Last month, Goucher College President Jos\u00e9 Antonio Bowen joined thought leaders from across the nation at SXSW EDU 2019, a prominent teaching and learning conference.<\/p>\n
With presenters ranging from The New York Times<\/em> columnist David Brooks and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush to March for Our Lives co-founder David Hogg in conversation with Dan Rather, speakers engaged with thousands of participants during the multi-day event in Austin, TX.<\/p>\n Bowen\u2019s talk, \u201cPreparing Students for the New Learning Economy,\u201d explored creating a new model of education where students become self-regulated learners capable of continually learning new things and reflecting on their experiences to adapt to additional information.<\/p>\n \u201cLearning is about change. We are literally rewiring the brain when we learn something new,\u201d Bowen said in his presentation. \u201cLearning is not just the accumulation of stuff; it is about what you do with that stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n The event focused on many topics that Goucher\u2019s administration and faculty have been working on over the past few years, including creating more equitable access to higher education, connecting the curriculum to careers, and enhancing student support services.<\/p>\n Bowen highlighted Goucher\u2019s new curriculum and how it is designed to prepare students to solve complex problems in groups across disciplines. Each aspect of the new curriculum\u2014the focus on new course design, as well as the writing, data analytics, and Complex Problem Exploration (CPE) requirements\u2014all contribute to supporting and creating self-directed learners.<\/p>\n \u201cThe person who does the work does the learning,\u201d said Bowen, who emphasized the learning science underscoring that thinking. Goucher\u2019s 3Rs\u2014relationships, resilience, and reflection\u2014were also stressed as integral to developing lifelong learners. \u201cSmart is not the person who knows the most,\u201d Bowen said. \u201cSmart is the ability to change in the face of new information.\u201d<\/p>\n The importance of Goucher\u2019s recent innovations on campus, including in Mary Fisher Hall, which houses a new dining facility and student engagement and support services, as well as the First-Year Village that was designed to nudge students to interact and build community, were also woven into the discussion.<\/p>\n \u201cThe learning experience has to be enhanced with everything we do on campus,\u201d Bowen concluded.<\/p>\n