In this episode of Trending in Education, we talk with Brian Rosenberg, author of the new book Whatever It Is, I'm Against It: Resistance to Change in Higher Education. Rosenberg is the President Emeritus of Macalester College and a Visiting Professor at Harvard's Graduate School of Education.
We discuss the paradox of why higher education, which often speaks of transformation, is actually highly resistant to change. Rosenberg outlines the stark economic realities facing many colleges today, with unsustainably high tuition discount rates and declining demographics. He argues we've reached an untenable situation of economic unsustainability and unacceptable outcomes, especially for underrepresented students.
Powerful campus stakeholders like administrators and tenured faculty have little motivation to push for dramatic reforms that could threaten their positions. Meanwhile, marginalized groups like non-tenure track faculty and students lack power, despite having the greatest desire for change. Rosenberg calls for small experiments and building innovation centers as "green fields" within existing institutions.
We explore innovative models like the African Leadership University, focused on empowering self-directed learners. Rosenberg believes solutions will emerge from scrappy startups and developing world contexts, not elite U.S. institutions. He urges those who care about higher education to take on the challenge of doing the "hard things" needed to build a more equitable and financially sustainable future.
Subscribe to Trending in Education wherever you get your podcasts. Visit us at TrendinginEd.com for more sharp takes on what’s emerging in the learning universe.
Teaching Climate Change with Dr. Mark Windschitl
Flipping the Model for the Modern Classroom with Kareem Farah
The State of the Working Nation in 2023 with Jane Oates
Providing Everyone a Seat at the Calculus Roundtable with Jim Hollis
A Challenge for Career-Connected Learning with Michelle Cheang
Playing with Robots and Developing Problem Solving Skills with Michelle Acaley
Rethinking the Building Blocks of Learning with Mike Acerra
Building a Disruptive Alternative for Post-Secondary Education with Reuben Ogbonna
Wisdom Factories and AI Games with Dr. Tim Dasey
Taking a 4-Year-Old to an Education Conference and the Launch of the Palm Court Podcast
Writing, Generative AI, and EdTech Venture Capital with Tony Wan
Building the Interactive Future of Education with Tom Adams
Envisioning the Future of Tutoring and Education with Alan Safran and AJ Gutierrez
Leading in the Giving Professions with Dr. Jorge Petit
AI for the Rest of Us with Beth Rudden
Best of Trending in Ed - Robots, Science Fiction, and the Anthropological Imagination with Dr. Adam Gamwell
Summer of AI, Sustainability, and Affirmative Action
Powering Large Scale Tutoring Interventions with Mark Davis
Our 2023 Half Year Retro with Nancy Our Virtual CoHost
The Power of SEL for Adults with Tre' Gammage
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Teachers Talk Radio
LifeBlood
Navigating Life After 40
The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast
The Mel Robbins Podcast