General Education and Assessment:
New Contexts, New Cultures

February 23-25, 2012
New Orleans, Louisiana

Pre-Conference Workshops

Separate registration and fee required ($100 members, $125 non-members); seating will be limited, so register early.

Thursday, February 23, 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.

WORKSHOP 1 IS FULL AND NOT ACCEPTING ADDITIONAL REGISTRATIONS
Workshop 1: From “Why?” to “How?” to “Well Done!”:
Strategies for Strengthening General Education
Workshop co-facilitators will examine general education reform from a consideration of motivations to a discussion of process and strategies for implementation. Participants will discuss case studies from a range of institutions and share their own insights and experiences. This workshop—in some ways, a condensed experience of AAC&U’s Institute on General Education and Assessment—is ideal for colleagues considering launching, reviving, or bringing to closure a successful change process.
Gail Evans, Dean, Undergraduate Studies, San Francisco State University; and Paul Gaston, Trustees Professor of English, Kent State University

Workshop 2: Advancing Academic Partnerships to Improve
Student Success
How do we foster cross-campus partnerships that design and assess approaches to general education that connect student learning with real-world issues? What support do faculty members need to engage general education with the same passion they hold for their disciplines? Participants will examine interdisciplinary and campus-wide collaborations that support faculty members as change agents in course and curricular innovation. They will discuss using data to foster evidence-informed decision making and leave with concrete ideas to improve student learning.
Mary Brau, Faculty Coordinator, Student Outcomes Assessment and Curriculum Development, Lane Community College; and Michael Reder, Director, Joy Shechtman Mankoff Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning, Connecticut College

Workshop 3: Context and Connections: Examining Changing Practices for Global Learning
Our traditional understanding of global learning and its assessment are being challenged by changing demographics and evolving uses of social media. How are campuses meeting the needs of the new student demographic by broadening definitions and practices of global learning in general education? How are students using technology and social media to change our conception of global learning? Participants will examine innovations in bridging disciplinary expertise and multidisciplinary global issues in general education and discuss implications for assessment.
Paul McVeigh, Associate Vice President for Global Studies and Programs at Northern Virginia Community College; and Indira Nair, Vice Provost Emerita, Carnegie Mellon University

WORKSHOP 4 IS FULL AND NOT ACCEPTING ADDITIONAL REGISTRATIONS Workshop 4: Mapping General Education Outcomes with Assessment
Participants will use a logic model to match specific outcomes for learning with a broader vision for general education. They will examine and practice ways to integrate shared learning outcomes across the curriculum and co-curriculum, strategies for writing, and matching outcomes with assessments.
Ashley Finley, Senior Director of Assessment and Research, AAC&U

Workshop 5: The Promise of e-Portfolios: Creating a New Culture of Assessment
Workshop co-facilitators will share strategies for starting and sustaining an undergraduate e-portfolio program that collects evidence of student learning. Given the chronically poor outcomes of many of today’s college students, e-portfolios can operate as a high-impact practice providing students and educators with a tool to improve academic success both within and across two-and four-year institutions. Co-facilitators and participants will discuss key steps to mapping student work to learning outcomes at course, program, and institutional levels.
Ruth Cox, ePortfolio Faculty Liaison, Faculty/Health Education, San Francisco State University; and Savita Malik, Curriculum Director and Instructor Metro Academies, City College of San Francisco

WORKSHOP 6 IS FULL AND NOT ACCEPTING ADDITIONAL REGISTRATIONS
Workshop 6: Aligning Innovative Practices, Curriculum, and Faculty in General Education
Academic administrators are crucial in the design, implementation, and assessment of general education. Their relationships with faculty members, however, are complex. This workshop will use multi-institutional case studies to focus on how administrators can foster innovative practices, guide curriculum change, and invite faculty ownership in general education programs. Participants will contextualize approaches to their own campus.
Joseph Favazza, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty and Todd Gernes, Assistant Dean for General Education and Academic Achievement, both of Stonehill College; Laura DeAbruna, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Michelle Loris, Professor and Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, both of Sacred Heart University
Sponsored by the American Conference of Academic Deans