| Web Resources | Powerpoint |
| Allen, Mary J. Assessing General Education Programs. Bolton, Mass. : Anker Pub. Co., 2006 . [ LC985 .A55 2006 ] |
| Blattner, Nancy H., and Christina L. Frazier.. "Assessing General Education Core Objectives." Assessment Update 16.4 (July 2004): 4-6. |
| The article presents information on core objective in general education. Sixteen senior seminar faculty evaluated more than three hundred student artifacts, collected from capstone courses taught during the previous spring semester for evidence pertaining to the first three University Studies objectives. After lengthy discussions based on the application of the three scoring guides to the student papers, each of the rubrics was revised significantly to allow more accurate and reliable evaluation of student work and to provide the type of information that could inform instruction and influence student learning. |
| Bresciani, Marille J, ed. Assessing Student Learning in General Education: Good Practice Case Studies. Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing Company, Inc., 2007. [LC985 .A88 2007] |
| Bers, Trudy. "Assessing the Achievement of General Education Objectives: A College-Wide Approach," The Journal of General Education 49.3 (2000) 182-210. |
| Many factors are driving colleges and universities to devote attention to assessing student learning outcomes. These factors include expectations of regional and specialized accrediting associations; public demands for information about what is happening to students; governmental reporting and accountability requirements; and institutions' own recognition that, to operate with integrity and continuously improve programs and services, they need to know what and how much students are learning. |
| Shipman, Donald, Susan L. Aloi, and Elizabeth A. Jones. "Addressing Key Challenges in Higher Education Assessment," The Journal of General Education 52.4 (2003) 335-346. |
| The planning and implementation of institutional and programmatic assessment to ascertain what students have learned and how well they have learned it encompasses a number of challenges. Some of these major challenges are gaining institutional resources for assessment, designing faculty development plans, determining student learning outcomes and measuring them, and making changes based upon assessment results. There are numerous issues, but the focus in this article is on the challenges that seem to be most prevalent. This discussion also emphasizes those issues that must be addressed on a continuous basis in order to sustain a rigorous assessment process over time. |
| Katz, Stanley N. "Taking the True Measure of a Liberal Education ." Chronicle of Higher Education 54.37 (23 May 2008): A32-A32. |
| The article presents a speech given by Stanley N. Katz at a winter 2007 meeting of the Association of American College and Universities (AACU), discussing the ability and processes by which liberal education goals can be measured, the conflict between encouraging creativity and quantitative evaluation in education, and an evaluation of the AACU in promoting a standardized policy for educational assessment . [Available full-text through the Chronicle database.] |
| Leskes, Andrea and Ross Miller. General education : A Self-study Guide for Review & Assessment. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities, 2005. [LC985 .L46 2005] |
| Walvoord, Barbara E. Fassler. Assessment Clear and Simple: A Practicle Guide for Institutions, Departments, and General Education.San Francisco : Jossey-Bass, c2004. [LB2822.75 .W35 2004] |
| National Postsecondary Education Cooperative, Defining and Assessing Learning: Exploring Competency- Based Initiatives. Washington, DC, 2002. (190p pdf) |
| Seybert, Jeffrey A., and Kathleen A. O'Hara. "Development of a Performance-Based Model for Assessment of General Education." Assessment Update 9.4 (July 1997): 5-7. |
| The article focuses on a national survey conducted to explore the outcomes assessment needs of postsecondary institutions. One of the two most critical issues mentioned by a majority of respondents dealt with the difficulty of defining and assessing general education. In addition, most colleges and universities reported that they did not use standardized tests to assess student outcomes. Clearly, then, faculty are interested in methods to assess general education outcomes in ways other than the use of standardized tests. This general education assessment model involves the compilation of an institutional portfolio through the collection and review of student work produced in courses throughout the curriculum. |
| Voorhees, Alice Bedard. "Creating and Implementing Competency-Based Learning Models." New Directions for Institutional Research 2001.110 (Summer 2001): 83-95. |
| Evaluates competency-based models that have been developed from pioneering work on education. Efforts of Alverno College and Rutgers to reform general education; Model for the delivery of competency-based general education provided by Western Governors University; Discussion on industry-based models; Annotated Web bibliography on competency-based learning. |
| Arnold, Gordon B. "Symbolic Politics and Institutional Boundaries in Curriculum Reform." The Journal of Higher Education 75, no. 5 (September-October, 2004) 572-593. |
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| Employing a neo-institutional analytic framework, this paper considers one case of general-education reform, focusing on proposed changes to curricular structure, cultural diversity requirements, and curriculum oversight. The study explores how institutionalized organizational factors may influence the development of reform proposals, as well as how the reform process can yield useful symbolic outcomes that are distinct from technical change. |
| Awbrey, Susan M. "General Education Reform as Organizational Reform as Organizational Change: Integrating Change." JGE: The Journal of General Education 54.1 (Jan. 2005): 1-21. |
| The article provides a lens for readers to think about general education reform as organizational change. The author highlights the social and cultural elements that can enhance or impede change efforts and describes different models that can help change agents in their quest for sustained and sustainable reform. The author examines how higher education administrators and faculty can obtain more successful and sustainable reform outcomes by applying knowledge derived from literature and research on organizational change and by recognizing the importance of systematically integrating cultural and structural approaches to change. The paper concludes with the theoretical and practical integration of cultural and structural change processes. |
| Dubrow, Greg. "Collegiality and Culture: General Education Curriculum Reform at Western Protestant University." JGE: The Journal of General Education 53.2 (Apr. 2004): 107-134. |
| Examines the process of general education curriculum reform at Western Protestant University (WPU) in the United States. Discussion of the key concepts that make up the conceptual framework, institutional culture and Cuban's change typology; Analysis of Western Protestant University's institutional culture; Description of WPU's institutional culture. |
| Gano-Phillips, Susan, and Robert W. Barnett.. "Against All Odds: Transforming Institutional Culture." Liberal Education 94.2 (Spring 2008): 36-41. |
| The article discusses the institutional culture change at the University of Michigan based in Flint, Michigan. By empowering the campus community as a whole to make decisions about the curriculum, the author notes that a process-oriented approach to general education reform has changed the culture of the University. She then opines that engaging in institution-wide change requires examining institutional culture and, when necessary, engaging in cultural change. |
| Ferren, Ann S., and Ashby Kinch.. "The Dollars and Sense Behind General Education Reform." Peer Review 5.4 (Summer 2003): 8. |
| Discusses the curricular reform for general education in the U.S. Creation of coherent undergraduate program; Realignment of resources and the goals for educational revisions; Impact of financial constraints on the implementation of the educational reform . |
| Pittendrigh, Adele. "Reinventing thee Core: Community, Dialogue, and Change." JGE: The Journal of General Education 56.1 (Jan. 2007): 34-56. |
The article examines a six-year process of reforming the core curriculum at a midsize public research university. It showing how a seminar for first-year students, a lengthy campus-wide dialogue, and a multidisciplinary community of faculty produced a new core curriculum focused on inquiry, communication, and undergraduate research. Furthermore, it has been indicated that common learning outcomes, specified for each new category in the curriculum, emphasize critical thinking and the ability to see multiple perspectives. |
| Ratcliff, James L. "Re-envisioning the change process in general education." New Directions for Higher Education (Spring 2004): 97-118. Change in general education is changing, and there are lessons to be learned in reenvisioning the curriculum. |
| Trainor, Stephen L. "Designing a Signature General Education Program." Peer Review 7.1 (Fall 2004): 16-19. |
| Focuses on the development of new signature general education curriculum at the Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island. Appointment of a committee to produce a curricular model; Failure of efforts to reform general education curricula . |
| Tetreault, Mary Kathryn, and Terrel Rhodes. "Institutional Change as Scholarly Work: General Education Reform at Portland State University." JGE: The Journal of General Education 53.2 (Apr. 2004): 81-106 . |
| Provides an analytic framework that contributes to a new layer of understanding about the process of transformation in American higher education. Discussion of the long-standing dichotomies between content and pedagogy between mastery of bodies of knowledge and learning; Analysis of the similarities and differences of gender, race, age, sexual orientation, tenure status and discipline among faculty members and students; Exploration of the diversity of human experience. |
| Boning, Kenneth. "Coherence in General Education: A Historical Look." JGE: The Journal of General Education 56.1 (Jan. 2007): 1-16. |
| The article focuses on topics related to coherence in general education in the U.S. It has been noted that coherence is a major focus of general education reform in the country. However, an examination of the history of higher education indicated that interest in maintaining curricular coherence has fluctuated over the past 200 years. Furthermore, it has been described that the situation of higher education in terms to the result of the investigation as a swinging pendulum that alternates between periods of integration and fragmentation. |
| College Learning for the New Global Century: A Report from the National Council for Liberal Education & America's Promise. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities, 2007. |
| Pdf of the 73-page report. See page 12 for the Essential Learning Outcomes. This report is also available in the library. [LC1011 .C627 2007] |
| Fink, L. Dee. Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses. San Francisco, Calif. : Jossey-Bass, c2003. [LB2331 .F495 2003] |
| Gaff, Jerry G. "Keeping General Education Vital." Peer Review 5.4 (Summer 2003): 31. |
| Focuses on the importance of revising the programs of general education in the U.S. Provision of effective learning experience to students; Creation of student-centered and learning-centered general education program; Relevance of establishing a common learning goals. |
| Hammer, Christy, and Val Dusek.. "The Rationale and Challenge for the Integration of Science Studies in the Revision of General Education Curricula." JGE: The Journal of General Education 55.1 (Jan. 2006): 1-16. |
| The article focuses on the challenges in formulating favorable outcomes for scientific literacy and the significant contributions of history, philosophy, and sociology to general education. Students must be aware of the interactions between science, society, and culture. They must be capable of distinguishing science from pseudoscience by teaching them the history and philosophy of science. The authors stressed on the need to integrate science studies in general education curriculum due to the positive outcomes for student learning. |
| JGE: The Journal of General Education Full-text from 2003-present. |
| Johnson, D. Kent, and James L. Ratcliff. "Creating coherence: The unfinished agenda." New Directions for Higher Education (Spring 2004): 85-95. Most want a more coherent curriculum. Few succeed. What works, and why? |
| Lewis, Harry R. "A Core Curriculum for Tomorrow's Citizens." Chronicle of Higher Education 54.2 (07 Sep. 2007): 85-85. |
| The article discusses the possibility of a national core curriculum for U.S. colleges and universities. The author refers to the Secretary of Education's Spellings commission report, which he believes overlooked the educational purpose of producing citizens who are enlightened, self-reliant, and pluralistic and diverse but united by democratic values. He discusses the view that core curriculum is unnecessary and that, likely, there is nothing that is "relevant" to all students. He notes that students all are citizens and explains the importance of informed voters and political candidates and the benefits of informing foreign students about the U.S. He believes all U.S. students should understand the American republic and democracy. |
| Major, Claire H. "Problem-based Learning in General Education at Samford University: A Case Study of Changing Faculty Culture Through Targeted Improvement Efforts." JGE: The Journal of General Education 51.4 (Oct. 2002): 235-256. |
| The article discusses the efforts of Samford University to change their curriculum towards problem-based learning in general education in Birmingham, Alabama. According to the author, the curricular reform efforts of the institution towards active student-centered learning help promote curricular coherence because of the unified common learning results among faculty and staffs. He adds that the program of the university is unique with essential financial backing capable to implement proactive steps to attain the desired changes. In addition, the administrators provide their faculty with the needed security to sustain risks and move to their normal comfort zones without any fear of failure of retribution. |
| Musgrove, Laurence. "The Metaphors We Gen-Ed By." Liberal Education 94.1 (Winter 2008): 42-47. |
The article presents research aimed at developing core curriculum changes in U.S. general education. The research team determined the choices within the disciplinary distribution requirements to guide students adequately through common experiences. Students involved in the research took common courses in writing, math, philosophy and communication in the first year as disciplinary requirements. |
| Newton, Robert R. "Tensions and Models in General Education Planning." The Journal of General Education 49.3 (2000) 165-181. |
| Discussions of general education have become a permanent fixture in American higher education, reflecting the perennial struggle between general education and specialization. The undergraduate curriculum, originally a unified, common, prescribed program in virtually all colleges, has been eroded in various historical periods by the rise of electives, the need for specialized programs, and the emergence of new knowledge. |
| Purposeful Pathways: Helping Students Achieve Key Learning Outcomes. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities, 2006.[LB2322.2 .L47 2006] |
| This final publication of the Greater Expectations project reports on practices from high school through college to advance four selected liberal education outcomes: inquiry, civic, global, and integrative learning. From defining outcomes, to reviewing current practices, to charting sequences of learning over time, readers will find numerous resources helpful in their curricular planning. |
| Smith, Barbara Leigh. Learning Communities: Reforming Undergraduate Education.San Francisco : Jossey-Bass, c2004.[LB2331 .L392 200] |
| Tagg, John. "Double-Loop Learning in Higher Education." Change 39.4 (July 2007): 36-41. |
| The article discusses how colleges can find areas and ways to improve their performance in areas such as assessment, retention, accountability, as well as general education. It is proposed that colleges should use double-loop learning, which involves reevaluating governing values and action strategies in light of the consequences, to look for ways to improve. This is different from single-loop learning in which only action strategies are revised to get new consequences. Some governing values in colleges that are evaluated in the article are the academic calendar, the class, the grading system, and the pedagogical practices. |
Click here to see the presentation from the September 22nd faculty meeting.
FUN STUFF! |
| Podcasts of The Association of American Colleges and Universities General Education Conferences are available for free! Visit their website for more information, or go to the iTunes Store and enter the keywords AAC&U general education. Note: if you haven't used iTunes before, you will need to download some free software. |
Email Katie Maier-O'Shea if you would like to recommend an addition to the website or the library collection.