2h, INNOVATION ABSTRACTS ‘i

AGS Published by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development
ny With support from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and Sid W. Richardson Foundation

 

 

 

IMPROVING LEARNING IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES

I don’t know what the world will look like in 15 years. No one does. Perhaps the one thing that we can
predict with some certainty is that the world will continue to change and that education is the best way we
know of to prepare people to change.

The abilities that have become valuable in our kind of world are the skills of synthesis and application.
The demand for these higher levels of cognitive development has an analogy in today’s perception of
physical fitness as a developmental process: when machinery replaced muscles on the job, people moved to
a higher level of physical development; perhaps the age of the computer will have a similar impact on
cognitive development. Instead of performing the low level cognitive skills of memory and recall, which are
handled better by a computer today, human beings are now free to concentrate on higher level
development—analysis, synthesis, and the ability to use knowledge.

Following this line of reasoning, I asked myself how educators might go about developing a program of
"learning fitness" comparable to the physical fitness movement that has so captured public fancy. Let me
give some examples of how the concepts behind physical fitness apply equally well to learning fitness.

1. The dissemination of research on physical fitness has been helpful, and the general public proved fairly
easy to reach and to teach. Smoking has declined, jogging has increased, knowledge about the
cardiovascular system has spread, and many people know the difference between exercising to develop
muscle strength and exercising to develop heart and lung capacity. If learning fitness came to be
perceived as important as physical fitness, would not people be eager for more knowledge about how
to attain it?

2. Fitness is developmental. It is clearly understood that no one can give people physical fitness—not
Nautilus, not Adidas, not Jane Fonda, and not the national and local park and recreation system.
Experts can diagnose, prescribe, and offer feedback, but in the final analysis, both physical fitness and
learning fitness are qualities that people must attain for themselves. The best we can do is provide the
environment, the equipment, and the support system to enable people to develop themselves.

3. We cannot modify the rules of physical fitness to take account of the life circumstances of the aspirant.
We can’t, for example, suggest that adults invest less time in the process because they have job and
family responsibilities—although we can certainly make jogging tracks available, put exercise rooms
and swimming pools in hotels, make the hours of Nautilus consistent with adult schedules, and deliver
inspiration and information.

4. We can’t make everyone equal in physical fitness. Everyone can improve, and everyone can do
something—even if from a wheelchair or in homes for the elderly. But the challenge must be
consistent with the ability and condition of the learner. Today’s concept of physical fitness is basically
non-competitive. Sure, there are a few super stars who win the Boston Marathon, but for most people
the companionship of running together and the feeling that they are doing something good for
themselves is enough.

5. Fitness must have some payoff; it has to work. People need the reinforcing feedback of feeling better,
looking better, and in general taking pride in their accomplishment. One of the interesting things
about physical fitness is that people are willing to wait for long-term results. Joggers do have to see
improvement, but it does not need to be today or tomorrow. Indeed, the current advice seems to be
that intermittent exercise is better than constant pushing and that muscles need time to recover and
time to grow and develop.

6. Fitness is never finished. We cannot participate in a rigorous well-balanced program as young people
and hope to remain fit for the rest of our lives. We will all slip out of shape from time to time, but we
should learn early in life what being in shape feels like and we should know how to get in shape.

 

 

 

AcoP Community College Leadership Program, The University of Texas at Austin, EDB 348, Austin, Texas 78712