Saint Mary's College General Education

Present: Chris Cobb, Janet Fore, Joe Incandela, Michael Kramer, Charlie Peltier, Nancy Nekvasil

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The meeting was devoted to specifying learning outcomes for the Critical Thinking seminar. A host of other issues was discussed, including the common experience and the relation of the Critical Thinking Seminar to the student's W course.

It became clear that, although the ideal would be for all first-year students to take their Critical Thinking seminar in the fall and their W in the spring, this just wouldn't be workable largely for staffing and logistical reasons. That means that some will be taking the Critical Thinking seminar in the fall and others in the spring, which introduces a complication into the College hosting a common experience for all students. Discussion led to the idea that there would be two events each semester for the common experience, possibly with Peer Mentors helping to facilitate conversation afterwards. Since these events would be spread across two semesters, this could give students something like a cohort that continues over time as they go through their first year.