Saint Mary's College General Education

Present: Chris Cobb, Chris Dunlap, Patricia Fleming (first half of meeting), Janet Fore, Kitty Green, Laura Haigwood, Jayne Kendle, Fran Kominkiewicz, Charlie Peltier, Patti Sayre, Joanne Snow, Becky Stoddart, Bill Svelmoe, Julie Tourtillotte, Nancy Turner


Excused: Joe Incandela, Nancy Nekvasil, Daniel Party

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The meeting began at 1:07 p.m. A prayer was followed by the approval of the minutes from the June 18th meeting. Joanne Snow, representing co-chair Fran Kominkiewicz and herself, presented the announcements. Joanne explained our agenda and the method for proceeding by stating that our charge is to produce a General Education program in as much detail as possible by the Faculty Development Day. She related that we do not view our work as simply retooling the present program and that we can be almost as creative as we would want to be. Joanne added that we realize that there are some restrictions on our work. For example, we cannot have a ninety-hour general education program and that we probably will have to include specific courses such as Religious Studies and Philosophy.

Joanne than presented an analogy by asking the committee to consider the design of this new program as similar to the redesign of a building such as Madeleva. The outside walls will remain, but the inside could, in theory, be gutted. In the redesign of this building, the Mathematics Department, as well as the Education Department, was asked for their input. When these departments met with the architects, the departments specifically told the architects what the departments wanted our structure to accomplish for us—allow for small group meetings with students, allow for a math center that would meet certain needs, and so on. Some of the features of Madeleva will remain and be used in the remodeling, and others do not need to even be changed. Some areas will have to be completely redone. Joanne then further explained how this analogy relates to our work by relating that we are the residents of the building who want to accomplish certain things—namely the Learning Outcomes. The faculty accepted the Learning Outcomes as the driving force for the program. We, as a Design Team, felt it was so obvious that the learning outcomes would guide our work that we did not include them in our Vision for the Gen Ed Program. We have some general points that are guiding our work, but we want to know specifically what it is that we want, and to begin this process we want to understand what the LOs mean.

Joanne further explained that this brings us to what we want to accomplish during today’s meeting. We want to understand what specifically the components of the LO1 entail. We can then ask what curricular elements address the specific meanings of the component. The phrase “curricular elements” was used, as Joanne further explained, because we want people to be creative—a curricular element may represent a course, two connected courses, some kind of unit, an experience.

We then worked as a group to further understand what the first component of LO1 means. The group as whole brainstormed the sub-outcomes for the first high-level outcome or component, “A Saint Mary’s student exhibits sound knowledge of the formation of human identities”, and all responses were recorded on overheads and easel paper for full view during the meeting. Dean Patricia Fleming commented that this component dovetailed with the work on the new advising program, in particular, the question of the first year – Who am I? We will ask at a later meeting for curricular elements that address this interpretation. After modeling this process as a whole group, we broke into small groups to try to define the other components of LO 1. The teams reported back to the group through submitting their written responses that were compiled into the table below. A general discussion will follow during the next meeting.


Sub-Outcomes for Learning Outcome 1, 6-25-08

A Saint Mary’s student exhibits sound knowledge of the formation of human identities.

1. She can critically analyze the effect of culture on the individual’s ability to construct positive or negative self-image and to choose pro-social or antisocial behaviors.
   
2. She will become aware of the extent to which the world is socially constructed so that the world loses familiarity and intractability, and she will learn to begin to think in new ways.
   
3. She will see that there are questions on the meaning of personality and identity.
   
4. She will understand social structures that determine individual, class, and gender identities.
   
5. She will become aware of alternative accounts of what it means to form identity and the contributions of the theological and philosophical.
   
6. She has knowledge of both scientific and humanistic approaches to the study of human identity.
   
7. She can examine the role of power and the bonds that unite us, but also struggles, vulnerability, and conflicts.
   
8. She understands human behavior.
   
9. She understands (be self-conscious) about how one thinks, reasons, and makes value judgments.
   
10. She knows theories (stories, backgrounds, approaches) of development.
    
11. She understands complex interacting systems that shape and influence human identity.
    
12. She understands mental processes such as perception, memory, and judgment.
    
13. She can examine or reflect on the implications and consequences of identity formation of different accounts.
    
14. She has the opportunity to investigate and analyze personal identity within the contexts of tradition, history, and contemporary understanding of human identity, and can begin to articulate her own understandings of human identity.
    
15. She understands the role of diversity and oppression on identity formation.
    
16. She can interpret the contributions of individual, self-regulated choices to identity formation.
    
17. She can interpret the contribution to identity formation of established patterns, such as cultural norms, role models, and/or developmental imperatives.
    
18. She understands human behavior and the interacting effect of the social environment in the formation of human identities.
    
19. She has knowledge of social approaches to the study of human identity formation.
    

A Saint Mary’s student exhibits sound knowledge of the development and functioning of diverse cultures and social groupings.

1. She has knowledge about the establishment of and changes in major cultures of European and non-European origin in response to their physical and social environment.
   
2. She has knowledge of the function of some major features of cultures, which may include mores, institutions, technologies, and power structures.
   
3. She has knowledge of diversity within cultures: sub-cultures, cultural conflict and its resolution.
   
4. She has knowledge of both scientific and humanistic approaches to the study of human cultures and social groupings.
   
5. She understands how social justice and social policy issues are integral to the development and functioning of diverse cultures and social groupings.
   
6. She understands how the social environment contributes to the formation of diverse cultures.
   
7. She will engage in civil dialogue.
   
8. She understands the impact of history on the formation and development of cultures and subcultures.
   
9. She develops an appreciation and a positive regard for different cultural belief systems.
   
10. She understands how subcultures as well as cultures operate and gains the ability to step outside her particular subculture and view it reflectively.
    
11. She will be able to non-judgmentally compare and contrast Christian and Islamic belief systems.
    
12. She analyzes the effects of technology on social relationships.
    
13. She describes and critiques a political system – democracy, theocracy.
    
14. She will interpret and compare diverse cultures.
    
15. She demonstrates broad knowledge of differing philosophies and cultures.
    
16. She demonstrates broad knowledge of the human past.
    
17. She understands the political economy.
    
18. She understands the history of a country and its relevance to the present.
    
19. She understands the interaction of human behavior and the social environment in the development and functioning of diverse cultures and social groupings.
    
20. She sees the effect of cultural and social groupings on attitudes.
    
21. She sees how different groups achieve their ends by different means.
    
22. She understands how cultures develop.
    
23. She recognizes the value systems of different groups/cultures.
    
24. She understands the different values that give rise to different roles and perspectives in cultures.
    
25. She engages in critical analysis of these differences.
    
26. She understands how social groupings function within cultures.
    
27. She understands how the physical environment contributes to the formation of cultures.
    
28. She will examine specific examples of diverse cultures and/or social groups.
    
29. She will learn systematic observation and descriptions.

A Saint Mary’s student exhibits sound knowledge of the practice of creative artistry.

1. She will compose insightful criticism of artistic works in a particular medium with emphasis on the role of the artist’s skill in the composition of the work.
   
2. She will practice creative art in a particular medium.
   
3. She will possess knowledge of several different art forms.
   
4. She has knowledge of the practice of creativity.
   
5. She engages in appropriate practice of a particular art.
   
6. She appreciates creative talent.
   
7. She is able to find common ground with others through an appreciation of artistic works.
   
8. She gains a new perspective on herself and the world around her through different forms of expression in the arts.
   
9. She stretches herself in areas that might be intimidating but will ultimately prove richly rewarding and enriching.
   
10. She develops a basic understanding of the form, aesthetics, theory, and practice of one of the fine arts.
    
11. She gains a functional knowledge of the creative process.
    
12. She develops basic technical skills, perceptual acuity and conceptual understanding relative to the art form.
    
13. She demonstrates the ability to analyze and critically evaluate a creative work.
    
14. She discovers the relationship between an art form and its historical, cultural and stylistic contexts, and derives meanings from these relationships.
    
15. She understands and applies the goals, principles & methods of the arts to analysis of artistic works.
    
16. She appreciates the challenges and rewards of the creative process.
    
17. She recognizes the creative process in her own discipline [?? Word choice – work? Area?...]
    

A Saint Mary’s student exhibits sound knowledge of the multi-faceted nature of religion and the Catholic tradition.

1. She has knowledge of religion as a basic part of human experience.
   
2. She has knowledge of religious diversity and its history.
   
3. She has knowledge of a major aspect of the Catholic tradition, including both its history and its contemporary expression in Catholic theology and practice.
   
4. She reads complex texts and accurately interprets (derives meaning) basic information about religion. (Integration with LO2)
   
5. She understands the interaction of religion with culture.
   
6. She understands the role of religion and Catholic tradition in social justice.
   
7. She understands the existence of different approaches to religion.
   
8. She understands the role of tradition in shaping the Catholic and other faiths.
   
9. She articulates the basic tenets of Catholicism.
   
10. She recognizes similarities between Catholicism and other belief systems and analyzes what Catholicism distinctively contributes.

A Saint Mary’s student exhibits sound knowledge of the intricate workings of the natural world.

1. She has scientific understanding of the processes and principles (whether biological, chemical, or physical) underlying natural phenomena.
   
2. She has detailed knowledge of the principles of at least one science, so that she understands the many different implications of that discipline for the functioning of human societies.
   
3. She understands scientific processes and principles.
   
4. She has detailed knowledge of science.
   
5. See LO2 – Accurate evaluation of data, interpretation, and problem solving.
   
6. She understands and applies scientific principles and methods.
   
7. She understands the interaction of society and the environment.
   
8. She understands the methods of scientific inquiry and the meaning, strengths, and weaknesses of scientific conclusions or theories.
   
9. She understands and can use the mathematical models in scientific conclusions and studies.
   
10. She should be able to explain a natural process (e.g., human sexuality or physiology of cancer or allergic reaction).
    
11. She understands the interrelationship of the human and natural world and influence they have on each other.
    
12. She understands how models of the natural world function and learns to apply these models.
    
13. She understands environmental challenges and how to make informed decisions.

A Saint Mary’s student demonstrates the ability to look at issues from multiple perspectives, recognizing the effect that differences in areas such as gender, religion, values, culture, and privilege can have on the ways people interpret and act in the world.

1. In keeping with the emphasis on diversity in outcomes pertaining to knowledge of identify formation, culture, and religion, she will possess a detailed knowledge of differing points of view on these topics and the reasons for those differences.
   
2. She will possess detailed knowledge of how the world looks from the perspective of persons who are socially marginalized or excluded.
   
3. She can read and analyze primary sources in a variety if genres.
   
4. She engages in civil dialogue and debate, defends points of view, and engages in the give and take of discussion.
   
5. She has the ability to process diverse answers to controversial, complex and unresolved questions.
   
6. She understands the distinctions between value assertions and statements of fact.
   
7. She understands perspectives linked to race, gender and ethnicity in America and in international contexts.
   
8. She uses methods from different areas of study/work to understand situations and analyze problems.

A Saint Mary’s student makes connections across disparate settings and areas of study.

1. She will apply the methods of more than one discipline to the study of a given subject.
   
2. She will use multiple intellectual skills to solve complex, interdisciplinary problems.
   
3. What else? We have a lot of resources on the integration of learning – we should draw on these to articulate more effectively what students should accomplish here and how they should do so.
   
4. She demonstrates written and oral reflection on experience.
   
5. She learns how to analyze and present material coherently.
   
6. She will be able to explain an issue or phenomenon by giving an accurate account of at least two disciplinary perspectives.