A Leadership Summit to Effect Change in Teaching and Learning

美国国家科学院将于2006年10月召集约300名教育工作者、雇主和其他人参加为期两天的峰会，探讨高等教育机构及其教职员工如何利用关于学习过程(人们如何学习)的新信息，成功地吸引、留住和培养多样化的学生群体，以便在农业、环境和生命科学的交叉领域就业。背景文件正被委托在峰会上讨论。这些文件包括审查认知和学习知识现状的文件；总结过去和目前将具体教学和其他方法与留住少数族裔学生联系起来的努力；介绍开发雇主感兴趣的所谓软技能的不同方法。峰会结束后，一个国家科学院委员会将准备一份报告，确定学生和教师对关键技能和培训的需求，并描述改善本科生教育体验的策略。报告将讨论机构领导人必须采取的步骤来帮助教师，以及在机构、系和教师层面克服教育创新障碍的方法。峰会和由此产生的报告为推动本科课程改革提供了动力，目标是培养出准备充分的毕业生，这些毕业生反映了更多人口的人口结构，具有适当的技能、对社会的反应能力以及对劳动力的技术熟练程度。

The National Academies is convening a two-day summit in October 2006 of approximately 300 educators, employers, and others to explore how institutions of higher education and their faculty can use new information about the process of learning (how people learn) to successfully attract, retain, and prepare a diverse student population for careers at the intersections of agriculture, environmental and life sciences. Background papers are being commissioned for discussion at the summit. These include papers examining the current state of knowledge on cognition and learning; a summary of past and current efforts to connect specific teaching and other approaches with retention of minority students; and a presentation on different approaches to developing so-called soft-skills of interest to employers. Following the summit, a National Academies committee will prepare a report that identifies student and faculty needs for critical skills and training, and describes strategies to improve the educational experience for undergraduates. The report will discuss the steps that institutional leaders must take to assist faculty, and ways to overcome barriers to educational innovation at the institutional, department, and faculty levels. The summit and resulting report provide momentum behind efforts to effect change in undergraduate programs with the goal of producing well-prepared graduates who reflect the demographics of the larger population and who are appropriately skilled, socially responsive, and technically proficient in the workforce.