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SCARLET AND BEACK

 

Hopeful Educational Fronds Described

By DONALD R. LIGGETT
Assoc. Prof. of Education

Some changes are being made in
Grinneil College which deserve some
note — and some strengthening. When
i was asked to say what changes ought
to be made in the college, my mind fell
in the rut; of what is possible. That
which is most possible to me seems to
be an acceleration of some trends now
extant.

I really believe that a gradual evolu-
tion is going on in higher education (and
that includes Grinnell College). Much
of this evolution will improve the learn-
ing going onsln Grinnell but much or it
should go on substantially faster than
It has been.

I'd like to concentrate here on three
trends that i feel ought to be strength-
ened and hastened: -u trend toward a
program more related to the problems
outside the college, a trend toward more
student involvement prior to decision
making in the college, and a changed
emphasis on grades. Let me tackle
these one ata time.

Over the past few years, much has
happened to Grinnell to make the Grim
neli experience more relevant (to use
the hackneycd but: still useful term),
and to get the students involved in the
problems of our society. Some of this
change is reflected in the academic
program of the college and more of it
shows in the activities and interests of
the students, Unfortunately, the prob—
lems of the outside world have not yet
divided themselves into the academia
disciplines of higher education. An in<
terdisciplinary approach is required and
interdisciplinary studies are increasing
in the college — the slowly evolving
Upper Class Secondary Field program
and the Social Studies courses are two
examples. while neither of these pro-
grams can yet he called a great suc-
cess, both are experiments in the right
direction. in the next academic year
we will see some new experiments in
interdisciplinary approaches. The proh-

lelmmniation, not con-

cept and purpose. The hazard is that
we might give up too soon. Colleges al'o
inexperienced w i t h interdisciplinary
programs and they are difficult to op
crate. Grinneil has in the past slowly
abandoned them — to wit, elementary
education, business administration, and
ROTC. For ROTC, l'm thinking of the
change in ROTC of a few years back,
not this year's changes. At one time
ROTC students took ROTC courses
from regular Grinnell professors in our
regular academic disciplines, rather
than from military officers — who, it
seems to be now believed, can better
integrate the academic disciplines to
the specific problems of this vacation.
I'm not arguing whether mrrc should

1» on campus but I would like to diets

that as soon as the college does involve
itself in training for any problems or
vocations it will have to wrestle with
moral priorities. And the members of
the community will have to be toler-
ant of people with different prioritie-
on what problems the college should
concern itself with.

Another healthy aspect of the interest
in areas beyond the problem in aca-
demic disciplines is the increase in the
students on foreign study leaves. Tho
intellectual gains from ioreign study are
not easily classified into academic dis—
ciplines, but. the college now insists that
these gains be dissected into subject
fields in order to be transcriptized. This
silliness has been transcended in other
liberal arts colleges and will in clue
course come to pass at Grinnell. Some
faculty members still have a gut reac-
film that intellectual activity is proper
only when conducted in the confines of
an academic discipline. This reaction
is fading, and the faster it fades the
better lor the overall program.

incorporating this type of study in a
liberal arts mllege arouses high feelings
in liberal arts devotees, It is not
agreed that a liberal education is more

than a study of tho academic dis-
ciplines. Some academics do not be~
lieve a liberal education involves any
attempt to relate these disciplines to
specific problems in society; such is not
a part of a liberal education. In my
View this non-application is too sterile.
I would rather see the furor which will
result when the political scientist and
the psychologist clash on what should
be done in the slums. i will even enjoy
the furor which will come when the
drive toward: relevancy confronts the
part of the college which regards this
as a heresy in the college.

The second trend I would like to
speed up is the one towards more .stu-
dent involvement in the discussion:
prior to decision making. We now have
students on Educational Policy Com-
mittees, we have a resolution from the
faculty expressing an intent to incorpor<
ate students in faculty meeting discus-
sions. and many departments have in.
oorporated students in departmental
decision making, Students have insights
and knowledge which make them valu-
able participants in discussions, and
the use of this competency should in-
crease.

The last trend — the deemphasis on
grades — is admittedly the weakest of
the three from the standpoint of pro-
gress made, but a most important area
of change. We now have a credit-fail
option, and the social studies course last
fall was not only credit-fail but ungrad—
ed. Grades in their present form are a
major block to honest communication
between professor and student. student
behavior is too often determined by a
concept of what will get a good grade
and too little by what will increase
learning. While it is to be hoped that
grades correlate to some extent with
learning, it is no secret that they do
not always correlate. and when they
don‘t, the system has reinforced the
students who pursues grades rather than
the student who pursues learning. Per-
ceptive students have always recognized

urinary May it. not

this, but it is resented more than when I
was in school. We were more Willing to
accept the wisdom of the prof — and
I’m not at all sure we were right. Ono
of the problems in changing grading is
that too few college professors have
Studied testing as a technical ileid to be
sure of themselves ill this field. For
all ot the emphasis on grading and test-
ing in colleges, most teachers have a
basically antivilliellectual attitude [0‘
wards the study of testing. Too many col-
lege tests are essentially amateurish and
unprofessional — and thus relatively in-
valid. The lack of validity is confirmed
by numemus studies which show very
little correlation between college grades
and any criteria of later accomplishment,
My hope here is not that the college
abandon evaluation. because evaluation
is necessary both to measure progress
in an educational program and to iacll<
hate the certification responsibilities of
the school. The hope is that we can find
some way to make the evaluation sys-
tem support rather than frustrau the
learning and teaching efforts. Till! will
require that college teachers acquire
more of the body of information on [esp
ing and become more open to changes in
present grading procedures. As ii men-
tioned earlier I see less progress her.
than in the other areas. but i feel im-
provement in this area would allow I
major' improvement in the education of
students.

) Talk

(condoned from Page 12)

points are thoughts, not part of a manl-
festo for change. manisiestocs In art
were sprung sixty years ago, as were
some political “manisfesms”. thoughts
are apt currency in a mass media age
and i am writing thoughts ior a limited
mass in hopes of truth, beauty and
PEACE. proverbs SIS—“All the words of
my mouth are in righteousness; there is
nothing forward or perverse in them.
They are all plain to him that under-
standeth, and right to them than find
knowledge. Receive my instruction, and
not silver; and knowledge rather than
choice gold," Good night.

 

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