Reading

A New Agenda for Higher Education: Shaping a Life of the Mind for Practice. 2008. William M. Sullivan and Matthew S. Rosin. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Excerpts from Chapter IV: Practical Reason as an Educational Agenda pages 93 – 95. Sullivan and Rosen wrote the book as a result of a series of seminars through the Carnegie Foundation in which educators explored the changing nature of higher education, in view of today’s challenges in the workplace. For purposes of the ORGL seminars, you will be particularly interested in understanding the concepts highlighted. By the way, “the academy” refers to institutions of higher education.

Comments on Sullivan & Rosen’s “A New Agenda for Higher Education: Shaping a Life of the Mind for Practice” (2008) Publisher: San Francisco: Jossey-Bass "Higher education is edging ever closer to becoming a universal requirement," said Carnegie Senior Scholar William M. Sullivan. "And today's students will need to meet the practical and professional challenges that await them with insight, technical know-how and discerning moral commitment." Sullivan and Rosen propose that undergraduate education must move beyond "critical thinking" to the idea of "practical reasoning" as a focal point for curriculum and teaching. To do so, they present a new agenda that integrates teaching practices from the liberal arts—which develop students' ability to assume responsibility for their purposes and identity—with those from professional education, which stress competence and practice. "It's important for students to learn to think, to reason, to interrogate text and understand it; but that is not enough," said Carnegie President Lee S. Shulman. "It's also important that students learn to act, to do, to perform—but this still is not enough. Today's undergraduates must learn to think and act responsibly, with integrity, civility and caring. Practical reasoning integrates these three habits—of mind, hand and heart—that are essential for the formation of today's students. This work traces an exciting portrait of the potential of undergraduate education in the coming century." Practical reasoning suggests a repertoire of skills and habits of mind that can help adults figure out what to do when navigating the challenges of contemporary adult life.