Gatsby and the Need for New Research Paradigms

"About that.  As a matter of fact you needn't bother to ascertain.  I ascertained.  They're real...It's a bonafide piece of printed matter."
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

For some teachers, the surprise of authenticity has become the norm.  Such teachers bemoan the shortcomings of the modern student; they don't read enough, they don't know how to write properly, they can't focus, they don't care.  The rare gem of student work is greeted with the incredulity of Owl Eyes from Fitzgerald's novel.  The work is paraded in the faculty room as a beacon of hope, like Gatsby's green light - a symbol of what might have been but never will be.  Should we be so suprised?  Has the academic landscape become the New York of the 20s?  Are we languishing in an educational valley of ashes?  These are the questions I find myself asking in the face of colleague skepticism.  In the minds of some, poor or plagiarized work seems to be a fait accompli for the modern student.

Of course, nothing in Fitzgerald's novel escapes the trap of inauthenticity.  We as teachers need to re-examine our own practices, and consider how those practices encourage the kinds of disillusionment we sometimes seem to feel.  In fact, many outdated pedagogical practices prohibit modern students from being anything other than the scattered and indifferent consumers and parrots we then seek to persecute.  Certainly, software advances such as Noodle tools or Safe Assign and their like allow teachers to be vigilant against plagiarism, and aid our students in becoming responsible researchers.  Without a recontextualization, however, such tools are like the lemons and orchestras of Gatsby's parties: all flash, no substance.

Our assignments must change.  Our mindsets must change.  What counts as a valid research output in the future will likely bear as little resemblance to 8 1/2 x 11 white papers as Noodle tools do to the stacks of index cards from our youth.  The "formal research paper" may as easily be a formal research video or podcast; or even more likely, something we cannot yet readily conceive.  For those who would preserve the sanctity of the traditional research paper; are we preserving skills that will lack a forum in the world our students inhabit?  Should we hold to outdated models or forge ahead, discovering and creating new paradigms for a new world?

The shift is already happening; it is ALWAYS happening.  There is no living in the past.  If we want students who surprise us with their authenticy, we need to let them be authentically who they are; residents of the digital age.  This is happening in exciting ways such as this senior english thesis from a student at Bryn Mawr College.  As colleges and universities shift to meet the realities of the world, we cannot afford to wait for the changes to "trickle down".  For too many students, such an approach would be too little too late.

"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."  The Great Gatsby ends on this note of frustration as Nick reflects on the neverending toil of fighting against the past.  In changing our mindset of what counts as authentic and quality research output, perhaps we can cease to be the current holding them back.

Photo by Curtis Newton
http://www.flickr.com/photos/curtisnewton/4089464649/