Humanities need convincing data to demonstrate their value, says expert
Humanities scholars have always been good at conveying the importance of their work through stories, writes Paula Krebs for Inside Higher Ed, but they have been less successful at using data to do so. This need not be the case, adds Krebs, who recounts a meeting with faculty members, local employers, and public humanities representatives to discuss how to better measure the impact of a humanities education on graduates. Krebs offers a list of recommendations and concrete program changes, such as interviewing employers about their experiences with hiring graduates, that might help humanities programs better prepare students for postgraduate life.
a list of the skills that we think graduates have cultivated in their humanities education:
Critical thinking
Communications skills
Writing skills, with style
Organizational skills
Listening skills
Flexibility
Creativity
Cultural competencies, intercultural sensitivity and an understanding of cultural and historical context, including on global topics
Empathy/emotional intelligence
Qualitative analysis
People skills
Ethical reasoning
Intellectual curiosity
As part of our list, we also agreed that graduates should have the ability to:
Meet deadlines
Construct complex arguments
Provide attention to detail and nuance (close reading)
Ask the big questions about meaning, purpose, the human condition
Communicate in more than one language
Understand differences in genre (mode of communication)
Identify and communicate appropriate to each audience
Be comfortable dealing with gray areas
Think abstractly beyond an immediate case
Appreciate differences and conflicting perspectives
Identify problems as well as solving them
Read between the lines
Receive and respond to feedback
Then we asked what we think our graduates should be able to do but perhaps can’t — or not as a result of anything we’ve taught them, anyway. The employers were especially valuable here, highlighting the ability to:
Use new media, technologies and social media
Work with the aesthetics of communication, such as design
Perform a visual presentation and analysis
Identify, translate and apply skills from course work
Perform data analysis and quantitative research
Be comfortable with numbers
Work well in groups, as leader and as collaborator
Take risks
Identify processes and structures
Write and speak from a variety of rhetorical positions or voices
Support an argument
Identify an audience, research it and know how to address it
Know how to locate one’s own values in relation to a task one has been asked to perform
According to them, you just “Follow their story and learn how the team at Clemson Online implemented RPNow, and how they’re planning to centralize remote proctoring to increase student convenience, faculty efficiency and reduce the costs of exam administration.”
step 5 of the five-step outline: “Take control of the payment model. Institutional payment (as opposed to student pay) creates a better experience for the student and cost savings for all.”
so, if the institution pays, then student don’t pay? I find this and illusion, since the institution pays by using students’ tuition. which constantly grows. so, the statement is rather deceptive.
As with the huge controversy around Turnitin (e.g., this 2009 article, and this 2012 article), “mechanizing” the very humane process evaluation is outright wrong. The attempt to compensate the lack of sufficient number of faculty by “outsourcing” to machines is en vogue with the nationwide strive of higher ed administration to create an “assembly line” type of education, which makes profit, but it is dubious if it teaches [well].
Pedagogically (as per numerous discussions in the Chronicle of Higher Education and similar sources), if the teaching materials and exams are structured in an engaging way, students cheat much less. The “case study” paper claims reduction of cheating, but it is reduction based on fear to be caught, not based on genuine interest in learning.
Post-Theory, Games, and Discursive Resistance: The Bulgarian Case
By Aleksandŭr Kʹosev
Mitteleuropa und der Balkan. Erotik der Geopolitik. Die Images zweier Regionen in den westlichen Massenmedien
“Mitteleuropa” and the Balkans. Eroticism of Geopolitics. The Images of Two Regions in Western Media
Author(s): Aleksander Kiossev Subject(s): Cultural Essay, Political Essay, Societal Essay Published by: Neue Literatur
Etiquette. Students need to understand how their technology use affects others. Remind them that there is a person on the other end of their text, tweet, comment or post.
Access. Not everyone has the same opportunities with technology, whether the issue is physical, socio-economic or location. Those who have more access to technology need to help those who don’t.
Law. The ease of using online tools has allowed some people to steal, harass and cause problems for others online. Students need to know they can’t take content without permission, or at least give credit to those who created it.
E is for educating yourself and others.
Literacy. Learning happens everywhere. Regardless of whether we get our information from friends, family or online, we need to be aware that it might not be correct. Students need to understand technology and what it can do and be willing to learn new skills so they can use it properly.
Communication. Knowing when and where to use technology is important. Using email, text or social media may not be the best method for interacting with someone. Students need to think about the message first, then the method, and decide if the manner and audience is appropriate.
Commerce. Technology allows us to buy and sell across the globe. Students should be careful about sharing personal and credit card information. Online commerce comes with risks.
P is for protecting yourself and others.
Rights and responsibilities. Build trust so that if something happens online, students are willing to share their problems or concerns about what has happened. Students should know who they are friends with on social networking sites so that they can remain safe online.
Security. It is everyone’s responsibility to guard their tools and data by having software and applications that protect them from online intruders. When we are all connected, everyone is responsible for security.
Health and wellness. There needs to be a balance between the online world and the real world. Students should establish limits with technology and spend quality face-to-face time with friends and family.
Global Leadership Week (GLW) is a week-long celebration of leadership through global action in K-20 education, taking place April 25 – 29, 2016, and organized by the Global Education Conference (GEC) Network. GLW is an opportunity for global education leaders (and those who want to be!) to learn from one another and share effective principles in leadership, particularly within the context of an interconnected, global age.
During Global Leadership Week, leaders in schools, universities, non-profit organizations, and corporations have designed and will be hosting over 25 virtual events to showcase thought leadership. The global education community at large can choose to participate in these online activities by browsing event listings on the GLW calendar. All events are free of charge to attend.
You can participate actively in these events by posting comments and ideas to Twitter using the hashtag #globaled16. Global Leadership Week discussions are also being hosted in a new Edmodo feature called Topics. You’ll need a free Edmodo account to participate and we encourage you to respond to the prompts on this page: https://www.edmodo.com/topics/609/2016-Global-Leadership-Week. Also, feel free to add yourself to the participant map.
AND it’s still not too late to design and host a virtual event focused on global education leadership next week. We will post your event on our website’s calendar. If your organization is a sponsor or a non-profit, we will promote your event through social media. Submit to host an event here. And while time is short, if your organization can reach several thousand educators, consider joining us as an outreach partner. Email Lucy Gray at lucy@globaledevents.com. Include a short description of how you can help get the word out to your network and a logo for your organization.
This event is brought to you by people and organizations who believe in the power of globally connected teaching and learning. GLW is organized by the Global Education Conference Network, Flat Connections, GlobalEdLeader, Global Oneness Project, iEARN-USA, the Learning Revolution Project, and VIF International Education.
