A Transition for Community Colleges: Teaching Institutions to Learning Institutions

But some voices continue to question the role of teaching within both community colleges and four-year institutions. Barr and Tagg (1995) suggested that colleges and universities need to shift from an instructional (focus on teaching) model to one where learning is the major concern (learning centered). The mission of colleges in this view is not simply to offer instruction but, instead, to produce learning as an outcome. Boggs (1996) took a similar position suggesting more specifically that "we need a new paradigm for community colleges, one which defines the colleges as learning rather than teaching institutions" (p. 25). While this shift away from a teaching model is generally referred to as learner centered, it also might be labeled learning centered to more accurately describe the new roles students and faculty play in the learning process.

Terry O’Banion, president and CEO of the League for Innovation in the Community College, has been a leading advocate of the learning-centered focus. In A Learning College for the 21st Century (1997), O’Banion championed the following key principles as the foundation for the learning college:

Adopting O’Banion’s vision would require fundamental changes for both faculty and students in all educational institutions, including community colleges. The Wingspread Group on Higher Education (1993) indicated the magnitude of this shift when they wrote, "Putting learning at the heart of the academic enterprise will mean overhauling the conceptual, procedural, curricular, and other architecture of postsecondary education on most campuses" (p. 14). This transition from teaching to learning-centered institutions will require a rethinking of both learning and teaching processes. Although O’Banion’s principles affect the process and structure of the institution, there are a number of psychological principles and assumptions that also support the learning college viewpoint.

This article explores learner-centered psychological principles and defines how these ideas support the transition from teaching to learning-centered institutions. Learner-centered concepts have been investigated by the American Psychological Association (APA). In a report Learner-Centered Psychological Principles: Guidelines for School Redesign and Reform (APA, 1993), the APA identified twelve learner-centered principles (Appendix A). We believe these psychological principles support O’Banion’s (1997) position and that they may offer ways for community colleges to become more learning centered.

Learner Centered Psychological Principles

The twelve psychological principles identified and reported by the APA (1993) are intended for learners of all ages. The report addressed major metacognitive/cognitive, affective, developmental, personal/social factors, as well as individual differences. Many of these principles appear to support O’Banion’s (1997) position and may offer substantive ways to support colleges in the transition from teaching to learning-centered institutions. Furthermore, we offer our suggestions to help enable community college practitioners to apply learning theory to a new learning environment.

Metacognitive and Cognitive Factors

The first four principles outlined in the APA (1993) report refer to the nature and goals of the learning process, including the construction of higher-order thinking and knowledge. These beliefs assume that learners must take responsibility for their own learning, that learners internalize and construct meaning for their learning, and that learners have the ability to think about their own thinking. Taken all together, these learner-centered principles appear to support the transition from teaching to learning institutions and also support O’Banion’s (1997) opinion that, "the learning college engages learners as full partners in the learning process, with learners assuming primary responsibility for their own choices" (p.47).

In some ways, students have already begun to take more responsibility for their learning and to make choices about what, how, and when they learn. Emerging technologies that support the Internet, e-mail, computer-assisted instruction, and on-line virtual libraries have started to give learners control over the what, the how, and the when of learning. Also, progress in distance learning continues to provide opportunities for students to use emerging technologies to impact the how and the when of the learning process. Bonk and Reynolds (1997) suggested that learning-centered instruction on the World Wide Web can provide learning strategies to foster creative and critical thinking while also encouraging cooperative and collaborative learning. Wagner and McCombs (1995) further detailed the infusion of APA (1993) learner-centered principles into the design consideration for distance education. These authors pointed out that technology-mediated instructional practices can be used to prove that learner-centered principles benefit all learners.

A computer-assisted learning option at Virginia Tech (Young, 1998) involving over 3,500 mathematics students illustrates some of the challenges educators confront as colleges use technology for solutions to learning and teaching. One outcome is that some students were dissatisfied with the technology-based program even though a number of "human contact" options were also available. This might be an early indication that the transition from teaching to learning-centered institutions will require transforming how learners become more involved in the learning and teaching process.

Affective Factors

Affective principles defined by the APA (1993) include attributes that portray each learner as intrinsically motivated, with real-world learning tasks and positive learning experiences as key elements that can influence motivation to learn. In the affective domain, negative factors such as anxiety, pressure, negative feelings, and other emotional impairments can interfere with learning processes. Learning experiences that produce or maintain a positive emotional environment tend to enhance learning as opposed to feelings of anxiety, insecurity, or pressure that can impede learning processes. Understanding the effect of positive or negative emotions on learning would seem to be a key principle, but this issue was not prominent in O’Banion’s (1997) view of the learning college.

Many college faculty have their own view of how positive and negative emotions affect the process of learning. Some professors emphasize that the learning process is hard work that can or should produce some anxiety or pressure for the learner. This position was captured by Trout (1997) in an article concerning the interpretation of college students’ written evaluations of their instructors. Trout (1997) interpreted student comments related to not wanting stress as evidence that students prefer accommodating and unchallenging classrooms. He explained, "Higher education is not supposed to be Club Med or a New Age seminar. Learning (and teaching!) entails frustration, anxiety, disappointment, shame, pressure, sweat, and tears" (p. 29). These and similar views are widely expressed in both two- and four-year college settings.

Sylvester (1994) emphasized the converse position that "emotionally stressful school environments are counterproductive because they can reduce students’ ability to learn" (p. 65). Recent developments in the cognitive sciences have begun to shed light on the role of emotions in the process of learning. Even though we don’t fully understand just how emotions and learning are connected, we have begun to accept that learning has an emotional component and cannot be reduced to a cognitive process such as rote memorization. Gaining a better understanding of how emotions affect learning and how the consequences of both positive and negative emotions reinforce or impede learning certainly will impact the transition to a learning-centered institution.

Developmental Factors

Another category addressed by the APA (1993) included the body of knowledge tracing normal or typical human development through progressive stages of physical, psychological, and social development. A major task for learning-centered institutions will be to strive for a fuller understanding of developmentally different students from diverse socio-cultural backgrounds and experiences. O’Banion (1997) noted that learning colleges would have specialists who would "design and create learning options in a variety of formats based upon the latest learning and adult development theories" (p. 59).

Although community colleges have had a strong history of working with diverse student populations, more research must be conducted to address the complex accommodation strategies required for learners with special needs. Comor-Jacobs (1993) recommended that community college faculty must employ many and various learning strategies to meet the wide range of learning needs underprepared students bring to post-secondary school settings. To this end, community colleges were challenged to create more learner-centered classroom environments that emphasize developmentally appropriate textbooks and de-emphasize traditional lecture formats in favor of student collaboration and additional group discussions.

Looking at the developmental needs of students, Brothen (1998) proposes that technology, when appropriately used, can improve students’ learning skills and strategies. An example would be an introductory psychology course that covered a "how to study" topic in a unit on learning. Brothen’s (1998) concern is how to help learners grow and develop through the use of technology. Developmental needs of students will receive more and more emphasis by the new learning-centered institutions of the future.

Personal and Social Factors

The APA (1993) also addressed personal and social factors indicating that learning environments should allow for diverse interactions and communication. It is believed that when students are respected as learners, this respect produces a more positive climate for learning. These psychological principles support O’Banion’s (1997) position that "the learning college defines the roles of learning facilitators by the needs of the learners" (p. 47). The use of the term facilitator rather than professor or instructor creates a new definition of teaching within the learning-centered paradigm.

College professors in the past have been selected based, almost exclusively, on expertise in a specific academic discipline. For example, a physics professor must be knowledgeable about physics as an English faculty member should be fluent in the analysis of language and literature. In a learner-centered institution, the professor also may need to know about adult learning theory and be able to apply this knowledge to assist learners. The Wingspread Group on Higher Education (1993) addressed the need for action in regard to current knowledge about learning theory :

There is a growing body of knowledge about learning and the implications of that knowledge for teaching. What is known, however, is rarely applied by individual teachers, much less in concert by entire faculties. We know that teaching is more than lecturing. We know that active engagement in learning is more productive than passive listening. We know that experimental learning can be even more so. We know we should evaluate institutional performance against student outcomes. We know all of this, but appear unable to act on it. (p. 14)

The successful transition to a learning-centered institution hinges on the ability of faculty members to see themselves more and more as facilitators of learning and not solely as subject area experts. Barrowman (1996) asserts that meaningful change will occur "when the pedagogy in our classroom changes from one of seeing ourselves as teachers of subject area to seeing ourselves as teachers of students" (p. 104).

To better understand adult learning processes, one might start by looking at Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer’s innovative theory of mindful learning. Langer (1997) stated, "A mindful approach to any activity has three characteristics: the continuous creation of new categories; openness to new information; and an implicit awareness of more than one perspective" (1997, p.4). Furthermore, by investigating the pioneering work of M.I.T.’s Seymour Papert, one might gain new insight into the use of technology for learning: the advice Papert (1996) gave to parents seems to be good advice for all learners: "What parents most need to know about computers is not really about computers but about learning" (p. 8). Time and again it seems that learning about learning may need to be the mantra for the future.

Individual Differences

The APA’s (1993) final psychological principles cover two concepts that indicate learners have different preferences for the way they learn and unique cognitive filters that are used to interpret personal life experiences. The concern for individual differences also is seen in O’Banion’s (1997) belief that a learning college must create and offer as many learning options as possible. To add to our ability to better understand factors encountered in the transition to a more learning-centered environment, it is necessary to consider a number of recent theories and research findings.

Two theories that support the importance of individual difference include the many learning style theories and the theory of multiple intelligence (MI). For quite some time, educators have been aware that learners exhibit different profiles of learning style characteristics. Some learners are highly verbal while others are more visual; some do well in groups while others prefer to learn alone. This pattern of unique personality and environmental factors is often referred to as one’s learning style.

How can the community college change to give more options to their learners? The authors (Reynolds & Werner, 1994) have proposed that a developmental model based on learning style characteristics can be used to produce more effective college reading and study skills. Similarly, learning style concepts can be used to develop more effective skills and strategies for all learners (Dunn & Dunn, 1993; Griggs, 1990). When individuals gain insight about their own unique patterns of learning style characteristics, they are empowered to direct their own learning.

The concern for individual differences can also be seen in Howard Gardner’s ground-breaking work on the theory of multiple intelligences (MI). Gardner’s (1993) concept that human intelligence is multidimensional can have a major impact on a learning-centered institution. Gardner (1983) has identified at least seven different forms of human intelligence: musical, bodily-kinesthetic, logical-mathematical, linguistic, spatial, interpersonal, and intrapersonal intelligence. Díaz-Lefebvre and Finnegan (1997) applied the MI theory to develop different learning options for students at the community-college level. This is a good example of a theory into practice effort that can be the catalyst for the transition to more learning-centered community colleges.

Higher education has changed over the past decade; emerging technologies and the expanding focus on distance education are some of the elements that fueled those changes. The transition to learning-centered institutions may be the focus that will fuel the changes for the next century. These changes may come as fundamental restructuring, where the whole institutional culture is changed by more sequential changes, where bits and pieces are changed. While we are confident about the need for the change, we suggest that bits and pieces must be linked together to produce a coherent understanding of where we are and where we need to go.

VCCS initiatives such as the Regional Centers for Teaching Excellence (Black, 1998), Virginia’s Master Teacher Seminars (Whisnant, 1998) and academic journals like Inquiry can go a long way in changing how learning-centered concepts are disseminated. The Regional Centers for Teaching Excellence and Virginia’s Master Teacher Seminars are positioned to inform audiences about the need for learning-centered practices at all levels of the community college. Similarly, the editors of Inquiry have the ability to publish more articles that support current research in learning theory. These examples and others are needed to start a transition, but for a major shift to occur, so-called teaching institutions must become more focused on learning.

The first step may be philosophical. Everyone connected to community colleges may need to reconsider his or her core beliefs about learning in order to be able to put learning first. Learning colleges of the future will need to focus more attention on learning about learning so as to articulate the relationships between learning and teaching. Learning as a lifelong process is influenced by how individuals interact with their world and their learning experiences. The hope is that community colleges of the future will empower learners to direct and take control of their own learning.

References

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