While the search for the new provost and successor to current Provost Dr. Morton Lowengrub continues, Dr. Scott Goldberg was appointed Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning this summer. The position, which is brand new, seems an appropriate fit for Dr. Goldberg, who has many innovative ideas about the nature of education in the 21st century. As part of his role as Vice Provost, Dr. Goldberg is working closely with Dean Bacon to improve the educational experiences at Stern, often through a dynamic use of technology.
Before becoming Vice Provost, Dr. Goldberg served as the inaugural director of Yeshiva University’s Institute for University-School Partnership, a resource which offers continuing education and support for Jewish Day Schools. Dr. Goldberg also previously taught at Stern and Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, and directed the Fanya Gottesfeld Heller Division of Doctoral Studies. In his own research, Dr. Goldberg has focused on how students learn and the factors that influence learning, such as spiritual values and social media.
In his new role as Vice Provost, Dr. Goldberg is particularly interested in using technology to enhance the student learning at Stern College. “The space between technology and pedagogy has become almost nil,” he remarked.
Though conscious of technology’s power to distract, Dr. Goldberg believes that today’s educators need to learn how to leverage technology while still maintaining a student-centered approach to education. “If a teacher lectures for two hours, and the same information could be heard or read in another forum, one has to question whether the knowledge should be conveyed in the lecture. Lecture might be the best format, but perhaps the lecture could be viewed online in smaller portions, allowing students to interact more with each other and the expert faculty member during class.”
An example of Dr. Goldberg’s unique educational vision is his efforts to integrate online courses into the Stern College curriculum. He is currently working closely with Dean Bacon to determine the role online courses could play in developing the Computer Science department, and is supporting faculty developing an online Hebrew language lab for Stern College. A total of 45 online or blended (partly online and partly offline) courses are included in the undergraduate and graduate academic schedule this year, and Sy Syms is experimenting with a new classroom model with less “seat time” and more time spent in “a blended online environment.”
This emphasis on online and blended courses is intended to facilitate the highest quality of student learning. “The methods of ‘blended’ learning are leading to great student outcomes when done well,” Dr. Goldberg noted. “Courses are very much contingent on student-teacher interaction and are directly an outgrowth of what our students need. Whether through technology or other advancements, our goal is to support and improve faculty teaching and student learning.”
Dr. Goldberg also hopes to achieve advances in student learning by bridging the distance between the two campuses through online/blended courses. He is also exploring how to bring current YU programs and new ones to the global market.
Dr. Goldberg brings to his new position as Vice Provost an exciting educational vision and a commitment to improving the learning experience at Stern College. Students can learn more about his creative approaches to education in a TED-like talk he recently gave on the future of education— http://elitalks.org/yeah_but_what_if_future_education — and at the Al Pi Darko Shabbaton, October 25-26th, where he will be appearing as a guest lecturer.