Books to Get You Thinking
May signals the end of a four-year transformative experience for students in universities all across America. It is graduation time for many, with the excitement and promise of a new future lying ahead. An educated workforce is necessary for the future growth, development and welfare of communities and American universities and colleges are known all over the world as centers of academic excellence and cutting-edge research. Yet, at a time when technology and innovation is disrupting the old order of things, it is important to examine the underpinnings of our educational system and ensure that it is training future generations to confront the reality of our world today. This month’s selections include books that address this issue – is the classical model of education still relevant for the modern twenty-first century? What is the role of a liberal arts background in honing requisite skills for a career - should it be replaced by vocational studies that are directly related to the skills in demand? While there exists a school of thought that expostulates the importance of a classical model of education, there is also a growing sense of need for the education system to be realigned to the society and economy of today.
The New Education: How to Revolutionize the University to Prepare Students for a World in Flux by Cathy Davidson
Cathy Davidson, the founding director of the Futures Initiative at the City University of New York and Professor Emerita of Interdisciplinary Studies at Duke University, has authored this important book calling for urgent change in the current system of higher education. The core system practiced in American Universities today was developed in the early twentieth century by Charles Eliot, the President of Harvard University, to meet the needs of industrialization and urbanization in that era. The system was based on different and distinct academic disciplines, specialization and electives and lectures delivered in classrooms. Since then, technological breakthroughs and globalization have dramatically changed the economic, social and political landscape, requiring dramatically different needs and demand for worker skillsets. The increasing globalization of commerce and re-distribution of production capacities across national boundaries has reshaped many industries. The education system however has not adapted to this new environment. As a result, it often fails to adequately provide graduating students with the skill and mindset needed to meet the challenges of the modern workplace. Evaluating students through standardized test taking has encouraged a system of exclusivity that adversely impacts the goal of extending education to more people. At the same time, the rapidly rising costs of education have excluded a vast majority from attending college while graduating students are saddled with spiraling levels of debt. Davidson cites the importance of a curriculum based on: critical thinking, solving real world problems through interdisciplinary studies, collaborative learning and team projects, the expanded use of tools provided by modern technology, and extending access to this education through more affordable and free online programs.
Robot-Proof: Higher Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence by Joseph Aoun
Joseph Aoun, a leading scholar in global education policy and president of Northeastern University, provides us with a compelling view of higher education imperatives in the age of artificial intelligence. The proliferation of information technology has not only dramatically changed business processes through automation but has also revolutionized manufacturing, supply chain and distribution networks through new avenues of trading goods and services. Information systems have also fundamentally changed the way we communicate, collaborate and create values. The rate of change in technology has been relentless. Information technology is now poised for yet another transformative phase where innovations in artificial intelligence will play an increased role in decision making and value creation. It will have a disruptive impact on employment opportunities with robots replacing a wide array of work activities in manufacturing. The author builds a set of recommendations by focusing on where human intelligence will be vitally important - areas which needs creativity that is beyond the capacity of robots. Aoun’s vision of higher education is very dynamic, adaptive and multi-faceted. He envisions lifelong learning and an education infrastructure which is not limited by the physical boundaries of the university campus. He lays out a blueprint where future generations can fearlessly compete with robots by successfully blending human creativity and productivity in information processing enabled by Artificial Intelligence. The book is very timely and a must read for those interested in education policy and the future of our workforce.
A Practical Education: Why Liberal Arts Majors Make Great Employees by Randall Stross
In this digital age where there is increasing pressure for young students to focus on technology and business majors as a prerequisite to a rewarding professional career, Randall Stross, Professor of Business at San Jose State University, writes eloquently, championing the inherent merits and continued relevance of a liberal arts education. The percentage pursuing a study of humanities and social sciences with the exception of economics has been consistently declining as students select to specialize in narrow disciplines and areas of interest to potential employers. Stross argues that critical thinking, communication skills, breadth of knowledge and the ability to solve complex problems are often acquired through the study of History, English and other Liberal Arts disciplines. The dramatic growth of the technology sector has also led to a rising demand for related skills in a host of fields including data analysis, market research and project management. To illustrate the validity of his thesis, Stross picks a sampling of liberal arts graduates from Stanford who majored in humanities and tracks the real life problems and experiences these young graduates face in their quest for a job and career. The results of a survey conducted by the Association of American Colleges and Universities in 2013 revealed that employers focus on the potential of a candidate to contribute to innovation and change rather than on the major they pursued in undergraduate studies. Ultimately, success in life is determined not just by the course of study or the school attended but by a student’s creativity and passion for the subjects they choose to pursue.
Cathy Davidson, the founding director of the Futures Initiative at the City University of New York and Professor Emerita of Interdisciplinary Studies at Duke University, has authored this important book calling for urgent change in the current system of higher education. The core system practiced in American Universities today was developed in the early twentieth century by Charles Eliot, the President of Harvard University, to meet the needs of industrialization and urbanization in that era. The system was based on different and distinct academic disciplines, specialization and electives and lectures delivered in classrooms. Since then, technological breakthroughs and globalization have dramatically changed the economic, social and political landscape, requiring dramatically different needs and demand for worker skillsets. The increasing globalization of commerce and re-distribution of production capacities across national boundaries has reshaped many industries. The education system however has not adapted to this new environment. As a result, it often fails to adequately provide graduating students with the skill and mindset needed to meet the challenges of the modern workplace. Evaluating students through standardized test taking has encouraged a system of exclusivity that adversely impacts the goal of extending education to more people. At the same time, the rapidly rising costs of education have excluded a vast majority from attending college while graduating students are saddled with spiraling levels of debt. Davidson cites the importance of a curriculum based on: critical thinking, solving real world problems through interdisciplinary studies, collaborative learning and team projects, the expanded use of tools provided by modern technology, and extending access to this education through more affordable and free online programs.
Joseph Aoun, a leading scholar in global education policy and president of Northeastern University, provides us with a compelling view of higher education imperatives in the age of artificial intelligence. The proliferation of information technology has not only dramatically changed business processes through automation but has also revolutionized manufacturing, supply chain and distribution networks through new avenues of trading goods and services. Information systems have also fundamentally changed the way we communicate, collaborate and create values. The rate of change in technology has been relentless. Information technology is now poised for yet another transformative phase where innovations in artificial intelligence will play an increased role in decision making and value creation. It will have a disruptive impact on employment opportunities with robots replacing a wide array of work activities in manufacturing. The author builds a set of recommendations by focusing on where human intelligence will be vitally important - areas which needs creativity that is beyond the capacity of robots. Aoun’s vision of higher education is very dynamic, adaptive and multi-faceted. He envisions lifelong learning and an education infrastructure which is not limited by the physical boundaries of the university campus. He lays out a blueprint where future generations can fearlessly compete with robots by successfully blending human creativity and productivity in information processing enabled by Artificial Intelligence. The book is very timely and a must read for those interested in education policy and the future of our workforce.
In this digital age where there is increasing pressure for young students to focus on technology and business majors as a prerequisite to a rewarding professional career, Randall Stross, Professor of Business at San Jose State University, writes eloquently, championing the inherent merits and continued relevance of a liberal arts education. The percentage pursuing a study of humanities and social sciences with the exception of economics has been consistently declining as students select to specialize in narrow disciplines and areas of interest to potential employers. Stross argues that critical thinking, communication skills, breadth of knowledge and the ability to solve complex problems are often acquired through the study of History, English and other Liberal Arts disciplines. The dramatic growth of the technology sector has also led to a rising demand for related skills in a host of fields including data analysis, market research and project management. To illustrate the validity of his thesis, Stross picks a sampling of liberal arts graduates from Stanford who majored in humanities and tracks the real life problems and experiences these young graduates face in their quest for a job and career. The results of a survey conducted by the Association of American Colleges and Universities in 2013 revealed that employers focus on the potential of a candidate to contribute to innovation and change rather than on the major they pursued in undergraduate studies. Ultimately, success in life is determined not just by the course of study or the school attended but by a student’s creativity and passion for the subjects they choose to pursue.
- Nita Mathur
Comments
Post a Comment