Higher Ed Resource of the Week: The Instruction Myth: Why Higher Education Is Hard to Change, and How to Change It

One of my favorite books on higher education is John Tagg’s The Learning Paradigm College. In 1995, Tagg co-authored an article with Robert B. Barr titled “From teaching to learning—a new paradigm for undergraduate education,” which has become one of the most-cited articles of the past 20 years. On April 5, Rutgers University Press will release a new book by this provocative author titled The Instruction Myth: Why Higher Education is Hard to Change, and How to Change It. In this 342-page book, Tagg continues to challenge universities to shift from their central operating principle that education revolves around instruction to a more powerful and effective focus on student learning. Although decades of research have revealed the key contributors to student learning, few universities have implemented those suggestions; consequently, the quality of higher education continues to disappoint. In nine chapters, Tagg explains why change is so hard in higher education, and then in nine more chapters, he proposes ways to implement radical change. Tagg is professor emeritus at Palomar College in San Marcos, CA. The book can be pre-ordered on Amazon for $34.95. The Kindle version is available for $33.20.