In her full article here, she noted that learning at university level seems to still focus on “transfer of information”, through which students lose the opportunity to learn.“Mahasiswa sekadar datang, duduk, mendengar, dan mencatat (dikurangi berpikir) apa yang disampaikan dosen. Usai kuliah, salah seorang mahasiswa akan meminta salinan kuliah yang biasanya disusun dalam presentasi power point. Tak ada lagi hakikat belajar.”
The article puts the responsibility on the hands of the lecturer and the system of education in university level. But where should the responsibility of students be?
We are currently conducting surveys with university-level students who have gone through trainings on Creative Problem Solving within this past year in preparation for this conference: “Creativity or Conformity? Building Cultures of Creativity in Higher Education”, hosted by Cardiff School of Art&Design UWIC in UK.
We have received about a third of the total number of response we expect. So far we conclude two general findings. First, some students admit openly that they are lazy. Second, although most students know that the training has increased their ideas and open-mindedness, and for some their creativity, they are not interested in expanding their knowledge and practice of creative thinking. In other words: they are not motivated to learn beyond what is required by the facilitator.
These two findings raised some questions in our mind: Are students unable to transfer knowledge they gain from one class to another? But what can we (facilitators, trainers, teachers) do when students are not motivated to learn and to extend their own knowledge? What can we do when students realize that they are lazy but don’t want to do anything about it? Where does the responsibility of facilitators stop and the responsibility of students begin?
We would like to advocate that learning is as much the responsibility of facilitators as it is the responsibility of each and every students. Learning can’t happen when students are being spoon-feed by their facilitators. Likewise, learning can’t happen when students are lazy and unmotivated.
1 comment:
I agree. Teachers have the responsibiliity to share knowledge and experience and students have the responsibility to think about what is shared and to think about how learning can be taken further or deepened. Teachers therefore have to inspire and help students see the value of what is being taught. Students must see that what they learn in school is only the tip of an iceberg and follow up their interests. The lack of motivation could be the sign of the more fundamental question of whether the students are signed up at university simply to get a degree to pass time, so they can claim to be a graduate or whether they are there to learn. I'm sure there are many students who see getting a degree as a way to delay the 'real life'.
Post a Comment