Faculty Council on Education

Faculty Council on Education

Minutes

October, 11, 2004

3:30-5:30PM

Approximately 30 present

Call to order by Aram Terzian

Alan Elyshevitz’ subcommittee report on general education and additions to the first meeting’s minutes:

Other problems to address besides the ones that we discussed at the first meeting:

·  How can we convince faculty and the administration that general education and beyond are necessary for the curriculum

·  What are the deleterious effects of budgetary constraints on general education’

·  Should we do the changes piecemeal WHILE addressing the issue of ambitions (both large and small)’

·  We need to emphasize that students, may, over the course of time, change jobs or even professions and the role that general education can play in developing flexibility.

·  The irony of a democratic society is that we must enable the students to question that society while participating in the decision making process. This is critical thinking.

·  We are here to give information, to provide knowledge, but the goal is for students to eventually develop wisdom.

·  Alan will send a copy of this information to Aram and Steve, who can then photocopy it for the council.

Drs. Lakshmi Gudapati and Alison Tasch made subcommittee report on the goals and definition of General Education

·  What is to be learned?

·  What is to be done with what is learned?

·  What is the role of language proficiency in General Education?

We should first determine the academic disciplines that we wish to address: statistical literacy, scientific method, interpreting texts, developing literacy, cultural competency, history and geography, technology, aesthetic awareness. Also Humanities, Physical/Life Sciences. Other comments:

·  The General Ed curriculum should offer a wide range of focus (discreet skills, deductive and inductive reasoning, grammar skills, basic arithmetic)

·  Students should be able to transfer these skills across the curriculum

·  Can we teach the humanities and the sciences at the same time’

·  Reasoning abilities need to be addressed. Students need to be able to solve cognitive problems. The example was given of teaching evolutionary theory in an English class.

·  Are we responsible for closing the gaps that the Philadelphia School System has created/

·  Language and Math are two important requirements across the curriculum

·  AAC and U catalogue was presented as an excellent example of a General Education program.

·  Perhaps one of the thoughts that might be useful to incorporate basic standards for each department; An example was given from the Automotive Department- Students need to be able to write a paper and solve a basic formula. There arises the question: ‘This isn’t an English class, right? Why should I have to write a paper?’

·  There is a lack of competency in terms of basic skills; An example was presented by Aram- mathematics becoming more central to work in other courses because of the rise of technology- reading of charts, graphs, and other mathematical basics is lacking at the college level before students take MTH 016

·  Perhaps there needs to be an exit criteria or competency exam for particular subjects (curricula’)

·  Steve Jones asked: ‘What do liberally educated students need to know?’

·  What is the set of skills that is needed?

·  What is the better characterization of general education?

·  How does this relate to the Faculty Council on Education?

·  Can we redesign by introducing a set of courses’

·  What about students who aren’t prepared for college level courses? How does this create a problem of ‘credits to graduate?’

·  Developmental ed needs to help define General ed.

·  What are the quantitative skills that are needed’ Application’ Intercultural’ Problem Solving’ Civic/ Social Responsibility’ Professional development’

·  Can or should we do it all in two years?

·  What are the other urban Community Colleges doing?

·  Starting at the college level may be a mistake’

·  How do we transfer skills to the next level (ibid)

·  Atish- question: To what extent do you believe the sciences will play a role in General Education?

·  The sciences can increase critical thinking ability. We need to emphasize this in General Ed.

·  Example of cross-disciplinary study (writing an essay on cosmological theory) was introduced to show the value of using science and math with other disciplines

·  The reasoning process can occur in any context: physics, math. reasoning, the process of scientific investigation

·  What about the dimensions requirements’ What is needed’ Can we use some of these requirements and get rid of others’

Math Department’s report on the9/30/04 meeting with Dr. Judy Gay and Dr. Stephen Curtis. Handouts were distributed by Atish Bagchi.

·  Dr. Gay suggested the possibility of dividing the Math Department into a Developmental and College Level Math Department. The instructors were emphatically at odds with this proposal.

·  Atish has published two articles in the Federation Newsletter and distributed several other informative articles in contest of Dr. Gay’s proposal.

·  The main argument related to the idea of hiring math educators rather than those with a degree in mathematics for the developmental faculty. The majority of educators in high schools are mathematical educators rather than those with mathematics degrees. We see the results with this. Why would we do the same’ Will this truly improve outcomes’

·  There may be an increased number of watered down ‘passing grades’ if the developmental program is implemented. The danger is that these grades will not be passing in the letter grade sense.

·  Are we more concerned with selling credentials and degrees?

·  Can we afford developmental programs since funding may change?

·  We need to distinguish between student happiness and outcome assessment

The meeting adjourned at 5:30 PM. The next meeting has been scheduled for Wed. Nov. 3 at 2:00.

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