The Learning University

Rather than thinking in terms of the traditional dichotomy of research and teaching, a separation that often paralyzed higher education in the twentieth century, we can begin to think of ourselves as a learning university concerned with the learning of both faculty (research) and students (teaching) and the ways in which the learning of one can benefit the other.

The Learning University can sometimes mean that students participate in the research of their professors, or that they engage in their own research. But more broadly it means the creation of a community in which professors and students are engaged in rich intellectual conversations in a collegial environment. It is reflective of an attitude about students and their worth. It is a recognition that efforts to foster learning in others can stimulate our own greater understanding. It is a commitment on the part of the faculty to building and sustaining a community of learners. At its core, such a community is defined by engagement, by commitment of faculty and students to sustaining the community and its conversations.

Because that community is intellectual and scholarly, certain conditions prevail for all facets of its life, including teaching and learning. Teaching is anything that we do to help and encourage students to learn. Efforts to foster learning require critical reflection, the ability to conceptualize practice, and attention to the research and theoretical literature. Teaching demands its own scholarly conversations, with attention to questions about what it means to learn, how best to foster that learning, and how we can best understand the nature and progress of that learning.

The Research Academy for University Learning is devoted to supporting the learning university as we continue to grapple with how best to make it work. We envision nothing less than the best learning environment possible.