Status quo or break what works?

At the graduate school where I work, we are having yet another yearly argument discussion about whether things should change or stay the same. This applies to the successful course I developed and have fine-tuned over the years, the course materials, the textbook, the assignments, the supplemental reading, the use of online technology -- absolutely everything. I know I am being a bit protective of "my baby" (the course) but if you are raising a child and everything is going well, would you start beating the kid just to shake things up a bit?

Part of where this is coming from is some (emphasis on *some*) of the adult learners in the program are not happy with the way the course is run. Some students want more real-world examples. Others think there are too many stories and examples. Others want more written exams (I almost fell out of my chair when I read those comments). Still others want a physical textbook they can hold and feel and bend the pages in. Most want a virtual course with nothing to carry around except some access to the Internet to access the course materials.

One of the wise old Deans who is no longer with us advised me when I first started teaching at the graduate school that I would know things were horribly wrong if every single student in the class loved the class. I never really understood that until I started experiencing the varied perspectives of each individual adult learner. I would have to say that pretty much every adult learner (every learner?) is unique with some common overlaps. I think a good course or a good learning experience is one where each student can hit as many of their preferred learning styles as possible -- whether those elements be a book, website, quiz, or real-world example.

A good learning environment is one that provides enough "stuff" in enough different ways, that pretty much every learner can get something out of it.