Gene Luna:
“Breaking the Tyranny of the Academic Calendar“ By Jeff Selingo
This one is a brief opinion of the impact of the Department of Education’s notice that financial aid can be used in support of competency-based credits. This decision has a possibility to greatly impact on the academic calendar that colleges currently use for their students.
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Hilary Lichterman:
“Company Success Isn’t Made… It’s Just Born.” by Tony Bingham
This article, introduced in my recent Employee Leadership & Development course, can inspire us to learn about professional learning from Just Born, the candy company that makes the famous Peeps and other tasty treats. The article details an interview with the co-CEOs regarding the company’s commitment to learning.
Most importantly, I appreciate the emphasis on context within the organization’s mission and vision. As we champion a spirit for life-long learning, this material ought to challenge how we design and facilitate training and development experiences that continually enrich our skills as educators. Similarly, we are reminded that environmental artifacts and traditions, as examples, can influence the culture of learning within an organization. This piece from Just Born gives us much to “chew on” as we continually evaluate and improve our learning strategies and thus our overall performance for students!
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Kevin Clarke:
“Stop Working All Those Hours” by Robert C. Pozen
“Relax! You’ll be More Productive” by TONY SCHWARTZ
I have found that the field of student affairs often preaches the concept of work-life balance while expecting the opposite. These two articles provide a different perspective on success in the workplace and offer unique philosophies that may influence the way we work.
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Erica Lake:
“10 Jobs That Didn’t Exist 10 Years Ago” by Meghan Casserly
The job market is constantly changing. It is projected that many middle class jobs will go away and we are already moving into a knowledge economy. This article illustrates a sample of 10 new jobs that weren’t around 10 years ago. It makes me think about the data that we often hear about jobs that are disappearing due to technological advances, and the fact that future generations and current college graduates will apply for and work in jobs that haven’t even been created. It leads me to the question, how can we prepare our students with transferable skills regardless of their major? What skills are essential for a career in this knowledge economy?
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Dan Friedman:
“Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques: Promising Directions From Cognitive and 
Educational Psychology” by John Dunlosky, Katherine A. Rawson, Elizabeth J. Marsh, Mitchell J. Nathan, and Daniel T. Willingham
Many of us in the Division work with students to help them develop and practice effective learning strategies. But are we providing the best recommendations that are supported by the latest literature? I encourage everyone to read through this new report from the Association of Psychological Science about which strategies best promote learning. What works best? According to the report, taking practice tests and spreading out study sessions over time were rated as having high utility. Highlighting and rereading material were found to be least effective. It might be useful to make sure our recommendations are in line with the latest research findings.
