Re: Student vs Learner
A copy of a letter to my "aboves" today...
Mōrena korua,
I hear the statute will be under review in the next few days - one idea to float is changing the word student to learner and freeing us from the traditional implications of the word student – moving us more fully into the 21st century world of education and re-establishing a keystone/foundation for our NMIT culture.
While there are implications for a range of policies in this change (which I think is why it has never been achieved before) it is a desirable adjustment for a world where demand is towards personal ownership of learning and it is beneficial to encourage personal responsibility for knowledge transfer - as opposed to the traditional system where institutions and teachers owned the knowledge and ‘students’ only got it if it was handed down to them from ‘above’ in very specific places.
The traditional system has a tendency towards knowledge as a strictly controlled commodity only for specific people - the 21st century acknowledges we are all learners, free to engage in knowledge acquisition wherever, however and whenever we want.
While we (as the institution) are still accountable for the learning, I believe it supports (and benefits) everyone in the process if learners are empowered and have an awareness of their responsibility in the process of acquiring knowledge. Where is the incentive and motivation to learn if all the implied responsibility is on the teacher? (After all, you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink…).
We need to change the thinking that supports the traditional implications. Language is an important part of establishing this change in mind-set.
Perhaps this year is the one to get it done 😊
Some people may argue that it causes issues with some particular sentences around the “student” management system and Learner managed hours – but these can be overcome with a simple rewording in all the cases I have encountered in the programme regs for instance. Some of the other barriers will be removed if we can get the word officially changed in the statute.
Some people may push to not rock the boat when there is so much going on – but this is also a very common reason why seemingly trivial changes with wider implications keep being put off...
Well worth a try anyway, IMO.
Hei konā mai,
Shine Kelly
Academic Advisor
NMIT
