General Education Essentials: A Guide for College Faculty

✍ Scribed by Paul Hanstedt

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2024
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 205
• Edition: 2
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Supplying an insightful introduction to current trends in general education reform, this second edition of General Education Essentials: A Guide for College Faculty gives an important, timely overview of general education curricular design. General education curricula provide students with the intellectual flexibility they need to adapt thoughtfully and productively to the rapid changes of the workplace and the world at large. This book offers methods for engaging in curricular reform efforts that support university culture and teachers and examines the implications of general education reform in the classroom, with a keen eye toward syllabi, course content, and student work. By expertly blending theory with curricular ideas for implementation, this text offers an impactful illustration of the shift from distributive to integrative to high impact models of general education. Featuring plentiful examples from a variety of fields and disciplines, this book is essential reading for any higher education faculty member tasked with equipping students with the skills they need to become perceptive scholars and productive citizens. Paul Hanstedt is a professor of English and Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Innovation at the University of Minnesota Rochester, USA.

✦ Table of Contents

Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Foreword
About the Author
Preface
General Education and Its Relation to the Major
Goals, Objectives, Learning Outcomes, and Related Matters
Acknowledgments
Part I The Big Picture
1 Gen Ed 2.0: Integrative Models
Gen Ed 1.0: The Distribution Model
Gen Ed 2.0: Integrative Models
The Reasoning Behind Integrative Models
Our Wicked World
The Complexity of Our Students’ Lives
The Changing Nature of the Workplace
The Challenges of Citizenship in Today’s World
Equity in Education
Some Examples of Integrative Structures
Three Curricular Structures
The Core-Distributional Structure
The Strands Structure
The Pathways Structure
Institutional Models
Portland State University, Portland, Oregon
Connecticut College
Rollins College
Conclusion
2 Gen Ed 3.0: High Impact Models
Some Examples of High Impact Driven Models
Wagner College, Staten Island, New York
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Massachusetts
Drury University
University College, University of Groningen
Conclusion
Part II General Education at the Course Level
3 Designing Effective General Education Courses
The Course Continuum
Major Courses as General Education Courses: A Cautionary Tale
4 How the Purposes of General Education Can Reshape a Course
Example #1: A Major Course Revised Into an Integrative General Education Course (British Literature)
Example #1.5: General Education and Course Structure (British Literature—Again)
Examples #2 and #3: General Education and Course Structure, Continued (Physics and Biology)
Examples #4 and #5: A Dual-Purpose Course Redesigned as a General Education Course (Sociology)
Examples #6 and #7: Redesigning a General Education Service Course (Statistics)
Part III General Education at the Assignment Level
5 Designing Appropriate Assignments for General Education
Creating a More Productive Rhetorical Situation
Considering Some Alternatives
Further Examples
Mathematics and the Natural Sciences
Breaking the Mold
Part IV Structuring an Effective Revision Process
6 Leading Gen Ed Conversations: An Overview and the Early Stages
Overview
Keep the Focus On the Students
Allow This to Be an Intellectual Conversation
Assume a Gracious Audience
Keep in Mind That You Are Merely the Shepherd
Think Long Term, Even Early in the Process
Bring the Students Into the Conversation Sooner Rather Than Later
Structure Your Revision Process in Manner That Allows Participants to Draw Upon Their Most Engaged and Productive Selves
Some Final Thoughts …
Step 1: The Pre-Conversation, Or, The Conversation About Whether Or Not We Need to Have a Conversation
Is a Revision Necessary? And How Do We Know?
Scenario 1: Institutional Data That Indicates a Need for Change
Scenario 2: The Sense That the Curriculum Might Be Outdated
Scenario 3: An Outside Body Pushing for Change
Closing Thoughts On the Pre-Conversation
Step 2: Considering Our Goals for General Education
Generating Ideas and Outcomes
Refining Ideas and Outcomes
7 Leading Gen Ed Conversations: Developing Curricular Models
Step 3: Model Ideation
Shenandoah University
Roanoke College
Washington and Lee University
Step 4: Narrowing and Refining
Narrowing
Refining
The Final Model
8 Leading Gen Ed Conversations: Deciding On and Implementing a New Model
Step 5: Coming to a Consensus
How, When, and In What Context Will a Decision Be Made?
What Is Being Voted On?
What Happens If the Proposed Model Doesn’t Pass?
Who Gets to Vote? Who Gets to Speak? Who Should Speak?
Will Amendments Or Other Suggested Changes Be Allowed?
Step 6: Implementation
General Education Administration
Course Development and Approval
Rollout and Sustainability
9 Creating Meaningful Assessment of General Education
We Need to Assess What Really Matters to Us
Assessment Works Best When It Focuses On Quality Enhancement as Opposed to (Just) Quality Assurance
Assessment Should Be Written Into a General Education Program From the Start
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index