The Undergraduate Curriculum at Doane

A briefing by the

General Education Task Force

Gerry Allen, John Burney, Alec Engebretson, Kay Hegler, Adam Hunke (student), Kim Jarvis, Linda Kalbach, Kate Marley, Carrie Petr, Jeff Stander, and Phil Weitl

August, 2011

The Charge (fall 2010)

• Review the purposes, learning outcomes, and structure of Doane's general education program

• Make recommendations on revisions that will enhance student learning and connect the program clearly to Doane's mission

• Working assumptions– Changes to the general education program, if any, will intentionally

address the student learning outcomes that reflect the philosophy of general education formed from the college’s mission

– Changes to the general education program, if any, will allow all undergraduate students, present and future, to graduate in four years

– Changes to the general education program, if any, will not affect current full-time faculty positions

The Activity (so far)

• Education (numerous resources and conference)• Working Statement on General Education

– Philosophy– Essential Student Learning Outcomes– Faculty and student briefings/feedback (spring 2011)

• Retreat (summer 2011)• Working Framework for Undergraduate Curriculum at

Doane

(All materials available at www.doane.edu/gened)

The Questions (at this time)

• Does the Undergraduate Curriculum at Doane draft have the potential for developing the mission's learning outcomes?

• Does the concept of a sequence of liberal arts seminars provide a distinctive curriculum that matches well with students' intellectual development in college?

• Is it valuable to treat general education as a place for integration? • Do we have the right Integrative Areas of General Study? • Do the individual areas have the right outcomes? • Will the curriculum and portfolio provide an adequate vehicle for student reflection

and help them pull together their academic, co-curricular, and experiential learning?

• Does the curriculum address the major elements of liberal education?

After the task force gets general feedback and revises the framework as needed, we will ask for the specific opportunities and challenges that your program/division/campus would see in implementing such a curriculum revision

The Mission• Doane College’s mission is to provide an exceptional liberal arts education

in a creative, inclusive, and collaborative community where faculty and staff work closely with undergraduate and graduate students preparing them for lives rooted in intellectual inquiry, ethical values, and a commitment to engage as leaders as responsible citizens in the world.

• Core Values: help us continue to put the student experience first.– Community: Doane is an engaged and cohesive community comprised of

individuals and smaller communities, in which everyone can contribute and participate.

– Empowerment: Doane encourages its community members to take initiative—to act effectively and ethically by making principled decisions and taking responsibility for them.

– Excellence: Doane sets high standards of teaching, scholarship, service and leadership.

– Impact: It is the heart of the Doane experience. At Doane, one can make a positive difference on oneself, on others, on the environment, and on life.

The Essential Learning Outcomes• Develop crucial intellectual skills. Students will learn to:

• engage in discovery; • assemble and evaluate facts and assumptions; • support conclusions with relevant evidence; and • practice effective communication.

• Build connections of knowledge across various disciplines. Students will learn to:• synthesize knowledge across general and specialized studies;• develop creative insights and expressions; and• apply and integrate knowledge collaboratively to solve complex problems.

• Adapt their liberal education to serve and to lead at all levels of citizenship. Students will learn to:

• create a refined, empathetic understanding of a multifaceted world;• orient their own ethical compasses to act accordingly; and • engage with people of varying perspectives to build just societies.

The Undergraduate Curriculum at Doane• Liberal Arts Seminars 101, 201, 301, 401 10

credits– Address Essential Learning Outcomes– Vertical, progressive structure

• Integrative Areas of General Study 21 credits– Define General Studies found in Essential Learning Outcomes– Address Learning Outcomes for each Integrative Area– Horizontal, integrative structure

• Fields of Specialized Study (majors, minors, electives) variable credits– Define Specialized Studies found in Essential Learning Outcomes– Blended as part of Undergraduate Curriculum

• Address Learning Outcomes for each Field of Study• Address Essential Learning Outcomes as appropriate• Address Integrative Areas Learning Outcomes as appropriate

• Experiential Learning 3 credits• Portfolio development and review

Total graduation credits = 124

Liberal Arts Seminars• The sequence of Liberal Arts Seminars progressively address the essential learning

outcomes – LAR 101 – Inquiry Seminar (3 credits) addresses first learning outcome

– LAR 201 – Integrative Seminar (3 credits) addresses second learning outcome

– LAR 301 – Impact Seminar (3 credits) addresses third learning outcome

– LAR 401 – Insight Seminar (1 credit – tied to major) reflects on all learning outcomes

• Draft descriptions and outcomes for each seminar developed• Coordinated within and between each level of seminar

Integrative Areas of General Study

• The Integrative Areas of General Study further define the general studies referred to in the essential learning outcomes.

– Community and Identity– Symbolic Communication

• Quantitative Reasoning• Rhetorical Communication

– Global and Cultural Contexts– Scientific Perspectives on Critical Issues– Human Creativity– In Search of Meaning and Well-Being

• Address second learning outcome while building on first learning outcome in addition to outcomes for each area and outcomes for each course

• Draft descriptions and outcomes for each area developed• Existing courses, modified courses, new courses

Fields of Specialized Study• The Fields of Specialized Study further define the specialized studies referred to in

the essential learning outcomes• Each Field of Specialized Study (major, minor, electives), in pursuing learning

outcomes for their own program, is also asked to determine how the essential learning outcomes and Integrative Areas of General Study outcomes might also be intentionally incorporated

– Review all existing courses for essential learning outcomes and Integrative Areas of General Study outcomes and, where appropriate, identify in course syllabi

– Faculty in the Field of Specialized Study offer a liberal arts seminar addressing essential learning outcomes– The Field of Specialized Study incorporates experiential learning such as service-learning projects or

internships as part of the major or minor– A portfolio in the Field of Specialized Study is integrated with the undergraduate curriculum portfolio– An Integrative Area of General Study course is developed and offered as part of the major or minor– Integrative Area of General Study courses or experiential learning opportunities are offered by faculty during

interterm

Experiential Learning• LAR 250: Experiential Learning (or other appropriate department designation)

– Description: A defining experience, applying knowledge and skills to practice, requiring guided reflection

– Service Learning, Study Abroad, Internships/Student Teaching, Independent Research, Creative Production

– Students will work to:• Understand and articulate how the experience helped achieve essential learning outcomes, as

appropriate.• Understand and articulate how the experience helped achieve Integrative Areas of General Study

outcomes, as appropriate.• Understand and articulate how the experience helped achieve Fields of Specialized Study outcomes,

as appropriate.

• Through the portfolio, students will be encouraged to reflect on optional co-curricular and extra-curricular activities

Portfolio• The pursuit and achievement of the learning outcomes are documented and

reflected upon in individual portfolios that evolve over a student’s years at Doane

• Through their portfolio, students become self-directed learners, and will reflect on how they will adapt their liberal education to define their values and leadership skills

• Portfolios will be developed throughout the liberal arts seminar sequence• The task force (or related working group) will further develop the portfolio

concept after discussion with faculty

Next Steps (Fall 2011/Interterm 2012)

• Briefings to Doane Plan Committee and full faculty• Faculty forums for feedback• Doane Lincoln briefing/forum for feedback• Briefing/forum for feedback with each academic division• Fields of Specialized Study impact studies – (1) faculty load and (2)

integration of outcomes• Formation of working faculty groups to refine each component and develop

additional materials as appropriate (such as rubrics)• Task force meetings• January faculty summit

Questions

• Revisiting the questions from the task force– Does the Undergraduate Curriculum at Doane draft have the potential for developing the

mission's learning outcomes?

– Does the concept of a sequence of liberal arts seminars provide a distinctive curriculum that matches well with students' intellectual development in college?

– Is it valuable to treat general education as a place for integration?

– Do we have the right Integrative Areas of General Study?

– Do the individual areas have the right outcomes?

– Will the curriculum and portfolio provide an adequate vehicle for student reflection and help them pull together their academic, co-curricular, and experiential learning?

– Does the curriculum address the major elements of liberal education?

• Questions from you?