In a meeting organized by the Dean of Undergraduate Studies (PRG) in conjunction with the Teaching and Learning Support Space (EA2), Unicamp received, in September, a visit from professor Liz Reisberg, consultant and specialist in Higher Education at Boston College (U.S). The event was attended by unit directors, undergraduate coordinators and associates and aimed to stimulate reflections and advance discussions on the RenovaGrad program, created with the aim of improving the curricula of Unicamp's undergraduate courses.
The day's activities and discussions revolved around current and relevant themes for the teaching staff, such as: quality in higher education, access and equity and the issue of the need for curricular and pedagogical innovation, in the face of the challenges presented by new generations of students.
Check out the following interview given by professor Liz Reisberg to Unicamp (PU) Portal in which the main issues raised during the meeting are addressed.
PU - What are the specificities of the profile of current university students?
Liz Reisberg - Today, students are considerably different from previous generations. At first, they are more diverse. We quickly moved from a situation in which higher education was very elite, to the growing inclusion of a much broader and more diverse population. And yet, today's students have their lives permeated by digital technology much more intensely than previous generations, since early childhood they have been living with cell phones, video games, and the internet.
PU - What impact does this have on teaching?
Liz Reisberg - The implications for teaching are enormous. Most university professors were educated without technology and are more likely to teach as they learned, which ends up creating a generational clash. To engage today's students, integrating technology as a teaching tool is essential. This does not mean just using PowerPoint, as this, in itself, does not mean technological integration of teaching. Today, there are an extraordinary number of applications and Internet resources that encourage different types of student engagement and learning. We need to guide teachers so they can begin integrating appropriate technology for the subject they teach. Teachers also need to recognize that today's students do not have a long attention span, which makes lectures of 90 minutes or longer much less effective. New active learning strategies encourage students to get more involved, such as using problems or projects, encouraging teamwork.
PU - How could teachers develop to solve these challenges?
Liz Reisberg - As mentioned previously, teachers will need to research and learn about how current students learn. There is a lot of quality research being published on the subject and this should guide curriculum development and teaching strategies. Teachers can acquire some of this essential knowledge on their own, but ongoing support, training and guidance will be essential. This could come from a centralized project staffed by teaching and learning experts, but it could also be provided by informal networks of teachers who could raise questions and share experiences with each other.
PU - How to incorporate the promotion of new skills into the pedagogical design of courses?
Liz Reisberg - Teachers will need guidance to do this. They will also have to be patient with themselves as they develop new skills. Overall, it's an uncomfortable process - it's like learning a new language and feeling awkward in the early stages. It is quite difficult for many teachers who have developed a certain amount of experience and confidence in the way they teach. It is not easy for many to accept that change is necessary. The university also needs to reward professors for this new effort. If the university only values productivity in research and not excellence in teaching, change will never happen.
PU - In your experience, what are the central aspects for managing this process of curricular innovation?
Liz Reisberg - What helps a lot in this aspect is the attitude of the university leadership, when it makes it clear that this is an institutional objective and finds ways to recognize progress and effort through awards, recognition on social media, special events, etc. There are some good studies that show that students learn more when they have teachers who use active learning techniques. This data can be very useful in presenting to teachers the importance and value of this cultural change. Students also need to be involved in this process. Building informal forums where students and teachers meet and exchange feedback can be extremely valuable.
