Cory Lock - St. Edward's University Julie Sievers - St. Edward's University

1. Bringing Faculty into the
Conversation about the Future of
Liberal Education

2. Technology-Related Issues
• Cost-saving
• Digital literacy
• Global learning and
technology
• Competency-based
learning
• Online/blended
courses for traditional
undergraduates
• Promoting
experimentation

3. Education-Related
Technologies
• MOOCs
• Game-based learning
• ePortfolios
• Open educational
resources
• Learning analytics
(particularly for flipped • Technology
and blended
supporting flipped
classrooms)
classrooms

4. Write down 1-3
issues/technologies being
discussed on your campus.

5. What groups are (and are not)
participating in these conversations?
• Board of Trustees?
• Senior administrators? (e.g. president, vicepresidents, …)
• Deans?
• Early adopters?
• All faculty?
• Instructional technology?
• Those charged with overseeing curriculum?
(e.g. course or program directors, chairs, …)

6. Problem:
Need for faculty involvement
decision-making related to new
technologies and related issues

7. Frames: Current Discussions
• Selingo, Jeffrey L. 2013. “Attitudes on
Innovation: How College Leaders and Faculty
See the Key Issues Facing Higher Education.”
Chronicle of Higher Education.
• The Changing Nature of Faculty Roles: Peer
Review 15:3, Summer 2013. Especially David
Paris’s piece, “The Last Artisans? Traditional
and Future Faculty Roles.”

8. A Complex Problem
• Appearance of ongoing dialogue/conversation,
BUT…
• Faculty are not always “at the table”
• Issues often are not framed in terms of their
relation to liberal arts pedagogy and goals

9. Discussion: The Table

10. Questions
1. How do we ensure the right people (those who
work in liberal education and pedagogy) are at
the table?
2. How do we frame our approach to change in
terms of liberal education values and
pedagogy?

12. Mission
(and Mission-Derived ELOs)

13. Mission-Derived ELOs
• Critical thinking
• Moral reasoning
• Problem solving
• Civic engagement
• Communication
• Global perspective

14. • Survey of undergraduates regarding their
educational experiences
• Provides a detailed perspective on campus
culture
• Whatever tool you use, know your institutional
strengths and weaknesses

15. 5 NSSE Benchmarks of Effective
Educational Practice
• High level of academic challenge
• Active and collaborative learning
• Student/faculty interaction
• Supportive campus environment
• Enriching educational experiences

16. What are your strengths and
weaknesses?
• A strength: Supportive Campus Environment
• Room for growth: Active and Collaborative
Learning at the senior level
– Class presentations, group projects, discussing class
topics outside classroom, participating in community
projects, participate in class…

17. AAC&U High-Impact Practices
• First‐Year Seminars and
Experiences
• Common Intellectual
Experiences
• Learning Communities
• Writing‐Intensive Courses
• Collaborative Assignments
and Projects
• Undergraduate Research
• Diversity/Global Learning
• Service Learning
• Community‐Based
Learning
• Internships
• Capstone Courses

18. AAC&U Resources
• 12 LEAP (Liberal Education and
America’s Promise) Essential Learning
Outcomes
• 16 VALUE rubrics (Valid Assessment of
Learning in Undergraduate Education)

19. •
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Inquiry and analysis
Critical thinking
Creative thinking
Written
communication
Oral communication
Reading
Quantitative literacy
Information literacy
Teamwork
Problem solving
• Civic knowledge and
engagement
• Intercultural
knowledge and
competence
• Ethical reasoning
• Foundations and
skills for lifelong
learning
• Global learning
• Integrative and
applied learning

22. Framing questions for new
technology, pedagogy, or structure:
• Does it facilitate students’ acquisition of missionderived learning outcomes?
• Does it facilitate implementation of high-impact
practices?
• Does it move students towards “Capstone-level”
mastery of ELOs? (“deep learning”)

23. Contact Information
• Cory Lock, Interim Dean of University Programs,
julial@stedwards.edu
• Julie Sievers, Director of the Center for Teaching
Excellence, julies@stedwards.edu
• https://think.stedwards.edu/cte/blog/post/bringin
g-faculty-conversation-about-future-liberaleducation