Today's world demands more from graduates

Dr. George Kuh, director of the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment, visited James Madison University, where he shed light on the idea of lifelong integrative learning that stretches beyond the classroom. During students’ undergraduate time, it is necessary for them to harvest rich learning experiences outside of the classroom in order to understand the competitiveness of today’s economy.

Kuh asserts that students need to engage in the idea of deep integrative learning. This means students will spend time applying what is learned in the classroom to an outside service activity. Employers want students to perform beyond what they think they can do, and service learning is one of the ways to achieve that ability.

It is important, Kuh says, for faculty to encourage students “to stand up in public and tell the world what they’ve learned.” Kuh stresses in his presentation, “students need to reflect, integrate and apply what you’ve learned…think about your thinking and make connections between everything.”

Kuh’s Oct. 8 JMU presentation is part of the Madison Vision Series: Contemporary Issues in an Engaged Society.

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