Agriculture and the Undergraduate (1992) / Chapter Skim
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22 Breaking Tradiations in Curriculum Design
22 Breaking Tradiations in Curriculum Design
Pages 188-198
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From page 188... ...
This is a decade that has acquired many labels that are relevant to undergraduate education. Some of the following terms have been used to describe this era: the information age, the global and international era, the biological age, the decade of the undergraduate, and the environmental decade.
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From page 189... ...
I have found this linkage to the grieving process to be useful in more fully understanding some of my own successes and failures in changing what 1 do or in working with course and curriculum changes either as a faculty member or a college dean. With this in mind, it should not be surprising that there are deep emotions tied to the curriculum because of ownership and what has become accepted as The way it is done., In this sense, the changing of curriculum really is challenging a tradition with the idea that something different could be better.
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From page 190... ...
There is a need to more widely recognize that everything cannot be taught in an undergraduate program, but that certain concepts and principles must be taught as part of an appropriate foundation for present and future learning that is a part of how we define an Educated person." Among these "musts" I would include as examples the areas of communication skills, problem solving, cross-cultural understanding, important disciplinary concepts, and sufficient grounding in liberal arts and interdisciplinary courses to serve as a foundation for further personal or professional growth by the individual. · The liberal arts and general education requirements of the curriculum should not be viewed just as requirements but as ways that 190
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From page 191... ...
Likewise, when faculty require no essay test questions or give full credit when students use sloppy grammar, they are reinforcing poor communications habits. Research papers, oral presentations in class, student classroom discussions and debates, organizational activities, and laboratory or field trip reports are some of the ways that communications skills can be given some attention beyond the few credits that may be required in the curriculum.
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From page 192... ...
Examples from issues like water quality, food safety, animal welfare, global markets, climatic effects, government policies, ethics, and the impacts of new technologies can frequently be integrated into regular courses as highly relevant considerations, even though these subjects may be entire courses by themselves. Such a practice helps to tie courses together and to demonstrate that most significant issues cannot be solved by simple answers.
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From page 193... ...
There is always a significant risk that if the leadership is from the dean's office, it will become the "dean's project" rather than a more widely adopted "college curriculum project." it should not be difficult for the dean to pick key and respected faculty, a few interested students or recent alumni, and one or two key administrators to serve on the curriculum revision committee. The dean and the deans office can then serve by providing a vision for revision, by inspiring and supporting the committee so that this vision expands throughout the college, and then by serving to challenge the committee and other faculty to achieve certain goals.
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From page 194... ...
Curriculum revision by its very nature requires that faculty give up some of the old curriculum, assist in creating a new curriculum, and then deliver the new curriculum to the students. Thus, whereas the administrators are theoretically in charge of distributing financial resources, for all practical purposes the faculty are in near complete control of the curriculum as givers, creators, and distributors.
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From page 195... ...
These quotations serve to emphasize some of the points that need to be considered in designing a curriculum and providing appropriate incentives for the faculty who create and deliver the curriculum. if this is to be the decade of the undergraduate, there is much that remains to be done with the ongoing process for curriculum evolution and the real and perceived values assigned to teaching compared with those assigned to research.
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From page 196... ...
Their process of curriculum revision spanned 3 years, during which time 17 departmental majors were reduced to 11 interdepartmental ones. The process involved a coalition of faculty, the dean, and the vice president.
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From page 197... ...
The focus of the undergraduate curriculum should be on developing well-rounded professionals rather than teaching future professors. The content of degree programs should be based more on the principles and skills that will serve graduates over a 40-year professional life rather than on faculty research topics or the current mix of faculty expertise.
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From page 198... ...
AGRICULTURE AND THE UNDERGRADUATE Key questions Throughout the curriculum change process, it is important to recall some key questions: · Who are the key faculty7 · What are the rewards for doing a good job of curriculum change? O How can faculty be owners of the process of change?
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