SoCTL

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning at CTL

The Emerging Trend of “Doing” and “Thinking”: Integrating Professional and Liberal Education

It’s not surprising that the issue of assimilating liberal and professional education would surface in a country that has gone from the agricultural age to the industrial age to the information age and beyond. The educational system in the United States often is given credit as being a prime reason why this country was able to advance so rapidly into the information age. Throughout these eras, however, we tended to separate liberal and professional education—both mentally and physically. Liberal education was the “thinking” side, and professional education was the “doing” side.

Changing World. But the world has changed! Because we now operate in a globalized environment, our educational system has likewise changed. How are these changes affecting our teaching and learning in the classroom? Liberal education or general education is, in many minds, “… not regarded as having intrinsic value or as contributing to personal welfare and career preparation” (Hutton, 2006). This viewpoint is changing, however, and efforts are being made to bring “doing” and “thinking” closer together within the professional curricula for attorneys, financial analysts, software engineers, radiologists, and students studying in other fields. According to Hutton, there are more professional programs integrating liberal learning objectives into their curricula than there are liberal arts programs integrating professional learning objectives. As the demand for conceptual thinking in the workplace increases, however, this lead is expected to wane and the lines between liberal and professional or career programs will blur.

Right-Brain Thinking. Daniel Pink introduces a new age for today’s world—the conceptual age. This age requires our graduates to be able to apply right-brain hemisphere abilities, such as seeing the big picture, handling the identification of patterns from among huge data stores, expressing emotions, defining ethics, synthesizing and using other talents that we’ve often overlooked or undervalued (Pink, 2005). To function in this era, “… the professions have made a concerted effort to bring ‘doing’ and ‘thinking’ closer together within their own curricula.” (Hutton, 2006). There is growing support for well-educated workers who have the ability to write and speak well, analyze data, synthesize information and continuously learn new concepts—in other words, “Go right, my good brain!”

Conceptual Age. Our left-brain thinking has brought us much success. These linear, logical and analytical talents are still necessary today. In fact, they’re indispensable; but they’re no longer enough. The professions are acknowledging that students must have a strong grounding in general education and specific knowledge and skills in a professional field. To meet the global challenges of competition in the conceptual age, the old division between “doing” and “thinking” hopefully will transpire into programs that include “doing,” “thinking” and “knowing.” Incorporating these concepts into our classrooms can help our graduates succeed in a world that is increasingly complex and competitive.

-Yvonne L. Shafer

Pink, D. (2005). A Whole New Mind: Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age. Penguin Group ( USA) Inc.

Hutton, T. (2006). The conflation of liberal & professional education: pipedream, aspiration, or nascent reality? Association of American Colleges and Universities.

Dates to Remember!

Spring Discipline Workshops
MAR 16-17: ENGLISH COMPOSITION: CROSSING LINES, FORGING CONNECTIONS & EXTENDING OPPORTUNITIES
Century College. Discipline Workshop Information

MAR 16: USING TECHNOLOGY TO TEACH FOREIGN LANGUAGES
St. Cloud State University Discipline Workshop Information

MAR 25-26: CHINA SYMPOSIUM 2007
St. Cloud State University. Discipline Workshop Information

APR 2: PROMOTING HEALTHY BEHAVIORS
Inver Hills Community College. Discipline Workshop Information

APR 18-20: HEALTH EDUCATORS – GROWING TOGETHER: EDUCATING, ENRICHING, AND EMPOWERING
Arrowwood Resort & Conference Center, Alexandria.
Discipline Workshop Information

APR 21: WHAT NEW SIGN LANGUAGES CAN TEACH US ABOUT ASL
Location: North Star Academy, St. Paul.
Discipline Workshop Information

APR 27-28: MATHEMATICS: SHARPEN THE FOCUS
Duluth Entertainment Convention Center.
Discipline Workshop Information

MAY 1: LIBRARY REFERENCE AND INFORMATION LITERACY SERVICES IN THE DIGITAL AGE
North Hennepin Community College.
Discipline Workshop Information

CTL Resources for Faculty

Faculty Development Presentations in YOUR Hometown!

It was very sad to cancel last weekend’s RSP/ITeach conference in Minneapolis, but that does not mean that development opportunities are not available for the faculty throughout the state. For example, CTL staff members are always available to present about teaching and learning topics on campus at your institution.

Any of CTL’s staff members can travel to your campus and present on a topic of your choice. Our coordinators are happy to arrange a visit and find the right person to assist you in identifying a topic and arranging a visit. Yvonne Shafer is the CTL faculty coordinator for educator professional development at career and technical colleges and at Minnesota State University Moorhead. Martin Springborg is the faculty coordinator for educator professional development at community colleges and at the other six universities. Faculty members should contact the CTL leader on their campuses to arrange a campus visit or presentation by CTL staff members.

A list of some possible presentations is on the Web at www.ctl.mnscu.edu/about/staffpresentations.html.
The general contact for CTL is CTL@so.mnscu.edu, (651) 649-5740.
The directory of campus leaders is at www.ctl.mnscu.edu/facdev/user_leader-list.php.

-Thomas Wortman