Education as Transformation

Much is made these days of ‘value-added’, including the use of student ‘gains’ on standardized tests in the evaluation of teachers.  In colleges, we have defined courses in terms of student learning outcomes … which might reflect a comparable view of higher education (similar to K-12 and emphasis on ‘skills’).

“It must be remembered that the purpose of education is not to fill the minds of students with facts…it is to teach them to think.”  [Robert M. Hutchins]

What is the primary mission of colleges?  We all want our students to get better jobs, and would also like them to have a better quality of life.  Can these goals be achieved by the accumulation of discrete skills and learning outcomes?

Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school. [Albert Einstein]  

Community colleges tend to serve the less-empowered segments of society.  People often cite mathematics as a key enabler of upward mobility, with some demographic studies to support this position.  These correlational studies produce a false impression of the processes involved.   The motto is not ‘algebra for all’ … the motto is ‘building capacity to learn and function’.

Education… has produced a vast population able to read but unable to distinguish what is worth reading. [G.M. Trevelyan]

Education should be a transformative experience.  Independent thinking, reasoning with a variety of methodologies (including quantitative), and clear communication should be evidence of this transformation.  In a community college, we can not strive for the same level of transformation as a university or liberal arts college education; however, we stand in the critical first steps for students along this path.

Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence. [Robert Frost]

In developmental mathematics, we have too often been content to provide little snippets of essentially useless knowledge — procedures to deal with a variety of calculations.  Even though it is not easy, and there is always a discomfort involved, our students are capable of much more.  Without reasoning and clear communication, these procedures will not benefit students (beyond a data bit that says they ‘passed math’).

Education is not filling a pail but the lighting of a fire. [William Butler Yeats]

As we work together to build a better model for developmental mathematics, we need to appreciate our place in the education of our students.  A good mathematics course produces a qualitative change in students. We can measure some aspects of this process by examining the reasoning and communication processes that students use.  However, there is no sure-fire and objective measure that says  a student has made progress.  We will develop better tools for this — including some focused on quantitative literacy and reasoning.  The challenges of measurement should prevent us from keeping our proper focus; we need to work to make the important measurable.

Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom. [George Washington Carver]

The pre-algebra/introductory algebra/intermediate algebra model of developmental mathematics needs to be re-made into a valid curriculum.  We can include mathematics that is practical, and that is an improvement — however, it  is not sufficient.  A central goal of developmental mathematics needs to be the improvement of quantitative reasoning and communication … a contribution which will enable our students to be educated, free people in a world facing diverse challenges.

 
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