look for a singular right answer. </p>
<h2>Creative alternatives</h2>
<p>Teachers are not to blame for any of these issues. Throughout the teaching year, teachers use creative strategies to improve students’ outcomes. Philosophy has been <a href="http://www.sapere.org.uk/Portals/0/SAPERE%20P4C%20Research%20map%20-%20first%20draft%20June%202011.pdf">found</a> to make a significant and impressive difference. Sydney Theatre Company’s School Drama <a href="https://www.aare.edu.au/blog/?tag=stc">program</a> has been <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14452294.2015.1083152">found</a> to improve literacy outcomes as well as empathy, confidence, motivation and engagement. These approaches are not available to every child in every school. This should be a priority, but education is like a large ship - slow to turn around. Wide-scale reform that prioritises creativity and philosophical thinking takes time. </p>
<p>NAPLAN, on the other hand, is high-stakes testing. Schools are required to administer it with <a href="http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/educationstate/Pages/catchup.aspx">additional funding</a> tied to results of underachieving students and that may not accurately represent data for the whole <a href="https://theconversation.com/naplan-data-and-school-funding-a-dangerous-link-46021">school population</a> if all students do not complete the tests. Using a centrally created test puts enormous pressure on every student, teacher and principal to perform. It discards teachers’ contextual knowledge about the students and the learning environment. Results are published as a comparative analysis of schools on the <a href="https://www.myschool.edu.au/">My School</a> website. </p>
<p>Despite 10 years of minimal breakthroughs and a <a href="http://www.whitlam.org/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/276191/High_Stakes_Testing_Literature_Review.pdf">plethora of evidence</a> that shows that NAPLAN may do more harm than good, there is no sign it’s going anywhere except online. </p>
<p>Governments love NAPLAN. It contains all of their favourite buzz-words: transparency, accountability, data and quality. In the process, look at what it denies our students: innovation, creativity, risk, originality and joy. These are far less attractive to politicians, more difficult to measure in a national multiple choice test, but far more relevant to children’s future achievements.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/86144/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachael Jacobs is a member of Teachers for Refugees, the NTEU, the NSW Greens and on the board of Drama Australia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katina Zammit does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>NAPLAN is great at tracking changes over time and between demographics, but not so great at measuring what factors effect change, engagement or creativity.Rachael Jacobs, Lecturer in Arts Education, Western Sydney UniversityKatina Zammit, Director of Academic Program - Primary, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/634802016-08-16T03:11:52Z2016-08-16T03:11:52ZMaking college matter<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/134182/original/image-20160815-13035-1uhsl4m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Getting oriented at Elon University </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Elon University </span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the next several weeks <a href="http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2015/2015073.pdf">18.4 million students</a> will be headed to colleges and universities in the United States. They, their families and taxpayers are making a monumental investment in the futures of these students, believing, correctly, that an undergraduate education is <a href="https://www.aacu.org/leap/public-opinion-research/2015-survey-falling-short">foundational to success</a> in a global and knowledge-based economy.</p>
<p>Many students arrive in college without a clear sense of purpose or direction. That is to be expected. A significant part of the undergraduate experience, after all, involves grappling with big questions about professional, personal and civic identity. Who am I? What do I want to do with my life? How can I contribute to my community and the world? The best students pursue these questions with vigor.</p>
<p>But many others come to college with too little appreciation for the vast opportunities before them, gloss over foundational curricular requirements as merely hurdles to be cleared, show far too little drive in developing a plan to make the most of their educations and focus too heavily on the party scene.</p>
<p>Analyzing data from a study of more than two dozen institutions, sociologists <a href="http://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/A/bo19088566.html">Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa</a> conclude that many students “enter college with attitudes, norms, values, and behaviors that are often at odds with academic commitment.” And many universities reinforce these beliefs by building <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/caranewlon/2014/07/31/the-college-amenities-arms-race/#36c1dbad1f3c">lavish amenities</a> and <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/254524/summary">marketing themselves</a> as something akin to a resort with a curriculum.</p>
<p>An undergraduate education is simply too precious an opportunity to squander or to approach halfheartedly. And while college should ultimately prepare graduates to make a living, it can be – it must be – far more than that.</p>
<p>The good news is that there are simple yet powerful things students can do to ensure that they have a transformative undergraduate experience, no matter where they go to college. </p>
<p>In our book <a href="http://theundergraduateexperience.org/">“The Undergraduate Experience,”</a> drawing on decades of work and scholarship in higher education and also interviews with leaders and students from many institutions, we identified what matters most for students. </p>
<p>Two factors are most important.</p>
<h2>Take responsibility for learning</h2>
<p>Too often students (and others) think learning is a simple process of taking knowledge from the professor during class and then returning it, unharmed, on the test. </p>
<p>When sociologist <a href="http://www.sunypress.edu/p-4801-college-life-through-the-eyes-o.aspx">Mary Grigsby</a> interviewed scores of undergraduates at a large midwestern university, many students echoed the words of one who told her: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I hate classes with a lot of reading that is tested on. Any class where a teacher is just gonna give us notes and a worksheet or something like that is better. Something that I can study and just learn from in five [minutes] I’ll usually do pretty good in.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Real learning – that is, learning that makes a significant and lasting change in what a person knows or can do – emerges from what the student, not the professor, does. Of course, professors are critical actors in the process, but students are the ones doing the learning. </p>
<p>To take responsibility for their own learning, students need to move past what psychologist <a href="http://conferencereport.blogspot.com/2007/10/three-types-of-knowledge.html?zx=3292d95af6bcd3e7">David Perkins</a> has called possessive and performative understandings of knowledge, where learning is about acquiring new facts or demonstrating expertise in classroom settings. </p>
<p>Instead, meaningful learning emerges from a proactive conception of knowledge, where the student’s goal is to experiment with new and unexpected ways of using what he or she is learning in different settings. This requires students to see themselves as the central actors in the drama of learning.</p>
<p>Whether students choose to take the stage or sit in the balcony matters immensely.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/134141/original/image-20160815-14904-12pk61y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/134141/original/image-20160815-14904-12pk61y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134141/original/image-20160815-14904-12pk61y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134141/original/image-20160815-14904-12pk61y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134141/original/image-20160815-14904-12pk61y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134141/original/image-20160815-14904-12pk61y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134141/original/image-20160815-14904-12pk61y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bard College students abroad in Berlin.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Seminar_Bard_College_Berlin,_2013.jpg">Irina Stelea</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When students jump into learning, challenging themselves to stretch and grow, college is most powerful. </p>
<p>Reflections from an <a href="http://www.iupress.indiana.edu/product_info.php?products_id=806863">Ohio University engineering student</a> show what this looks like:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“[My goal for my senior] year was to try to do things that maybe I’m not good at already so that I can learn to do these things. I will have to do this once I have a job so avoiding projects that are uncomfortable for me now won’t help me NOT avoid them when I’m a part of the work force.”</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Develop meaningful relationships</h2>
<p>The relationships students form in college also have a profound influence on their experiences, shaping not only who they spend time with but how they will spend their time. </p>
<p>When <a href="http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674049024">scholars</a> asked graduates at Hamilton College to think back on their undergraduate years, these alumni pointed to specific individuals (often professors, coaches or classmates) who shaped their paths. </p>
<p>Students typically think first about relationships with peers. These are essential, of course. Finding friends and cohort groups can be reassuring, but <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/196940/summary">scholars</a> have found that students who interact frequently with peers who are different in significant ways (racially, ethnically, religiously, socioeconomically and so on) show more intellectual and social growth in college than those who don’t. </p>
<p>Again, as with learning, students need to move beyond the familiar to find meaning.</p>
<p>And peer relationships are not only about fun. Decades of research have demonstrated that students who study together learn more and more deeply. As the mathematician <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/2686410?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">Uri Treisman</a> reported in a classic study of undergraduate calculus courses that has been <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13803611.2014.895388">replicated in other disciplines</a>, students from many different backgrounds are more academically successful when they</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“work with their peers to create for themselves a community based on shared intellectual interests and common professional aims.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Relationships with faculty also are highly significant. </p>
<p>A large 2014 survey by <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/168848/life-college-matters-life-college.aspx">Gallup and Purdue University</a> revealed that college graduates who believed they had a professor who (1) cared about them as individuals, (2) made them excited about learning and (3) encouraged them to pursue their dreams reported being far happier and more successful than their peers years after graduation.</p>
<p>A recent graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s <a href="http://levinescholars.uncc.edu/">Levine Scholars Program</a>, a prestigious scholarship for academically talented students interested in civic engagement, told us how the mentoring of <a href="http://levinescholars.uncc.edu/dr-diane-zablotsky">sociologist Diane Zablotsky</a> transformed her view of herself:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I arrived at UNC-C shy and uncertain. But Dr. Zablotsky taught me how to go and get what I wanted. She made me do all the work, but coached along the way and helped me develop great confidence in myself.”</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>What matters for all students</h2>
<p>Critically, what we’re describing here doesn’t apply only to privileged, 18-22-year-olds at elite institutions.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/134145/original/image-20160815-13035-sf4b6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/134145/original/image-20160815-13035-sf4b6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134145/original/image-20160815-13035-sf4b6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134145/original/image-20160815-13035-sf4b6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134145/original/image-20160815-13035-sf4b6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134145/original/image-20160815-13035-sf4b6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134145/original/image-20160815-13035-sf4b6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Just one of the many internships on offer….</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House_Internship_Program#/media/File:White_House_internship_logo.png">White House</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In fact, <a href="https://www.aacu.org/assessinghips/report">Ashley Finley and Tia Brown McNair</a>, scholars at the Association of American Colleges and Universities, have shown that high-impact educational experiences like internships, undergraduate research, capstone courses and study abroad have particularly positive outcomes for students who traditionally have been underserved in American higher education.</p>
<p>A study at the University of California, Davis reinforces this finding by demonstrating that <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/371687#back">engaging in mentored undergraduate research</a> beyond the typical requirements for biology courses is particularly significant in preparing African-American undergraduates to successfully pursue graduate study and careers in the sciences. </p>
<p>Results from the <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/11/20/nsse-2014-finds-size-selectivity-make-little-difference-student-engagement">National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)</a> also show that institutional prestige and financial resources do <em>not</em> determine the quality of student opportunities:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Institutions with lower selectivity profiles can and often do offer experiences with faculty that are at least comparable to those at more selective institutions.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>As the NSSE director notes: “Doing those things may not cost any more than not doing them.” </p>
<p>Powerful education, in other words, is available to all students at all institutions, if they intentionally choose experiences that are challenging and relationship-rich.</p>
<h2>Acting on what matters most</h2>
<p>Douglas Spencer, a 2016 Elon University graduate and now young alumnus trustee, captured what’s at stake in recent remarks to fellow students. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/134175/original/image-20160815-13025-gj29pr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/134175/original/image-20160815-13025-gj29pr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134175/original/image-20160815-13025-gj29pr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134175/original/image-20160815-13025-gj29pr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134175/original/image-20160815-13025-gj29pr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134175/original/image-20160815-13025-gj29pr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/134175/original/image-20160815-13025-gj29pr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Doug Spencer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Elon University</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Doug described coming to campus without a strong sense of who he was as a black man or of what he might do with his life. Then, challenged by friends and professors to think more deeply about his own identity, “I unlocked some sort of hidden energy I did not know I possessed.” He began to read not just for class, but (even more) in his free time. Inspired by this reading and his other studies, and echoing <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/408/408-h/408-h.htm#chap05">W.E.B. Du Bois</a>, </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“It became clear to me that the only way I would find real success was if I learned to thrive in times of uncertainty.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Colleges and universities play an outsized role in shaping the lives of individual students like Doug. </p>
<p>Indeed, we, as educators, cannot recall a time when it mattered more for higher education to cultivate students capable of acting entrepreneurially, ethically, cooperatively and creatively to address complex problems in local, national and global contexts.</p>
<p>That starts with students beginning the academic year ready to act on what matters most for their own learning.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/63480/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leo M. Lambert is President of Elon University. He is a member of the board of directors of the American Council on Education and the National Association of Independent College and Universities. He is also chair of the North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities and a member of the Division 1 Presidential Forum of the NCAA. These are all non-profit organizations.
Leo M. Lambert has received current and past foundational and Federal funding from The Pew Charitable Trusts, the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trusts, the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation and the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education. None of these grants has any bearing on my writing for The Conversation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Felten does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Two simple yet powerful things students can do to ensure that they have a transformative undergraduate experience, no matter where they go to college.Leo M. Lambert, President, Elon UniversityPeter Felten, Assistant Provost for Teaching and Learning and Executive Director, Center for Engaged Learning, Elon UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.