Creating a More Inclusive and Connected University. “Leveling the Learning Curve” by William Eimicke, Adam Stepan and Soulaymane Kachani is a captivating exploration of the strategies and techniques that empower individuals to conquer the learning process and achieve exceptional mastery in any field. This insightful work delves into the science of skill acquisition, offering a roadmap for those seeking to unlock their full potential.

Dive into the pages of “Leveling the Learning Curve” and unlock the keys to efficient, effective, and enjoyable learning that will propel you towards your goals and transform your personal and professional life.

Genres

Education, Self-Help, Personal Development, Career, Productivity, Cognitive Psychology, Neuroscience, Lifelong Learning, Skill Acquisition, Mastery.

“Leveling the Learning Curve” presents a comprehensive and evidence-based approach to mastering any skill or subject. The authors, drawing from their extensive experience and research, guide readers through the intricacies of the learning process, highlighting the psychological, neurological, and practical strategies that facilitate deep, lasting knowledge acquisition.

The book delves into the principles of deliberate practice, memory optimization, and the importance of embracing challenges and setbacks as integral parts of the learning journey. It explores the role of motivation, goal-setting, and the cultivation of a growth mindset in sustaining long-term progress. Additionally, the authors provide insights into leveraging technology, effective note-taking, and cultivating a learning-centric lifestyle to maximize one’s learning potential.

Review

“Leveling the Learning Curve” is a transformative and indispensable resource for anyone seeking to unlock their full potential and achieve mastery in any field. The authors’ deep expertise, coupled with their engaging and accessible writing style, make this book a must-read for students, professionals, and lifelong learners alike.

The comprehensive, evidence-based strategies presented in the book empower readers to develop efficient and effective learning habits, overcome obstacles, and cultivate a deep, lasting understanding of any subject. The emphasis on the science behind skill acquisition, coupled with practical, action-oriented guidance, sets this work apart as a valuable and insightful contribution to the field of personal and professional development.

Whether you’re looking to master a new language, hone your leadership skills, or deepen your expertise in a specialized field, “Leveling the Learning Curve” provides the roadmap and inspiration to help you reach your goals. This book is a must-read for anyone committed to the pursuit of excellence and the continuous expansion of their knowledge and capabilities.

Recommendation

This useful guide, intended especially for those aiming to modernize and digitize higher learning, focuses on inclusivity and access for all. It equips educators with the tools to leverage technology for a broader reach. Academics William Eimicke, Adam Stepan and Soulaymane Kachani also explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced a sudden, massive shift to e-learning. They offer insights from dozens of thought leaders to showcase the power of Digital tools that can bridge educational gaps. This practical book presents the vision of a “connected university” that promotes equity while unveiling new revenue opportunities.

Take-Aways

• American universities and colleges are at a crossroads.
• Digital online learning offers new opportunities and revenues, but only when done well.
• No universal path to digital education exists.
• To achieve digital competency, choose technology carefully, invest in training and hire digital assistants.
• Quality digital courses take time to create.
• Modular learning, which includes digital case studies, has become popular.
• Interactive learning drives results.
• Advanced AI and automation will create profound changes in education.

Summary

American universities and colleges are at a crossroads.

Enrollment in US postsecondary educational institutions has declined significantly since 2019. The experience of digitized distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has put additional pressure on universities and colleges to make higher education more flexible. Institutions that don’t respond will almost certainly lose more students and may ultimately fail.

“Investing in digital enhancement of courses must be seen as investment in core university infrastructure. Leaders must encourage and incentivize participation.”

Most institutions scrambled to teach at a distance during the pandemic – largely using PowerPoint lectures combined with Zoom – and students became used to it. After the pandemic, some 70% to 75% of students reported that they want their colleges to offer a mix of on-site and remote learning options; only 53% of professors agreed. Though many faculty members and some students resist the movement, research demonstrates the effectiveness of learning outcomes through well-conceived and well-constructed digital and remote learning.

Digital online learning offers new opportunities and revenues, but only when done well.

Massive open online courses (MOOCs), which can reach tens of thousands of students remotely, appeared poised to disrupt education entirely when they first arrived. These online courses performed so well in the beginning that universities and colleges invested heavily to get on the bandwagon. Before long, however, well-designed, live, instructor-led MOOCs replaced recorded MOOCs. Whether for a MOOC or any other form of digital learning, quality demands a significant investment of time and money. Institutions that look to digital learning primarily as a means of reducing costs will most likely achieve disappointing results.

Arizona State University (ASU) was among the first to recognize the potential of becoming a high-quality, “digital-first” institution. Today, it can deliver any of its courses online or in-person. The payoff includes remarkable growth – from about 60,000 students in 2008 to a combined on-line and on-campus student body of more than 140,000 by 2019. ASU makes no distinction between degrees granted for on-campus and on-line learners.

As more colleges rushed to follow ASU’s lead, online program management vendors (OPMs) emerged to help them. With their technology and know-how, OPMs work in the background to build digital universities for their clients, leveraging content created by college faculty. OPM fees typically come from a percentage of tuition, giving colleges a way to “go digital” quickly and with low upfront costs.

Most educators embrace the theory that, compared to reading and lectures, students learn more from doing and from each other – and digital learning facilitates this. Giving students access to digital materials encourages them to build their own understanding of a topic beyond lectures and textbooks. This has paved the way for “flipped learning,” in which teachers give their students access to recorded lectures, videos, TED Talks and other resources before they come to a class so that they can spend the time in class engaged in discussions about the topic.

“Digital tools are key to connecting universities to nontraditional learners. Doing so is both an ethical imperative and a key survival tactic for most universities and colleges.”

When learning design includes social media tools and other ways for students to connect with each other, learning accelerates, as students experience a boost in engagement that comes with debating and brainstorming ideas. Technology even allows professors to monitor students’ engagement in active and peer learning, so that teachers know who needs help and who they might call on in class at various points in the discussion. Peer learning tools and principles also permit faculty and students from different disciplines to share and combine their ideas. Cornell University, for example, has leveraged digital assets from its renowned hospitality program into courses delivered to learners in Rwanda. Elsewhere, colleges use digital materials to extend learning to nontraditional students whose circumstances do not permit on-site learning at a college or university. This benefits society and often gives colleges an additional revenue stream.

No universal path to digital education exists.

As universities navigate the digital education landscape, they face strategic questions around funding, technology management, financial models and their broader societal role. Leaders in the education sector grapple with pivotal questions, the answers to which depend on institutional history, culture and goals. For example, what degree of faculty resistance do they have to overcome? How can leaders incentivize faculty to embrace digital course creation and delivery, and how can they build the skills professors need to create quality online education?

One of the first decisions involves outsourcing versus creating solutions in-house. While digital tools might be deemed a core capability best managed internally, collaborations with external entities can offer new insights and provide specialized support. Following the lead of pioneers like Cornell, Georgia Tech and Columbia University, in-house OPMs have grown more popular. They are especially appealing when the university already has central teams, often called Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTLs), responsible for course and curriculum design and support.

“Few CTLs have been designed to manage large-scale production of digital assets. If CTLs are to take on new responsibilities, they need new management structures, new staff and digital production facilities.”

Next, leaders should decide whether responsibility for digitization rests within departments or faculty, or with the college itself to provide central resources. Most experts argue that departments should design programs tailored to their needs, but financing and support should come from a central university entity, as this both accelerates progress and maintains university standards.

Institutions should develop clear, uniform policies on intellectual property to streamline the integration of new digital initiatives. This may involve compensation arrangements, acknowledging professors’ digital contributions and offering them incentives during content creation phases. Leaders often assume that digital and remote learning will cost less, yet quality digital assets don’t come cheap, especially when royalties to professors enter the picture. Nevertheless, given the infrastructure costs associated with traditional learning, quality online learning should prove less expensive. Today, however, many online courses are priced just slightly below on-campus ones, potentially limiting access for less affluent students.

To achieve digital competency, choose technology carefully, invest in training and hire digital assistants.

Tenured faculty often lack the skills needed to drive or even participate effectively in digitization efforts. Accelerate their learning by fielding “digital teaching assistants” who can provide faculty with needed support. This not only helps in easing the integration of technology and curriculum, but it fosters a new generation of tech-savvy educators.

Also, adopt a universal template with simple guides for creating class websites on a modern and flexible Learning Management System (LMS) or similar platform. This aids in consistency and ease of use. Provide support to faculty and teaching assistants by making it easy for them to access the tools, and use just one set of tools to prevent confusion. Offer short workshops live and online to acquaint faculty with core digital tools.

“Having an attractive and inviting LMS course website is an obvious plus for students, but even more important is having faculty understand and use the core LMS functionality.”

Invest in classroom technologies, including camera and audio systems that integrate with the university’s video systems. Initially, this could be introduced in main lecture halls used for essential courses. This “HyFlex” approach gives learners the option of participating either in the classroom or remotely, and done well, it makes the experiences equal and seamless. Like any other recorded video lecture, a live classroom recording becomes a valuable on-demand digital asset that students can use in their studies and that colleges can leverage into other courses. Again, digital teaching assistants should work alongside professors to make this approach work.

Finally, adopt “social annotation” tools that allow learners and teachers to collaborate on or even create documents in real time. Integrate these tools with your LMS and supplement them with training guides to optimize their use. Professors can and should design assignments around social annotation tools.

Quality digital courses take time to create.

The size and roles of your team depend on the program’s scope. Some universities employ hundreds of people in their digital course design groups. Start with planning: Create a well-defined learning guide, rooted in research, that incorporates best practices like active learning, peer interactions and real-world application. Focus first on high-enrollment, foundational courses that you can deliver in diverse formats.

“Successful course design is not ‘just a matter of taking your content and making it flashy and putting it online’ but rather ‘designing a great learning experience’.” (Bill Cochran, Wiley University Services)

Partner with faculty who will collaborate with design and media experts. Creating a new digital course might take a faculty member up to 150 hours across several months. Use the “backward design” approach: First determine outcomes, then design content to achieve them. Strategize a blend of live and pre-recorded sessions, simulations and project assignments.

Start producing content only after design approval. Experiment with varied video types, like role-plays and demos, and recruit student interns for innovative content creation. Guide faculty on the differences between live classroom lecturing and delivery by video. Decide whether scripting or a more spontaneous approach using presentations would best suit the course.

Form a plan for constructing the course website and transfer it to the delivery team. Make designs replicable and adaptable for future iterations. Use module numbers instead of specific dates to ease reuse. Test new course websites with smaller groups before a full-scale launch. Building a solid foundation comes with more faculty participation. Celebrate successes, exchange learnings, and employ student interns to assist in course development and updates.

Modular learning, which includes digital case studies, has become popular.

Digital case studies give students real scenarios to learn with, often at low cost. Equipped with a modest amount of training and using the cameras on their smartphones, learners can participate in digital case study development. Digital case studies should feature video and an accompanying written case study of about eight pages. By involving students versus professional crews, you lower the costs dramatically, while allowing you to scale.

“The combination of good learning assets (books, videos and digital case studies) with a passionate and engaged small cohort teaching (on Zoom or in person) is powerful.”

Allocate a modest central budget to develop new digital cases. Offer a competitive stipend and budget to attract top student talent. Treat this role as an internship, setting high standards and selecting only those with a knack for quality content. Pair students with professors seeking new content. Provide them the necessary equipment, including an on-campus interview studio. Let students draft the content while professionals finalize it.

Interactive learning drives results.

Whether among peers, with teaching assistants or with professors, interaction enhances the student experience. Effective classes blend quality learning materials and knowledgeable instructors with interactive teaching that is tailored to student needs. Some institutions have resurrected MOOCs for massive skills and credentialing efforts, such as in India, where the population in need of learning far exceeds the nation’s capacity to provide traditional postsecondary education.

“Beside learning material on the course syllabus, students also benefit by connecting with people with similar interests.”

Foster ongoing learning by keeping course platforms active with postings, questions, social media and collaboration tools that create connections. Learning as part of a community enriches the experience and engages students, often connecting them to a broader purpose.

Advanced AI and automation will create profound change in education.

Smart people have made bad predictions about the future of education, but online and digital learning will continue, enhanced by AI-embedded technology that will make it cheaper and more personalized. Virtual and augmented reality tools will give more learners access to advanced simulations, and generative AI will accelerate and improve the learning experience.

“We believe generative AI programs will play an important role in preparing students for the workplace of the future.”

Nontraditional students stand to gain, as universities and colleges expand their free learning assets to permit disadvantaged and nontraditional students from any nation to benefit from a world-class education.

About the Authors

William Eimicke is a professor and the founding director of the Picker Center for Executive Education at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Adam Stepan is the director of Columbia’s Picker Center Digital Education Group. Soulaymane Kachani is the senior vice provost of Columbia University, where he oversees the university’s teaching, learning and innovation strategies.

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