Integrative Designs for
General Education and Assessment
Pre-conference Workshops
Thursday, February 21, 2008 | 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.
(Pre-registration required: $100 for Members and $125 for Nonmembers)
Workshop 1: Educating for Personal and Social Responsibility in General Education
A well-designed general education program can be the foundation of an institution’s effort to develop students’ ethical awareness and responsible commitment to their communities and professions. Participants in this workshop will discuss an innovative approach to general education that promotes personal and social responsibility through:
- two academic seminars that are taken in the first year on the theme “What is a Good Society?” and that are integrated with residential life activities;
- a nine area thematic breadth program;
- a culminating senior year seminar in which students write a moral and intellectual autobiography; and
- a four-year electronic portfolio collection of work and self-reflection for students.
Participants will work together to generate ideas to improve their programs and faculty development support and to consider how they might best initiate curricular changes.
Lou J. Matz, Associate Dean of General Education, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Chair, University of the Pacific
Workshop 2: Creating Purposeful Pathways to Student Engagement and Learning
There is an emerging consensus among many stakeholders concerning the important outcomes of a college education for the twenty-first century. Every student, regardless of her or his selected major, will benefit from the knowledge and skills gained through a developmental approach to inquiry, and civic, global, and integrative learning. Each of these outcomes represents a complex set of behaviors and knowledge that can best be developed through a coherent undergraduate program of intentional educational practice from first year to capstone. Participants will explore existing and hypothetical curricular and co-curricular pathways that illustrate how longitudinal growth in these outcomes can be achieved. They will address the added complexity of creating coherent purposeful pathways and measuring achievement for students with multiple institution enrollments and transfers throughout the undergraduate years.
Scott Evenbeck, Dean of University College, Sharon J. Hamilton, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, and Chancellor’s Professor, and Frank R. Ross, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Life and Learning, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Workshop 3: From Assessment to Academic Excellence: Intentionally Mapping Student Success
What are the characteristics of quality general education assessment? What do faculty members need to know to intentionally align their general education program with their goals for student learning? How can assessment data be interpreted and used to improve student learning within the general education program? Participants in this session will explore strategies for using assessment to increase student achievement of general education learning outcomes.
Mary Allen, Independent Consultant
SOLD OUT -- No additional registrations will be accepted.
Workshop 4: Assessing General Education
This workshop will provide participants with practical, hands-on work in linking their home institution’s general education goals for student learning to: a) educational infrastructure; b) assessment practice; c) selection of appropriate assessment methodologies; d) data collection strategies;e) interpretation of assessment data; and, f) the use of data to revise general education courses to assure student achievement and inform an academic program review process. Workshop facilitators will provide a context for these discussions through a brief overview of the practice of general education and assessment at James Madison University (JMU), a recipient of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation 2006 national award for Institutional Progress in Student Learning Outcomes. More specifically, the administrative infrastructure and practice that supports continuous faculty involvement in and improvement of the general education program and assessment at JMU will provide a context for engaging participants in thoughtful consideration of practice at their own institutions.
Linda Cabe Halpern, Dean of University Studies, and Donna L. Sundre, Executive Director of the Center for Assessment and Research Studies, James Madison University
Workshop 5: Collaborative Leadership for Change and Curriculum Development
Individuals in higher education leadership positions walk a fine line when it comes to changing the curriculum. Although they may hold positions as deans or provosts and are expected, at some level, to help guide curriculum development, the curriculum has long been the purview of the faculty. What, then, is the administrator’s role in curriculum development? Participants will work in small groups to explore strategies and scenarios that may be effective for administrators as they initiate conversations about change and support collaborative processes.
Geoffrey Chase, Dean of Undergraduate Studies, San Diego State University; and Karen Pugliesi, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies, Northern Arizona University
Sponsored by the American Conference of Academic Deans
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