“What’s the purpose of a college education?”
When the question is first posed by UW–Madison’s Clifton Conrad, it seems simple enough. But after a couple seconds of awkward silence, one begins to realize that while many broadly accept the importance of higher education, its purpose is a bit fuzzy. At the very least, it can mean different things to different individuals.
One of the most cited reasons is to help one get a good job and become economically stable. Another popular response is that college is broadly about preparing a person to be successful in life — as an engaged and productive citizen who can think critically, communicate clearly, and pursue their dreams.
Certainly, there are a range of reasons for pursuing a higher education. And perhaps that’s why most American colleges and universities place individual learning and achievement at the center of the undergraduate experience, with student success typically measured in the attainment of grades, credits, degrees, and employment.
“By placing students into highly competitive undergraduate experiences, individual achievement for personal benefit is often the bedrock of a college education in the United States,” says Conrad, a Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor with the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis.
But does higher education have to operate in this way? And should it?
“I don’t think a college education that is largely a private journey serves students, their communities, or our ever-changing world,” says Conrad.
Conrad and Todd Lundberg are co-authors of a new book that pushes readers to reimagine what a college education could be by placing collaborative learning — and teaching students how to become shared problem solvers — at its core. This book, “Learning with Others: Collaboration as a Pathway to College and Student Success,” was released on March 15.
“This ambitious, bold, and potentially controversial book argues for reframing undergraduate education as a collective enterprise,” says Laurie Pohl, a recently retired professor with Boston University’s Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. “ … It also asks us to shift our ideas about the purpose of a college education from one that prepares individuals to succeed to one that emphasizes communal learning that leads to societal change.”
“ ‘Learning with Others’ provides a fresh look at collaborative learning, which has been part of educational reform initiatives for the last four decades,” says Adrianna Kezar, the Dean’s Professor of Leadership and the Wilbur-Kieffer Professor of Higher Education at the University of Southern California. “The authors question the individualistic orientation of American higher education and its roots in colonialism and racism, and suggest that we would be much better served, particularly in contributing to the public good, by moving toward more a collectivist orientation.”
By placing collaborative learning at the center of higher education, Conrad and Lundberg argue that students will learn to become shared problem solvers who are better equipped to take on the many challenges the nation and world are facing today — from racial inequality and discrimination to political polarization, environmental concerns, and more.
This research-based work draws on a three-year study of student persistence and learning at minority serving institutions (MSIs). The authors relate what they’ve learned from more than 300 interviews, along with notes from 14 campus visits, three national convenings and more. What the authors found is that MSIs tend to do a markedly better job of engaging students in shared problem-solving experiences than their counterparts at predominantly white institutions. The minority serving institutions are also more effective at encouraging young scholars to embrace interdependence and diverse perspectives.
Building off this context, “Learning with Others” presents pathways to collaborative learning and highlights a range of programs and practices that place shared problem solving at the core of student success. The authors also outline how colleges and universities can better blend the roles and responsibilities of faculty, staff, and students to encourage shared learning. And the book explains how colleges and universities can adopt best practices for receiving and giving feedback on problem-solving initiatives, and how to anchor a curriculum in shared problem solving.
Conrad and Lundberg explain that engaging students in shared problem solving can go a long way in motivating young scholars to embrace the benefits of contributing to the lives of others, including friends and family, colleagues, and fellow citizens. As one example, they note how students involved with the Full Circle Project at Sacramento State University engage in community service in the 65th Street Corridor Project. This work is anchored in a partnership with schools in a low-income and diverse community, with college students in this project working closely with one another, faculty, and the community in addressing a range of real-world challenges. Conrad and Lundberg’s research at MSIs demonstrate how students in these institutions embrace “giving back” to others and often describe their education in terms of the health of their communities.
“Collaborative learning awakens students to the importance and value of learning with, from, and for others as the work toward creating solutions to shared problems,” says Conrad.
The authors also argue that if education is to prepare students to flourish, they must learn not only to draw on their own knowledge and experiences — but also to explore ideas by engaging in joint problem solving. Too often, the emphasis on individual learning in many colleges and universities silences voices of people who have not been traditionally heard.
“Although collaborative problem solving is often embedded in the families and communities of traditionally underrepresented students, their contributions to shared problem solving in academic settings are often lost when individual learning is at the center of the experience,” says Conrad. “We need to dismantle barriers and empower all students to better engage those whose lived experiences and voices are marginalized.”
Conrad has been examining these topics for more than two decades. In 2012, Conrad and Laura Dunek co-authored “Cultivating Inquiry-Driven Learners: A College Education for the Twenty-First Century.” In that book, the authors invite higher education stakeholders to engage in a vigorous dialogue about the aims of a college education and explain how problem solving should be at the forefront of a college education.
In 2015, Conrad first highlighted the research collected during that three-year study of minority serving institutions by co-authoring with Marybeth Gasman, “Educating a Diverse Nation: Lessons from Minority-Serving Institutions.” This work highlights innovative programs at MSIs that are advancing persistence and collaborative learning, with the book identifying specific strategies for empowering nontraditional students to succeed. This work also emphasized the need for shared problem solving. Lundberg was a research assistant with this project and today is an associate director in UW–Madison’s Center for Teaching, Learning & Mentoring.
Conrad and Dunek then released the second edition of their book in 2020 titled, “Cultivating Inquiry-Driven Learners: The Purpose of a College Education for the Twenty-First Century.” A preview of this work explains: “Two decades into the 21st century, our nation’s colleges and universities no longer embrace a clear and convincing definition of the purpose of a college education. Instead, most institutions have fallen prey to a default purpose in which college is essentially workforce preparation for jobs that already exist, while students are viewed as commodities instead of being educated to flourish throughout their lives.”
“Learning with Others” — which continues to build on this previous inquiry — has been in the works for the past several years.
“It’s time to redefine what student success in college looks like,” says Lundberg.
Implementing such bold and ambitious change won’t be easy — especially if these efforts are seen as quashing individual choice, which is often viewed as a core American value. And considering individual learning and achievement is a central part of the undergraduate experience at so many universities, is such a significant shift in American higher Education even possible?
“Real change can be challenging,” says Conrad. “But we also need to think of it as a wonderful opportunity — an opportunity to rethink the purpose of a college education. It’s long past time to have some very serious conversations about this.”