managing general education to cultivate leadership · 2018-11-28 · liberal education and general...
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Managing General Education to Cultivate Leadership
Leung Mei Yee
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Nov 2018
Liberal Education and General Education
Liberal education, Liberal arts education, or General education?
Three interchanging concepts leading to confusion
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Liberal education
• Ideal of/ Approach to learning
Liberal arts education
• a Roman-Renaissance curriculum model based mainly on seven liberal-arts
General education
• a curriculum concept emerged when modern universities broke away from the seven liberal-arts model, which tried to remedy the flaws of the electives and concentration system (Leung Mei Yee, 2013)
Liberal Education
Liberal education as an education ideal goes back to the Greeks
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“Liberal Education was to be liberating, requiring freedom to
study and aiming at freedom through understanding.”
Roth, 2014
Liberal Education and General Education
Definition of liberal education according to American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)
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“Liberal Education is an approach to learning that empowers individuals and prepares them to deal with complexity, diversity, and change…
It helps students develop a sense of social responsibility; strong intellectual and practical skills that span all major fields of study, such as communication, analytical, and problem-solving skills; and the demonstrated ability to apply knowledge and skills in real-world settings.”
https://www.aacu.org/leap/what-is-a-liberal-education , retrieved on 5 Nov 2018
Liberal Education and General Education
General education is
that part of a liberal education curriculum that is shared by all students
provides broad exposure to multiple disciplines
forms the basis for developing essential intellectual, civic, and practical capacities
can take many forms5
“It provides students with broad knowledge of the wider world (e.g. science, culture, and society) as well as in-depth study in a specific area of interest…”
https://www.aacu.org/leap/what-is-a-liberal-education , retrieved on 5 Nov 2018
Management or Leadership in GE?
Education management :
perspectives, models, concepts and theories borrowed from industry and commerce
Good management of a unit should have
Clear objectives set
Resources allocated
Performance of the unit monitored
Accountability for its performance and its use of funds
Bell, cited by Bush T. (2008)
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Management or Leadership
Reality of General Education
Existence of a designated management unit is not guaranteed
Unitary set of objectives contested or neglected
Allocation of resources insecure
Assessment of educational outcomes problematic
Not a single process of accountability but multiple, or even conflicting accountabilities
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Management of General Education
Reality of General Education
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Management• Maintain efficiently and effectively
current arrangements• Plan and organize financial
resources• Plan and organize human resources• Control and solve problem
Leadership• Shape the goals• Initiate change to reach existing and
new goals• Build team, motivate members• Influence stakeholders’ actions to
achieve desirable ends
Leadership to Create Good Management
Initiating Change
Reforming the most adopted model: distribution requirement
The many problems spawned by the model:
Fragmentation of the curriculum
Unclear educational rationale
Absence of central administration or supervision
Lack of commitment from the faculty
No systematic training of capacities
No built-in requirement of integration of ideas and application of learning
P.L. Gaston & J.G. Gaff, 2009 9
Leadership to Create Good Management
Initiating Change - Reforming distribution requirement
Possible remedies: Rearticulate the rationale of the curriculum Establish central administration or supervision unit, or Redefine its roles Revamp incentive structure for faculty and/or Building community of practice Define desired characteristics of GE courses which put emphasis in capacity
building Introducing new elements in the curriculum to enhance integration and/or
application
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Initiating Change in CUHK (2002-2003)
Objectives Rearticulated To provide broad intellectual perspective and to instil an understanding of the
values of different academic disciplines To develop sensitivity to the common concerns of human existence especially
from the perspective of Chinese culture To help students develop their own judgment and sense of values To cultivate awareness of the connections among different fields of
knowledge; to develop the potentiality for integrating different fields of knowledge as needed
To equip students with life-long learning capacities especially through understanding of the connections between academic pursuits and life experience
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Initiating Change in CUHK (2002-2003)
Desired Characteristics Defined
Emphasize intellectual content rather than practical skills
Give an overall perspective of the basic academic framework, concept and methodology
Relate the subject to human experience and modern life
Encourage self-discovery and self-expression
Provide content & intellectual depth expected of credit-bearing university courses at the same level
Preferably adopt an interdisciplinary approach
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Initiating Change in CUHK (2002-2003)
Distribution Requirement Restructured
Four areas of human intellectual concerns
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Area AChinese Cultural Heritage
Area B Nature,
Science & Technology
Area CSociety
& Culture
Area DSelf &
Humanity
Initiating Change in CUHK (2002-2003)
Structure and roles of administration and supervision unit redefined
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Initiating Change in CUHK (2002-2003)
Quality Assured by Standing Committee
Make recommendation for the approval of new GE courses
Carry out regular review to revalidate the status of a GE course
Assure that all GE courses
Meet GE objectives
Match GE desired characteristics
Fit in with the Area specifications
The Office of University GE as an administrative arm to support the Standing Committee and the SCGE
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Further Change to Cultivate Leadership (2012-present)
Introducing Core Elements in GE to Empower Learners
Education reform in HK: from 3 years to 4 years starting from 2012
Common foundation program required of all first year student
Two courses mainly delivered in small class of 25 students
Student-centered active learning: reading, writing, and discussion
Reading of selections of classics and intensive in-class discussion on big questions
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I. Self and Human
Capacity
自我與人的潛
能
II. Faith and Human Limitation
信仰與人的限制
III. Self in Social
Institutions建制中的自我
In Dialogue with Humanity
與人文對話
In Dialogue with Nature
與自然對話
I. Physical Universe
物理世界
II. World of Life
生命世界
III.Reflection on Under-standing
反思科學探索
Plato: Republic
(~423 –347 BCE)
Lindberg: The Beginnings of Western
Science
(Aristotle’s philosophy)
(1935-2015)
Newton: The Principia
(1642–1727)
Cohen: The Birth of a New
Physics (1914–2003)
Darwin: On the Origin of Species
(1809-1882)
Watson: DNA: The Secret of Life
(1928—)Carson: Silent Spring
(1907-1964)
Poincaré: Science and Method
(1854-1912)
Kandel: In Search of Memory
(1929—)
Needham: The Shorter Science
and Civilization in China
(1900-1995)
Sivin: Why the Scientific
Revolution Did Not Take Place
in China—or Didn’t It?
(1931—)
沈括:《夢溪筆談》(1031-1095)
Dunham: The Mathematical Universe
(1947—)
Student Empowerment
Dialogue with the original texts first handed
fearlessness before difficult texts
Dialogue with teachers and fellow students
community of learners
Classics serve as guides to think through important & lasting questions instead of uncontested authority
Eye opening on different cultures, value systems and approaches to human life and nature
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Empowering Teacher
Building Community of Practice
Full Launch in 2nd term 2012-13:
Teaching team: 28 lecturers
Sections offered: about 150
Student population: 3500+
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Mini-conference
Summer institute
In-house talk
Reading group
Empowering Teacher
Teacher Development
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Teacher Leadership in Creating Learning Support
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Study questions
Outline
Textbooks Reading GuidesMobile Apps
Focus questions and background
Teacher Leadership in Creating Learning Support
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Micro-modules White-board animation
Teacher Leadership in Exploring Other Form of Learning
Online discussion
PlayGame
Course Grade Point(4 point scale)
3.07 3.36*
cGPA before studying this course
3.06 3.08
Texts read completely(out of 11 texts)
7.08 7.73
Lecture attended 60% 69.5%
Digital Based Game Learning
Teacher Leadership in Exploring Other Form of Learning
Teaching through roof top farming
Student Feedback“It helped to reflect on the relationship between human and the nature, and the role of human being in nature.”
“It was relevant to the topics of herbicides and evolution. It helped me better understand the authors’ points of view.”
“A hand-on experience to ‘feel’ the lives in nature, not just read the knowledge in books.”
Teacher Leadership in Exploring Other Form of Learning
Peer Assisted Study Sessions
• Voluntary group study sessions led by “PASS Leaders”
• Teachers trained as PASS administrators
• Recruit and train PASS leaders
• Lead students work together in a relaxed and supportive learning environment
Teacher Leadership in Exploring Other Form of Learning
Peer Assisted Study Sessions
Student Feedback
• “I think if it had not been for PASS, I would never be able to participate in the discussion [in the tutorial] […] I was able to have the courage to discuss using viewpoints that I understand, the courage to tell other classmates [these viewpoints].”
• “the discussion in tutorial and in PASS are different. [...] in PASS […] people were debating over two different viewpoints. The debates could last very long and could stimulate more thinking.”
Lecture
Reading
PASS
Seminar discussion
Teacher Leadership in T&L Scholarship
IEO research Entry and Exit surveys to measure students
self-efficacies and opinions before and after taking the dialogue courses.
Information used in parallel with students’ background, engagement, academic grades, and focus group transcripts.
Holistic understanding of students to determine the effectiveness of the programme
Hints on how to improve our teaching or to design supplementary materials
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ENTRY
EXIT
Teacher Leadership in T&L Scholarship
IEO research
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Factor analysis by high school science background
00.20.40.60.8
11.21.4
Self-efficacy on the Reflection on Good Life andGood Society
Appreciation of Diversity
Academic Performance
Self-efficacy on Critical Thinking andCommunication Skills
Appreciation of Science
Self-efficacy on Science
0 Science Subjects taken
1 Science Subjects taken
2 Science Subjects taken
3 or Above Science Subjects taken
2016/17 - Factor Changes
Teacher Leadership in T&L Scholarship
IEO research
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Correlation Relationship of Background/ Environment& Effort Variables on Outcomes
Student Leadership in Learning
PASS Leaders
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Before a session• Take the initiative to design and
plan a session, e.g. During a session• Facilitate discussions in PASS with
skillful questioning techniques• Work with participants with diverse
needs and different personalitiesAfter a session• Review performance and discuss
with teacher strategy to improve
Student Seminar and Best Essay Award
Student Leadership in Learning
Supporting Student Initiatives
Summer Camps with reading, discussion and reflection
Reading groups
Publication
Movie sharing
Organization of series of talk
Art Exhibition
Managing GE is …
Articulating rationale
Establishing structure
Creating mechanism
Building communities
Empowering stakeholders
Cultivating Leadership
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Bush T. (2008). From management to leadership. Semantic or meaningful change? Educational Management, Administration and leadership. 36(2). Pp 271-288
Gaston P.L. and J.G. Gaff (2009) Revising general education—and avoiding the potholes. Washington: Association of American Colleges and Universities.
Leung, M. Y. (2013) From Liberal Education to General Education: Change and Continuity in the Philosophy of University Education, in Xing J., Ng P. Cheng C. (ed.) General education and the development of global citizenship in Hong Kong, London, New York: Routledge, 46-59.
Roth M.S. (2014) Beyond the university. Why liberal education matters. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.
Zai III R. (2015) Reframing General Education. The Journal of General Education. 64(3) pp196-217.
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References