President Speaks: Universities should be 'agile facilitators' of knowledge | Higher Ed - Education Dive

Mark Lombardi
Photo: Maryville University

Maryville University President Mark Lombardi, president of Maryville University of St. Louis, explains his institution's approach to implementing technology-based, personalized education.
 

Photo: Maryville University

Thanks to the digital transformation that defines our age, most of us walk around with a library in our pocket. Today's access to vast information is unprecedented and transformative.

Yet, in higher education, the approach to disseminating information remains fundamentally unchanged after 2,500 years.

The professorial lecture still reigns supreme at many institutions. Students still sit in rows of seats and desks, facing the "front" and the instructor. Even technology still primarily extends the one-way dissemination of content from faculty to student.

As colleges and universities, it's time to recognize that we are no longer keepers of knowledge. We must serve instead as agile facilitators of knowledge, evolving and adapting to the new reality of how information flows through the world...

New roles and models in student-centered learning  
Access to information does not guarantee an education. Professors with expertise and real-world experience remain vital to the personalized-learning process. They can guide a student's journey from limited knowledge and awareness to understanding, application, discernment and critical problem-solving. 

If this doesn't sound like a departure in theory, it is in practice. More than ever, professors must create learning partnerships with their students and with other professionals...

Colleges and universities can take a variety of approaches to reorient toward student-centered learning. At Maryville University, we've built our model around engaging students, faculty and staff in a continuous and sustainable process of active learning focused on improving student outcomes.
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Source: Education Dive