Re-forming Liberal Education: Reconsidering and Remapping General Ed., the Major, and the Student

1. Re-forming Liberal Education: Reconsidering and Remapping General Ed., the Major, and the Student Experience David C. Paris VP, Integrative Liberal Learning and the Global Commons, AAC&U AAC&U ILD Institute 2013

2. Overview: *A session at a somewhat different level *The current challenges (external/internal) to liberal/general education and the ILGC *The need for “re-formation”? *Content and design, curriculum and program *Big questions, integration and pathways, the student experience, structuring transparency

3. A Wider Context: Challenges to Liberal (General?) Education (And A&S)…. • Declining enrollments, majors • Throughput pressure, the completion agenda • Questions of relevance, quality, cost • The technological and curricular “alternative models” • The policy follies, cutting majors, and the history premium

4. The AAC&U Responding to Challenges, • Defending and Promoting Liberal Education • A dual role: authority and support/development • Professionalism and community organizing: • advocacy, and the “arsenal” of AAC&U: LEAP/ELO, • VALUE, HIPS… • Support/development: networks, institutes (ILD), • publications

5. ILGC’s “Mission”? *The challenge restated—What is the “what” of liberal/general education? Can there be value without content? *The “big muddy” of content, design, and student experiences—revisiting some basic issues *(New?) support/development for liberal education

6. Potential Elements of an Agenda/Charge • “Big Questions”: wicked problems and global • learning • Integrative learning, curricular coherence and • connection to programs (Remapping general • education/major) • Problem-focused curricula, programs • Transparency and portfolios • Whither the arts and sciences?

7. “Big Questions” and Wicked Problems *Perennial and contemporary issues beyond disciplines (identity, environment, justice— understanding nature, culture, and society) *What’s a wicked problem? Global learning and issues in the making (e.g. human rights, Snowden)

8. Integration (A): curricular pathways *Connecting courses that touch (wicked) problems from several angles *Horizontal and vertical integration, reconsidering general ed. and the major *U. Cal. Chico—”pathways”

9. Integration (B) within the institution, with other communities: *Co-curricular programs and learning outcomes (Kuh, “experience is the best teacher”--https:// chronicle.com/article/Maybe-Experience-Really- Can-Be/125433/; Guttman CC) *The growing role of internships, preparation for employment *Civic engagement, service learning— building on a long tradition *E.g.: Wake Forest “College to Career,” BToP/A Crucible Moment

10. Transparency, assessment, and the (whole) student experience: *Portfolios as the new transcript/resume *HIPS/NSSE as surrogate measures? *VALUE rubrics assessing authentic student work—a national mode of assessment? *Organizing the portfolio?

11. (At Least) Two Questions Leading to Others: *Internal: Are we organized (content, structure, experience, assessment) in ways that can (help) re-form liberal/general education? *External: How effectively is what we are doing (content, structure, experience, assessment) responding to public challenges and/or transfer to “new models”?

12. Rhetorical Provocations and Visions (Delusions): *Is the distinction between general ed./ major, breadth/depth still useful, helpful? *What if there were only“general” education? *What if one “majored” in an area or a problem?

13. Content? Knowledge for…? *Is transmitting disciplinary knowledge (and how it is obtained), what our students need? *How does what we teach relate to the issues and “big questions” students will confront in their personal, economic, and civic lives? *To what extent can/should curricular, co-curricular, and community programs be integrated as improving student experience/learning?

14. *Do our organizational structures reflect the way we want students to understand the world? *Should we replace departments with divisions as a way of organizing ourselves (gen. ed. vs. majors) and structuring students’ academic experience? *What if coursework were organized around student portfolio categories, statements/demonstrations of outcomes in broad categories of ways of knowing and categories of knowledge?

15. Two Strategies: Current ILGC Initiatives (Development/Support) *STIRS: evidence-based reasoning across the curriculum, framework and case studies *Integrative learning: nine/fifteen college consortium with initiatives across disciplines *Global learning: VALUE rubric, global handbook, gen. ed. as global ed. *Bridging Cultures: nine community colleges revising humanities courses around civic issues/community engagement

16. Advocacy/Authority Strategy *Do we need an updated, more prescriptive liberal learning statement? *Is there a curricular equivalent to HIPs? (the “gathering” problem) *Can E-portfolios establish a template for defining and demonstrating liberal learning? *Symposium 2014:

17. Help Wanted! *Please send reactions/ideas, suggestions, examples.. *How can we help you? paris@aacu.org