PURDUE POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTEEDUCATION FOR THE

THINKING ECONOMY

Fatma Mili

Head Computer& Information TechnologyLead Purdue Polytechnic

School of Informatics and ComputingIndiana University, March 28, 2014

TIMES ARE CHANGING FAST, ARE WE?FROM GUIDING LIGHTS

TOIVORY TOWERS

THE WORLD HAS CHANGEDNO LONGER A KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY

THE ECONOMY HAS CHANGEDWHAT EMPLOYERS OF THE 70’S DEMANDED

Knowledge

Expertise

Performance

Specialization

Predictability

Organization

Obedience

Deference to

authority

Solo performance

Following rules

Focus on bottom line

THE WORLD HAS CHANGEDWHAT THE ECONOMY OF TODAY AND TOMORROW DEMANDS• Ability to ask good

questions• Thinking & analytical

skills to seek answers• Information

Literacy • Collaboration &

Communication• Civic duty &

sense of

community• Lifelong

curiosity &

learning

THE WORLD HAS CHANGEDEMPLOYERS ARE LOOKING FOR DIFFERENT SKILLS

THE WORLD HAS CHANGEDWHAT EMPLOYERS LOOK FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW

THE WORLD HAS CHANGED

THE WORLD HAS CHANGED

THE WORLD HAS CHANGEDSTUDENTS ARE DIFFERENT

THE STUDENTS HAVE CHANGED• Connected, multi-

taskers, digital natives• Used to creating and

sharing • Learning with and from

others• Informal interest-based

exploration and learning • Learning through

exploration and discovery

THEY COME WITH DIFFERENT MIND HABITS

THE STUDENTS HAVE CHANGED1. Guidance with trust and

respect for their individuality

2. Opportunities for nurturing their passion and challenging them

3. Opportunities for active learning through discovery

4. Support in building and growing their community and their place in it

WHAT STUDENTS EXPECT FROM US

PURDUE POLYTECHVALUES & ASSUMPTIONSTHE VALUES

PURDUE POLYTECH VALUESWe cater to thewhole person

We value diversity of thinking, knowing, and learning

PURDUE POLYTECH VALUESOpenness, collaboration, and cooperation

Access

PURDUE POLYTECH VALUESStudents’ autonomy with their learning

Risk taking

PURDUE POLYTECHVALUES & ASSUMPTIONSTHE ASSUMPTIONS

PURDUE POLYTECH ASSUMPTIONSLegitimacy ofall learning

Students areintrinsically motivated

PURDUE POLYTECH ASSUMPTIONSLearning in contextand for a purpose

Capacity to learnis not fixed

PURDUE POLYTECH ASSUMPTIONSLEARNING OF KEY SKILLSTHROUGH REPEATED PRACTICE

• Lifelong learning: problem-based learning; learning in context

• Innovation: practicing the full cycle of innovation desirability-feasibility-viability

• Individual and Group learning and performance• Asking Big questions and addressing grand

challenges

PURDUE POLYTECH WHO WE ARE

COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY & PARTNERSPURDUE• College of Technology

• SoET (5), CIT (2), CGT (1), BCM (1), AT (1),

• College of Liberal Arts• English(1), Comm(1),

Theatre & Performing Arts (1)

• College of Education (1)• DLRC• CIE/IMPACT

Outside partners• In progress

TIMELINE3-SEMESTER SUMMARY PLAN

Fall 2013 Faculty Fellows recruited

Collective learning through readings, training, and workshopsCultivated sense of communityExperimented with organizationsOutreach to partners on and off campusBrown bag series started

January 2014: organization and design

Adopted Holacracy organizationDeveloped 1st year architectureDeveloped degree architectureStarted recruiting studentsDeveloping assessment planDeveloping competency-based credentialing Developing faculty collaboration & improvement culture

Fall 2014: first cohort of students

Multi-disciplinary core “course”Multi-disciplinary PBL “course”Ongoing and on-demand POD’sOngoing formative assessmentStudents assigned dunnsWelcoming new cohort of faculty fellows, training and preparation of year 2.

MORE THANA NEW CURRICULUMIT’S A NEW CULTURE

NEW CULTURE FOR STUDENTS• Students are mentored into discovering and creating a

purposeful path rather than given a one size fit all plan of study.

• Students work in classroom with multidisciplinary teams of faculty (mostly) rather than through fragmented mono-disciplinary courses.

• Students learn just in time following their passion and purpose rather than just in case it comes up in the test.

• Students receive credit for demonstrating mastery rather than for seat-time served.

• Students receive credit for everything they learn no matter they learn it, rather than only through our lectures.

• Students are trusted and respected rather than tested and suspected.

NEW CULTURE FOR FACULTY• Working with students is our highest form of scholarship

rather than a routine different from scholarship.• Faculty trust the students, nurture their passion, and

follow their lead rather than be the sage on the stage.• Faculty model openness, growth mindset, risk-taking,

and lifelong learning, the same values and skills we expect from students.

• Faculty are collaborative, cooperative and reflective in their working with students.

• Faculty expect the highest standards from themselves, from each other, and from the students.

NEW CULTURE FOR CLASSROOMS• Classrooms are open laboratories. Faculty collaborate

with each other and with the rest of the community to practice the three R’s of the 21st century:

• Rigor: Students practice how to think (reason, analyze, weigh evidence, problem-solve) and communicate effectively.

• Relevance: Problems addressed are relevant to the students’ world and interests.

• Relationships: Students’ place in the world relative to their peers and to the global world are always central to what they do.

NEW CULTURE OF GOVERNANCE• Faculty have adopted the Holacracy governance system.• The distributed responsibility and decision making

embody the spirit of mutual respect and equality in Purdue Polytech.

• The explicit documented roles and responsibilities emphasize the sense of responsibility, respect for commitments, and accountability.

• The dynamic governance model reflects the need for flexibility and adaptability and the responsiveness to any tension felt by any member of the group.

• The modern governance system departs from the very traditional hierarchical structure of academia.

CURRICULUM ARCHITECTURE

COLLABORATION AND PARTNERSHIPS

IU INFORMATICS AND COMPUTING• Model of interdisciplinary collaborative

environment• Breaking walls rather than walling in and

slicing the pie• Sharing lessons learned, challenges, and

rewards• Getting students’ feedback