The LTEA2008 keynote address was given by Dr David Hodge, President of Miami University, Ohio.
It is available for viewing online (Video and Powerpoint) here.
The powerpoint also embedded below.
Dr Hodge's full paper can be downloaded here
Abstract
The shift to the Learning Paradigm and the call for more research-based education have opened exciting new possibilities for higher education. Unfortunately, while the Learning Paradigm has been applied to the whole of higher education, the focus on research has been primarily as an activity on the side or suitable only for a subset of university students. We argue that especially with the advent of world wide web, more ubiquitous access to the raw material of scholarship can now be readily available to all students. What is needed is an approach that organizes the entire curriculum around the mindset of a scholar and, just as importantly, incorporates an understanding of where traditionally-aged university students are developmentally. In this paper I lay out the rationale for the "student as scholar" mindset, describe the impact of technological advances on the possibilities for original research, relate the "student as scholar" to the core philosophy of a liberal arts and sciences approach, describe the developmental stages of university students as they relate to the students´ research potential, and then demonstrate how individual courses and a curriculum can be constructed with this perspective.
Biography
David Hodge became President of Miami University, which will be celebrating its Bicentennial In 2009, in July, 2006. Emphasizing the unique qualities of the Miami Experience during his first year, President Hodge launched the Miami Access Initiative, providing tuition and fees to Ohio students with family incomes of less than $35,000, created the Top 25 program to redesign Miami's foundation courses, completed a strategic planning initiative, and raised the goal for Miami's Love and Honor Campaign to $500 million, extending the campaign through the Bicentennial including a new Bicentennial Student Center. Dr. Hodge has actively supported the transformation of teaching and learning in higher education through his work on developing the "student as scholar" model, and he is captain of an intramural broomball team.Dr. Hodge came to Miami from University of Washington. Joining the UW faculty in 1975, Dr. Hodge held the appointment of professor of geography and adjunct professor of civil engineering and served as chair of the Geography Department (1995-97), Divisional Dean for Computing, Facilities, and Research (1996-98) and as the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences from 1998 to 2006. Dr. Hodge served as program director at the National Science Foundation in 1993-94 and was editor of The Professional Geographer from 1994 to 1997. Additionally, he has served on numerous Seattle and Washington committees and boards dealing with issues of community development and transportation. In 1990, he earned the University of Washington's Distinguished Teaching Award. A native of Minnesota, Dr. Hodge earned his bachelor of arts degree in geography from Macalester College in 1970 and went on to earn his master´s degree (1973) and Ph.D. (1975) in geography from Pennsylvania State University.
Comments (4)
Stephen Powell said
at 6:03 pm on Jun 26, 2008
I found this keynote very helpful, particularly the developmental stages model combined with the concept of "student as scholar" as an approach to institutional wide transformation. As picked up by one of the questions at the end of the presentation there are, however, problematic issues around its inflexible application. Generalisations mask the development of learners at very different rates and a heavy handed application could act as a break on many learners progress.
Tim said
at 6:37 pm on Jun 26, 2008
I agree with Stephen entirely - my viewpoint's a little biased by working largely with mature students from a huge range of backgrounds, but it's generally accepted that the profile of UK undergraduates has diversified, and is continuing to diversify further. One of the things I took away from David's lecture, and which seems to be a recurrent theme of this conference, is conceptualising the student as a whole person and not just an abstract learner - that phrase "co-curricular activities" has entered my vocabulary, and will be trotted out at every opportunity forthwith.
Ian Tindal said
at 10:09 am on Jul 1, 2008
Frameworks like the 5 stage one help us articulate and manipulate ideas internally and externally; in that respect they can be liberating.
Presenting staged models like this to new students and discussing them in terms of aspiration and development could help them conceptualise a framework for their journey. Knowing 'what I should look like' at stage four might facilitate the journey and the adoption of higher level behaviours. Conceptually tying learners to staged expectations in a restricted temporal progression might be less than liberating.
Bob Petrulis said
at 5:55 pm on Jul 2, 2008
Too often when the focus of the curriculum is on a topic, it doesn't take the developmental process of students into account. Miami University's framework would need to be adapted to UK contexts, but I agree that the principle is right. Something that might not be familiar to UK audiences is the 'liberal arts' framework that's common to US undergraduate education. It asks us to consider a big question: is there (should there be) something qualitatively distinctive about a bachelor's degree in terms of habits of mind, intellectual skills, and so forth?
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