The Great Courses

I admit it – I love the Great Courses (formerly known as The Teaching Company). I’ve listened to a number of the courses and have always felt my horizons enlarged, my insight increased, and my depth expanded. Heather MacDonald provides an introduction to the company and their courses, which focus on what used to be the canon. Is there a lesson for higher education in the success of this market?

On Experts

Arnold Kling’s essay on experts has a lot to commend it. It is not anti-expert, but at least helps us try to think about the limitations of experts (particularly small groups of them) in extremely complex systems. Or more simply, we need experts, but not experts with a government monopoly of power.

Learning Styles?

Here’s an article questioning the validity of learning styles. However, there are also some conclusions on how people generally learn best – and those ideas aren’t so difficult to understand. Variety is good. And spreading learning over a longer time period rather than cramming is good. Those don’t seem that surprising.

Courtesy of my daughter (who is just starting her student teaching assignment!).

Free College Education

Here’s a discussion of another interesting education model. Interesting.

Turn Your Office Into a Dorm Room

A suggestion with a number of advantages (10 to be precise).  #2: Your office as a dorm room is suddenly a revenue generator. See the whole list.

The Future of E-Textbooks

Will the e-textbook end used textbook sales and rentals? Or at least put a serious crimp in their sales? It seems very possible.

Students, Libraries, The Internet and Research

Summary of this recent study: it’s a mess. Students overuse Google, without even taking advantage of ways to use it better. They don’t know how to use research databases properly. And they don’t ask librarians for help, even when they need it. As the article notes, this seems to put the myth of the “digital native” to rest.

Mindset List

It’s time once again. The Mindset list for 2015 graduates has arrived. Rejoice!

Grade Inflation in Education Majors

A new report shows that education students receive disproportionately high grades. Moreover, it suggests that this contributes to a culture of low standards in education generally. Worth a look.

The Aryan Jesus: Lessons

Scott McKnight posts here about a recent book which documents the way German Christians in World War 2 corrupted the Christian faith. The point, of course, is not merely to make an historical criticism, but to note how easily we might find ourselves doing the same sort of things. An important point.