version 1.0, 8/1/2011, page 1

Undergraduate Curriculum at Doane

At the request of the Doane Plan Committee, Dr. John Burney, VPAA,established the General Education Task force in the fall of 2010, and charged it to review the purposes, learning outcomes, and structure of Doane's general education program, and make recommendations on revisions that will enhance student learning and connect the program clearly to Doane's mission.

The task force will report its final recommendations to the Doane Plan Committee during the 2011-12 academic year so that they can be considered by the faculty governance system. Materials used and produced by the task force can be found at Members of the task force include Gerry Allen, John Burney, Alec Engebretson, Kay Hegler, Adam Hunke (student), Kim Jarvis, Linda Kalbach, Kate Marley, Carrie Petr, Jeff Stander, and Phil Weitl.

The charge included three important assumptions:

  1. Changes to the general education program, if any, will intentionally address the student learning outcomes that reflect the philosophy of general education formed from the college's mission.
  2. Changes to the general education program, if any, will allow all undergraduate students, present and future, to graduate in four years.
  3. Changes to the general education program, if any, will not affect current full-time faculty positions.

This document, written in a collaborative process by the task force over the summer of 2011, contains a draft framework for the Undergraduate Curriculum at Doane. This curriculum is designed to address the essential learning outcomes in the Statement on Undergraduate General Education(available on the task force website) which articulates the college's philosophy of general education and the essential learning outcomes which must be intentionally addressed by the undergraduate curriculum.

At this time, the task force is asking members of the Doane community to review the proposed Undergraduate Curriculum at Doane, and provide feedback to the task force by answering the following questions:

  1. Does the Undergraduate Curriculum at Doane draft have the potential for developing the mission's learning outcomes?
  2. Does the concept of a sequence of liberal arts seminars provide a distinctive curriculum that matches well with students' intellectual development in college?
  3. Is it valuable to treat general education as a place for integration?
  4. Do we have the right Integrative Areas of General Study?
  5. Do the individual areas have the right outcomes?
  6. Will the curriculum and portfolio provide an adequate vehicle for student reflection and help them pull together their academic, co-curricular, and experiential learning?
  7. Does the curriculum address the major elements of liberal education?

If the answer to any of the above questions is no, what changes to the Undergraduate Curriculum at Doane draft could be proposed in order to be able to answer yes to that question?

After the task force gets general feedback and revises the framework as needed, we will ask for the specific opportunities and challenges that your program/division/campus would see in implementing such a curriculum revision.

Undergraduate Curriculum at Doane

The Undergraduate Curriculum at Doane prepares each student to LIVE Doane, both in college and beyond.

The Undergraduate Curriculum at Doane enables students to attain essential learning outcomes by intentionally pursuing those outcomes throughout liberal arts seminars, integrative areas of general study, fields of specialized study, and experiential learning. For each student, the pursuit and achievement of the essential learning outcomes is documented and reflected upon in an individual portfolio that evolves over a student’s years at Doane. The essential learning outcomes are aligned with the mission of the college.

LIVE embodies that mission. Developing leaders, who model intellectual inquiry and ethical values, while engaging as responsible citizens impacting their many communities, is the mission of Doane and the purpose of the Undergraduate Curriculum at Doane.

To intentionally enable students to attain the essential learning outcomes and achieve the mission of DoaneCollege, the Undergraduate Curriculum at Doane includes the following components:

  1. Four-course Liberal Arts Seminar sequence aligned with, and intentionally addressing,the essential student learning outcomes. The seminars are coordinated within and between each level of the sequence.
  2. SevenIntegrative Areas of General Study each with specific learning outcomes. These areas further define the general studies referred to in the essential learning outcomes. In general, these courses allow students to further develop intellectual skills while providing a breadth and depth of content enabling them to make connections of knowledge to address complex problems. Existing courses can be identified, somemodified as necessary, and new courses developed that address thespecific learning outcomes for a particular integrative area. Each course should alsointentionally address essential student learning outcomes as appropriate.
  3. Numerous Fields of Specialized Study, each with specific learning outcomes, in which one can major, minor, or take electives. These fields further define the specialized studies referred to in the essential learning outcomes. Each Field of Specialized Studyshould also intentionally address appropriate essential learning outcomes at multiple points, including a culminating experience/activity. This integration will be determined by the faculty in each Field of Specialized Study.
  4. One or more Experiential Learning opportunities which explicitly address essential student learning outcomes. Co-curricular and extra-curricular activities should also intentionally address learning outcomes as appropriate.Students will reflect on how their experiences outside the classroom contribute to addressing learning outcomes.
  5. Through an individualportfolio, students become self-directed learners, and will reflect on how they will adapt their liberal education to define their values and leadership skills.

Addendum A explicitly outlines how addressing the essential learning outcomes through the Undergraduate Curriculum at Doane achieves the LIVE Doane mission.

Undergraduate Curriculum at Doane

Catalog Description Outline

Undergraduate Curriculum at Doane

{insert description from previous page}

Philosophy

{insert philosophy of general education here}

Essential Student Learning Outcomes

{insert essential student learning outcomes of general education here}

Graduation Requirements

  1. Liberal Arts Seminars 101, 201, 301, 40110 credits

{101, 201, and 301 are 3 credits each, 401 is 1 credit}

{current LAR 301 – Teaching Assistant will be renumbered}

{insert descriptions found later in this document}

  1. Integrative Areas of General Study21 credits

{one 3-credit course from each area}

  1. Community and Identity
  2. Symbolic Communication
  3. Quantitative Reasoning
  4. Rhetorical Communication
  5. Global and Cultural Contexts
  6. Scientific Perspectives on Critical Issues
  7. Human Creativity
  8. In Search of Meaning and Well-Being

{insert descriptions and outcomes of each found later in this document}

  1. Fields of Specialized Study (majors, minors, electives)variable credits

{insert descriptions from the various fields}

  1. Experiential Learning 3 credits

{insert description found later in this document}

  1. Portfolio development, review and presentation (in LAR 401)

{insert description found later in this document}

Total number of Undergraduate Curriculum at Doane credits

(excluding Fields of Specialized Study credits)34credits

  • All interterm (ITM) courses meet requirements for an Integrative Area of General Study or the outcomes for experiential learning

Total number of credit hours to graduate 124 credits

(two required interterms)

  • While we have made a suggestion, the task force is open to a faculty discussion concerning interterm, including the possibility of 120 credits for graduation with no interterm requirements if time for experiential learning is protected.
  • The task force refers to the full faculty to discuss interterm, semester schedules and student course loads, maximum credits for activities (such as 0 – move to co-curricular transcript?) and internships as they relate to the undergraduate curriculum at Doane.

Undergraduate Curriculum at Doane

Component 1: Liberal Arts Seminars

Descriptions and Outcomes

The sequence of Liberal Arts Seminars progressively address the essential learning outcomes:

  1. Develop crucial intellectual skills. Students will learn to:
  2. engage in discovery;
  3. assemble and evaluate facts and assumptions;
  4. support conclusions with relevant evidence; and
  5. practice effective communication.
  6. Build connections of knowledge across various disciplines. Students will learn to:
  7. synthesize knowledge across general and specialized studies;
  8. develop creative insights and expressions; and
  9. apply and integrate knowledge collaboratively to solve complex problems.
  10. Adapt their liberal education to serve and to lead at all levels of citizenship. Students will learn to:
  • create a refined, empathetic understanding of a multifaceted world;
  • orient their own ethical compasses to act accordingly; and
  • engage with people of varying perspectives to build just societies.

In addition to addressing the appropriate essential learning outcomes, each Liberal Arts Seminar will have learning outcomes unique to the course section.

LAR 101: Inquiry Seminar

  • Course Description: A course designed to introduce students to college-level writing, discussion, critical thinking, and critical reading. Faculty will choose an interdisciplinary topic for each section in order to help students learn library research skills, to work collaboratively, and to gain an appreciation for multiple perspectives. Each year, the LAR 101 instructors identify a big question, with related common readings, as the overarching theme of all LAR 101 sections that will be the enduring question for those students throughout their liberal arts course sequence. Portfolios are introduced as a tool for students to begin developing and reflecting on their liberal arts education. (Taken in first semester, 3 credits)
  • Students will work to:
  • Engage in discovery;
  • Assemble and evaluate facts and assumptions;
  • Support conclusions with relevant evidence; and
  • Practice effective communication.

LAR 201: Integrative Seminar

  • Course Description: Students apply and integrate knowledge collaboratively to address complex questions that require multiple perspectives. The big question identified in LAR 101 will be revisited as one of those complex questions. Students will be engaged through interactive pedagogies selected as appropriate by the LAR 201 instructors. Portfolios are further developed. (Sophomore status, and successful completion of LAR 101 or equivalent, 3 credits)
  • Students will work to:
  • Connect the methods and research of more than one field of study to address a complex issue.
  • Recognize multiple social, political, religious, cultural or global perspectives on a complex issue.
  • Develop collaborative skills in research and presentation of knowledge.
  • Use reflective writing in the portfolio to begin to express their distinctive voice and to explore the ethical questions raised by complex problems

LAR 301: Impact Seminar

  • Course Description: This distinctive course develops students’ teamwork and leadership skills as it connects students’ theoretical and applied knowledge to concrete issues. Students drawn from multiple fields of specialized studycollaboratively analyze, cultivate, and utilize their empathetic understanding of theworld.In working as part of a team, students will share their knowledge of their fields of specialized studyto develop solutions to complex real-world problems. The big question identified in LAR 101 will be revisited as one of those complex real-world problems. Students publically present work.Portfolios are further developed. (Junior status, and successful completion of LAR 201 or equivalent, 3 credits)
  • Students will work to:
  • demonstrate the ability to construct a reasoned understanding of a problem with evidence ofall relevant contextual factors, including ethical, logical, and cultural dimensions of theproblem.
  • articulate multiple approaches for solving the problem and propose one or more solutions/hypotheses that indicate a deep comprehension of the problem.
  • implement the solution within the context of the problem and with available resources.
  • demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively and engage all members of the class infostering a constructive team climate.
  • Use reflective writing in the portfolio to express their distinctive voice and to define their own ethical values and understanding of a just society.

LAR 401: Insight Seminar

  • Course Description: Serves as a final opportunity for students to examine their own growth overtheir collegiate experience, both as individuals and as a collective, and to finalize their portfolio. (Senior status, and successful completion of, or concurrent enrollment in LAR 301 or equivalent, 1 credit)

The task force will discuss with faculty the best way to connect this experience with each field of study such as through capstone experiences, standalone seminars, or portfolio labs.

  • Students will work to:
  • Engage in reflective writing and effective communication using technology-based tools,
  • Analyze their development in the essential learning outcomes,
  • Communicate their own distinctive values

Undergraduate Curriculum at Doane

Component 2: Integrative Areas of General Study

Description and Outcomes

The Integrative Areas of General Study further define the general studies referred to in the essential learning outcomes.

The Integrative Areas of General Study include:

  • Community and Identity
  • Symbolic Communication
  • Quantitative Reasoning
  • Rhetorical Communication
  • Global and Cultural Contexts
  • Scientific Perspectives on Critical Issues
  • Human Creativity
  • In Search of Meaning and Well-Being

All courses offered as an Integrative Area of General Study will provide continued development of intellectual skills, and a breadth and depth of content to enable students to begin to make connections of knowledge to address complex problems. Specifically, through the Integrative Areas of General Study, students will work to learn multiple modes of inquiry and how to apply them to complex issues.

In addition to addressing essential learning outcomes as appropriate, each Integrative Area of General Study has specific learning outcomes outlined below.

Community and Identity

  • Description: Students will gain a greater understanding of themselves and the communities in which they live and work, and how identity is formed through the interaction of the individual and larger society.
  • Students will work to:
  • explore dimensions of human experience with regard to perceptions of self
  • understand how individuals interact to form communities and social structures
  • consider the ethical implications of interactions between individuals and those social structures

Symbolic Communication

  • Description: Doane students will practice the art of using language purposely and effectively.
  • Quantitative Reasoning

Students will work to:

  • analyze and present solutions to authentic problems using symbols, components, fundamental processes, and modeling from mathematical languages.
  • use the quantitative analysis of data as the basis for deep and thoughtful judgments, drawing insightful, carefully qualified conclusions from their work.
  • use quantitative information in connection with the argument or purpose of their work, and present it in an effective format (words, tables, graphs, equations, etc.).
  • Rhetorical Communication

Students will work to:

  • analyze rhetorical context, to recognize the variables of a writing situation, and operate accordingly as writers.
  • support a clear argument with credible evidence and analysis in a focused and organized way.
  • understand effective writing as a recursive process that involves reasoned decision making and multiple steps including planning, invention, drafting, feedback, revision, and editing.
  • become purposeful, more thoughtful communicators, more keenly aware of what they are doing and why in each phase of the writing process.

Global and Cultural Context

  • Description: Doane students will gain a greater understanding of the foundations of the modern world and interconnections of global cultures. Students may address complex questions about race, gender, nationality, religion, and/or politics in order to understand multiple cultural perspectives.
  • Students will work to:
  • understand the evolution and development of cultural frameworks in the context of history, values, politics, social structures, or beliefs and practices.
  • interpret intercultural experiences from the perspectives of more than one worldview and demonstrate the ability to appreciate other cultures beyond their own experience.
  • create a refined empathetic understanding of a multifaceted world.
  • develop skills to foster intercultural communications.
  • examine ethical considerations regarding culture, history, and global perspectives.

Scientific Perspectives on Critical Issues

  • Description: Doane students will gain a greater understanding of scientific thinking and applications. Students will consider the complexities of scientific methodologies in one or more discipline, the scientific context of issues they will confront as informed citizens, and the scientific impact on the global community.
  • Students will work to
  • recognize scientific methods and employ them for discovery in a scientific discipline.
  • develop their scientific literacy and ability to critically evaluate scientific information.
  • consider the ethical and social implications of scientific study and use of scientific findings.

Human Creativity

  • Description: Doane students will understand the complex layers of the creative process, its reflection of human society and it power to impact.
  • Students will work to:
  • interpret artistic expression.
  • develop skills in self-expression through the production of their own creative work, or the critical analysis of other’s work.
  • use their insights and the creative process to contribute to the examination of the human condition.

In Search of Meaning and Well Being

  • Description: Doane students will consider the importance of meaning as it relates to the unique quality of being human.
  • Students will work to:
  • explore their own human capabilities and perceived boundaries - physical, intellectual, spiritual and emotional.
  • consider the multiple ways that humans have come to understand the meaning of their existence.

Undergraduate Curriculum at Doane

Component 3:Fields of Specialized Study

Description and Outcomes

The Fields of Specialized Study further define the specialized studies referred to in the essential learning outcomes.

Each Field of Specialized Study (major, minor, electives), in pursuing learning outcomes for their own program, is also asked to determine how the essential learning outcomes and Integrative Areas of General Study outcomes might also be intentionally incorporated.

Possibilities could include: