Freeman Hrabowski: 4 pillars of college success in science | TED

Translator: Timothy Covell Reviewer: Morton Bast

Translator: Òscar Aznar Alemany Reviewer: IRENE BAUTISTA

So I'll be talking about the success of my campus,

Us parlaré de l'èxit al meu campus,

the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, UMBC,

a la Universitat de Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC),

in educating students of all types,

en l'educació d'estudiants de tot tipus

across the arts and humanities and the science and engineering areas.

en arts, humanitats, ciències i enginyeries.

What makes our story especially important

La nostra història és especial perquè

is that we have learned so much from a group of students

hem après molt sobre un grup d'estudiants

who are typically not at the top of the academic ladder --

que no solen ser al capdamanut del sistema:

students of color, students underrepresented in selected areas.

estudiants de color, poc representats en àrees seleccionades.

And what makes the story especially unique

Aquesta història és única perquè

is that we have learned how to help African-American students, Latino students,

hem après com ajudar els estudiants afroamericans i hispans,

students from low-income backgrounds,

amb pocs recursos econòmics,

to become some of the best in the world in science and engineering.

a esdevenir uns dels millors científics i enginyers del món.

And so I begin with a story about my childhood.

Començaré amb una història de quan era petit.

We all are products of our childhood experiences.

Tots som productes de les nostres experiències.

It's hard for me to believe that it's been 50 years

És difícil creure que han passat 50 anys

since I had the experience of being a ninth grade kid in Birmingham, Alabama,

des que feia secundària a Birmingham (Alabama).

a kid who loved getting A's,

M'encantava treure excel·lents,

a kid who loved math, who loved to read,

les matemàtiques i llegir.

a kid who would say to the teacher --

I quan el professor deia

when the teacher said, "Here are 10 problems," to the class,

"Heu de fer aquests 10 exercicis",

this little fat kid would say, "Give us 10 more."

jo deia: "Posa'n 10 més."

And the whole class would say, "Shut up, Freeman."

I tota la classe deia: "Calla, Freeman."

And there was a designated kicker every day.

I al final sempre rebia.

And so I was always asking this question:

Per això jo em preguntava:

"Well how could we get more kids to really love to learn?"

"Com podríem motivar els nens a voler aprendre?"

And amazingly, one week in church,

Sorprenentment, un dia a l'església,

when I really didn't want to be there

sense ganes de ser-hi,

and I was in the back of the room being placated by doing math problems,

mentre feia els deures de mates tranquil·lament,

I heard this man say this:

vaig sentir un home:

"If we can get the children

"Si podem fer que els nens

to participate in this peaceful demonstration here in Birmingham,

participin a la manifestació pacífica a Birmingham,

we can show America that even children know the difference between right and wrong

demostrarem a Amèrica que els nens saben què està bé i que no

and that children really do want to get the best possible education."

i que realment volen la millor educació possible."

And I looked up and said, "Who is that man?"

Vaig aixecar la vista. Qui era aquell home?

And they said his name was Dr. Martin Luther King.

Em van dir que era en Martin Luther King.

And I said to my parents, "I've got to go.

Vaig dir als pares: "Hi vull anar.

I want to go. I want to be a part of this."

Vull ser part d'això."

And they said, "Absolutely not."

I van dir: "De cap manera."

(Laughter)

[rialles]

And we had a rough go of it.

Va ser bastant dur.

And at that time, quite frankly, you really did not talk back to your parents.

I a aquella edat no t'enfrontes als pares.

And somehow I said, "You know, you guys are hypocrites.

I vaig dir: "En realitat sou uns hipòcrites.

You make me go to this. You make me listen.

Em dieu que faci cas i que escolti.

The man wants me to go, and now you say no."

Aquest home em diu que hi vagi i ara dieu que no"

And they thought about it all night.

I hi van pensar tota la nit.

And they came into my room the next morning.

I van venir a la meva habitació l'endemà.

They had not slept.

No havien dormit.

They had been literally crying and praying and thinking,

Havien estat plorant, resant i pensant:

"Will we let our 12-year-old

"Deixarem que un nen de 12 anys

participate in this march and probably have to go to jail?"

vagi a la manifestació i que segurament acabi a la presó?"

And they decided to do it.

I van decidir que sí.

And when they came in to tell me,

I quan m'ho van dir,

I was at first elated.

primer estava eufòric.

And then all of a sudden I began thinking about the dogs and the fire hoses,

I de sobte vaig pensar en gossos i en incendis

and I got really scared, I really did.

i em vaig espantar de debò.

And one of the points I make to people all the time

I el que sempre intento deixar clar és que

is that sometimes when people do things that are courageous,

de vegades fer coses que requereixen valentia

it doesn't really mean that they're that courageous.

no significa que siguis valent,

It simply means that they believe it's important to do it.

només vol dir que creus que és important fer-les.

I wanted a better education.

Jo volia una educació millor.

I did not want to have to have hand-me-down books.

No volia llibres de segona mà.

I wanted to know that the school I attended

Volia que la meva escola

not only had good teachers, but the resources we needed.

tingués bons professors, però també altres recursos.

And as a result of that experience,

I com a resultat d'això,

in the middle of the week, while I was there in jail,

a mitja setmana, quan era a la presó,

Dr. King came and said with our parents,

Luther King va dir, junt als nostres pares:

"What you children do this day

"El que els nens heu fet avui

will have an impact on children who have not been born."

afectarà els nens que encara no han nascut."

I recently realized that two-thirds of Americans today

Fa poc he sabut que 2/3 dels nord-americans d'avui

had not been born at the time of 1963.

no havien nascut encara aquell 1963.

And so for them, when they hear about the Children's Crusade in Birmingham,

I quan senten alguna cosa sobre aquella manifestació

in many ways, if they see it on TV,

per exemple, a la tele,

it's like our looking at the 1863 "Lincoln" movie:

és com quan jo veig la pel·lícula <i>Lincoln</i>, del 1863.

It's history.

És part de la història.

And the real question is, what lessons did we learn?

Però, què en vam aprendre?

Well amazingly, the most important for me was this:

El més important per a mi va ser que

That children can be empowered to take ownership of their education.

es pot confiar en els nens per dirigir la seva educació.

They can be taught to be passionate

Se'ls pot ensenyar a sentir

about wanting to learn and to love the idea of asking questions.

passió per aprendre i per preguntar.

And so it is especially significant

I és molt rellevant que

that the university I now lead,

la universitat que dirigeixo,

the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, UMBC,

la Universitat de Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC),

was founded the very year I went to jail with Dr. King, in 1963.

fos fundada l'any 1963, quan vaig anar a la presó amb Luther King.

And what made that institutional founding especially important

I el que va fer aquella fundació més important és que

is that Maryland is the South, as you know,

Maryland és al sud, on eren menys liberals,

and, quite frankly, it was the first university in our state

i va ser la primera universitat del nostre estat

founded at a time when students of all races could go there.

en què podien estudiar alumnes de totes les races.

And so we had black and white students and others who began to attend.

Teníem alumnes blancs i negres i en van venir més.

And it has been for 50 years an experiment.

I va ser un experiment durant 50 anys.

The experiment is this:

Es tractava de veure

Is it possible to have institutions in our country, universities,

si era possible tenir al país universitats

where people from all backgrounds can come and learn

on gent de tots els orígens pogués estudiar

and learn to work together and learn to become leaders

i aprendre a treballar en equip i a ser els millors

and to support each other in that experience?

i ajudar-se mútuament.

Now what is especially important about that experience for me is this:

El que és més important per a mi d'això és que

We found that we could do a lot in the arts and humanities and social sciences.

vam veure que podíem fer molt en arts, humanitats i ciències socials.

And so we began to work on that, for years in the '60s.

I hi vam començar a treballar durant els anys 60.

And we produced a number of people in law, all the way to the humanities.

Vam generar molt graduats en dret i en humanitats.

We produced great artists. Beckett is our muse.

I grans artistes. Beckett és la nostra musa.

A lot of our students get into theater.

Altres es van dedicar al teatre.

It's great work.

Vam treballar molt.

The problem that we faced was the same problem America continues to face --

El nostre problema era el mateix encara té Amèrica,

that students in the sciences and engineering,

els estudiants de ciències i enginyeries,

black students were not succeeding.

els negres, fracassaven.

But when I looked at the data,

Vaig analitzar les dades

what I found was that, quite frankly, students in general,

i vaig veure que un gran nombre d'altres alumnes

large numbers were not making it.

tampoc no ho aconseguien.

And as a result of that,

Per tant,

we decided to do something that would help, first of all,

vam decidir ajudar primer de tot

the group at the bottom, African-American students, and then Hispanic students.

el grup més necessitat, els afroamericans i els hispans.

And Robert and Jane Meyerhoff, philanthropists, said, "We'd like to help."

El Robert i la Jane Meyerhoff, filantrops, van dir: "Volem ajudar."

Robert Meyerhoff said, "Why is it that everything I see on TV about black boys,

El Robert va dir: "Per què tot el que veig a la tele sobre els negres

if it's not about basketball, is not positive?

és negatiu si no és sobre bàsquet?

I'd like to make a difference, to do something that's positive."

M'agradaria fer alguna cosa especial i positiva."

We married those ideas, and we created this Meyerhoff Scholars program.

Li vam prendre la paraula i vam crear el programa de beques Meyerhoff.

And what is significant about the program

I el millor del programa

is that we learned a number of things.

és que hem n'après molt.

And the question is this:

El cas és que ara

How is it that now we lead the country in producing African-Americans

som qui genera més doctorats afroamericans

who go on to complete Ph.D.'s in science and engineering and M.D./Ph.D.'s?

del país en ciència, enginyeria i medicina.

That's a big deal. Give me a hand for that. That's a big deal.

És tot un mèrit. Aplaudiu. És tot un mèrit.

That's a big deal. It really is.

De debò que ho és.

(Applause)

[aplaudiments]

You see, most people don't realize

La majoria de gent no s'adona que

that it's not just minorities who don't do well in science and engineering.

no només les minories tenen problemes amb la ciència i l'enginyeria.

Quite frankly, you're talking about Americans.

Parlem dels nord-americans.

If you don't know it, while 20 percent of blacks and Hispanics

Mentre que un 20% dels negres i dels hispans

who begin with a major in science and engineering

que estudien ciències i enginyeries

will actually graduate in science and engineering,

es graduaran de debò,

only 32 percent of whites who begin with majors in those areas

només un 32% dels blancs que estudien el mateix

actually succeed and graduate in those areas,

aconsegueixen graduar-se

and only 42 percent of Asian-Americans.

i només un 42% dels asioamericans.

And so, the real question is, what is the challenge?

Llavors, quin és el repte real?

Well a part of it, of course, is K-12.

Evidentment, d'una banda

We need to strengthen K-12.

hem de reforçar l'escola i l'institut.

But the other part has to do with the culture

De l'altra hi ha l'enfocament

of science and engineering on our campuses.

de la ciència i l'enginyeria en els campus.

Whether you know it or not, large numbers of students with high SAT's

Potser no sabeu que molts estudiants amb notes elevades

and large numbers of A.P. credits

de selectivitat i competències

who go to the most prestigious universities in our country

que van a les universitats més prestigioses del país

begin in pre-med or pre-engineering and engineering, and they end up changing their majors.

i comencen medicina o una enginyeria, s'acaben canviant d'estudis.

And the number one reason, we find, quite frankly,

I la raó principal és que

is they did not do well in first year science courses.

els exàmens del primer any no els van anar bé.

In fact, we call first year science and engineering, typically around America,

De fet, als EUA anomenem el primer any d'aquests estudis

weed-out courses or barrier courses.

filtre o curs barrera.

How many of you in this audience know somebody

Quants de vosaltres coneixeu

who started off in pre-med or engineering

algú que va començar medicina o enginyeria

and changed their major within a year or two?

i es va canviar els primers anys?

It's an American challenge. Half of you in the room.

És tot un repte. Sou la meitat.

I know. I know. I know.

Ho sé, ho sé.

And what is interesting about that

I el més interessant és que

is that so many students are smart and can do it.

molts d'ells són llestos i capaços de fer-ho.

We need to find ways of making it happen.

Hem de trobar com ajudar-los.

So what are the four things we did to help minority students

I quines 4 coses vam fer per ajudar les minories

that now are helping students in general?

i ara fem per a tots els estudiants?

Number one: high expectations.

Número 1: altes expectatives.

It takes an understanding of the academic preparation of students --

Hem d'entendre com es preparen els estudiants

their grades, the rigor of the course work,

(notes, nivell d'exigència,

their test-taking skills, their attitude,

habilitats en exàmens, actitud,

the fire in their belly, the passion for the work, to make it.

la passió i les ganes de treballar)

And so doing things to help students prepare to be in that position, very important.

i així els podrem ajudar a aconseguir el seu objectiu. Important.

But equally important, it takes an understanding that it's hard work that makes the difference.

Però, a més, hem d'entendre que cal treballar per canviar les coses.

I don't care how smart you are or how smart you think you are.

No m'importa que siguis molt llest o que t'ho creguis.

Smart simply means you're ready to learn.

Ser llest vol dir estar a punt per aprendre,

You're excited about learning and you want to ask good questions.

tenir ganes d'aprendre i de fer bones preguntes.

I. I. Rabi, a Nobel laureate, said that when he was growing up in New York,

El premi Nobel I. I. Rabi va dir que quan era petit

all of his friends' parents would ask them

els pares dels seus amics els preguntaven:

"What did you learn in school?" at the end of a day.

"Què has après avui a l'escola?"

And he said, in contrast, his Jewish mother would say,

En canvi, la seva mare, jueva, deia:

"Izzy, did you ask a good question today?"

"Izzy, has fet una bona pregunta avui?"

And so high expectations have to do with curiosity

Perquè les altes expectatives i la curiositat van unides

and encouraging young people to be curious.

i s'ha d'animar els joves a ser curiosos.

And as a result of those high expectations,

I a causa de les altes expectatives

we began to find students we wanted to work with

vam trobar estudiants amb qui treballar

to see what could we do to help them,

per veure com els podríem ajudar,

not simply to survive in science and engineering,

no per sobreviure i prou,

but to become the very best, to excel.

sinó per ser els millors, per destacar.

Interestingly enough, an example:

Hi va haver un cas interessant.

One young man who earned a C in the first course and wanted to go on to med school,

Un alumne que volia fer medicina va aprovar just el primer curs.

we said, "We need to have you retake the course,

Li vam dir: "Hauràs de repetir

because you need a strong foundation if you're going to move to the next level."

perquè necessites una base sòlida si vols avançar."

Every foundation makes the difference in the next level.

Cada curs és una base per al següent.

He retook the course.

Va repetir el curs.

That young man went on to graduate from UMBC,

Aquell alumne es va graduar a la UMBC

to become the first black to get the M.D./Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.

i va ser el primer doctorat negre per la Universitat de Pennsylvania.

He now works at Harvard.

Avui treballa a Harvard.

Nice story. Give him a hand for that too.

No és bonic? Un aplaudiment per a ell.

(Applause)

[aplaudiments]

Secondly, it's not about test scores only.

D'altra banda, les notes no ho són tot.

Test scores are important, but they're not the most important thing.

Els exàmens són importants, però no el més important.

One young woman had great grades, but test scores were not as high.

Una alumna tenia molt bones notes, però en els exàmens no tant.

But she had a factor that was very important.

Però hi havia un factor molt important;

She never missed a day of school, K-12.

no va faltar cap dia a l'escola.

There was fire in that belly.

Tenia passió.

That young woman went on, and she is today with an M.D./Ph.D. from Hopkins.

I ara té un doctorat en medicina de Hopkins.

She's on the faculty, tenure track in psychiatry, Ph.D. in neuroscience.

ës professora de psiquiatria a la facultat i doctora en neurociència.

She and her adviser have a patent on a second use of Viagra for diabetes patients.

Té una patent amb el seu tutor per un ús de la Viagra per a diabètics.

Big hand for her. Big hand for her.

Un gran aplaudiment per a ella.

(Applause)

[aplaudiments]

And so high expectations, very important.

Per això són importants les expectatives.

Secondly, the idea of building community among the students.

Número 2: construir una comunitat d'estudiants.

You all know that so often in science and engineering

Sabeu que en ciència i enginyeria

we tend to think cutthroat.

hi sol haver competència.

Students are not taught to work in groups.

No s'ensenya a treballar en grup.

And that's what we work to do with that group

I això és el que volem canviar

to get them to understand each other,

perquè s'entenguin entre ells,

to build trust among them, to support each other,

perquè confiïn en els altres i s'ajudin,

to learn how to ask good questions,

per aprendre a fer bones preguntes

but also to learn how to explain concepts with clarity.

i per aprendre a explicar conceptes amb claredat.

As you know, it's one thing to earn an A yourself,

Ja sabeu que és diferent treure un excel·lent

it's another thing to help someone else do well.

que ajudar algú a que avanci.

And so to feel that sense of responsibility makes all the difference in the world.

I sentir aquesta responsabilitat és un punt clau.

So building community among those students, very important.

Per això és important crear una comunitat.

Third, the idea of, it takes researchers to produce researchers.

Número 3: calen investigadors per formar investigadors.

Whether you're talking about artists producing artists

Ja siguin artistes que formen artistes

or you're talking about people getting into the social sciences,

o siguin alumnes de ciències socials,

whatever the discipline -- and especially in science and engineering, as in art, for example --

sigui quina sigui la disciplina; en una ciència o enginyeria

you need scientists to pull the students into the work.

calen científics o enginyers com a formadors.

And so our students are working in labs regularly.

Per això els nostres alumnes van sovint al laboratori.

And one great example that you'll appreciate:

En tinc un exemple molt bo.

During a snowstorm in Baltimore several years ago,

Durant una tempesta de neu a Baltimore, fa uns anys,

the guy on our campus with this Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant

un home del campus amb una beca de l'Institut Mèdic Howard Hughes

literally came back to work in his lab after several days,

va tornar al laboratori després d'uns dies

and all these students had refused to leave the lab.

i els estudiants no volien sortir-ne.

They had food they had packed out.

S'havien proveït de menjar.

They were in the lab working,

Treballaven al laboratori

and they saw the work, not as schoolwork, but as their lives.

i veien la feina, no com a deures, sinó com la seva vida.

They knew they were working on AIDS research.

Treballant en recerca sobre la SIDA.

They were looking at this amazing protein design.

Estaven estudiant una proteïna impressionant.

And what was interesting was each one of them focused on that work.

I tots estaven concentrats en la feina.

And he said, "It doesn't get any better than that."

No es pot demanar més.

And then finally, if you've got the community

I número 4: quan teniu la comunitat

and you've got the high expectations and you've got researchers producing researchers,

les altes expectatives i els investigadors formant investigadors,

you have to have people who are willing as faculty

necessites personal a la facultat

to get involved with those students, even in the classroom.

disposat a involucrar-se dins i fora de l'aula.

I'll never forget a faculty member calling the staff and saying,

Mai no oblidaré aquell que va convocar una reunió:

"I've got this young man in class, a young black guy,

"Hi ha un noi negre a classe

and he seems like he's just not excited about the work.

que sembla que no li interessa el que fem.

He's not taking notes. We need to talk to him."

No pren apunts. Hem de parlar amb ell."

What was significant was that the faculty member was observing every student

L'important és que es fixava en cada estudiant

to understand who was really involved and who was not

per veure qui s'implicava i qui no

and was saying, "Let me see how I can work with them.

i deia: "A veure què hi puc fer.

Let me get the staff to help me out."

Deixa'm parlar-ho amb els altres."

It was that connecting.

Era molt proper.

That young man today is actually a faculty member M.D./Ph.D. in neuroengineering at Duke.

Aquell jove avui és doctor en neuroenginyeria a Duke.

Give him a big hand for that.

Un gran aplaudiment per a ell.

(Applause)

[aplaudiments]

And so the significance is that we have now developed this model

L'important és que hem desenvolupat un model

that is helping us, not only finally with evaluation, assessing what works.

que ens ajuda a saber què funciona no només amb una avaluació final.

And what we learned was that we needed to think about redesigning courses.

Hem après que hem de redissenyar els plans d'estudis.

And so we redesigned chemistry, we redesigned physics.

Ja hem redissenyat el de química i el de física.

But now we are looking at redesigning the humanities and social sciences.

Ara estem estudiant els d'humanitats i de ciències socials

Because so many students are bored in class.

perquè molts estudiants s'avorreixen a classe.

Do you know that?

Sabíeu que

Many students, K-12 and in universities,

molts estudiants, a l'escola i a la universitat,

don't want to just sit there and listen to somebody talk.

no volen només seure i escoltar algú que parla.

They need to be engaged.

Necessiten motivació.

And so we have done -- if you look at our website at the Chemistry Discovery Center,

I els l'estem donant. Si mireu el lloc web del nostre Centre de Descobriment de la Química

you'll see people coming from all over the country

hi trobareu gent que ve de tot el país

to look at how we are redesigning courses,

a veure com estem redissenyant els plans,

having an emphasis on collaboration, use of technology,

centrant-nos en la col·laboració, l'ús de tecnologia,

using problems out of our biotech companies on our campus,

l'ús de problemes de les empreses biotecnològiques del campus,

and not giving students the theories,

i no donant la teoria als estudiants,

but having them struggle with those theories.

sinó fent que s'hi barallin.

And it's working so well that throughout our university system in Maryland,

I funciona tan bé que a la universitat estem redissenyant

more and more courses are being redesigned.

més i més plans d'estudis.

It's called academic innovation.

S'anomena <i>innovació acadèmica</i>.

And what does all of that mean?

I què significa tot això?

It means that now, not just in science and engineering,

Significa que ara, no és només per ciència i enginyeria,

we now have programs in the arts, in the humanities, in the social sciences,

sinó que tenim programes per a les arts, les humanitats i les ciències socials,

in teacher education, even particularly for women in I.T.

per a formació de professorat i especialment per a dones i les TIC.

If you don't know it, there's been a 79-percent decline

Si no ho sabeu, hi ha hagut un descens d'un 79%

in the number of women majoring in computer science just since 2000.

en el nombre de dones que estudien ciències informàtiques des de 2000.

And what I'm saying is that what will make the difference

El que vull dir és que el que pot suposar un canvi

will be building community among students,

és crear una comunitat d'alumnes

telling young women, young minority students and students in general,

i dir a les minories, a les dones i a tots els estudiants:

you can do this work.

"Pots fer-ho."

And most important, giving them a chance to build that community

I, sobretot, donar-los l'oportunitat de fer comunitat,

with faculty pulling them into the work

amb els professors motivant-los

and our assessing what works and what does not work.

i nosaltres valorant què funciona i què no.

Most important, if a student has a sense of self,

I si un estudiant és conscient del que vol,

it is amazing how the dreams and the values

és sorprenent com els somnis i els valors

can make all the difference in the world.

poden aconseguir-ho tot.

When I was a 12-year-old child in the jail in Birmingham,

Quan era a la presó de Birmingham amb 12 anys

I kept thinking, "I wonder what my future could be."

pensava: "Com serà el meu futur?"

I had no idea that it was possible for this little black boy in Birmingham

No sabia que un nen negre de Birmingham

to one day be president of a university that has students from 150 countries,

podia arribar a ser president d'una universitat amb estudiants de 150 països

where students are not there just to survive,

on els estudiants no només sobrevivien,

where they love learning, where they enjoy being the best,

sinó que volien aprendre i els agradava ser els millors,

where they will one day change the world.

on algun dia canviarien el món.

Aristotle said, "Excellence is never an accident.

Aristòtil va dir: "L'excel·lència mai no és casual.

It is the result of high intention, sincere effort and intelligent execution.

És el resultat de la intenció, l'esforç i l'execució intel·ligent.

It represents the wisest option among many alternatives."

Representa l'opció més sàvia entre moltes alternatives."

And then he said something that gives me goosebumps.

I va dir una cosa que em posa la pell de gallina.

He said, "Choice, not chance, determines your destiny."

"L'elecció, no l'atzar, determina el teu destí."

Choice, not chance, determines your destiny, dreams and values.

L'elecció, no l'atzar, determina el teu destí, els somnis i els valors.

Thank you all very much.

Moltes gràcies.

(Applause)

[aplaudiments]