Millersville University, Faculty Senate
Millersville University
Objectives of the General Education Program
as presented by the
General Education Review Committee
Brief History: Two years ago, the faculty senate gave to the General
Education Review Committee the task of assessment of the general education
program at Millersville University. As part of our upcoming Middle States
Review, all programs, including the general education program, will need
to be engaged in outcomes assessment. The Five-Year
Program Review, completed in May, 1996, identified creation of
revised, assessable outcomes, as a necessary prerequisite to assessing the
general education program. What is proposed here, then, are revised
outcomes or goals of general education; they are not requirements.
Although future changes in the curriculum would need to be guided by these
objectives, any such changes in the curriculum would only occur as a
result of the same process now in force, which is to say, through a vote
of faculty senate. It is not antitipated that adopting these objectives
will lead to any increase in either the number or the complexity of
general education requirements. In fact, it is our belief that any
changes made must be minimally disruptive and move in the direction
of simplicity and efficiency rather than the opposite direction.
During the Fall of 97, the General Education Review Committee established
nine different clusters of possible outcomes objectives, and a working
group for each cluster. Each group was headed by a member of the
committee except one, which was headed by a faculty volunteer. Each
committee member was also a "second", or helper on a second working group.
Faculty members from various departments were recruited to serve on the
working groups, and ideas were circulated at meetings, through e-mail, and
on the web site to obtain feedback at various stages of development.
We are still investigating means of assessment for some of these
objectives. As only three to five objectives will be tested at any one
time, we are most concerned immediately with specifying means of
assessment for those objectives which are to be assessed first. Last
summer, we examined two nationally normed general education tests, and
decided to administer both to a sample of our undergraduates as a sort of
pilot test during the first two weeks of the Spring 1999 semester. (This
was recommended to us by Nichols, our outcomes assessment consultant.)
Available exams test students on math, critical thinking, science
reasoning, critical reading, and writing skills.
General education objectives are divided into three tiers as
follows:
Tier I: Fundamental Skills - Six Objectives
Rationale: Students need these skills by the end of their first year of
college. While we teach these in courses that fall under specific
disciplines, at the fundamental level our main purposes of instruction are
(1) their importance for success in higher level courses in a multitude of
disciplines and (2) their general usefulness for a wide range of personal,
civic, and career purposes.
1) Mathematical Reasoning: Students completing 30 credits at MU
will demonstrate that they can:
a) formulate problems from the real world in the abstract language
of mathematics;
b) select and perform mathematical procedures appropriate for
solving such problems;
For a) and b), in particular assess:
i. Solving basic algebraic equations that model real world phenomena
AND
ii. Understanding and interpreting statistical data
c) understand mathematical concepts and procedures appropriate for
further learning.
For c), in particular assess:
i. Comprehension of basic geometric concepts AND
ii. Using calculators to solve mathematical problems
2) Critical Reasoning: Students completing 30 credits at MU will
demonstrate that they can:
a) demonstrate an understanding of and ability to recognize,
analyze, and appreciate arguments supporting theories and perspectives
other than ones own;
b) provide reasoned support for their own beliefs;
c) fairly and competently compare and evaluate competing arguments.
3) Inquiry/Information Literacy: Students completing 30 credits at
MU will demonstrate that they can:
a) generate research questions/pose problems;
b) recognize when they have a need for information;
c) find reliable sources;
d) evaluate information found and select relevant information;
e) make effective use of information, including being able to
integrate what they have learned into a final product.
4) Communicating using a variety of speaking and writing processes:
Students completing 30 credits at MU will demonstrate that they can:
a) generate, express and revise ideas;
b) take into account others' critiques of their ideas;
c) present ideas publicly in both spoken and written form;
d) reflect on their ability to work through these processes.
5) Communicating within different contexts: Students completing 30
credits at MU will demonstrate that, effectively and deliberately, they
can:
a) use speaking and writing for a variety of purposes (e.g., for
learning, pleasure, persuasion, exchange of information);
b) target different audiences according to those purposes;
c) select appropriate strategies for both writing and speaking
(e.g., genre, conventions, style, vocabulary) for those audiences and
purposes;
d) demonstrate awareness of their decisions.
6) Communications Technology Literacy: Students completing 30
credits at MU will demonstrate that they are competent with appropriate
communications technology, and hence are able to:
a) make use of appropriate communications technology (e.g. word
processing, spread sheets, e-mail, web-based publishing)
b) explain the way new technologies alter the processes of inquiry
and communication.
Tier II: Disciplines-based Skills, Knowledge - Six Objectives
Rationale: Students should have these at least by the time they graduate,
but they often need them earlier, either as part of the process of
selecting a major, as an important knowledge base for other courses, or
for general knowledge and skills useful in personal life, careers, and
civic life. What students learn here is definitely taught within a
discipline, such as sociology, art history, or biology, but the ultimate
justification for our requiring students to take a certain number of
courses within each division would seem to be a belief that there are
several fairly distinct types of knowledge with which students need to be
acquainted. Each type of knowledge is characterized by its own modes of
communication and its own methods of critical reasoning and inquiry.
These three types of understanding include the scientific, the social
scientific, and the artistic/humanitistic, as represented in the MU
curriculum by the three G-Blocks.
A) Humanities and Fine Arts: At completion of their general
education requirements, all MU students should be able to:
7) Identify and discuss (in a way that demosntrates broad-based
knowledge within one or more disciplines) at least two
individuals/movements from a list of historical and contemporary artists,
philosophers, musicians, playwrights, or writers, including Western and
non-Western examples.
8 understand and be able to make use of some of the critical and
creative methods of the arts and humanities, including the ability to
a) intelligently analyze, critique, and defend their reasoned
opinions concerning works of theater, literature, art, philosophy or music
(American or international, contemporary or historical)
b) create and/or appreciate works of art and literature
B) Science and Math: At completion of their general education
requirements, all MU students should be able to:
9) articulate connections between scientific principles,
technologies, and events affecting our everyday lives.
10) explain how we know and why we believe key concepts in the
natural sciences, and be able to use:
a) scientific reasoning
b) laboratory methods
c) mathematics to solve scientific problems
d) appropriate technology
C) Social Sciences: At completion of their general education
requirements, all MU students will be able to:
11) demonstrate an understanding of:
a) the relationships among people, culture, environment,
institutions and systems across history and geography, and
b) the cultural, institutional, and environmental interdependence
of coutries and regions of the world.
12) explain and be able to use some of the methods of inquiry of
the social sciences, including quantitative and qualitative methods, to:
a) study human behavior and social institutions
b) communicate the results using appropriate language, and
c) ascertain and evaluate the results obtained by others.
Tier III: Connections - Six Objectives
Rationale: Some capacities need to be acquired by students throughout
their college careers; multiple opportunities for exposure and a grounding
in a number of different disciplines provide an opportunity for depth and
help avoid superficiality. This type of knowledge is genuinely
interdisciplinary, in the most significant sense. It requires the student
to make connections not only among courses from different disciplines, but
from courses to life.
D. 13) Diversity/Understanding: At completion of degree
requirements, all MU students must be able to demonstrate an understanding
of:
a) at least two major U.S. ethnic groups,
b) the paradigms involved in studying other cultures/geners/sexual
orientations, and
c) global diversity in terms of race, class, gender, sexual
orientation, disabilities, etc.
d) linguistic diversity within a community.
14) Diversity/Skills: At completion of degree requirements, all MU
students should be able to demonstrate they have learned attitudes and
skills essential for communicating with, working with, and making
decisions with people of diverse backgrounds.
E. 15) Historical Consciousness: At completion of degree
requirements, MU students will be able to explain how the development and
expression of institutions and beliefs interact with historical
circumstances.
F. 16) Coherence: At completion of degree requirements, MU students
will be able to see and discuss connections among courses in various
disciplines and between their course work and "real life." In addition,
they will be able to use what they have learned to make decisions and
solve problems.
G. 17) Personal, Ethical, and Civic Values and
Decision-making/Skills: At completion of degree requirements, MU
students should be able to:
a) articulate and defend with reasons their own personal, moral,
and civic values;
b) understand and respect the differing perspectives of others;
and
c) use this knowledge of self and others to resolve conflicts and
make decisions in "real life".
The HPE department has requested that we incorporate a couple of
changes into #18.
Original version:
18) Personal, Ethical, and Civic Values and
decision-making/Behavior: At completion of degree requirements, MU
students should manifest certain virtues when it comes to what we might
call areas of genuine consensus about personal, moral, and civic values;
examples include:
a) academic and intellectual honesty,
b) commitment to personal growth, hard work, self-respect,
self-discipline, and perseverance,
c) development of civility, empathy, and respect for others,
d) intellectual humility, independence, and courage, and
e) acceptance of responsibility for the consequences of their
choices.
Revised version:
(as above, except change:
b) commitment to personal growth, wellness, hard work,
self-respect, self-discipline, and perseverance, and
e) acceptance of responsibility for the consequences of their
choices on their own welfare and that of others.
These objectives were developed by the General Education Review Committee.
While a large number of faculty have participated to some degree in the
process of developing the objectives, the following people have played a
major role in heading and/or seconding the working groups initiated by the
GERC:
Dottie Blum, Math
Ana Borger-Reese, Foreign Languages
Jamie Byrne, Communication and Theatre
Bonnie Duncan, English
Fred Foster-Clark, Psychology
Elizabeth Masciale, English
Jay Mone', Biology
Barbara Montgomery, Dean of SS and Humanities
Ed Rajaseelan, Chemistry
Kathy Schreiber, Geography
Derek Shanahan, Geography
Barb Stengel, Ed Foundations
Marjorie Warmkessel, Library
Ryan Kunkle, History Major
Colleen Stameshkin, Philosophy - Chair
11/18/98
Return to Faculty Senate Home Page
Return to MU Home Page