Transcript National GAP Symposium

Integrating generic attributes
in the academic curriculum
Hong Kong Polytechnic University
14 December 2009
A/Prof Simon Barrie
Institute for Teaching and Learning
Generic attributes
Generic attributes are an orientating
statement of education outcomes used to
inform curriculum design and engagement
with teaching and learning experiences at a
university (Barrie 2009).
They are descriptions of the core abilities
and values a university community agrees
all its graduates should develop as a result
of successfully completing their university
studies (adapted from Bowden et al 2000).
Achieving generic attributes
Meaningful curriculum renewal has proved
elusive and in Australia there remains a
'national gap' between the rhetoric of
generic attributes and the reality of the
student learning experience.
Why?
Three insights about the complexity of
1. Generic attributes outcomes as a guiding
principle for curriculum design
2. Engaging a university community in
curriculum renewal
3. Constructively aligning learners’
experiences of curriculum
http://www.itl.usyd.edu.au/projects/nationalgap/introduction.htm
1. Complex Outcomes
They are multilayered outcomes that
require a combination of different teaching
and learning strategies to achieve.
Designing curriculum around these sorts of
attributes requires teachers and learners to
engage with them in an intellectual way.
Multilayered…
Implicit dispositions attitudes & values, they grow
from, but transcend the discipline
Explicit ways of doing and thinking, using and
applying discipline knowledge… they are the
discipline
Generic skills – ‘off-the shelf’, non-specialised
foundation skills for university learning and work
We need to think about GA as integrated –
though heterogeneous outcomes
What does this variation look like?
Global Citizens
Implicit disposition/stance: Graduates will aspire to
contribute to society in a full and meaningful way
through their roles as members of local, national
and global communities they will respect multiple
perspectives and recongise the potential limitations
of their own world view
Explicit disciplinary way of doing/thinking: Apply
ecologically responsible engineering techniques to
promote sustainability
Foundation skill – Will be aware of cross cultural
communication strategies
A Hong Kong example to reflect on
To enable students to develop their capabilities in:
1. Pursuit of academic / professional excellence,
critical intellectual enquiry and life-long learning
2. Tackling novel situations and ill-defined
problems
3. Critical self-reflection, greater understanding of
others, and upholding personal and
professional ethics
4. Intercultural understanding and global
citizenship
5. Communication and collaboration
6. Leadership and advocacy for the improvement
of the human condition
In some more detail…
Aim 4: Intercultural understanding and global citizenship
Heighten awareness of own culture and other cultures
Develop cultural sensitivity and interpersonal skills for engagement
with people of diverse cultures
Perform social responsibilities as a member of the global community
Aim 6: Leadership and advocacy for the improvement of the human
condition
Play a leading role in improving the well-being of fellow citizens and
humankind
Uphold the core values of a democratic society: human rights,
justice, equality and freedom of speech
Participate actively in promoting the local and global social,
economic and environmental sustainability
And one more…..
1. Have up-to-date and in-depth knowledge of an
academic specialty, as well as a broad range of
general knowledge;
2. Have bilingual communicative competence in
English and Chinese (including Putonghua);
3. Be able to think logically, critically and creatively;
4. Have the necessary numerical skills to function
effectively in work and everyday life;
5. Be an independent and self-directed learner,
motivated by an inquiring spirit;
6. Be well-developed as a ‘whole person’ –
intellectually, morally, spiritually, culturally,
socially and physically;
7. Be a responsible citizen with an international
outlook, and willing to serve and lead.
Sydney Model of Graduate
Attributes
Scholarship: An attitude or stance towards
knowledge
• Graduates of the University will have a
scholarly attitude to knowledge and
understanding. As Scholars, the University’s
graduates will be leaders in the production,
application and communication of new
knowledge and understanding through
inquiry, critique and synthesis.
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Research and Inquiry: Graduates of the University
will be able to create new knowledge &
understanding through the process of research &
inquiry
• be able to identify, define and analyse problems and identify
or create processes to solve them
• be able to exercise critical judgement and critical thinking in
creating new understanding
• be creative and imaginative thinkers
• have an informed respect for the principles, methods,
standards, values and boundaries of their discipline and the
capacity to question these
• be able to critically evaluate existing understandings and
recognise the limitations of their own knowledge
Research and Inquiry at the Conservatorium of Music:
• be able to identify, define and analyse problems in written work,
composition, teaching and performance and identify or create
processes to solve them
• be able to exercise critical judgement and critical thinking in
creating new understandings in relation to music analysis, music
composition, music education, music history, music technology,
and music performance
• be creative, imaginative and independent thinkers in their
musical endeavours
• have an informed respect for the principles, standards, values
and boundaries of current music knowledge, pedagogy and
performance practice.
• be able to question critically and to evaluate current music
knowledge and compositional, pedagogical and performance
practices, acknowledging global and historical diversity and
recognising the limitations of their own knowledge
Sydney Model of Graduate
Attributes
And one final local example…
Varied development strategies
Multilayered teaching & learning strategies
1.Foundation skills - co curriculum
2.(multi)Discipline learning - curriculum
3.A learning community - extra curriculum
What might that look like at a
Hong Kong University?
Curriculum Renewal: PolyU elements
1.General University requirements, bridging courses
2.Strong professional curriculum, multidisciplinary
studies, student centred pedagogies
3.Electives, freshman seminar, extra(co)-curricula
activities……and what else?
Curriculum Challenges: Align and integrate elements
as a holistic curriculum ….Charting a learning
pathway….creating a university community
Meaningful engagement by staff in
curriculum renewal
How might we engage the university
community in thinking and talking about
these complex outcomes and complex
development processes…. in a more
complex way.
Why is meaningful engagement in
curriculum renewal so hard to achieve?
2: University Systems
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A way of thinking about generic attributes
curriculum renewal in (institutional) context
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
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8.
Conceptualisation
Stakeholders
Implementation
Curriculum
Assessment
Staff Development
Quality Assurance
Student Centred
http://www.itl.usyd.edu.au/projects/nationalgap/introduction.htm
Curriculum
Curriculum structure & organisation can be limiting
Rather than a linear sequence of isolated content
blocks need a whole degree approach – the Hong
Kong 4 year structure delivers this
1. ‘Curriculum’ as the lived experience of students
learning across/around the whole degree
1. Include new ‘elements’ (co/extra curriculum) PD
theme, skills courses, WIL, internships, Freshman
seminars)
2. Change and diversify the existing learning
experiences (inquiry learning, CBL, GA focused
teaching and assessment)
Change and diversify the existing
learning experiences
High impact educational practices (Kuh, 2008)
First-Year Seminars and Experiences
Common Intellectual Experiences
Learning Communities
Writing-Intensive Courses
Collaborative Assignments and Projects
Undergraduate Research
Experiencing Diversity/Global Learning
Service Learning, Community-Based Learning
Internships
Capstone Courses and Projects
Defining curriculum qualities
With your neighbor…..what are 3 things
that might characterise a student’s
learning experience at university if we
wanted to foster the development of
generic attributes like: global outlook,
professional competence, leadership
A Sydney example….. To foster the generic attribute
of scholarship …… the Sydney curriculum (student
learning experience) should be characterized by
active, inquiry based learning – learning in a
research like way
With your neighbor…..what are 3 things
that might characterise a student’s
learning experience at university if we
wanted to foster the development of
generic attributes like: global outlook,
professional competence, leadership
Please be ready to share some of your ideas with
the group in 5 minutes…….
What are the defining features of
some local university curricula?
Broad based curriculum
Strong fundamentals in professional education
Multidisciplinary
Flexible admissions
Flexible curriculum design
Articulation with NSS curriculum
Freshman Year experience
Integrated learning
Enhanced communication skills
Active learning
Global learning experience
Work Integrated Education
Capstone Experience
OBE
What are the defining features of
some local university curricula?
The following distinctive features will characterise the new
curriculum:
(inter)disciplinary inquiry
multidisciplinary collaboration
poly-contextual inquiry
diverse learning experiences
multiple forms of learning and assessment
engagement with local and global communities
development of civic and moral values.
Engaging staff
A curriculum model is not enough when…
•Quality Assurance does not support or inform
engaged curriculum enhancement
•Staff development does not support or encourage
staff to engage intellectually in curriculum renewal
•Other stakeholders are marginalised
•Implementation is not planned, resourced and
stratified (complex outcomes multi-layered strategy)
•Underlying conceptualisations remain unaddressed
in policy or practice
Quality Assurance
Quality Assurance strategies which do not support
engaged curriculum enhancement include:
1.QA measures are teacher focused
2.Curriculum mapping is used on its own
3.Rewards are based on indicators that are
unrelated to intellectual engagement in curriculum
renewal
4.Measures privilege a focus on only some GA
Challenge: Evidence of actual student learning is
often missing (assessment)
A local insight on QA – evidence of
student learning…….
The range of learning activities that comprise the student experience:
students’ learning does not take place only through their academic program.
In the areas of personal development, citizenship, cross-cultural sensitivity
and so on, campus life and the co-curriculum are significant contributors to
students’ development.
The range of sites where learning occurs: while students’ departments are
the obvious location for an effort to evaluated overall achievement of
“graduateness”, Schools, other departments, the Language Center, the
Library, SAO, residential halls, and others all contribute to activities relevant
to the achievement of desired outcomes.
The range of the potential sources of evidence for the achievement of
outcomes, including: assessments embedded in courses; sample data of
students’ achievement of generic outcomes in standardized tests; and
students’ self-report of the achievement of outcomes through questionnaires,
focus groups.
(HKUST)
Engaging learners
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Achieving student engagement for
graduate attributes
Involve students as partners in the
conversations about the learning potential of
university early on.
Provide engaging teaching learning and
assessment experiences that make these
conversations real and help students come to
understand what university learning can be.
Encourage students to create learning
opportunities for themselves
Three messages for engaged curriculum renewal
1.
Graduate attributes are complex – we should treat them
that way
2.
Our systems might preclude meaningful staff
engagement
3.
Our students care about this too, we should engage
them from the start
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http://www.itl.usyd.edu.au/projects/nationalgap/introduction.htm
Thank you!
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