Transcript Distinctive features of u.s. higher education

High Quality of Undergraduate
Programs:
Perspectives from a US State
University
7th China Study Abroad Forum
March 12, 2010
Dr. Yenbo Wu
Outline
Principles of Excellence (LEAP)
 Liberal Education: the American Tradition
 General Education: Tool for Liberal Education
 SF State Undergraduate Requirements
 SF State Expectations of Undergraduates
 SF State Curriculum and its Strategic Goals
 High Impact Practices
 Learning Outcome-Based Assessment

Seven Principles of Excellence
(Liberal Education and America’s Promise - LEAP)
Aim High – and Make Excellence Inclusive
Give Students a Compass
Teach the Arts of Inquiry and Innovation
Engage the Big Questions
Connect Knowledge with Choices and Action
Forster Civic, Intercultural, and Ethical Learning
Assess Students’ Ability to Apply Learning to
Complex Problems
Principle One
Aim High – and Make Excellence
Inclusive
Make the essential learning outcomes a
framework for the entire educational
experience, connecting school, college,
work, and life
Principle Two
Give Students a Compass
Focus each student’s plan of study on
achieving the essential learning
outcomes – and assess progress
Principle Three
Teach the Arts of Inquiry and
Innovation
Immerse all students in analysis,
discovery, problem solving, and
communication, beginning in school
and advancing in college
Principle Four
Engage the Big Questions
Teach through the curriculum for far-reaching issues
– contemporary and enduring – in sciences and
society, cultures and values, global interdependence,
the changing economy, and human dignity and
freedom
Principle Five
Connect Knowledge with
Choices and Action
Prepare students for citizenship
and work through engaged
and guided learning on “realworld” problems
Principle Six
Forster Civic, intercultural, and Ethical
Learning
Emphasize personal and social
responsibility, in every field of study
Principle Seven
Assess Students’ Ability to Apply
Learning to Complex Problems
Use assessment to deepen learning and
to establish a culture of shared purpose
and continuous improvement
Promoting Liberal Education
Liberal education is an approach to learning that empowers
individuals and prepares them to deal with complexity,
diversity, and change. It provides students with broad
knowledge of the wider world as well as in-depth study in a
specific area of interest. A liberal education helps students
develop a sense of societal responsibility, as well as strong
and transferrable intellectual and practical skills such as
communication, analytical and problem- solving skills, and a
demonstrated ability to apply knowledge and skills in realworld settings.
General Education as an Important
Tool for Liberal Education
CSU General Education Breadth
Requirements
CSU Executive Order 1033
SF State General Education Course
and Units Distribution
General Education at SF State

Lower Division
Area A: English Language Communication
and Critical Thinking
Area B: Scientific Inquiry and Quantitative
Reasoning
Area C: Arts and Humanities
Area D: Social Sciences
Area E: Lifelong Learning and SelfDevelopment
General Education at SF State
Upper Division Topical Perspectives Option
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Creativity, Innovation, and Invention
Enduring Ideas, Values, and Achievements
Environmental Interconnections
Ethical Reasoning and Action
Human Diversity
Life in the SF Bay Area and/or California
Personal and Community Well-Being
Social Justice & Civic Knowledge/Engagement
World Perspectives
Overlay Requirements
Any course with the overlay designation, minimum of 3 units
American Ethnic and Racial Minorities (AERM) (0-3
additional units)
Global Perspectives (GP) (0-3 additional units)
Social Justice (SJ) (0-3 additional units)
Requirements for Majors
1. Educational goals
2. Writing and capstone courses
3. Technology
4. Units required and prerequisites
5. Electives and complementary studies
6. Lower division classes, and
7. Flexibility and advising
Expectations of Undergraduates
At SF State
A breadth and depth of knowledge and
understanding developed from integrating their
course work and academic experiences in both
general education and in the major. The abilities,
knowledge, and qualities of mind fostered by
general education will be reinforced, extended, and
deepened in the major.
Six Expectations
1. Competencies for Lifelong Intellectual Endeavor
2. Intellectual Attainments
3. Appreciation of Diversity
4. Ethical Engagement
5. Integration and Application of Knowledge
6. Qualities of Mind and Spirit
1. Competencies for Lifelong Intellectual Endeavor
Competent in critical questioning and analysis
Creative and independent thought
Attentive reading and interpretation
Written and other forms of communication
Quantitative reasoning
Research drawing upon a variety of resources
Problem solving, and Collaboration
Knowledge of a language other than English
2. Intellectual Attainments
• Conversant with the principal domains of
knowledge associated with liberal learning: the
sciences and mathematics, the social sciences, the
humanities, and the arts.
• Able to apply the modes of inquiry associated with
these domains and will have engaged questions and
issues of enduring importance.
• Gain in-depth knowledge and understanding of at
least one major course of study.
3 Appreciation of Diversity
• Know, understand, and appreciate multiple
forms and variations of human diversity, both
within the United States and globally.
• Respect themselves and others. They will
have obtained a historical perspective about
the development of our diverse nation and
will be able to engage in informed, civil
discourse with persons different from
themselves in intellectual and cultural
outlook.
4.Ethical Engagement
• Appreciation
of the necessity and difficulty of
making ethical choices, both private and public, and
will be able to identify and analyze the values that
inform those choices.
• Demonstrate ethical conduct in their own work and
their acknowledgement of the work of others.
• Recognize their responsibility to work toward social
justice and equity by contributing purposefully to the
well-being of their local communities, their nations,
and the people of the world, as well as to the
sustainability of the natural environment.
5. Integration and Application of Knowledge
• Know how to make connections among apparently
disparate forms of knowledge and modes of inquiry
across academic disciplines and between the
principal domains of knowledge and their majors.
• Be able to place such knowledge and approaches
within their cultural, historical, and sociopolitical
contexts.
• Be able to apply academic knowledge to what is
important in their own lives and to local and global
communities.
6. Qualities of Mind and Spirit
The dispositions that facilitate lifelong learning
and growth, including:
• Curiosity
• A sense of wonder
• Intellectual flexibility and adaptability
• A refusal to simplify what is inherently complex and ambiguous
• A sense of responsibility and accountability
• Critical self-reflection
• Independence of mind
• Respect for wellness and healthy living
• A readiness to assume leadership roles
• Reverence for all that unites us as human beings
Intellectual and Practical Skills
• Inquiry and analysis
• Critical and creative thinking
• Written and oral communication
• Quantitative literacy
• Information literacy
• Teamwork and problem solving
Relationship Between Curriculum Design and
SF State’s Strategic Plan and Mission
SF State’s Strategic Plan for 2005-2010 identifies
seven goals:
(1) Social justice
(2) Writing
(3) Post baccalaureate education
(4) International development
(5) Full Participation
(6) Resource to the community, and
(7) Institutional purpose
Ten High-Impact Practices
• First Year Seminars and Experiences
• Common Intellectual Experiences
• Learning Communities
• Writing-Intensive Courses
• Collaborative Assignments and Projects
• Undergraduate Research
• Diversity/Global Learning
• Service Learning, Community-Based Learning
• Internships
• Capstone Courses and Projects
Changing Trends
From:
To:
From:
To:
From:
To:
From:
To:
Access and completion
Vision for learning
Input-based measurement
Learning outcome-based assessment
Getting narrow knowledge and job skills
Emphasizing critical thinking, ethics,
personal and social responsibility,
and civic engagement
Over reliance on standardized tests
outside of students required courses
Utilizing multiple expert judgments of
the quality of student work
Make Educating Students for Personal and
Social Responsibility
The Core Commitments of Higher Education
Five key dimensions of personal and
social responsibility that describe
developmentally appropriate goals for
students in college:
Five Dimensions:
1.
Striving for excellence
2.
Cultivating personal and academic integrity
3.
Contributing to the larger community
4.
Taking seriously the perspectives of others
5.
Developing competence in ethical and moral
reasoning and action
Thank You!
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