Learning Outcomes that Matter: Cathy Davidson in 'Inside Higher Ed'

Identifying learning outcomes for students is crucial, but not in the way that many people think, argues Graduate Center Distinguished Professor of English Cathy N. Davidson, in a recent op-ed in Inside Higher Education.

"You don't need to go very deep in the pedagogical research to know that the key to successful learning is for the learner to be aware of what the given knowledge will add to their goals and their life," Davidson writes. 

Instead of prescribing outcomes for her students, however, she invites the students in her classes to "take the lead in their learning" by challenging them to think up "the most aspirational, world-changing outcomes they can imagine."

She shares a top-10 list of her favorites in Inside Higher Ed, and concludes, "It is my conviction that we need thoughtful, active collective engagement and participation - by both students and faculty members - to transform not just our classrooms but all of higher education."

Davidson directs the Futures Initiative at the Graduate Center and HASTAC@CUNY. Learn more about her research.