This chapter describes assessment strategies as applied through a course redesign in an undergraduate Social Problems course that features local, national, and international topics. The alignment between the assessment strategies used in this course and the pedagogical improvements implemented is intentionally directed at the development of…

This chapter describes the Integrated Online Team-Based Learning (IO-TBL) model, an online TBL course design which utilizes both asynchronous and synchronous modes of engagement to maximize the benefits of TBL in an online environment. Students' perceptions of the effective and ineffective aspects of the IO-TBL model are also reported.

This chapter demonstrates how Decoding work can be used productively within a curriculum change process to help make design decisions based on a more nuanced understanding of student learning and the relationship of a professional program to the field.

We discuss how a professor worked with six students to design and implement a complex teaching strategy for a course, and used the students' assistance to create a sustainable model for future iterations of the course.

The initiative to revise Texas Christian University's (TCU) general education curriculum was one of the outcomes of an institutional strategic planning process in 2000, the Commission on the Future of TCU. Coincident with this planning process, TCU developed a new institutional mission statement that focused on preparing students for becoming…

This chapter reveals how thoughtful course redesign that specifically addresses the physical environment of a learning space can significantly improve student learning.

A college education has never been so necessary, or so expensive. It is incumbent upon us, the educators, to do it the best we can. The products of our work are not the buildings on our campuses but our students who go out into this complicated and exciting world to serve as its leaders, its citizens, and its workers. The Bates College general…

Racial awareness is a critical foundation to racial sensitivity, and it is a necessity for future professionals who want to be prepared to succeed in an increasingly diverse society. Several factors have been shown to influence racial awareness in professionals including their own race, their personal experience with racism, and the amount/quality…

Team-based learning (TBL) may rely on small group interaction more heavily than any other commonly used instructional strategy in postsecondary education. This conclusion is based on three facts: (1) Group work with TBL is central to exposing students to and improving their ability to apply course content; (2) Majority of class time with TBL is…

Strategies for locating interdisciplinary knowledge and information for development of college curricula and instruction are outlined, including identification of existing curriculum models and syllabi (through publications, networking, and online searching) and finding literature on the concept of interdisciplinarity in the humanities, social…

Making self-authorship a goal of an interdisciplinary multisemester general education program shows great promise for meeting desired undergraduate learning outcomes for citizen-learners. (Contains 1 table.)

The characteristics of current U.S. society and the roles assigned to teachers suggest the need for more comprehensive teacher education programs, including breadth in the liberal arts, depth in content fields, and field experience. (MSE)

The need and potential for networking among interdisciplinary organizations are analyzed. Issues to consider in establishing networks are identified and specific strategies for building and maintaining effective networks are offered. Networking both with undergraduate and general education organizations and with specialized organizations are…

An examination of the transcripts of over 3,000 graduates of major Southern universities reveals that a more rigorous general education course sequence is necessary, and possible, to strengthen teacher preparation at the undergraduate level. (MSE)

A discussion of the increasing conservatism on college campuses looks at education's heritage of cultural geneticism and at the role of the humanities in higher education. It is concluded that cultural diversity must be included, not superficially but in every aspect of the college curriculum. (Author/MSE)