NYU Steinhardt Institute Forum

Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses

March 4, 2010, 5:00 PM
King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center Auditorium 1st Floor
53 Washington Square South

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How much are college students really learning? On March 4, Richard Arum will present findings from a major longitudinal study of student learning in higher education. His research follows approximately 2,400 students at 24 diverse U.S. colleges and universities over a two year period to examine how institutional settings, student backgrounds, and individual academic programs influence how much – and whether – students learn on campus. His study uses a recently developed, unique learning assessment tool, the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA), to measure the “higher order thinking skills” that colleges and universities aim to teach: problem-solving, critical thinking, analytical reasoning and communication skills.

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Richard Arum is professor of sociology and education at New York University and the program director for educational research at the Social Science Research Council.

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