Speaker shares opinion on how to educate today's student

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Mark Milliron, president and CEO of Catalyze Learning International, delivers his keynote speech at the Association of Canadian Community Colleges annual conference hosted by Holland College in Charlottetown recently. Photo: Al MacLeod

By Al MacLeod Charlottetown, PE - The most effective way to educate people is by working together to understand individual student needs and provide them with timely feedback, Mark Milliron, the founder of a private consulting and service company said during his keynote speech at the Association of Canadian Community Colleges annual conference hosted by Holland College recently.

Milliron, president and CEO of Catalyze Learning International, is an award-winning leader, author, speaker and consultant. He founded the North Carolina-based company to work with community colleges and other educational institutions, corporations, associations and government agencies around the world.

Students entering the post-secondary education system vary significantly in terms of age, learning patterns and career goals. The challenge is to give them a well-rounded learning experience, Milliron said. "We don't have a one-size-fits-all model."

There are mainly three unique generations of people in the educational system today, each with a different way of learning and with specific goals in mind, Milliron said.

"Students want a blended experience," he noted.

Additionally, Milliron said, educational institutions need to move from the "better than" mindset to the "better with" mindset in order to be effective and to secure adequate funding,

"We need to all be working together, but the problem is we often get played up against each other."

The future of education is exciting, Milliron told the audience.

"We have some powerful learning opportunities right now, even with things like Facebook."

Society must adapt to the technological advancements and just as importantly, understand the opportunities that come with them, he said.

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