Aligning and Integrating General Education and the Majors at a Large Public Research University

1. Aligning and Integrating General Education and the Majors at a Large Public Research University Anthony Ciccone William Keith Jeffrey Merrick University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

2. Overview • History and Challenges at UWM • Themes of the Change Process at UWM • Structure of Current Proposal

3. 1. History and Challenges • Type of school • History of General Education: 1382 and 1984 • Breadth problems • Simultaneous changes: • Assessment • FYE • Persistence • HIPs • Inclusive Excellence • Faculty motivation

5. Group Work • Make a list of challenges you have faced/will face at your institution • Work with people at your table to find a challenge common to you all • Report out

6. 2. Themes of Change • Continuity: “renovation not demolition” • Synergy with other changes • Open process: bottom up and working with governance • Finding allies • AAC&U resources

7. 3. Results • ELOs • Breadth + Competencies • Course descriptions (7 areas) • ELO requirement • Examples of ELOs in use • Freshman seminar project on critical thinking • CIPD ELO project • Connections to the majors through Assessment • Connections to the co-curricular?

9. A proposal for IL designation must • 1. Explain how the course fits into one of the CKS area and how it differs from • introductory and specialized courses in the discipline by addressing larger issues • 2. Include at least 3 ELOs. • Critical thinking • Inquiry and analysis • Problem solving and teamwork • Creative thought and expression • Oral and written communication • Information literacy • Intercultural knowledge and competence • Civic knowledge and engagement • Ethical reasoning • Integrative applied learning • 3. Specify an assignment or activity through which students achieve each ELO and describe the assessment process for assessing achievement of outcomes.

10. Foundations of Scientific Inquiry (6-7 credits) Social and Cultural Analysis (3 credits) Understanding Ethics, Values, and Human Behavior (3 credits) Interpretating Texts and Media (3 credits) Contemporary Global Perspectives (3 credits) Creative Arts (3 credits) Race, Ethnicity, ad Diversity in the U.S. (3 credits)

11. 3. Results • ELOs • Breadth + Competencies • Course descriptions (7 areas) • ELO requirement • Examples of ELOs in use • Freshman seminar project on critical thinking • CIPD ELO project • Connections to the majors through Assessment • Connections to the co-curricular?

12. CIPD Collaborative Interdisciplinary ELO Project • Eight general education course redesign/inquiry into student learning/dissemination projects  • Emphasis on integrating and assessing critical thinking. • Steps: 1. Participants defined critical thinking in their course by reviewing the definition and characteristics on the Value Rubrics. 2. Participants selected (from the rubric along the left side), or created new criteria that provided descriptors of this ELO. These were the markers of student learning of that ELO that they tried to assess. 5. Participants designed a way (assignment, activity, assessment instrument, etc) to measure student learning of the criteria selected. They looked to Level 4 in the critical thinking rubric to describe what mastery of these criteria would look like.

13. Example of 1: Define Critical Thinking Definition Example: Critical Thinking VALUE definition: Critical Thinking is a habit of mind characterized by the comprehensive exploration of issues, ideas, artifacts, and events before accepting or formulating an opinion or conclusion. Jewish Studies: Critical Thinking for this course means the ability to question, challenge, investigate, and explore the issue of culture (specifically Jewish culture) in ways that highlight the complexity and multifaceted nature of the issue.

14. Example of 2: Criterion Criterion Example: Explanation of issues VALUE: Issue/problem is stated clearly and described comprehensively, delivering all relevant information necessary for full understanding.   Conservation Studies: A student should be able to comprehensively explain an issue to be explored – the who, what, where, when, and why – and the influences the specific aspects may have on understanding the issue.

15. Example 3: Position Example: (criterion = establishing a position)  Multicultural America: Describe your cultural identity and what you have learned about the diversity of Milwaukee in light of your experience of service, your understanding of course readings, and your insights from our class discussions. (Multimedia presentation/ePortfolio entry) Assessment: Ability to organize and use multiple sources (earlier writing, answers to questions about identity, etc.) to develop a thoughtful and complex position.

16. 3. Results • ELOs • Breadth + Competencies • Course descriptions (7 areas) • ELO requirement • Examples of ELOs in use • Freshman seminar project on critical thinking • CIPD ELO project • Connections to the majors through Assessment • Connections to the co-curricular?

17. Results (con’t) • HIPs • First Year Seminars • OUR • Living Learning Communities • Zombies • FYIs

18. Group Work 2 • Make a list with your group: What are the strengths you bring/have brought to ELO implementation? • Given your strengths, tell us • What was your biggest victory so far? • What are your next steps?