When I think about the future of postsecondary education, I am immediately drawn to the experiences of my middle-school boys, who want to know the ‘why’ behind everything they are learning in school. While I thought the repeated barrage of questions was initially no different than me asking my own parents ‘why’ I needed to learn algebra, I have learned that their ‘why’ questions are rooted in wanting to better understand the application of learning to something they are doing right now—not in the future. They want to know how what they are learning can be applied today to address a challenge or question.
I highlighted the connection between this type of learning approach with a focus on entrepreneurship in a piece I wrote after talking with Michael Miles at Uncharted Learning. As I sought to learn more about how entrepreneurship could be not only taught but applied in the postsecondary education context, I got to know more about the work being led out of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
I had the opportunity to talk with Tim Holcomb, the chair of the Department of Entrepreneurship at Miami University. I enjoyed the exploration of the future of learning at the intersection of traditional higher education, entrepreneurship and technology, which has been a formative part of Tim’s success with learners of all backgrounds...