Full Description
Inquiry-driven learners anticipate, embrace, and adapt to disruptive change. Clifton Conrad and Laura Dunek advance a transformative purpose of a college education. They invite stakeholders from across higher education to engage in vigorous dialogue about the aims of a college education - and how to realize those aims. Increasingly influenced by market forces, many universities employ a default purpose of a college education: preparing students for entry into the workforce. As a result, students remain unprepared for a world in which much of the knowledge they acquire will have a shelf life of only a few years. "Cultivating Inquiry-Driven Learners" charts a new way forward. It proposes that a college education prepare students to be innovative and adaptable by developing four signature capabilities: core qualities of mind, critical thinking skills, expertise in divergent modes of inquiry, and the capacity to express and communicate ideas. In concert, these capabilities empower students to explore and foster ideas that will prepare them to successfully navigate constant change, capitalize on career opportunities, enrich their personal lives, and thoughtfully engage in public life.This innovative book also explores a wide range of initiatives and practices for educating inquiry-driven learners. Examples illustrate possibilities for developing inquiry-driven learners across the curriculum and are drawn from institutions with remarkably different missions and identities - from research universities to liberal arts colleges.
Contents
PrefacePart I: What Is The Purpose of a College Education?1. Contemporary Discourse on the Purpose of a College EducationThe Dominant Discourse: Eclipse of the Legacy of Liberal EducationContemporary Ideas on the Purpose of a College EducationThe Absence of a Fundamental Purpose of a College EducationPart II: Approaching Obselete Higher Learning in the Twenty-First Century2. A Rapidly Changing World and the Need for a ResponseThe Rapidly Shifting U.S. Economy: From Industrial Production to Knowledge and InnovationFour Trends Affecting Higher Education, All Driven by Monetary IncentivesLessons from Other Sectors of Society, All Reshaped by the Same Market Forces Buff eting Higher EducationProactively Directing External Forces and Preparing Students for a New World3. Hurtling toward Obsolescence: The Default Purpose of aCollege EducationShortcomings of the Default Purpose: Knowledge-Inundated, Workplace CommoditiesThe Need for a Fundamental Purpose of a College EducationPart III: Becoming an Inquiry-Driven Learner4. Portrayal of an Inquiry-Driven LearnerDefinition of an Inquiry-Driven LearnerCore Qualities of MindCritical Thinking SkillsExpertise in Divergent Modes of InquiryThe Capacity to Express and Communicate IdeasBuilding upon a Legacy of IdeasPart IV: Developing Inquiry-Driven Learners5. Ideas for Developing Inquiry-Driven LearnersInitiatives at Eight InstitutionsInstitutional Practices for Educating Inquiry-Driven LearnersA Concluding NoteNotesReferencesIndex
