Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ The Five Tool Scholar (Reprised)

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

The five tools, according to Frederick Hess, are "disciplinary scholarship, policy analysis and popular writing, convening and shepherding collaborations, providing incisive commentary, and speaking in the public square." They compare to baseball's five tools: "a player who can run, field, throw, hit, and hit with power." But the only important things in baseball are (a) winning ball games, and (b) putting fans in the seats. The rest is for the baseball nerds (like me). I think Hess's list is similarly weak. In scholarship, what matters is (a) advancing knowledge, and (b) making people's lives better. The rest is for pundits and fans of inside baseball. (Note: this is a recycling of a similarly titled article from 2017)

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
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Last Updated: Nov 21, 2024 08:43 a.m.

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