Curriculum and Methods in Liberal Studies

1. Curriculum and Methods in Liberal Studies

2. What is Liberal Study? (1) • Social issues • Political issues • Something related in Cultural • Science • Government Policy • Critical thinking • Self Identities • Psychology • Work based skills

3. What is Liberal Study? (2) • It is quite difficult to define what kinds of components should have to involve in the discipline of Liberal Studies. • Therefore, we had better to review the goals/ aims that behind the rationale why we would like to establish the subject.

4. Aims of Liberal Studies • Liberal Studies aims to provide students with a foundational and interdisciplinary education in sciences, humanities, education and social sciences. • This interdisciplinary approach will enable the students to broaden their horizons, enhance their intellectual development, strengthen their communication skills, develop responsible and mature character and to excel in further study and career development.

5. Summary of some key words • foundational and interdisciplinary education in sciences, humanities, education and social sciences. • broaden students horizons • enhance students intellectual development, • strengthen students communication skills • develop responsible • mature character • further study (self-learning skills) • career development (work-based skills)

6. Knowledge • Sciences • Humanities • Education • Social Sciences • Politics • Cultural Topics • Religion • Arts

7. Generic Skills Development • Communication Skills • Presentation Skills • Research Skills • Quantitative Analyze (Numeracy ability) • Logic • Values Judgment • Concentration • Memorization Skills • I.T. Skills • Problem Solving Skills • Collaboration Skills

8. Common Knowledge • Common knowledge is knowledge that is known by everyone or nearly everyone, usually with reference to the community in which the term is used.

9. Common Knowledge (2) • Knowledge comes from accumulation of ideas. • Basic background knowledge was important. • For junior learner, we had better to instruct them in a summative way, tell them the conclusion. • For mature learner, we had to provide more rooms for high order thinking. • Include different opinions.

10. Higher Order Thinking • Higher order thinking is thinking on a level that is higher than memorizing facts or telling something back to someone exactly the way it was told to you. When a person memorizes and gives back the information without having to think about it, we call that rote memory. That’s because it’s much like a robot; it does what it’s programmed to do, but it doesn’t think for itself.

11. Higher Order Thinking

12. Change of Views • Difference Level • Person • Family • National • Global • Difference Aspects • Economy • Democracy • Politics

13. Value Judgment • Rich / Poor • Tall / Short • Fat / Thin • Good / Bad • Sometimes it seems to have a standard, however it may not true for all occasions. • It had better to consider the “relative” value.

14. Interdisciplinary Education • Possibility • Feasibility • Tolerance of: • Students • Teachers • Parents

15. Example of Interdisciplinary Education • Immersion Programme • Field Trips • Project • Exhibition Events • Competitions • Dramas • Performance • Etc.