General Education Task Force

General Education Task Force Takes Aim at Revamping Core Curriculum BY JASON LAURITZEN

A movement for change in the way students are educated is beginning to take shape at Appalachian State University and it is being led by a group of students, faculty and staff. The movement is the General Education Task Force. The General Education Task Force has been charged with a difficult task: Developing a signature general education program for undergraduates. Most Appalachian students are exposed to a general education program through the core curriculum or “Appalachian’s General Course of Study” which they are required to complete. The core curriculum is comprised of six hours of English, 12 hours in the humanities, 12 hours in the social sciences, eight hours of biological or physical science with a lab, four hours of mathematics and two hours of physical education. Students encounter the core curriculum check sheet the first time they see their advisor and it can be a confusing experience. “It’s a big menu of courses,” said Dr. Paul Gates, assistant professor of communication at Appalachian and a member on the General Education Task Force. Menus are about choice and combinations, but Gates said there are so many different combinations of unrelated courses available that there is no common experience. Instead of seeking courses that are connected, students spend most of their time satisfying designator requirements. The huge list that makes up the core curriculum has been tinkered with throughout the years, but no fundamental changes have been made. “We’re looking at a system that’s 20 years old and that hasn’t been revamped,” said Gates. To accomplish a break away from this old system the General Education Task Force is focusing on two specific areas: Making classes connected so students become immersed in their education and providing a sense of academic community. The General Education Task Force has no firm plan to implement these goals, but is looking at alternative models on the Appalachian campus. One of the models is Watauga College, an interdisciplinary studies program available to students as an alternative to the standard core curriculum.

The philosophy at Watauga College is to have courses linked by goals and objectives, not specific content—which is the current model at Appalachian. Freshmen in the Watauga College program take a class called “Origins and Migrations.” The course traces the origins, influences, mixtures and migrations of a number of topics that range from geometry to the civil rights movement to jazz. Students are exposed to western and non-western culture, explore history and geography, get oriented to Watauga College and are expected to write a substantial research paper. The course earns Freshmen ENG 1000 and HIS 1101 credit. Also unique to Watauga College is the idea of team-taught classes. Courses such as “Origins and Migrations” use more than one teacher so that each constructor can bring their own perspectives and expertise to the class. The teachers do not teach two different classes to the same students, but collaborate to give students a fuller academic experience. All Watauga College students live at the Living and Learning Center, which allows for a sense of community among the students. The sense of community does not stop there. Watauga College students participate in “Common Time” three times a week. The students, faculty and staff meet together to participate in shared activities such as student performances, guest lectures, films and field trips. The General Education Task Force is interested in not only local models like Watauga College, but also national general education models at peer institutions across the nation. James Madison University is one model the General Education Task Force has investigated. The general education program at James Madison is known as “The Human Community.” All students, regardless of their major, enroll in the program. The program is broken into five clusters focusing on five distinct areas: skills for the 21st century, arts and the humanities, the natural world, social and cultural processes and individuals in the human community. All freshmen at James Madison are also required to take two exams: Tech Level One and an Information Seeking Skills Test. The Tech Level One exam assesses student’s technology skills, such as using a computer effectively. The Information Seeking Skills Test assesses how well students can locate information, evaluate the quality of information and apply appropriate ethical guidelines to using information. The two exams ensure the students have a common and important set of skills that will be valuable throughout the rest of their time at James Madison and also after college. While Watauga College and James Madison University have provided the General Education Task Force with possible ideas for changing the core curriculum at Appalachian, Dr. Gates said the most important input and ideas should come from Appalachian Students.

“We’re not doing this in a vacuum,” said Gates. “We’re trying to get a community-wide discussion going.” Appalachian students can participate in the discussion by posting at the General Education Task Force’s blog: The Force. There will also be three small discussion groups open to students at the Hubbard Center, 1028 Old Belk Library. The times are: Friday, February 3, 10-11:30 a.m. Thursday, February 23, 3:30-5 p.m. Friday, March 3, 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.