In a speech given recently to the Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education, Tom Angelo, University of Miami in Florida, offered seven bridges that link the established life of a university to the conception of a learning community. From a culture of assumptions to a culture of assessment and evidence. We're so accustomed to the equation that it takes a great imagination to fathom another arrangement, let alone ponder its implementation. From a culture of implicitly held, individual goals to one of explicit, broadly shared goals. A culture which assumes that limited or formal communication is adequate to build community may need to examine itself more carefully.
Students expect clear objectives on their syllabi.
From a primary focus on teachers and teaching to a primary focus on learners and learning. This bridge calls for us to think about students as younger colleagues or apprentices. Such a shift rearranges the responsibilities of learning, so that instead of assessing only whether a teacher has taught, assessment includes what the students have learned. Such assessment draws the two sides closer, as teachers shape their teaching to the audience, and it addresses students' roles in apprehending, synthesizing, and understanding as they learn. From ignoring what is known about human learning to using it and applying it in the classroom.