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Change ? November/December i 995

From Teachintog Learnin- g

A New Paradigm for UndergraduEdautcaetion

By Robert B. Barr and John Tagg

Thesignificantproblemsweface cannotbe solvedat thesame level of thinkingwe wereat whenwe created them.

-Albert Einstein

paradigmshift is taking hold in American highereducation.In its briefestform,the paradigmthathas governedourcolleges is this:A college is an institutionthat exists toprovideinstruction.Subtlybut profoundlywe areshiftingto a new paradigm:A college is an institution thatexists toproducelearning.This shiftchangeseverything.It is both needed and wanted. We call the traditional,dominant paradigmthe "InstructionParadigm."

RobertB. Barris directorof institutional researchandplanningandJohn Taggis associateprofessorof Englishat Palomar College, San Marcos, California.

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Underit, colleges have createdcomplex structuresto providefor the activityof teachingconceived primarilyas delivering50-minutelectures- the mission of a college is to deliver instruction.

Now, however,we arebeginningto recognize thatour dominantparadigm mistakesa meansfor anend. Ittakesthe meansor method- called "instruction" or "teaching"- andmakesit the college's end orpurpose.To say thatthe purposeof colleges is to provideinstructionis like sayingthatGeneralMotors' businessis to operateassembly lines or thatthe purposeof medicalcare is to fill hospitalbeds. We now see that ourmission is not instructionbutrather

thatof producinglearningwithevery studentby whatevermeansworkbest.

The shift to a "LearningParadigm" liberatesinstitutionsfroma set of diffi-

cult constraints.Today it is virtually impossible for themto respondeffectively to the challenge of stable or declining budgetswhile meetingthe increasingdemandfor postsecondary

educationfrom increasinglydiverse students.Underthe logic of the Instruction Paradigm,colleges sufferfroma serious design flaw: it is not possible to increaseoutputswithouta corresponding increasein costs, becauseany attemptto increaseoutputswithout increasingresourcesis a threatto quality. If a college attemptsto increaseits productivityby increasingeitherclass sizes or faculty workloads,for example, academics will be quick to assume inexorablenegative consequencesfor educationalquality.

Justas importantlyt,heInstruction Paradigmrestson conceptionsof teaching thatareincreasinglyrecognizedas ineffective.As AlanGuskinpointedout in a September/October1994 Change articlepremisedon the shiftfromteaching to learning,"theprimarylearning environmentfor undergraduatsetudents, thefairlypassivelecture-discussionformatwherefacultytalkand most studentslisten,is contraryto almostevery principleof optimalsettingsfor student

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For many of us, the Learning Paradigm has always lived in our hearts....

But the heart's feeling has not lived clearly

and powerfully in our heads.

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learning." The Learning Paradigm ends the lecture's privileged position, honoring in its place whatever approaches serve best to prompt learning of particular knowledge by particular students.

The Learning Paradigm also opens up the truly inspiring goal that each graduating class learns more than the previous graduating class. In other words, the Learning Paradigm envisions the institution itself as a learner-

over time, it continuously learns how to produce more learning with each graduating class, each entering student.

many of us, the Learning Paradigm has always lived in our hearts. As teachers, we want

above all else for our students to learn

and succeed. But the heart's feeling has not lived clearly and powerfully in our heads. Now, as the elements of the

Learning Paradigm permeate the air, our heads are beginning to understand what our hearts have known. However,

none of us has yet put all the elements of the Learning Paradigm together in a conscious, integrated whole.

Lacking such a vision, we've witnessed reformers advocate many of the new paradigm's elements over the years, only to see few of them widely adopted. The reason is that they have been applied piecemeal within the structures of a dominant paradigm that rejects or distorts them. Indeed, for two decades the response to calls for reform from national commissions and task forces generally has been an attempt to address the issues within theframework of the Instruction Paradigm. The movements thus generated have most often failed, undone by the contradictions within the traditional

paradigm. For example, if students are not learning to solve problems or think critically, the old logic says we must teach a class in thinking and make it a general education requirement. The logic is all too circular: What students are

learning in the classroom doesn't address their needs or ours; therefore, we must bring them back into another classroom and instruct them some more. The result

is never what we hope for because, as Richard Paul, director of the Center for Critical Thinking observes glumly, "critical thinking is taught in the same way that other courses have traditionally been taught, with an excess of lecture and insufficient time for practice."

To see what the Instruction Para-

digm is we need only look at the structures and behaviors of our colleges and infer the governing principles and beliefs they reflect. But it is much more difficult to see the Learning Paradigm, which has yet to find complete expression in the structures and processes of any college. So we must imagine it. This is what we propose to do here. As we outline its principles and elements, we'll suggest some of their implications for colleges - but only some, because the expression of principles in concrete structures depends on circumstances. It will take decades to work out many of the Learning Paradigm's implications. But we hope here that by making it more explicit we will help colleagues to more fully recognize it and restructure our institutions in its image.

such a restructuring is needed is beyond question: the gap between what we say we want of higher education and what its structures provide has never been wider. To use a distinction made by Chris Argyris and Donald Schon, the difference between our espoused theory and our theory-inuse is becoming distressingly noticeable. An "espoused theory," readers will recall, is the set of principles people offer to explain their behavior; the principles we can infer from how people or their organizations actually behave is their "theory-in-use." Right now, the Instruction Paradigm is our theory-in-use, yet the espoused theories of most educators more closely resemble components of the Learning Paradigm. The more we discover about how the mind works and

how students learn, the greater the disparity between what we say and what we do. Thus so many of us feel increasingly constrained by a system increasingly at variance with what we believe. To build

the colleges we need for the 21st century- to put our minds where our hearts are, and rejoin acts with beliefs - we must consciously reject the Instruction Paradigm and restructure what we do on the basis of the Learning Paradigm.

The Paradigms

When comparing alternative paradigms, we must take care: the two will seldom be as neatly parallel as our summary chart suggests (see pages 16 and 17 ). A paradigm is like the rules of a

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game:one of thefunctionsof therulesis to definetheplayingfield anddomainof possibilitieson thatfield. Buta new paradigmmayspecify a gameplayedon a largeror smallerfield witha largeror smallerdomainof legitimatepossibilities. Indeed,theLearningParadigmexpandstheplayingfield anddomainof possibilitiesandit radicallychanges variousaspectsof thegame.IntheInstructionParadigm,a specific methodology determinestheboundaryof what colleges can do; in the Learning Paradigm,studentlearningandsuccess set theboundary.By the sametoken,not all elementsof thenew paradigmare contraryto correspondingelementsof theold;thenew includesmanyelements of theold withinits largerdomainof possibilities.The LearningParadigm does notprohibitlecturing,forexample. Lecturingbecomesone of manypossible methods,all evaluatedon thebasis

of theirabilityto promoteappropriate

learning. Indescribingthe shiftfroman In-

structionto a LearningParadigm,we limitouraddressin this articleto under-

graduateeducation.Researchandpublic serviceareimportantfunctionsof colleges anduniversitiesbutlie outside the scope of thepresentdiscussion. Here,as in oursummarychart,we'll comparethetwo paradigmsalong six dimensions:mission andpurposes,criteriafor success, teaching/learning

structures,learningtheory,productivity andfunding,andnatureof roles.

Mission and Purposes

In the InstructionParadigmt, he missionof thecollege is to provideinstruction,to teach.Themethodandthe productareone andthesame.Themeans is theend.IntheLearningParadigm,the missionof thecollege is to produce learning.The methodandthe productare separateT. heendgovernsthemeans.

Some educatorsmaybe uncomfortablewiththe verb"produce."We use it becauseit so stronglyconnotesthatthe college takesresponsibilityfor learning. Thepointof sayingthatcolleges areto producelearning- notprovide,not support,notencourage- is to say, unmistakably,thatthey areresponsiblefor thedegreeto which studentslearn.The LearningParadigmshifts whatthe institutiontakesresponsibilityfor:from qualityinstruction(lecturing,talking)to

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studentlearning.Students,the co-producersof learning,can andmust,of course,takeresponsibilityfor theirown learning.Hence, responsibilityis a winwin game whereintwo agentstakeresponsibilityfor the sameoutcomeeven thoughneitheris in completecontrolof all the variables.Whentwo agentstake suchresponsibility,the resultingsynergy producespowerfulresults.

The idea thatcolleges cannotbe responsiblefor learningflows froma disempoweringnotionof responsibility.If we conceive of responsibilityas a fixed quantityin a zero-sumgame, thenstudentsmusttakeresponsibilityfor their own learning,andno one else can. This model generatesa conceptof responsibility capableof assigningblamebut not of empoweringthe mostproductive action.The conceptof responsibilityas a frameworkfor actionis quitedifferent:whenone takesresponsibility,one sets goals andthenactsto achieve them, continuouslymodifyingone's behavior to betterachieve the goals. To takeresponsibilityfor achievinganoutcomeis not to guaranteethe outcome,nordoes it entailthe completecontrolof all relevantvariables;it is to makethe achieve-

mentof the outcomethe criterionby which one measuresone's own efforts.

Inthis sense, it is no contradictionto

say thatstudents,faculty,andthe college as an institutioncan all takeresponsibilityfor studentlearning.

Inthe LearningParadigm,colleges takeresponsibilityfor learningat two distinctlevels. At the organizational level, a college takesresponsibilityfor the aggregateof studentlearningand success. Did, for example, the graduating class's masteryof certainskills or knowledgemeet ourhigh, publicstandardsfor the awardof the degree?Did the class's knowledgeandskills improveover those of priorclasses? The college also takesresponsibilityat the individuallevel, thatis, for each indi-

vidualstudent'slearning.Did Mary Smithlearnthe chemistrywe deem appropriatefor a degreein thatfield? Thus,the institutiontakesresponsibility for bothits institutionaloutcomesand

individualstudentoutcomes.

Turningnow to morespecific purposes, in the InstructionParadigm,a college aims to transferor deliver knowledgefromfacultyto students;it offers coursesanddegreeprogramsand

seeks to maintaina high qualityof instructionwithinthem,mostlyby assuring thatfaculty staycurrentin their fields. If new knowledge or clients appear,so will new coursework.The very purposeof the InstructionParadigmis to offer courses.

In the LearningParadigm,on the otherhand,a college's purposeis notto transferknowledgebutto createenvironmentsandexperiencesthatbring studentsto discoverandconstruct

knowledgefor themselves,to makestudentsmembersof communitiesof

learnersthatmake discoveries and solve

problems.The college aims, in fact,to createa seriesof ever morepowerful learningenvironments.The Learning Paradigmdoes not limit institutionsto a single meansfor empoweringstudents to learn;withinits framework,effective learningtechnologies arecontinually

identified,developed, tested, implemented,andassessed againstone another.The aim in the LearningParadigmis not so muchto improvethe qualityof instruction- althoughthatis notirrelevant- as it is to improvecontinuously the qualityof learningfor studentsindividuallyandin the aggregate.

Underthe olderparadigm,colleges aimedto provideaccess to highereducation,especially for historicallyunderrepresentedgroupssuchas AfricanAmericansandHispanics.Too often, mereaccess hasn'tservedstudentswell.

Underthe LearningParadigm,the goal for under-representedstudents(andall students)becomes not simplyaccess butsuccess. By "success"we meanthe achievementof overallstudenteduca-

tionalobjectivessuchas earninga degree, persistingin school, andlearning the "right"things- the skills and knowledgethatwill help studentsto achieve theirgoals in workandlife. A

LearningParadigmcollege, therefore, aims for ever-highergraduationrates while maintainingoreven increasing learningstandards.

By shiftingtheintendedinstitutional outcomefromteachingto learning,the LearningParadigmmakespossiblea continuousimprovementin productivity. WhereasundertheInstructionParadigma primaryinstitutionalpurpose was to optimizefacultywell-beingand success- includingrecognitionforresearchandscholarship- in theLearning Paradigma primarydriveis to produce

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Chart i Comparing Educational Paradigms

The Instruction Paradigm

Provide/deliverinstruction Transferknowledgefromfacultyto students

Offer courses and programs Improvethe qualityof instruction Achieve access for diverse students

The Learning Paradigm

Mission and Purposes

Producelearning Elicit studentdiscovery andconstructionof knowledge

Createpowerfullearningenvironments Improvethe qualityof learning Achieve success for diverse students

Inputsr, esources Qualityof enteringstudents Curriculumdevelopment,expansion

Quantityandqualityof resources Enrollment,revenuegrowth Qualityof faculty,instruction

Atomistic;partspriorto whole Time heldconstant,learningvaries 50-minute lecture, 3-unit course >- Classes start/endat same time One teacher,one classroom Independentdisciplines, departments

Covering material End-of-courseassessment Gradingwithinclasses by instructors >- Privateassessment Degree equals accumulatedcredithours

Criteria for Success

Learningandstudent-succesosutcomes Qualityof exiting students Learningtechnologies development,expansion

Quantityandqualityof outcomes Aggregatelearninggrowth,efficiency Qualityof students,learning

Teaching/Learning Structures

Holistic;whole priorto parts Learningheld constant,time varies Learningenvironments Environmentreadywhen studentis Whateverlearningexperienceworks Cross discipline/departmenct ollaboration

Specified learningresults Pre/during/postassessments Externalevaluationsof learning Public assessment Degree equalsdemonstratedknowledgeandskills

learningoutcomesmoreefficiently. The philosophyof anInstructionParadigm college reflectsthebelief thatit cannot increaselearningoutputswithoutmore resources,buta LearningParadigmcollege expectsto do so continuously.A LearningParadigmcollege is concerned with learningproductivity,not teaching productivity.

Criteria for Success

Underthe InstructionParadigm,we judge ourcolleges by comparingthem to one another.The criteriafor quality aredefinedin termsof inputsandprocess measures.Factorssuch as selectivity in studentadmissions,numberof PhDson thefaculty,andresearchreputationareusedto ratecolleges anduni-

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versities. Administratorsandboards

may look to enrollmentandrevenue growthandthe expansionof courses andprograms.As Guskinputit, "We areso weddedto a definitionof quality basedon resourcesthatwe find it ex-

tremelydifficultto deal with the results of ourwork,namely studentlearning."

The LearningParadigmnecessarily incorporatesthe perspectivesof the assessmentmovement.While this move-

menthas been underway for at least a decade,underthe dominantInstruction Paradigmit has notpenetratedvery far into normalorganizationalpractice. Only a few colleges across the country systematicallyassess studentlearning outcomes. Educatorsin Californiacom-

munitycolleges always seem to be sur-

prisedwhen they hearthat45 percentof first-timefall studentsdo notreturnin

the springandthatit takesanaverageof six yearsfor a studentto earnan associate's (AA) degree.The reasonfor this lack of outcomes knowledge is profoundlysimple:underthe Instruction Paradigm,studentoutcomes are simply irrelevantto the successful functioning andfundingof a college.

Ourfaculty evaluationsystems, for example,evaluatethe performanceof faculty in teachingterms,not learning terms.An instructoris typicallyevaluatedby herpeersor deanon thebasisof whetherher lecturesare organized, whethershe covers the appropriatematerial,whethershe shows interestin and understandingof hersubjectmatter,

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