Integrative Designs for General Education and Assessment
Call for Proposals
The deadline for submission of proposals has passed. If you submitted a proposal, you will be notified of your acceptance status by Friday, September 14, 2007. If you have any question regarding the proposal submission process, please contact Karen Kalla at Kalla@aacu.org or 202.387.3760 ext. 417.
AAC&U’s Network for Academic Renewal invited proposals by August 15, 2007, for sessions that focus on ways that faculty, academic administrators, and student affairs educators can shape higher education’s response to calls for increased accountability while, at the same time, reinvigorating General Education.
The entire proposal submission process is outlined below for your information:
Conference themes
Themes: AAC&U invites proposals that will address the following themes (please select one). The bullets that follow each heading are just a few examples of ways your proposal might explore the theme.
1. Demonstrating the value of general education as integral to undergraduate education through institutional approaches that meaningfully involve faculty and engage students
- In what ways are campus leaders making the purpose and value of general education visible in campus publications, faculty meetings, student affairs activities, and advising?
- How are institutional leaders defining general education in ways that reflect and advance institutional mission?
- How are faculty, administrators, student affairs educators, and students collaborating to integrate general education outcomes with learning in the majors in ways that foster student engagement with society’s “big questions?”
2. Assessing levels of student learning and their ability to integrate learning across disciplines and throughout the college experience
- What approaches effectively measure students’ knowledge and practical skills (critical thinking, written and oral communication, quantitative literacy, team work and problem solving, etc.) from first-year seminar to capstone and how are you measuring progress towards these outcomes throughout the undergraduate experience?
- How is your campus using assessment findings about student learning to inform institutional strategies to integrate the work of departments, academic affairs, and student affairs in general education?
- In a time of increasing calls for accountability, how are faculty members taking ownership of assessment and using it to advance student learning and/or revise their courses?
3. Supporting and rewarding the innovative work of faculty, student affairs educators, and academic professionals to articulate and realize the goals of general education
- What are institutions doing to encourage and support faculty ownership of the general education curriculum and its creative integration with their work in the majors?
- How are contingent faculty included in general education discussions and supported for collaboration and creativity?
- What do flexible models of tenure, promotion and professional development in the Academy look like that take into account contemporary life (e.g., dual careers, desires to balance professional and personal aspirations, a “sandwich generation” that is caring for children and parents)?
4. Creating purposeful pathways for learning that facilitate students’ progress in achieving educational goals from school to college, within an institution’s departments and schools/colleges, and among two- and four-year institutions.
- What do scholarship and practice reveal about the ways that student achievement can be advanced through collaboration among campus faculty, academic administrators, student affairs educators, and academic professionals?
- What models exist for aligning student learning outcomes from high school to college? From 2- to 4-year institutions? Across 4-year institutions?
- How are departments contributing to a coherent general education curriculum that fosters student gains in writing, critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, and the ability to apply knowledge to complex problems over time?
5. Integrating general education, the majors, the co-curriculum, and effective educational practices to achieve essential learning outcomes as identified in College Learning for the New Global Century
- How have increased diversity and inclusive practices contributed to student learning and new levels of achievement on your campus?
- How can faculty, administrators, department chairs, student affairs educators, and academic professionals better understand and support each other’s distinct roles in and responsibilities for advancing high achievement and determine if, when, and how their work should be integrated?
- What innovative curricular approaches are emerging and established to prepare students to address the contemporary challenges of an interdependent and stratified global society?
Select a session format
There are five session formats from which to choose: 1) workshop, 2) basic and applied research information/model/discussion, 3) debate, 4) poster/demonstration, and 5) roundtable discussion. Please select the format that will best facilitate participant understanding about and potential use of your work. An effective way for participants to glean the most from your work is for them to explore ways to apply it to their own institutional and professional situation.
Tips: As you consider which theme best matches your area of expertise, also consider if and how your work might be useful to those at different types of institutions and/or those serving different student populations. Experts in the field and AAC&U staff will review all proposals. Proposal reviewers will look for proposals that 1) provide theories, research findings, practical models, and/or strategies that reflect one of the conference themes and have proved effective, 2) are innovative, and 3) clearly identify the intended audience and outcomes.
- Indicate if the work your session addresses will combine the work of multiple institutions, if the work illustrates perspectives of different organizational roles (e.g., faculty, department chairs, student affairs educators, academic advisors, librarians, students), or if the work is designed for a specific audience. We particularly welcome student perspectives on your work and models of collaboration.
- Include facilitators who bring diverse perspectives and life experiences to the topic or issue your proposal addresses; such proposal are especially welcome. AAC&U is committed to presenting a conference at which sessions and participants reflect the pluralism of our campus communities.
- Show how your session will be interactive! Please do not plan to read your paper. This is a top complaint from past participants.
- Provide concrete examples of how your session will unfold and include how you will demonstrate what worked, what did not, and how you addressed challenges along the way in the work you are doing.
- Avoid “show and tell” submissions that have little or no applicability to other institutions.
- Present work that has proved effective and is well beyond the planning stages.
Facilitators: We recommend two or three facilitators for each workshop, debate, and research/model/discussion, and one or two facilitators for poster/demonstration and roundtable discussion.
Workshop (90 minutes; two or three facilitators; room set in roundtables to support active learning)
Workshops provide participants an opportunity to engage the facilitator and each other in learning about the session topic and applying it to their unique situations. Workshops should begin with a brief framing of an issue, model, or process and include data, theories, benchmarks and challenges, practical examples, and evidence that you and the participants can then use to examine and discuss the topic. If you are sharing a campus-based project, include participants in the actual work of transferring the concepts to their own situations. For example, if your work takes place at a research university, please facilitate discussion among participants as to how community colleges, liberal arts colleges, and comprehensive institutions might adapt your work to account for institutional differences. You might organize the participants into discussion groups by institution type or stage in the process (novice, intermediate, advanced) of work being addressed. If your work is better suited to a particular type of institution or level of engagement, please make that clear.
Proposals should:
- state clearly the problem or issue that your proposal will address and to which theme it relates
- indicate how your work has effectively addressed that problem or issue
- indicate the outcomes participants should expect from your session and examples of how you will facilitate achievement of those outcomes
- describe the strategies you will use to engage participants in discussing, analyzing, synthesizing, and applying the information you will share
- describe how your work might be applied to a particular or multiple sectors of higher education, i.e. large universities, liberal arts colleges, community colleges; describe the level to which your session is geared (novice, intermediate, advanced)
- include links to relevant Web sites or electronic copies of the materials you will share (electronic copies of materials can be provided later)
- include time for participants to discuss how the work might be used to help students achieve essential learning outcomes
Seminar (Research information/model/discussion sessions) (60 minutes; two or three facilitators; room set in roundtables)
This session should allow 20 minutes to provide research findings, 20 minutes to provide practical applications of the research information; and 20 minutes for participant discussion. Research information provides useful data to stimulate creative problem-solving discussions. Session proposals should state the underlying research hypothesis, a brief explanation of the methodology, and a summary of the findings. Practical applications should provide concrete steps for using the research to affect change. Data, findings, and applications should be presented in ways that are accessible to participants and allow them to engage in a discussion about the implications of your findings.
Proposals should:
- state the hypothesis/problem your research addresses and to which conference theme it relates
- describe briefly the methodology and the parameters of the study
- provide visual means of presenting findings and applications (e.g. handouts)
- include time for participants to discuss the implications of the findings and applications and how they might be used to help students achieve essential learning outcomes
Debate (60 minutes; moderator and one or two panelists; room set in roundtables)
Debates offer the chance to present and critically examine distinct and differing perspectives on some of higher educations most contested issues. Through presentation and questioning of evidence, panelists and participants can reveal and explore new understandings about and approaches to general education reform and assessment that might not otherwise occur. Session proposals should include an opening statement with evidence to support claims by one or two individuals (statements should offer divergent perspectives), include questions to stimulate debate among the audience participants. It is hoped that the debate will generate new ideas that will contribute to the closing statement by each panelist.
Proposals should:
- state clearly the case each panelist will make with evidence to support any claims (no more than 10 minutes per opening statement)
- provide 2-3 questions that each panelist might use to engage the audience in examining/rebutting the opening positions
- describe the strategies you will use to engage participants in discussing, analyzing, synthesizing, and applying the information you will share
- include links to relevant Web sites or electronic copies of the materials you will share (electronic copies of materials can be provided later)
- include time for participants to discuss how the issue relates to students’ achievement of essential learning outcomes
Poster/Demonstration Sessions (60 minutes; one or two facilitators; 6 X 3 foot skirted table; electrical connections and other supports provided as available upon request)
Poster/demonstration sessions lend themselves well to combining visual displays of key information with written and verbal presentations and small group interaction to create a more individualized learning experience. These sessions provide an opportunity for you to share your work with the full conference audience and they are a valuable way to initiate conversations with those of similar interest. These sessions can include 3’x 4’ boards to display visual charts, diagrams, pictures, graphs, etc. that demonstrate key findings. They might also present the information through technological means or other types of visual displays that can be set-up on the 6’x3’ table provided.
Proposals should:
- clearly state the problem or issue that your display will address and to which theme it relates
- indicate how your work has effectively addressed that issue
- describe the visual data, display, etc. that you will provide including any special requests for technical assistance
- indicate how the data or information will be useful to a particular or multiple sectors of higher education
- include links to relevant Web sites or electronic copies of the materials you will share (copies of materials can be provided later)
- include consideration of how the topic relates to students’ achievement of essential learning outcomes
NOTE: Our ability to provide technical assistance is limited, but if you have a project for which you need such assistance, we are happy to explore the options with you. Poster boards are provided upon request.
Roundtable Discussions (60 minutes; one or two facilitators; roundtable of 10 during continental breakfast; no audio visual)
Roundtables are facilitated discussions among colleagues with a common interest. They provide a valuable forum to network and reflect upon important topics in an informal setting. Roundtable discussions may take one of the following approaches:
- Topic discussion/theoretical construct: The facilitator briefly presents a topic of general interest and uses this opportunity to explore issues relevant among colleagues from a variety of positions and institutions to uncover new ways of thinking about shared interests.
- Case study/practice/strategy: The facilitator prefaces the discussion with a brief overview of her/his work and a handout that includes a longer description, theory, data, models, bibliography, or other resources. She/he may pose or invite a question to stimulate and/or focus the conversation so that others can share their own experience with the issue
Proposals should:
- describe clearly the topic, theory, or practice that you will present for discussion, why it is compelling for those in higher education to address this issue, and to which theme it relates
- indicate your experience in addressing the issue including the benchmarks of success, challenges, and outcomes of your work
- indicate the outcomes participants should expect from the discussion and examples of how you will prompt and sustain conversation to achieve those outcomes
- include links to relevant Web sites or electronic copies of the materials you will share (electronic copies of materials can be provided later)
- include time for participants to discuss how the topic relates to students’ achievement of essential learning outcomes
How to Submit a Proposal
Submission
The deadline for submission of proposals has passed. If you submitted a proposal, you will be notified of your acceptance status by Friday, September 14, 2007. If you have any question regarding the proposal submission process, please contact Karen Kalla at Kalla@aacu.org or 202.387.3760 ext. 417.
Deadline
Proposals were accepted until Midnight Pacific Time, Wednesday, August 15, 2007.
Notification
You should receive an automatic message indicating receipt of your proposal when submitted. If you do not receive this message, we may not have received your proposal. Please send an e-mail to Karen Kalla at Kalla@aacu.org to confirm receipt of proposal.
Acceptance
You will receive notification about the status of your proposal by Friday, September 14, 2007.
Registration Fees
All session facilitators at the conference are responsible for the appropriate conference registration fees, travel, and hotel expenses. Please be sure all individuals in your proposal have this information and can be available to present at any time throughout the event. Presentation times range from Friday, 22, 2008 beginning at 7:45 a.m. through Saturday, February 23, ending at noon.
Resources for Attendees of Your Session
Conference participants like to have resource materials to help them implement and/or share new ideas when they return to campus. Please plan to bring 75 handouts for a seminar session, 75 for a poster/demonstration session, and 15 for a roundtable discussion. We strongly encourage facilitators to provide online resources in advance of the conference; this increases the potential for active participation in your session.
Online Resources for Your Session
If your proposal pertains to a project, program, course, or other feature for which there is (or will be) descriptive materials available on the Web or electronically, please provide the URL address or e-document with your proposal, (or when they become available before the conference). AAC&U’s Web site will include these links when we post the program.
Final Reminders
Please complete all fields including information pertaining to all additional facilitators.
Please include links to supplemental materials, if available.
Please remember that by submitting a proposal, you agree to:
- Register and pay conference fees if the proposal is accepted
- Inform your co-facilitators about the proposal’s status and the need for all facilitators to pay the conference registration fees and be available throughout the event to present your work as scheduled.
Dates to Remember
- Wednesday, August 15, 2007: Proposals due to AAC&U
- Friday, September 14, 2007: Proposal acceptance notification
- November 1, 2007: Conference registration materials available online
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