Common Sense, Traditional Structures and Higher Education Reengineering as Fundamental Inquiry

Abstract

This paper presents three streams of research in response to the problems of how to integrate technology into academic infrastructures and how to reward faculty for responding creatively to these opportunities. The first part focuses on Computer Supported Collaborative Work, a field that has addressed work, its social construction, and the role of technology in mediating the connection between them. The second part discusses the application of reengineering concepts and methods in the investigation of technology, teaching, and learning. The third part draws from Ernest Boyer's research, originally sponsored by the Carnegie Foundation, that addresses the nature of the professoriate and how it must change in response to the broad spectrum of changes in the society and institutions it serves.