Are You There, Mr. Gates? Flip that MOOC right over, guy!

Some of us have been thinking about the influence that foundations (and rich people) are having on education.  What was once an influence of the national science foundation is now the influence of the gates foundation, with a smaller group of people making decisions based on priorities that are not open to public review or political approval.

A recent article described how Mr. Gates suggested to community college trustees that a ‘flipped MOOC’ might be a good solution — especially for developmental mathematics.  [See http://chronicle.com/article/MOOCs-Could-Help-2-Year/142123/].   I suspect that the article is misquoting the ‘doctor-not’ (Mr. Gates); an intelligent person would not use an oxymoron like ‘flipped MOOC’.  (Flipped means ‘lectures’ happen outside of class time; MOOC’s do not have class time.)

However, that minor detail (that is is not possible) will not make any difference.  Because it was Mr. Gates saying it, many of our leaders (college trustees) will be confident that it is true.  I expect to hear from my College’s trustees within a few weeks, as they wonder whether we would like to try a flipped MOOC model at our college to solve our dev math problem.

Coincidentally, I saw a very good presentation on an inverted design for instruction — a better name than ‘flipped’.  This presentation was at my state conference (MichMATYC) — a talk given by Robert Talbert (Grand Valley State University); a reference is http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1183&context=colleagues .  I was impressed by the amount of analysis done by Dr. Talbert to create the inverted calculus classroom; the process is much more complicated than ‘lecture outside of class time’.

To some extent, the ‘flipped MOOC’ phrase illustrates the linguistic process for the evolution of word usage: the initial use of a phrase is specific, becomes accepted, and then is applied in usage to unrelated objects in order to imply something positive (or at least ‘current’).  As educators, we have been damaged by this “phrase drift” many times over the years (mastery learning, back to basics, applications, calculator friendly, collaborative, student centered, and others).  The difference in this period is that our future is being heavily influenced by people who have less understanding of curriculum and instruction … rather than more.

There was a time when ‘trends’ in education were declared by top-level academicians and national policy heads.  These people (generally office holders of some kind) were deeply networked in the collegiate life.  No more; we are spending most of our time either agreeing with or arguing with people ‘on the outside’ — foundations in the completion agenda, philanthropists, and legislators.  It’s not that we should ignore the concerns of outside stakeholders.  The problem is that the outsiders have taken control from us; we react to them.

So, I ask:  Mr. Gates, are you there?   When do we get to have a productive conversation about the problems we are trying to solve?  We could look for problems where we agree on solutions … problems where we agree on the problem but not on solutions … and problems where we see the problem differently.  I know this, Mr. Gates — the process being used so far has put a lot of money is promising practices and technology without much sustained benefit; your return-on-investment is not so good.

When do we have a productive conversation?  Until we have real conversations with the people and groups trying to solve the problems (with the best of intentions) … until we work together, and not in reaction … until we accept both the worthy and not-so-good about the old system … only then do we have any hope of building something that will both solve problems and be capable of surviving in our world.

If you want to ‘solve the developmental mathematics problem’, Mr. Gates, I suggest you start by collecting a team of the 10 best thinkers and practitioners in the field who work with you over a 10-year period.  We want to solve problems; we strive to have students succeed and complete.  Can you recognize the need to have us as partners?

Are you there, Mr. Gates?

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5 Comments

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  By Sue Jones, October 7, 2013 @ 5:11 pm

  I figured out when he got so invested in Khan Academy that he really wasn’t going to listen to actual discussions from those Beneath His Level. I honestly think we need to actively seek a way to change the roles here from the poor natives in need of being rescued from our troubles by the all-knowing missionaries (who, of course, are clueless — but can wreak havoc on our landscapes).

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  By Jack Rotman, October 7, 2013 @ 5:31 pm

  Interesting that you use the ‘missionary’ reference. That makes sense to me.

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  By schremmer, October 7, 2013 @ 6:53 pm

  Re. Robert Talbert

  Why “videos”? How about something called “Bound Organization Of Knowledge”?

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  By Jack Rotman, October 8, 2013 @ 11:52 am

  ‘book’ implies we think learning can occur in the reading process. The fallacy of the learning pyramid has made too many of us shy away from ‘book’ learning, much to the detriment of our students (and society). Somehow we think that ‘watching’ is more active than ‘reading’.

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  By eric, October 28, 2013 @ 11:05 am

  One difference between Khan-style videos and worked-exercises in a textbook is that a student can be walked through the thinking process in real time. The level of detail available in a short video would take up 2- or 3-times the space usually allotted to each example in a textbook. Unfortunately, while making the problem more clear, the added length would make it more intimidating to read. We already have a tough time getting students to open their textbook outside of class; if they are more willing to watch a video on their own time, then that’s better than nothing!

  The downside, as you point out, Jack, is that while the greater clarity of a seen and heard worked example makes it easier to understand what the “professional” does, it does not make it easier for the student to go and do likewise – specifically because of the passivity of the process. Note, this is true of many examples worked during in-class lectures as well. Though those students who are willing to ask questions might be more engaged by a live lecture than a recorded one.

  Bill Gates’ professional career has been about making things easier for his clients. It’s quite a paradigm shift to try to think about how his “clients” can be forced to struggle in productive ways so that they can become self sufficient.

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