A Learning College for the 21st Century: A New Way of Learning

Sunday, August 8, 2010

A New Way of Learning

American education in general is at a strategic anxiety moment in its evolution. We're at a very odd midpoint between the death of one kind of paradigm of learning and the yet-undefined formation of an entirely new way of learning" (p. 46).

The institution that is going to enable this new way of learning: THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE.

Why?

has a central role in American education
has a long history of commitment to teaching and learning

O'Banion points out how community colleges are the first institution to feel the impact of change and because of this they become highly responsive to new needs and new opportunities.

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Quotes

When Describing Educational Reform - "All of these solutions work toward trimming the branches, when attacking the root is the only viable source of action" (p. 7).

"The reform movement of the past decade has been trimming the branches of a dying tree" (p. 7).

"Putting learning at the heart of the academic enterprise will mean overhauling the conceptual, procedural, curricular, and other architecture of postsecondary education on most campuses" (p.9)

"The student has always been the first priority in the community college, and the current interest in learning is the next evolutionary step in the continuing quest for quality education" (p. 28).

"The purpose of teaching is to help students make passionate connections to learning" (p. 28).

"Technology is like a Swiss army knife, in adept hands, it has many uses including that of opening a 'can of worms'" (p. 70).

"For technology to 'work' in the classroom, there has to be a convincing pedagogy and rationale behind it" (p. 82).

"The world is not won by those who are right. It is won by those who can convince other they are right" (p. 130).

"The community college as an institution is one of the most important innovations in the history of higher education" (p. 232).

About Author - Terry O'Banion

Terry O'Banion, Ph.D., is president and CEO of the League for Innovation in the Community College, an international consortium of leading community colleges in the United States and Canada dedicated to experimentation and innovation. He is the author of 12 books, including Teaching and Learning in the Community College, Innovation in the Community College, and Teachers for Tomorrow: Staff Development in the Community Junior College. During a 36-year tenure in community college education, he served as dean of students at two Florida community colleges and as professor of community college education at the University of Illinois in Urbana. Dr. O'Banion has written more than 100 articles on community college issues and has been a consultant to over 500 community colleges and universities in 45 states and Canada. He earned a doctorate in administration in higher education from Florida State University and holds a master's degree in guidance and counseling from the University of Florida.