AMERICAN HIGHER EDUCATION

EDUCATIONAL ASSUMPTIONS

AHRD 670
FALL SEMESTER, 2007

 

Student Learning is defined to not only include knowledge acquisition, but also skill development or enhancement, and change as a person.

In the formal classroom, Student Learning is maximized when students as well as faculty collaborate as partners in defining what is to be learned, and how that learning will occur.

Student Learning is enhanced when learning outcomes (the what) are well defined, mutually understood, and able to be assessed.

Student Learning is promoted when Active Learning methods (the how) are employed. Characteristics of Active Learning include:

1. Students are involved in more than listening.
   
2. Less emphasis is placed on transmitting information and more on developing students’ skills.
   
3. Students are involved in higher-order thinking (analysis, synthesis, evaluation).
   
4. Students are engaged in activities such as reading, discussing and writing.
   
5. Greater emphasis is placed on students’ exploration of their own attitudes and values.¹
   

The primary role of the faculty member in promoting Student Learning is to foster a climate that facilitates student involvement and interaction.

The primary role of the student in promoting Student Learning is to be responsible for one's learning and to, in part, be responsible for the learning of one's peers.

1	Bonwell, C. and J. Erson.  1991.  Active Learning: Creating Excitement in the Classroom.  ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Research Reports No.1.  Washington, D.C.:  Association for the Study of Higher Education, p. 2.