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Our Underachieving Colleges: A Candid Look at How Much Students Learn and Why They Should Be Learning More

by Derek Bok
$13.90
Compare to estimated retail price: S$60.00  

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Our Underachieving Colleges: A Candid Look at How Much Students Learn and Why They Should Be Learning More
Our Underachieving Colleges: A Candid Look at How Much Students Learn and Why They Should Be Learning More

Sharp reality check on what college teaches

This is a thoughtful, evidence-driven critique that will really click if you care about higher education beyond the glossy brochure version. Derek Bok doesn’t just complain that colleges fall short; he shows where students actually aren’t growing enough and why teaching methods matter more than course catalogs. It feels like the kind of book that leaves you rethinking what a degree is supposed to do.

  • Frederic W. Ness Book Award (2008)
Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.

Our Underachieving Colleges: A Candid Look at How Much Students Learn and Why They Should Be Learning More

by Derek Bok
$13.90
Compare to estimated retail price: S$60.00  

The item you've got your eye on is secondhand. You probably already know that, but just in case!

The estimated retail price shown next to any listed item represents the first-hand prices we've seen elsewhere, or the estimated original retail price of a comparable item of the same quality, construction and material offered elsewhere in new condition.

Condition guide

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ISBN: 9780691125961
Authors: Derek Bok
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Date of Publication: 2006-01-16
Format: Hardcover
Related Collections: History, Sociology, Politics
Related Topics: History, Sociology, Social Issues, Politics, Education, Government
Goodreads rating: 3.81
(rated by 188 readers)

Description

Drawing on a large body of empirical evidence, former Harvard President Derek Bok examines how much progress college students actually make toward widely accepted goals of undergraduate education. His conclusions are sobering. Although most students make gains in many important respects, they improve much less than they should in such important areas as writing, critical thinking, quantitative skills, and moral reasoning. Large majorities of college seniors do not feel that they have made substantial progress in speaking a foreign language, acquiring cultural and aesthetic interests, or learning what they need to know to become active and informed citizens. Overall, despite their vastly increased resources, more powerful technology, and hundreds of new courses, colleges cannot be confident that students are learning more than they did fifty years ago.Looking further, Bok finds that many important college courses are left to the least experienced teachers and that most professors continue to teach in ways that have proven to be less effective than other available methods. In reviewing their educational programs, however, faculties typically ignore this evidence. Instead, they spend most of their time discussing what courses to require, although the lasting impact of college will almost certainly depend much more on how the courses are taught.In his final chapter, Bok describes the changes that faculties and academic leaders can make to help students accomplish more. Without ignoring the contributions that America's colleges have made, Bok delivers a powerful critique--one that educators will ignore at their peril.
 

Sharp reality check on what college teaches

This is a thoughtful, evidence-driven critique that will really click if you care about higher education beyond the glossy brochure version. Derek Bok doesn’t just complain that colleges fall short; he shows where students actually aren’t growing enough and why teaching methods matter more than course catalogs. It feels like the kind of book that leaves you rethinking what a degree is supposed to do.

  • Frederic W. Ness Book Award (2008)
Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.