UW Both­ell Pro­fes­sor David Goldstein’s pre­sen­ta­tion is one of the many pre­sen­ta­tions focused on Learn­ing Design at the Inno­va­tion Forum. Goldstein’s propo­si­tion in “Decen­ter­ing the Uni­ver­sity” encour­ages insti­tu­tions to con­sider how con­sci­en­tious design can help in devel­op­ing courses and cur­ric­ula that sup­port and serve stu­dent needs, inter­ests, and ways of learn­ing. Read more about David’s pre­sen­ta­tion below. 

Decen­ter­ing the University

By David S. Gold­stein, Ph.D.

Many col­leges and uni­ver­si­ties have begun to shift their ori­en­ta­tion from teaching-centered (priv­i­leg­ing the teacher and the con­tent) to stu­dent–cen­tered (design­ing courses and cur­ric­ula based on stu­dents’ per­spec­tives, needs, and desires). I wish to sug­gest that higher edu­ca­tion needs to take the next step, to what I call “com­pre­hen­sive learning-centeredness,” that acknowl­edges the cam­pus as only one locus of stu­dent learn­ing out of many. Stu­dents learn from all aspects of their lives, and higher edu­ca­tion insti­tu­tions should focus on help­ing stu­dents con­nect what they learn not only in the cur­ricu­lum and co-curriculum, but also in their fam­i­lies, work­places, friend­ships, houses of wor­ship, etc.

Our abil­ity to effec­tively inno­vate our cur­ricu­lum depends upon rec­og­niz­ing that while our insti­tu­tion can guide the coor­di­na­tion of and doc­u­men­ta­tion of learn­ing, stu­dents draw from all aspects of their lives when demon­strat­ing achieve­ment of learn­ing goals, and we serve them best when we build upon that recognition.

Hear David in per­son on Mon­day, Feb­ru­ary 11 from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. in UW2-240