the unique minerva curriculum · ©2015–16 minerva project, inc. all rights reserved. proprietary...

Stephen M. Kosslynskosslyn@minerva.kgi.edu

The uniqueMinerva curriculum

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1. Curriculum2. Pedagogy3. Technology4. Metrics

CONTENTS

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Curriculum:

Designed to help

students succeed

Photo: Bob Miller

The only real measure of Minerva’s success is the success of our students.

5. Too Much Material Slides that Work

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A focus onpractical knowledge

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Practical knowledge allows people to adapt to a changing world—it is knowledge that helps people achieve their evolving goals.

It is not pre-professional.It is not vocational.It is broad; preparing students for jobs that don’t even exist yet.

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Four Core Competencies

Personal skills Interpersonal skills

critical thinking

creative thinking

effective communication

effective interaction

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A surprising discovery:

We could not teach these core competencies directly!

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Each core competency is not “one thing”:

Each core competency is in fact a heterogeneous collection of different types of abilities.

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Specific types (examples):

Communicating effectively: writing

clearly, presenting effectively

Thinking creatively: solving problems, facilitating

discovery

Thinking critically: evaluating claims,

weighing decisions

Interacting effectively: negotiating,

working on teams

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Minerva has designed a four-year undergraduate program to develop practical knowledge

intentionally.

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Minerva has focused on how to help students transfer practical knowledge to new contexts, including those that appear very different on the surface.

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Early Twentieth Century:Great Books Programs

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Twenty-first Century:A Great Cognitive Tools Program

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Pedagogy:Based on the science of learning

Photo: Bob Miller

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Fundamental knowledge and skills cannot easily be learned in lectures.

Lectures are a great way to teach, but a terrible way to learn.

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Active learning is vastly superior to lectures

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Active learning requires using information in some way—not just memorizing it.

For example, active learning can occur via debates, group-problem solving, role playing, and guided analysis.

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“The studies analyzed here document that active learning leads to increases in examination performance that would raise average grades by a half a letter, and that failure rates under traditional lecturing increase by 55% over the rates observed under active learning....

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….Finally, the data suggest that STEM instructors may begin to question the continued use of traditional lecturing in everyday practice, especially in light of recent work indicating that active learning confers disproportionate benefits for STEM students from disadvantaged backgrounds and for female students in male-dominated fields...”

Freeman et al. (2014). PNAS.

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The active ingredients in active learning are distilled by the science of learning

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The science of learning:

Two Maxims

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Maxim 1: Think it through

For example, consider what you remember at bedtime about your day. How much of this did you try to remember?

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Maxim 2: Make and use associations

For example, consider how to use associations to learn the names of people you meet.

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Active learning is effective because it draws on these underlying principles.Our seminars are designed to lead students to think through and organize material.

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The science of learning informs not just Minerva’s pedagogy: It also underlies the structure of the curriculum.

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The curriculum is scaffolded in order to draw on these principles.

Scaffolding: We lead students to build on what came before:

• supports are gradually removed

• information is cumulative

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Electives

Third and Fourth Years

Capstone and tutorials

focus on the future

Major(s)

Second-Year

Broad, interdisciplinary,

forward-looking majors

General Education

First-Year

Integrated program to

provide general foundations

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A fully integrated program:Each year builds on the previous ones.

Technology:

Centered on

novel seminars

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Face-to-face, synchronous seminars with fully active (not semi-active) learningenhanced teachingmetric-based learning

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A video

Metrics:

Identifying areas for

improvement, tracking success

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Four metrics

surveysrubricsCLA+

employer feedback

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CLA + Results: Class of 2020

Percentiles: Fall: 78 Spring: 99 +21

Compared to Seniors at other institutions

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Select First-year Internships

Apple iAd Data

Analyst Intern

Uber Eats Product

Intern

Yahoo! Software

Engineering Intern

Amazon Software

Engineering Intern

Dalberg Global

Development Intern

Aneesh Chopra

Data Analysis Intern

500 Startups

Business

Development Intern

Learn Capital

Portfolio Company

Team Intern

Fujitsu

Laboratories

Intern

Stanford d.school

School Retool

Intern

ZhenFund

Operations Team

Intern

Caltech Summer

Undergraduate

Research Fellow

Humanity in Action

Summer Fellowship

Santa Fe Institute

Research Intern

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Source: 2016 Professional Development Agency placement data

87%of first-year students secured

meaningful research positions

and internships

Source: 2016 Minerva survey of undergraduate interns

90%of their managers said they

performed above the level

expected of undergraduates

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1. Curriculum2. Pedagogy3. Technology4. Metrics

CONTENTS

Stephen M. Kosslynskosslyn@minerva.kgi.edu

The uniqueMinerva curriculum

Stephen M. Kosslynskosslyn@minerva.kgi.edu

Thank you.