General Education Task Force IA Brief Review of General Education

Models and ProgramsSpring 2013

Committee Members: Renata Gangemi, Romulo Magnaye, Robert Mentore, Paula Straile-Costa, Ashwani Vasishth, and Samantha Wittenberg

Caveat

• Our review is cursory at best, given the time constraints

• We limited our review to the level of categories, and did NOT drill down to the course level

• Our work should be the start of a process of exploration, not the end of it

Purpose of General Education(K. Waltzer, 2000)

• To become broadly educated (beyond the high school level)

• To begin to develop intellectual and moral imagination

• To become acquainted with different ways of knowing

• To increase capacities to think critically and independently

• To prepare for upper-level work in the disciplines• To develop capacities generally useful to life and

freedom, independent learning, and citizenship

Orientation

• There are two broad courses open to Ramapo College, in considering its General Education Curriculum:1. Build on our existing structure, and strengthen it2. Erect a new structure entirely

Best Practices(retrieved from University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse General Education Committee website: http://www.uwlax.edu/gened/Committee.htm)

• Whichever course we choose to take, we recommend the following:1. Intentional (alignment among goals, outcomes,

actions, results)2. Based on institution’s mission and broad goals3. Outcome based (curriculum, pedagogy, assessment

derived from expected outcomes)4. Receives institutional support in terms of student

learning, resource allocation, and faculty reward structure

Best Practices Continued

5. Faculty generated and with faculty endorsement and commitment (regular input from the faculty)

6. Integrated into the major or student’s program of study (across the baccalaureate degree)

7. Focuses on development of life-long learning and developing knowledge, skills and dispositions for participation as a citizen (in a democracy and globally)

8. Emphasis on integration or making connections across courses/disciplines

Best Practices Continued

9. Is viewed as one piece of a liberal education, not the totality of a liberal education10.Best faculty teach in the program11. Based on active learning12. Assessment is integral to the program

(embedded assessment & programmatic assessment)

13. Accountability for student learning

Existing Gen Ed Model

• Core Courses:– First-Year Seminar– Critical Reading and Writing II– Readings in the Humanities– Social Issues or Perspectives in Business in Society

Existing Gen Ed Model Continued

• Distribution Categories:– History– Mathematical Reasoning– Science with Experiential– Intercultural North America– International Issues– Topics: Arts and Humanities or Social Sciences

Existing Gen Ed Model Continued

• http://www.ramapo.edu/provost/ce-resources/

• http://ww2.ramapo.edu/facultystaff/fa/gecco/reports/Gen-Ed-SLOs-CurriculumMap.doc

Classic Gen Ed Models(R.R. Newton, 2000)

• Great Books– liberal arts colleges

• Scholarly Discipline– Research-oriented universities

• Effective Citizen– institutions with client-centered/public mission orientation

Classic Gen Ed Models(R.R. Newton, 2000)

ModelGreat Books Scholarly

DisciplineEffective Citizen

Key Insight Perennial human questions

Accumulated wisdom and ways of understanding the world

Service to a self-reforming democracy

Curriculum Unified historical review of responses in Western tradition

Key concepts and methods to be pieced together by students as a mosaic of disciplines

Knowledge and skills to prepare students for a modern society

Orientation Looks to past enduring ideas

Understanding intellectual treasures and methods

Develops tools and commitment

Faculty Broadly educated generalist

Disciplinary experts

Specialists educating non-specialist students

Core & Fluid Models(K. Waltzer, 2000)

• Fluid-distribution requirement or set of requirements• Core-pre-designed required course or sequence of courses;

emphasis on inter-relatedness of knowledge MODEL

Fluid Core

Key feature Distribution or set of requirements

Pre-designed sequence of courses

Curriculum Expose students to many disciplines

Expose students to a specific tradition or content

Faculty Easy to organize Difficult to organize

Integration Dependent upon advising – a weak link

Built into the curriculum through design

Culture of choice

Satisfied for students Not satisfied for students

Olivet College– Christian affiliation, in south central Michigan– Vision: Education for Individual and Social Responsibility– Liberal Arts Core curriculum (8 semesters) provides common learning

and shared experiences leading to a Portfolio

Liberal Arts Core Curriculum Requirements(41-43 credit hours)

Seminar (up to 8 credits, 1 credit per semester)

Writing & Rhetoric I &

II

Self & Community

Civilization Studies

PORTFOLIOCreative Experience

Natural World

Global Diversity

Mathematics Service Learning

Senior Experience

Amherst College– Only 1 requirement: first year seminar

• Inquiry-based introduction to– Critical thinking– Active learning– Writing

• Otherwise, an open curriculum– Leads to gaps in learning after increasing student diversity– New proposals by Committee on Academic Priorities

• Add 2 more intensive writing courses• Add 2.5 new courses for quantitative literacy• Provide more direction through academic advising

The College of New JerseyLiberal Learning (revised in 2002) – educating students for citizenship in a modern democracyGoal 1 - Intellectual and Scholarly Growth, FYS, Writing, Second LanguageGoal 2 - Civic Responsibilities – Global, race/ethnicity, gender – fulfilled by courses in gen. ed., the major and/or extended experiences*

*Community Engagement Requirement provides students with the opportunity to think critically and inclusively about their society and develop a hands-on understanding of the effects of class, power, and privilege

The College of New Jersey Continued

Goal 3 - Broad Sectors of Human Inquiry – BreadthOption A Choose an interdisciplinary minor or

second majorOption B Design your own interdisciplinary minor or second majorOption C Breadth Distribution – 3 courses in each

Arts and HumanitiesSocial Sciences and HistoryNatural Science and Quantitative Reasoning

Evergreen State

• No majors, no general education curriculum, no courses, no grades– Students design an academic pathway, rather than enroll

in a major (workshops are provided, faculty advise)– Programs based on a theme or topic (inter- and multi-

disciplinary) are team-taught by 2 or more faculty members

• Each program is 16 credits and spans 2 or 3 quarters• Each program may consist of lectures, labs, readings, seminars,

field study, studio work, or research projects• Programs are based on a theme and taught from different

perspectives– evaluative narratives are used to assess student learning

St. John’s College– Religiously affiliated liberal arts college with two campuses

located in Annapolis, MD and Santa Fe, NM– No strict distinction between the sciences and the

humanities– Reading list “serves as the core of the […] curriculum”

• First year is devoted to Greek authors• Second year “contains books from the Roman, medieval, and

Renaissance periods”• Third year covers 17th and 18th centuries• Fourth year covers 19th and 20th centuries

Conclusion

• There are many models• Most general education programs do not fall

into one model, but rather are hybrids• The key is constant communication between

Task Force II and the faculty• 90% of colleges and universities are in some

stage of remodeling their general education programs

ReferencesAmherst College Committee on Academic Priorities (2006). The Committee on

Academic Priorities 2006 (CAP). Retrieved fromhttps://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/dean_faculty/general_information/cap

The Evergreen State College. Academics. Retrieved fromhttp://www.evergreen.edu/academics.htm

Hart Research Associates (2009). Trends and emerging practices in general education. Retrieved from http://www.aacu.org/membership/documents/2009MemberSurvey_Part2.pdf

Olivet College. The Olivet Plan. Retrieved from http://www.olivetcollege.edu/about/olivet_plan.php

Olivet College. Academic overview. Retrieved fromhttp://www.olivetcollege.edu/academics/overview.php

Newton, R.R. (2000). Tensions and models in general education planning, Journal of General Education, 49(3), 165-181.

ReferencesSt. John’s College (2013). Reading list. Retrieved from

http://www.stjohnscollege.edu/academic/readlist.shtml The College of New Jersey. Liberal learning guide. Retrieved from

http://firstreg.pages.tcnj.edu/liberal-learning/University of Wisconsin LaCrosse General Education Committee

(2006). Best practices in general education. Retrieved from http://www.uwlax.edu/gened/Best%20Practices%20in%20General%20Education.doc

Waltzer, K. (2000). General education models: Pros & cons of general education strategies. Retrieved from http://web.ewu.edu/groups/academicaffairs/strategicplanning/GenEdModelsProCon.pdf

Zagari-Marinzoli, R. Advising FAQ for humanities and social sciences students and faculty. Retrieved from http://hss.pages.tcnj.edu/advising-resources/advising-faq-for-hss-faculty-and-students/