Transformation to a Learning Paradigm University: Strategies, Implementation, and a Progress Report Milt Cox, Ed Lambert, Jerry Sarquis, Karl Schilling, and Gregg Wentzell Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching Miami University

Teaching without learning is just talking. Angelo & Cross, 1993

The Future of Teaching focuses on the changing roles of students & faculty in a learning-centered environment

Transformation from the Instruction to the Learning Paradigm 4 FPLCs: Inclusive Classrooms and Campus (2); Advocating to Become the Learning Paradigm Institution; and Interdisciplinarity in Science Top 25 Enrolled Courses Project

It requires moving from a Teaching Paradigm to a Learning Paradigm Barr & Tagg (1995)

6 Mission & Purpose Instruction Paradigm Provide/deliver instruction Transfer knowledge from faculty to students Improve quality of instruction Achieve access for diverse students Learning Paradigm Produce learning Elicit student discovery and construction of knowledge Improve the quality of learning Achieve success for diverse students

7 Criteria for Success Instruction Paradigm Inputs, resources Quality of entering students Curriculum development, expansion Quantity and quality of resources Enrollment, revenue growth Quality of faculty instruction Learning Paradigm Learning and student- success outcomes Quality of exiting students Learning technologies development, expansion Quantity and quality of outcomes Aggregate learning growth, efficiency Quality of students, learning

8 Teaching/Learning Structures Instruction Paradigm Atomistic; parts prior to whole Time held constant, learning varies 50-minute lecture, 3-unit course Classes start/end at same time One teacher, one classroom Learning Paradigm Holistic; whole prior to the parts Learning held constant, time varies Learning environments Environment ready when student is Whatever learning experience works

9 Teaching/Learning Structures Instruction Paradigm Independent disciplines Covering material End-of-course assessment Grading within classes by instructors Private assessment Degree equals accumulated credit hours Learning Paradigm Cross discipline/ department collaboration Specified learning results Pre-/during/post- assessments External evaluations of learning Public assessment Degree equals demonstrated knowledge and skills

10 Learning Theory Instruction Paradigm Knowledge exists “out there” Knowledge comes in “chunks” and “bits” delivered by instructors Learning is cumulative and linear Fits the storehouse of knowledge metaphor Learning Paradigm Knowledge exists in each person’s mind and is shaped by individual experience Knowledge is constructed, created, and “gotten” Learning is a nesting and interacting of frameworks Fits learning how to ride a bicycle metaphor

11 Learning Theory Instruction Paradigm Learning is teacher centered and controlled “live” teacher, “live” students required The classroom and learning are competitive and individualistic Talent and ability are rare Learning Paradigm Learning is student centered and controlled “active” learner required, but not “live” teacher Learning environment and learning are cooperative Talent and ability are abundant

12 Productivity/Funding Instruction Paradigm Definition of productivity: cost per hour of instruction Funding for hours of instruction Learning Paradigm Definition of productivity: cost per unit of learning per student Funding for learning outcomes

13 Nature of Roles Instruction Paradigm Faculty are primarily lecturers Faculty and students act independently and in isolation Teachers classify and sort students Learning Paradigm Faculty are primary designers of learning methods and environments Faculty and students work in teams with each other and other staff Teachers develop every student’s competencies and talents

14 Nature of Roles Instruction Paradigm Staff serve/support faculty and the process of instruction Any expert can teach Line governance; independent actors Learning Paradigm All staff are educators who produce student learning and success Empowering learning is challenging and complex Shared governance; teamwork

Remember… Being learner-centered means focusing attention squarely on the learning process: what the student is learning, how the student is learning, the conditions under which the student is learning, whether the student is retaining and applying the learning, and how current learning positions the student for future learning. Maryellen Weimer Learner-Centered Teaching (2002)

And about community... “.... One reason we deny meaningful communities to our students is that we, as college teachers, do not participate in them ourselves. At many institutions there is no living community of practice among faculty that is actively negotiating the meaning of teaching and participating in revising the tools they use....” John Tagg pp. 262, 263