The Biggest Loser

The reluctance of postsecondary faculty to embrace nontraditional methods of instruction does college students a great disservice. This perspective is particularly evident in the employer expectation that` new workplace entrants should be able to solve emergent and existing problems that may be specific or nonspecific to a particular field. Such an expectation is unlikely to be met among contemporary college students, as the vast majority of students in postsecondary institutions are not engaged in routine collaboration or problem solving. Students are more likely to passively listen to the dissemination of an enormous amount of information that, according to our scientists, the human brain cannot process during class time. Effective communication skills are another employer requirement for new workplace entrants. Students who are entering the workplace must be able to communicate efficaciously in written and oral formats to solve problems and engage in effectual collaboration. The contemporary workplace where worker practices involve the generation, application, and dissemination of information can easily become chaotic and inefficient if workers cannot communicate effectively. A continuation of traditional instructional practices in the postsecondary classroom does not address the need for effective worker communication in the contemporary workplace. Meeting the goal for efficacious communication skills among new workplace entrants demands that students are afforded opportunities for thoughtful interactions with peers across academic settings. Many students are not afforded such opportunities and, consequently, have few conversations about the course material they are learning in class. When such conversations do not occur, students miss valuable opportunities for deep learning. Self-directedness is a third expectation that employers have for new workplace entrants. Workers must be able to set goals for learning and select processes and materials to progress toward those goals. The modern classroom does not prepare students for such goal-oriented behavior. Course goals are most likely to be selected by the course instructor. In some cases, students may be vaguely familiar with the course goals and work toward the fulfillment of course goals with ineffective approaches. If the postsecondary classroom is not meeting the needs of the modern college student, who is the biggest loser?