How might we better prepare all
learners for the needs of
tomorrow by reimagining higher
education?
By Sachenka Pichardo
Sachy.Pichardo@stern.nyu.edu
Why I chose this idea to make a contribution?
If students had a tangible goal while they are
learning they will be more focused and selfdetermined to learn and achieve.
WHAT IF:
Students entered the educational
system with a problem in mind,
counselors suggested what
knowledge the student needs to be
successful and together created
individualized curriculums?
Students discuss with their counselors
Students present
a focused problem
Students define a specific issue
they are passionate about “My
town doesn’t have enough food or
basic services” or “the local river
water levels are steadily declining”
Participating as a junior member of a
research team solving a similar
problem
What basic skills (math, language,
science, social) and advanced skills
(engineering, archeology, fluid
dynamics) are needed to further
develop solutions to the problem
Create and revise a curriculum
Students discuss with their counselors
Students present
a general goal
Students present general
ideas “I want to build robots”
or “I want to solve world
hunger”
A mentor that can assist in helping
the student find a problem to solve
in that area of study
Start with a curriculum of basic skills
(math, language, science, social) to
perform research in the area
surrounding the problem
Create and revise a curriculum;
based on the student’s research
My discoveries
Randomly asking students
1. I am more focused learning when I
am passionate about the end goal
2. Choosing a major is hard because I
do not know what I want to do
3. Counselors provided mostly a list of
mandatory courses; but I did not
understand why they were mandatory
4. I wish there were less mandatory
classes and more electives
If students were offered the ability to learn how to
solve a problem by personalizing their curriculum
learning would be fun again.
Institutions can use the many available forms of education available such as
hands-on experiments with research teams, attending in person classes, or
distance learning classes the student will be a higher quality professional
and more engaged in their education.
By Sachenka Pichardo
Sachy.Pichardo@stern.nyu.edu
Dec 2014