One of the most important skills faculty can elucidate to students is skills they can apply in their professional lives. Education is more than the teaching of esoteric concepts (thought these are important), education is also a vehicle that can provide the opportunity for upward economic and social mobility. Although many students are already in the workforce, many are not, and of those who are in the workforce are often seeking new careers or are pursuing educational endeavors for positions that will require a high-level of thinking. Teaching skills that are applicable to the professional realm is important, though the types of skills needed might be open to debate. An important question for faculty and institutions of higher education concerns are students learning practical skills demanded by potential employers. According to some reports, the answer is an unequivocal no.

The National Council on Teaching Quality recently published a report indicating students graduating from teaching programs lack the skills necessary to provide quality education. Colleges of Education are failing to produce graduates who are able to meet district standards and meet content requirements. The Partnership for the 21^st Century, a consortium of business and political interests, produced a report indicating colleges and universities fail to teach: professionalism and work ethics, oral and writing communication skills, teamwork and collaboration skills, and critical thinking and problem solving skills. This is a stunning indictment concerning the current state of higher education.

Given that students will face an increasingly globalized marketplace, it behooves faculty and institutions of higher learning to focus on developing teaching methods and strategies that provide graduates with skills relevant in the job market. Faculty and their respective institutions should develop an acute focus on preparing students to enter an increasingly competitive job market, but the question is how to accomplish this. One practice that I have found useful is to ask students to relate the concepts learned in the classroom to real-world and professional settings. This demands that students stop regurgitating the material and learn to apply the lessons in their own live, but this is just one strategy. I hope to read how you, as faculty, are helping to prepare students for future professional endeavors.

Thanks,

Eric

References:

http://www.nctq.org/dmsStage/Teacher_Prep_Review_2013_Report

http://www.p21.org/storage/documents/FINAL_REPORT_PDF09-29-06.pdf