Today's Undergrads, Future Grad Students

In response to my blog piece,Guarded, hopefully not misplaced, Optimism, a thoughtful reader 'teaparty' asked the following: "Do you think that graduate students' experience in the workplace contributes to their 'undermotivation'? And that the promising undergrads of today will become the heartburn of 2013, after they have had the opportunity to 'gain valuable realworld experience'?"

This is certainly a valid hypothesis and is part of the reason for my usage of the word 'guarded.'
But broadly speaking, the pool of graduate students (especially in business) can be classified into the following groups:

• Those who were motivated and learnt well as undergrads, then went to gain 'valuable work experience,' and advanced at work, and came back to school to get the higher degree to move ahead in management in their careers
• Those who were unmotivated and blew off their undergraduate education, then went to gain 'real world experience,' found that their education was lacking and came back to school with a serious dedication to learning.
  
• Those who did not care much for education during their undergraduate years, found themselves in a dead-end job, and then thought that getting a graduate degree can help them change jobs, but have no motivation to learn.

Some of the undergraduates I reference as being in the top 20% are already in the workplace and are doing well. But they are now planning to get their MBAs because they realize that they lack specific skills needed for senior management roles. These students would be in my first group.

In my current graduate courses, I have a few students I would place in the second group. But I would place the majority in the third group because they don't have good foundational skills, are not in exciting jobs, and don't have a desire to learn.

Using systems analysis, one can model these behaviors using feedback loops. Motivation helps learning, which helps performance in the workplace, leading to more motivation and learning- a positive feedback loop.
On the other side, not taking education seriously at a young age can limit progress, which may lead to the desire to get a degree but does not generate the motivation to learn- a negative feedback loop.

In summary, yes, it is possible that 'work experience' can make a difference in motivation, but I think there are intrinsic motivational and learning elements that can be nurtured and developed at the undergraduate level that will persist for a long time...this forms the basis for my dedication to education.

Civic Engagement and Social Justice

Civic Engagement, Social Justice and Integrated Learning are the buzz words being hummed in the hallowed halls of higher learning (see AAC&U). How to get students to be engaged civically and to deal with the issues of social justice is an interesting challenge. Further, integrating learning across experiences, both in and out of the classroom, is conceptually elegant but practically migraine-inducing. At the same time, the realities of outsourcing and the pressure on students to be able to compete make educators think.
Last fall, I decided to experiment with these ideas. I offered a new course titled 'Local Choices, Global Effects' to incoming freshmen. The course description read "Students, like other members of society, face choices in nearly every aspect of life. These choices often made locally can in the aggregate have powerful global consequences. This course introduces students to “sustainable living” concepts including food, energy, and waste management. It examines how individual choices in these areas can lead to significant global effects.Models from multiple disciplines including economics, physical sciences, political science, and business are used in analyzing the global impact of local choices. Students gain hands-on experience in identifying, selecting and implementing their choices in the College campus and within the community." I did not expect this to appeal to freshmen, but thirteen students signed up. I co-taught this course with a colleague from Student Affairs. In this course we dealt primarily with civic engagement, with some elements of social justice and an integrated learning approach. It is interesting to read to the reflections by students. This course has changed their lives, and it has taught me that even garbage (waste management) can be great food for thought. These freshmen and others have certainly given me a flash of light- illuminating positive change in the world....one student clued me in to using wind-up flashlights!