ABSTRACT: Could more extensive use of PBL [Rhem(1998)] increase 
undergraduate learning? Derek Bok, former president of Harvard, in a 
recent book "Underachieving Colleges: a Candid Look at How Much 
Students Learn and Why They Should Be Learning More" is critical of 
higher education's evident lack of attention to the enhancement of 
student learning. Nevertheless strategies for enhancing student 
learning have been a regular feature of James Rhem's  "National 
Teaching and Learning Forum" (NTLF)  <http://www.ntlf.com/>. See 
especially the articles in the December 2005 issue, available to 
subscribers online and to non-subscribers who sign up for a FREE 
60-Day online subscription at 
<http://ntlf.com/forms/signup/signup.htm>.

In his POD post of 13 Dec 2005 titled "Chronicle Article on 'The 
Critical Role of Trustees in Enhancing Student Learning'," Dick Reddy 
(2005) wrote [bracketed by lines "RRRRR. . . ."; my inserts at ". . . 
[insert]. . ."]:

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Today's Daily Report from the Chronicle of Higher Education has an 
essay by Derek Bok. . .[2005a]. . . entitled "The Critical Role of 
Trustees in Enhancing Student Learning." As one could guess, it is 
critical of faculties and of administrations for not championing 
student learning as fully as he believes they should.

What's more, we are likely to hear more of this in the immediate 
future because Bok has a book . . . .[Bok (2005b)]. . . . coming out 
in January entitled "Our Underachieving Colleges: a Candid Look at 
How Much Students Learn and Why They Should Be Learning More" . . . 
.[see also other critiques of higher education  by Bok (1990, 1994)] 
. . .

So the issue of enhancing student learning will be public for at 
least the next couple of months and may provide opportunities for 
those involved in faculty development (which, at least in the 
Chronicle article, isn't directly referenced).
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

In my opinion, the issue of enhancing student learning  - see e.g., 
"From Teaching to Learning: A New Paradigm for Undergraduate 
Education" [Barr & Tagg (1995)] - has been and will be public for 
decades rather than months, and provides opportunities for faculty 
and administrators (as well as "those involved in faculty 
development") to think more about what they might do to enhance 
undergraduate learning in their classrooms.

And to know whether or not student learning IS being enhanced by 
various reform methods of teaching, one must be able to *directly 
assess* students *higher-order* learning (not just rote 
memorization), a topic rarely addressed in higher education - but see 
Hersh (2005) and Shavelson & Huang (2003).

The December 2005 edition of the National Teaching and Learning Forum 
NTLF 15(1) <http://www.ntlf.com/> contains three articles that 
concern strategies that might be expected to enhance undergraduate 
learning:

"Super-Active Learning Techniques (Or, How to turn your student into 
a teacher)" [Savion (2005)]; 

"Conversations In Political Science" [Lomperis (2005)];

"Perceiving Education's Temporal Temperaments: Educating in Fractal 
Patterns XIV (part B - Age, Order, Duration, Frequency, Rate and 
Magnitude) [Nuhfer (2005)];

Modesty forbids my mentioning also:

"The Physics Education Reform Effort: A Possible Model for Higher 
Education?" [Hake (2005)]

The above articles are all online to subscribers at 
<http://www.ntlf.com/>. They may also be accessed by non-subscribers 
who sign up for a FREE 60-Day online subscription at 
<http://ntlf.com/forms/signup/signup.htm>.


Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University
24245 Hatteras Street, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
<[log in to unmask]>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi>


REFERENCES
Barr, R.B. &  J. Tagg. 1995. "From Teaching to Learning: A New 
Paradigm for Undergraduate Education," Change 27(6); 13-25, 
November/December. Reprinted in D. Dezure, Learning from Change: 
Landmarks in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education from Change 
1969-1999. American Association for Higher Education, pp. 198-200. 
Also online at <http://tinyurl.com/8g6r4>. 

Bok, D. 1990. "Universities and the Future of America." Duke 
University Press. Amazon.com information is at 
<http://tinyurl.com/7ljxe>.

Bok, D. 1994. "Universities in the Marketplace: The Commercialization 
of Higher Education." Princeton University Press. Amazon.com 
information is at <http://tinyurl.com/dgeyh>.

Bok, D. 2005a. "The Critical Role of Trustees in Enhancing Student 
Learning," Chronicle of Higher Education, 13 December, online to
subscribers at  <http://chronicle.com/chronicle/>. See also Bok (2005c).

Bok, D. 2005b. "Our Underachieving Colleges: A Candid Look at How 
Much Students Learn and Why They Should Be Learning More." Princeton 
University Press. Amazon.com information is at 
<http://tinyurl.com/bnn8c>.

Bok, D. 2005c. "Are colleges failing?  Higher ed needs new lesson 
plans" Boston Globe, 18 December, freely online (probably only for a 
short time) at <http://tinyurl.com/da5v2>. Online more permanently 
for discussion list subscribers at
<http://lists.asu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0512&L=aera-l&T=0&O=D&P=1318>. 
Scroll to the APPENDIX.

Hake, R.R. 2005. "The Physics Education Reform Effort: A Possible 
Model for Higher Education?" NTLF 15(1), December, online to 
subscribers at <http://www.ntlf.com/>.

Hersh, R.H. 2005. "What Does College Teach? It's time to put an end 
to 'faith-based' acceptance of higher education's quality," Atlantic 
Monthly 296(4): 140-143, November; freely online to
(a) subscribers of the Atlantic Monthly at <http://tinyurl.com/dwss8>, and
(b) (with hot-linked academic references) to educators at 
<http://tinyurl.com/9nqon> (scroll to the APPENDIX).

Lomperis, T. 2005. "Conversations In Political Science," NTLF 15(1), 
December, online to subscribers at <http://www.ntlf.com/>.

Reddy, D. 2005. "Chronicle Article on 'The Critical Role of Trustees 
in Enhancing Student Learning'," POD  post of 13 Dec 2005 
08:39:01-0500, online at 
<http://listserv.nd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0512&L=pod&F=&S=&P=11015>.

Rhem, J. 1998. "Problem-Based Learning: An Introduction," National 
Teaching and Learning Forum 8(1)(1998); online at 
<http://www.ntlf.com/html/pi/9812/pbl_1.htm>. 

Savion, L. 2005. "Super-Active Learning Techniques (Or, How to turn 
your student into a teacher)," NTLF 15(1), December, online to 
subscribers at <http://www.ntlf.com/>.

Shavelson, R.J. & L. Huang.  2003. "Responding Responsibly To the 
Frenzy to Assess Learning in Higher Education," Change Magazine, 
January/February; online at <http://tinyurl.com/7foof>.

Nuhfer, E.B. 2005.  "Perceiving Education's Temporal Temperaments: 
Educating in Fractal Patterns XIV (part B - Age, Order, Duration, 
Frequency, Rate and Magnitude), NTLF 15(1), December, online to 
subscribers at <http://www.ntlf.com/>.