Education, Evolution, and the “Four Cs”

Those who know me know that I’m proud of my biology background. It helps me see the big picture and the details. It keeps me pondering on connections between seemingly disparate things. It feeds my inner data nerd (quant & qual). And, perhaps most importantly, it keeps my mind open to change. 

Needless to say, you don’t have to be a scientist to practice any or all of these characteristics, a fact that is particularly important when teaching biology to students who are only taking the course to fulfill a gen ed requirement. For this reason, in science classes and arguably many intro gen ed courses, we needed a way to demonstrate that many of us are already doing/using science (or fill your discipline) everyday. In their Thinking About Biology lab manual for Biology 1010, my former colleagues began the first lab with the scientific method and by describing the scientist in all of us, not as a “middle-aged man in a white lab coat,” but rather with “four Cs” that all scientists have in common. We are curious, collect information, communicate the results, and we are comfortable with new concepts.

Needless to say, you don’t have to be a scientist to practice any or all of these characteristics. However, students enrolled in general education science courses don’t always immediately see the connection between science concepts and their everyday lives. To address this, my former colleagues began their science courses by describing the scientist in all of us with “four Cs” that all scientists have in common. We are curious, collect information, communicate the results, and we are comfortable with new concepts.

Similarly, science concepts like evolution and ecosystems apply far beyond the discipline. For example, over the past decade or more, we increasingly refer to higher ed as an “ecosystem” to underscore the complexity and interconnectedness. Most recently, my SRS colleague, Laura Boche, penned a fabulous and insightful look at what it takes to create impact across the higher education ecosystem. 

I’m here to continue our “Lessons in Science” (yes, a nod to Bonnie Garmus’ Lessons in Chemistry) with a reminder that, for better or worse, evolution happens…and it is happening now in higher ed. But, we need not fear evolution if we practice the “four Cs.”

Curiosity: What does it mean to evolve?

Biologically speaking, evolution explains the “appearance of new species and varieties through the action of various biological mechanisms (such as natural selection, genetic mutation or drift, and hybridization)” 🤓(Merriam-Webster). Stated more directly, to evolve is to change over time. And you don’t have to agree with Charles Darwin to see that this is happening in higher education. The mission, student populations, and even the aforementioned interconnectedness has shifted significantly from the earliest known colleges and universities. 

Take community colleges, for example. Founded with a largely access mission, community colleges added completion to their mission following the 2008 Recession. Following the release of Redesigning America’s Community Colleges, the mission further evolved to include access, completion, AND post-college success via transformation efforts like Guided Pathways. 

Across the institution types, we are seeing more focus on microcredentials, stackable credentials, and how prior learning is recognized. This particularly salient as students look to upskill, reskill, and potentially take advantage of Workforce Pell. 

• Consider this: As your own higher education ecosystem continues to evolve, approach change with a curiosity mindset. Lead with questions before answers. Among my favorite questions are:

  • “What would it take?” 

  • “How will this impact students?” 

  • “Has our mission changed?” 

  • “Who are we missing or not serving well?” 

  • “What skills are needed from credential holders in this program?” 

Rather than resting on past laurels, leading with questions signals curiosity, a willingness to adapt based on what is current and what is anticipated.

Collecting Information: Unit of Evolution

Those questions above and more should be applied to the primary unit of evolution, a population. Biologically, a population is a group of organisms of the same species. For higher education, “populations” are the type of postsecondary institutions, e.g. regional public four-year universities, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), tribal colleges and universities (TCUs), community colleges, research universities, or others, and the various learners served by institutions, like dual enrollees, adults and working learners, parenting students, first-time full-time students, etc. 

To understand these postsecondary “populations” and how they change over time, we need accurate and consistent data, not only in the hands of decision makers like legislators, institutional executives, and students, but also in the hands of change makers like faculty, advisors, and families. Moreover, we can’t just rely on numbers (e.g. enrollment, credential completions, workforce placements), we need the qualitative understanding of staff burnout, summer melt, how learners navigate credit for prior learning, and the civic, social, and generational value of a postsecondary credential. 

We can use quantitative data to identify the gaps, challenges, and opportunities. We can then use interviews and focus groups to understand context and experience. For legislators or state systems, this could mean looking at the data on funding formulas, allocations, and enrollment coupled with institutional interviews on impacts, perceptions, and resource trade-offs. For institutions, it means humanizing the disaggregated key performance indicators (KPIs) to gain an understanding of the impact that navigators have on credential completion for returning stop-out learners over age 25.

• Consider this: If you are seeking to better understand the student populations in your ecosystem, connect quantitative and qualitative data with journey mapping, design thinking, or a universal design for learning approach. 

  • Journey maps visualize pain points and opportunities. Recently, SRS worked with a group of colleges and their partner school districts to map the entire student journey from middle school to college, identifying steps where students are lost or need more support. 

  • Design thinking is iterative problem solving that emphasizes empathy. Learner interviews and focus groups support a design thinking approach well. 

  • Universal design for learning eliminates barriers so all have an opportunity to learn. It recognizes that not all students learn the same, so using multiple means to engage, represent information, and demonstrate mastery supercharges equity efforts to eliminate achievement gaps.

Data can provide a great starting point, but the best solutions are born from the human experience.

Communicating Results: People, Partnerships, and Policy 

How do we learn what works, what is needed, and where the boundaries are? We learn from one another, from those that have tried something different, and even from those that are experiencing similar challenges. In the sciences, this is often achieved through conferences presentations and peer reviewed journal publications. In the higher education ecosystem, three of the best mechanisms for communicating are through professional development, ecosystem partnerships, and policies. 

As a faculty member and an administrator, my favorite way to learn what’s going on in the field was through conferences. Attending the sessions, talking in the halls, even hearing participant questions as I facilitated a session, each presented a learning opportunity. Since entering the coaching and technical assistance space, another great way I’ve found to learn and exchange ideas is via site visits. And, you don’t have to be a “consultant” to do a site visit to a peer institution or system office. As a bonus, you might just end up with a new partner for a project or grant. 

Closer to home, ecosystem partnerships are essential connections for improving outcomes. But building an ecosystem partnership is one thing. Maintaining it is another. Maintenance requires bidirectional communications among the partners, starting with “what brings you here” and “what do you need from this partnership.” These aren’t “one and done” questions. We need to build a cadence to check in and see if anything has changed. This allows the partnership to evolve to meet the needs of its members, or, at the very least, allows members to roll off when their needs change. Having served on the same Career Technical Education (CTE) advisory boards for nearly 15 years with others who have served even longer, I can tell you that leaders who build that check-in cadence demonstrate that they value partners’ time and unique contributions. This builds strength and resilience into the partnership.

Last, but not least, for communications is understanding where the boundaries are. This means well written policy. (It’s ok if you just groaned, I know that policy isn’t sexy.) As my colleague reminds me, clear is kind, especially when it comes to students. 

How do you know if your policies are well written? You could start by asking. Ask those impacted by the policy and those expected to enforce it. SRS has partnered with multiple intermediary organizations to support four cohorts of institutions as they examined and refined their policies using an Institutional Policy Review Framework. The resulting updated policies are not only clear, but also student-centered and separated from process. Using a student-centered policy review framework can be a game changer for postsecondary institutions, especially as the higher education landscape continues evolving, and policies must keep up with those changes. 

• Consider this: To promote continuous learning within your higher education ecosystem (and inform continuous improvement), invest in the mechanisms that connect, disseminate, and codify information.

  • Professional development resources are essential. If operational budgets can’t support it, then consider embedding it into grants, where appropriate. I’d also challenge states, systems, and philanthropies to consider their role in making sure opportunity isn’t limited to those at institutions with deep pockets. If (LOL, ok, “when”) staff time and resources are limited, consider leveraging a platform like Constellation to engage the team in a common learning journey with a tangible output.

  • Invest in the supports needed for building and maintaining strong and resilient ecosystem partnerships. For some that is convening capacity. For others that is organizational development. Still others need a foundational theory of change/action.

  • Start with a policy audit. This will identify the issues that you can then prioritize and address.  

Comfortable with New Concepts: Improvement and Innovation

All the curiosity, collected information, and communications won’t help navigate an evolving postsecondary system, if we aren’t comfortable with new concepts and ideas. This is how improvement and innovation happens, and it's even better when done with peers. 

Take developmental education reforms, for example. We once believed that the only way students would be prepared for college-level math and English was with a sequence of up to four (or maybe more) non-credit developmental courses. It sounds good on paper: ease the students in, give them time to master everything. The reality is that with that approach, very few students ever made it to college level course work. 

Enter Emporium models for math that had mixed success, and then co-requisite models for both English and math with significantly better results. These are iterative improvements that have transformed how students learn and accelerated their progress toward degrees. Rather than buckle at the first challenge, faculty continued to learn from one another (within the same institution, and across institutions) and adjust their approaches. This responsiveness demonstrated a student-ready approach to change, rather than continuing to require students to adjust to existing (and perhaps antiquated) systems. 

• Consider this: Networked learning allows individuals, institutions, and even states and systems to innovate sustainably through learning from one another and national experts. Facilitated technical assistance and coaching helps determine what to do AND helps do it. Doing this with peers means learning what has worked and what hasn’t as each network team tries elements of the innovation. Now, more than ever before, learners and politicians are questioning the value of higher education. As institutions and systems, we must try new things and get comfortable with change in order to continuously improve, demonstrate value, and thrive.

A Final Thought

As I mentioned earlier, we need not fear evolution. Unlike the finches Darwin observed to form his theory of natural selection, we in the education ecosystem have agency. We can choose our response to changes. We choose our mindset. We choose to value numbers AND voices, journeys AND destinations. We choose how we invest our resources. And most importantly, if we want to remain student centered, we choose how we improve and innovate to meet the needs of our learners today…and tomorrow. Let’s exercise our agency wisely and with purpose.