Summary

The web content discusses the importance of universities fostering effective learning environments that prepare students for the challenges of a VUCA world, emphasizing the need for learning outcomes that go beyond traditional knowledge to include moral, civic, and social responsibilities.

Abstract

The article titled "What is the Learning Impact of your Universities?" addresses the gap in educational learning goals, advocating for a learning model that equips students with the skills to navigate today's volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world. It suggests that effective learning should expand the range of possible actions and solutions, thereby increasing the likelihood of impactful outcomes. The Ministry of Education's "Desired Outcomes of Education" outlines expectations for graduates, including moral courage, resilience, collaboration, innovation, critical thinking, pursuit of excellence, healthy lifestyle, and national pride. However, the article notes that many students and parents are unaware of these goals. It argues that every aspect of university life should be designed to consciously create these desired outcomes, with a focus on student participation, learning creativity, and knowledge creation. The article also criticizes universities that resist change, labeling them as potential "dinosaurs" if they continue to prioritize knowledge transmission over student-centered learning and system thinking. It calls for universities to become learning communities with visionary leadership to ensure their relevance and impact on future generations.

Opinions

Learning should prepare students for real-world situations by fostering flexibility and the ability to discern choice alternatives.
Universities should move beyond traditional teaching methods to create environments that encourage innovation, collaboration, and critical thinking.
The current state of university education often overlooks the Ministry of Education's desired outcomes, focusing instead on study and exams.
Universities must consciously design learning experiences to achieve the desired educational outcomes, involving all aspects of student life.
Universities that fail to adapt to the changing educational landscape by embracing system thinking and student-centered learning risk becoming obsolete.
There is a call for visionary and transformational leadership within universities to drive meaningful change and ensure national survival and economic prosperity.
Professors and faculty members have a greater responsibility beyond teaching and research; they must contribute to building a sustainable future through education.

What is the Learning Impact of your Universities?

The Missing Learning Goal of Education

Learning prepares students for unfamiliar and unknown situations of today’s VUCA world characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity through current and anticipated knowledge.

Learning equips students with the necessary skills to discern the scope of choice alternatives so as to allow deliberate courses of action. The success of effective learning would widen the range of possible actions through the generation of unlimited possibilities when assessing the same situation or event. In a nutshell, the greater the learning, the wider the option choices, and the probability of impact solutions become higher.

Learning impact delivers the practical actions resulting from effective and innovative ways of seeing the current situation, and developing the appropriate solution choices.

The core functions for a University are teaching, research and community service, and the core process in all these functions is “learning” (Bowden & Marton, 1998).

The “Desired Outcomes of Education” of the Ministry of Education specify what it believes to be parental desires from and expect of their children when they graduate from the Institute of Technical Education, Polytechnics and Universities. Accordingly, our children should:

1) have moral courage to stand up for what is right;

2) be resilient in the face of adversity;

3) be able to collaborate across cultures and be socially responsible;

4) be innovative and enterprising;

5) be able to think critically and communicate persuasively;

6) be purposeful in pursuit of excellence;

7) pursue a healthy lifestyle and have an appreciation for aesthetics; and

8) be proud to be Singaporeans and understand Singapore in relation to the world.

Few parents and even fewer students are aware of these expectations and how they would evaluate the extent to which the Polytechnics, where some came from, and the University consciously create these outcomes in them. Without exception, none knew or heard of these expected outcomes. Not surprising, neither did those from the Junior Colleges know about the desired intermediate outcomes of a JC education. When asked whether any events, activities, programs or courses, or anything, that they did, participated or encountered in the Polytechnics or University would have consciously molded the desired outcomes in them, most could remember only having time for study, exams and little else. Some students were active in Students’ Clubs and Hall activities, but usually in order to earn credit points for continuing Hall residency.

Students learning experiences and impact have to be consciously designed to create the desired outcomes of education. Every aspect of University life (eg. Hall living, lectures, tutorials, projects, labs, administration, bus transportation, canteen, fee payment … etc) should provide limitless options for greater student participation and learning creativity, with the prospects of allowing students to create knowledge in the process. In every daily human interaction with peers, staff, Professors and lecturers, students’ expectations and the University’s commitment to their “desired” education outcomes should be mutually challenged in new ways as we journey the uncertain and turbulent 21st century together.

Learning outcomes are negotiated spaces, especially so when they now span beyond traditional knowledge content areas to include dimensions of moral, civic, social and community responsibilities.

What constitute Learning?

Ewell (1977) summarized from several research into “learning” as follows:

· Learning is about transforming students into flexible thinkers;

· The learner is essentially an epistomologist, who actively constructs unique ways of knowing and understanding;

· Students are learning all the time — all situations are therefore learning opportunities;

· Learning occurs best in the context of a compelling present problem;

· Frequent feedback reinforces already strong learning effects; and

· Learning occurs best in an interpersonal context, working co-operatively and harmoniously with others.

In the Knowledge Economy of this 21st Century, universities all over the world have to transform themselves to become learning communities, instead of remaining mere institutions of learning. Those resisting the inevitable waves of change would soon become university “dinosaurs”, and can be easily recognised by the following characteristics:

· Their academic programs are designed mainly as “delivery systems” to transmit knowledge and therefore not student-centred or learning focused aimed also at knowledge creation;

· Their lack of system thinking resulted in ad hoc development initiatives that are fragmented due to the failure to consider the interdependencies within the whole system (ie. University) as a learning community;

· Their administration and support operations are guided by efficiency and costs parameters, instead of human resource satisfaction, customer value and mission;

· The absence of a visionary and transformational leadership at every level for urgent change denies the organization of the necessary motivation and direction to pursue meaningful mission purpose for greater community and national impact.

Global realities have made more critical the role of the University as a key strategic force at the forefront of the never-ending struggle for national survival and economic prosperity. Both faculty members and university staff are responsible for outcomes that will reverberate far into the future and have significant consequences for the continual well-being of our children and their children.

We need to be mindful once again of the action choices before us — the choices are unambiguous and precise: either to create and drive a sustaining technological and social capability that adapts to global relevance, or to procrastinate towards eventual decline into oblivion.

Universities and their Professors have a greater responsibility that goes beyond merely teaching and writing research papers. To this higher goal, we have to strive to succeed exceedingly well. We must. It is the only viable survival option.