the tulane "big idea"
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The Tulane "Big Idea". Quality Enhancement Plan suggestions March 19, 2009. Why Look for “Big Ideas?”. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
QUALITY ENHANCEMENT PLAN SUGGESTIONS
MARCH 19, 2009
The Tulane "Big Idea"
For affirmation of reaccreditation, SACS requires institutions to engage in a broad-based self-study and discovery process to identify and invest in a “big idea” that will enhance student learning at the institution A welcomed opportunity to engage in self-study and
reflection upon what we do best for students and how we can improve upon it
Identifying our strengths and weaknesses in student learning and what we can enhance within that realm
Why Look for “Big Ideas?”
The Quality Enhancement Plan Task Force (chaired by Classical Studies Professor Dennis Kehoe) has been busy at work soliciting your “Big Ideas” for enhancing student learning since last fall
Hard to miss the QEP’s efforts this past semester…
The Process
Website
http://tulane.edu/sacs/qep.cfm
Banner on MyTulane
Big Idea Day
January 28, 2009; Nalty Commons , LBC
Big Idea T-Shirts and Faculty Reception
Big Idea Day
January 28, 2009; 1934 Club, LBC
Big Idea Faculty Reception
World’s Largest
King Cake: “Big”
January 18, 2009; LBC and Quad
An “Only in New Orleans” (and only during Mardi Gras) way to solicit “BIG” Ideas. It was
big….
Preliminary Results
The QEP Task Force has reviewed close to 200 “ideas,” big and small
Identified a significant number of suggestions (big and small) clustering around a common theme:
PURPOSEFUL ENGAGEMENT IN LEARNING
PURPOSEFUL ENGAGEMENT IN LEARNING
Why Purposeful Engagement in Learning?
Engagement: Participation in educationally effective practices, both inside and outside the classroom, which leads to a range of measurable outcomes (Kuh, Kinzie, Buckley, Bridges and Hayek, 2007)
Learning: A comprehensive, holistic, transformative activity that integrates academic learning and student development (Keeling, Learning Reconsidered, 2004)
Students learn more when they are engaged at reasonably high levels in a variety of educationally purposeful activities, inside and outside of the classroom.
(Astin, 1984; Kuh, Douglas, Lund & Ramin-Gyurnek, 1994; Kuh,Schuh, Whitt & Associates, 1991; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991; Tinto,1987)
Why Engagement?
Especially post-Katrina, Tulane’s raison d'être is keyed to engagement Students with high expectations of the institution, the
community and themselves Public Service graduation requirement
The Center for Public Service Urban Build and the City Center The Cowen Institute Community Health Clinics Clinton Global Initiatives-U Environmental and Domestic Violence Law Clinics Levy Rosenblum Institute
Engagement Redux
The time, effort and energy students put into their studies and other educationally purposeful activities
ANDHow the institution deploys its resources and
organizes the curriculum, other learning opportunities and support services to induce students to participate in activities that lead to desired outcomes such as persistence, satisfaction, and scholarly excellence and achievement.
(Kuh, Kinzie, Buckley, Bridges and Hayek, 2007)
Tulane Engaged Learning: Possible Initiatives
Interdisciplinarity: Engaging across Curricular Boundaries
The Teaching Learning Center (T.L.C.): Engaging Teaching & Learning
Total Advising: Engaged Mentorship & Support
Experiential/Participatory Learning & Mentorship: Engaging the World
Undergraduate Research: Engaging with Faculty in Discovery
ENGAGING ACROSS CURRICULAR BOUNDARIES
Interdisciplinarity
Inter-Disciplinarity
Overcoming disciplinary boundaries to address difficult, multifaceted problems and look at the “big picture”
The world and New Orleans face multifaceted problems, among them, the economy, health and education. All demand interdisciplinary approaches and are interrelated.
While post-Katrina Tulane is strong, we cannot do everything. We will be stronger if we work together in sensible ways on focused sensible issues.
Our students will be better prepared if they have some experience with interdisciplinary programs, learning with experts with broad expertise.
We will benefit by connecting alumni (and friends of Tulane) from different fields with different expertise and outlooks using Web 2.0 technology creatively.
A Sampling of Interdisciplinarity at Tulane
Team-taught courses by faculty from different departments and schools (Honors Colloquia).
Music Professor Tae Hong Park, trained as an electrical engineer, is pursuing joint initiatives with SSE.
Medicine, SSE and Business are encouraging joint programs. Undergraduate research could be included.
Provost Michael Bernstein, an economic historian, lectured on the history of the atomic bomb to a physics class in fall 2008.
The Tulane Computational Center is funded by cross-disciplinary grants.
Interdisciplinary and Coordinate majors (such as Political Economy and Social and Public Policy).
Examples of “Big Ideas”
A major centered on leadership, tied into different departments.
Increasing the interaction between Schools: increase the number of classes taught jointly by faculty of different Schools, offering students broader perspectives.
Create a program to partner students with a range of experienced professionals in the work place or graduate students in their particular field of study.
Create programs to promote undergraduate research and scholarly engagement for a broader spectrum of the undergraduate population.
Create classes with an “issue-cause-solution-implementation” model including students with different majors in order to demonstrate concrete plans for real change.
ENGAGED TEACHING AND LEARNING
The Teaching-Learning Center
T.L.C.
The Teaching-Learning Center
Unlike our peer institutions, we do not have a campus-wide clearinghouse for information and resources relevant to teaching, learning, pedagogy, and instructional issues.
Assist faculty and graduate TAs in developing and incorporating new teaching techniques and skills.
Ensure that faculty champion critical thinking and information literacy skills as essential outcomes of a Tulane undergraduate education.
T.L.C.
Engaged teaching and learning is at the core of TLC’s mission, based on a broad understanding of engagement as:
Participatory
Active
Committed
Involved
Creative
Boundless
Not your “typical” Center for Teaching:
TLC will host a shared space or setting conducive to peer support and interdisciplinary collaboration and include/offer A library of teaching resources
(including technology) Seminars, workshops, charrettes,
with a focus on innovation Principal focus: Pedagogical
innovation: How to teach Web 2.0- generation students?
Support for day-to day teaching issues: evaluation and grading guidelines, and rubric development
Grant programs for innovative learning proposals
Interdisciplinary focus and support
ENGAGED MENTORSHIP AND SUPPORT
Tulane’s Total Advising
Tulane’s Total Advising
Each student will have:
A staff academic advisor An upper class peer mentor A faculty mentor A career coach A Tulane alum as a mentor“a team behind
you”
Advising Matrix
Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior
Staff Advisor
Faculty Mentor
TIDES faculty
TIDES faculty
Major Advisor
Major Advisor
Peer Mentor Min. 2 contacts per semester
Min. 2 contacts per semester
Min. 2 contacts per semester
Min. 2 contacts per semester
Career Coach
Min. 1 contact per semester
Min. 2 contacts per semester
Min. 2 contacts per semester
Min. 2 contacts per semester
Alum Mentor
Connect ConnectPeer mentors would meet at least twice over lunch with their cohort at critical times in the semester. During the add period and during pre registration.
Alum Mentoring would start in junior/senior year and would complement career advising.
Career Development Plan
First Year Explore the Hire Tulane
Grads.com website: What can I do with this major?
Take Strengthquest and other interest and ability assessments
Develop academic and career goals
Explore majors of interest Explore careers Identify campus organizations
and activities and get involved. Start a resume Meet with your career coach at
least once a semester
Second Year Choose a major consistent with
your interests, abilities and goals
Continue to explore careers Get involved in career related
activities Ask your career coach to
critique your resume Look for an internship or
summer job related to your field of interest
Attend Internship 101 workshop
Join a professional organization related to your major
Career Development Plan (continued)
Third Year Update your resume and post
it online Attend career fairs, meet with
recruiters Conduct informational
interviews Establish a list of references Participate in practice
interviews Start thinking about plans
after graduation and develop a plan
Meet with your career coach at least twice a semester
Fourth Year Implement your “after
college” plan Finalize/Update your resume Take graduate of professional
school exams Meet with your career coach
at least twice a semester Participate in job fairs and
seek interviews with employers
Attend Networking 101 workshop
Prepare for life after college
ENGAGING THE WORLD
Experiential Learning and Professional Mentoring
Experiential Learning and Mentoring
• Learning is Enhanced if Course Concepts are Applied
• Complements Existing Undergraduate Public Service Requirement
• Extend Hands-on Learning to all Fields of Study
• Study and Volunteer Abroad Programs
• Engaged Teaching and Research
Mentoring
• Current Graduate Students Mentor Undergraduates Contemplating Graduate/Professional School
• Mentoring through Internships • Improve chances of retaining
Tulane talent in New Orleans• Match students with career
opportunities• Academic Counseling with
Upperclassmen• Utilize the existing Big/ Little
programs• Alleviate pressure on Academic
Advising Center• Mentoring with Community Leaders
& Alumni
ENGAGING WITH FACULTY IN DISCOVERY
Undergraduate Research
Research Engagement & Information Skills
Developing research skills is vital to students’ future academic and professional endeavors.
Research can take many forms, from traditional research papers in the humanities and social sciences, to lab work in the sciences and engineering, to epidemiological studies in public health, to developing business plans.
We want to help our students become more engaged in their academic work by creating opportunities for them to pursue research topics. Help them become more active learners
and offer them the opportunity to participate in the central mission of a university: to create and disseminate knowledge.
Research Engagement & Information Skills
An overarching principle in guiding our selection of a QEP topic is to stay true to our mission as a university: to help our students academically and enhance their learning while at Tulane.
Research experiences are dependent on helping students become skilled and critical users of information resources. This means learning about the relevant
literature in a field, and to learn about and to use critically information technology.
This plan will involve greater emphasis on student research in undergraduate courses, increased opportunities for undergraduate research grants, and more attention to training students to use Tulane’s libraries and information technology.
It will build on Tulane’s academic strengths in traditional disciplines, as well as our commitment to community service and engaged learning.
Contact the QEP Task Force:
bigidea.tulane.edu
Your thoughts?