Formation Continue du Supérieur

By Carol E. Quillen. MOOCs are a potential game-changer in the rapidly evolving landscape of higher education. They can affordably expand access to rigorous, effective curricula otherwise available only to a few. They can enable analytics that will offer insight into how humans learn. They may even strengthen global community and commitment to a shared future. Even leaving aside the work force demands of a technology-driven economy, all those who see educational opportunity as a social justice issue will support the ongoing MOOC experiment. Read more...

By Akiba J. Covitz. There is sometimes a moment in admittedly poorly written TV shows when a character says something seemingly totally absurd, along the lines of “If we just put a blonde wig on Jack, Mr. Roper will never know the difference.” The next line will be – or should be – something like: “Wow, I never thought those words would come out of my mouth.” As the world of higher education has rapidly transformed over the last year, we have all found ourselves in just that situation many times over the last year. Read more...

By Alicia Peaker and Katie Shives. At my high school, fewer than 10 percent of graduating seniors went on to four-year colleges. I can’t imagine what that number looks like for graduate school. Although first-generation college students are relatively well-studied (though still not well-supported), there is a major lack of research about first-generation grad students (FGGS). All this week we’ve featured posts by grad students who have shared their experiences and strategies for adapting to graduate school as an FGGS. You don’t have to be an FGGS to identify with many of the themes we’ve covered this week (imposter syndrome, translating your work for your family, and more) or to use the strategies each author has laid out. At the same time, first-generation students do face some unique challenges that can affect performance, time-to-completion, and drop-out rates. Read more...

By Laura Tropp. I’ve been following the new Goldiblox products, which encourage girls to play games that promise to foster science and engineering skills. Sheryl Sandberg is telling me (through national media) that I should let my daughters play video games. On the other hand, critics are holding the toy industry to task for creating “girly” science products. Read more...