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Curriculum: Case Study One

Jon Merrill

Loyola University Chicago

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The purpose of this paper is to analyze the core curricula at five institutions of higher

education to identify common themes or discrepancies as well as to apply these curricula to

scholarly literature. Overall, general liberal arts curricula were chosen for this analysis in order

to provide more comparisons across the different institutions. The institutions chosen for this

analysis were University Pennsylvania, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Georgetown

University, University Wisconsin - Madison, and The George Washington University.

Curricular Descriptions

The core curriculum at University of Pennsylvania is split into two parts: Foundational

Approaches and Sectors of Knowledge (Curriculum and Requirements, 2015). In general, the

Foundational Approaches focus on developing the intellectual abilities necessary to engage in

various academic disciplines. There are six intellectual skills that are focused on: writing,

foreign language, quantitative data analysis, formal reasoning and analysis, cross-cultural

analysis, and cultural diversity in the U. S. (Curriculum and Requirements, 2015). In addition to

the Foundational Approaches, students are also required to take courses in different academic

disciplines: society, history and tradition, arts and letters, humanities and social sciences, living

world, physical world, and natural sciences and mathematics. While the Foundational Approach

provides depth in intellectual capacity, the Sectors of Knowledge requirement aims to add

breadth to the educative experience of students.

The University of Wisconsin - Madison focuses their core curriculum on six areas:

communication, quantitative reasoning, natural science, humanities/literature/arts, social studies,

and ethnic studies (General Education Requirements, 2015). Students must take one to two

courses within each of these areas. The communication requirement is closely associated with

the writing requirement of other institutions; however, students take both an introductory and

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advanced class to complete this area. For the quantitative reasoning requirement, students have

the option to take courses in mathematics, statistics, or other formal logic (General Education

Requirements, 2015). In addition to quantitative reasoning, students complete a natural science

course with a laboratory component - adding a more practical and 'hands-on' component to the

core. To increase the breadth of study, students take two courses in the humanities and an

additional course in the social and ethnic studies.

The core curriculum of Georgetown University is straightforward and consistent with

those previously described at other institutions. In addition to one writing course, students take

one course in the humanities, arts, literatures, and cultures (HALC). Ideally, from HALC

courses, students will be able to "…acquire the intellectual and practical tools to interpret and

critique the world" (Georgetown College, 2015). Students also take two courses in history,

theology, philosophy, math/science, and social science. The history requirement aims at

fostering in students a sense of the long-term cultural evolution (Georgetown College, 2015). As

a Jesuit institution, the theology requirement focuses on providing a deeper understanding of the

Catholic faith tradition. While student's understanding of their faith is deepened through these

courses, through the philosophy course students are challenged to deepen their understanding of

their self. The math/science courses aim to develop the ability to analyze quantitative data while

the social sciences challenge students to study the world in a more qualitative sense. Finally,

students are required to complete a foreign language course to the intermediate level.

The George Washington University clusters their core curriculum into two groups -

analytic and communication courses. Between these two, students take approximately 24 credits

within the analytic realm and around six credits in the communication realm. Analytic courses

are comprised of mathematics/statistics, natural and/or physical laboratory science, social

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sciences, humanities, and art. Students ideally develop the intellectual capabilities of

quantitative and scientific reasoning as well as critical and creative thinking skills while taking

these courses (G-PAC, 2015). Additionally, within the analytic courses, student must take two

perspective courses. One of these courses focuses on global or cross-cultural viewpoints while

the second course focuses more on local or civic engagement (G-PAC, 2015).

Finally, the components of University of Michigan - Ann Arbor's core curriculum looks

similar the core curricula already described. In addition to their major and electives, students

will take both a first-year and upper level writing seminar. Students also fulfil a race and

ethnicity, quantitative reasoning, and language requirement. The goal of these requirements is to

prepare students to work in a multi-ethnic or diverse environment, to develop proficiency in

analyzing quantitative information, and to provide access to cultural and intellectual heritages of

the non-English speaking communities (Our Curriculum, 2015). Finally, to provide more

breadth to students' educative experience, the core curriculum also incorporates an area

distribution requirement where students take 30 credits outside of their major in the natural

sciences, social sciences, humanities, mathematical and symbolic analysis, and creative

expression (Our Curriculum, 2015). Through this breadth, students are exposed to varying

intellectual disciplines and develop the intellectual skillsets that are characteristic of these

disciplines.

Synthesis

The writing component of the curriculum seems to be one of the most fundamental

portions of all the curricula. Through this component, students ideally are developing the skills

to understand and communicate within different academic disciplines. This notion is key - in

order to develop the 'critical thinking' or reasoning, students must first be able to comprehend the

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knowledge within these different fields. These skills are continually used and built upon by the

other components of the curricula. The two types of reasoning that were consistent amongst the

curricula were quantitative (inductive) and deductive reasoning (humanities and social sciences).

Quantitative reasoning was consistently, and often overtly, prioritized across the curricula. This

suggests that this type of thinking - focusing on empirical 'facts' or data instead of narratives and

the 'soft' science - is implicitly prioritized within our culture. Finally, another key similarity

across the different curricula is the presence of a cultural or ethnic study. Although the specific

requirements differ between institutions - the goal of this component is to prepare students to

work in diverse environments, once again suggesting that this may be a culturally significant

mentality. Interestingly, only two of the curricula specifically center this conversation on race

and ethnicity. Potentially, at institutions that vaguely address this point as 'civic engagement' or

otherwise, students may be able to fulfill this component without actually experiencing

conversations about race within the classroom.

Overall, there were many differences across the different curricula. Each institution had

its own method of naming and structuring the key components. Furthermore, some institutions

seemed to have much more intentionality, or did a better job of linking the mission and values of

the institution to the core curriculum, than others. For example, Georgetown University made a

clear connection between their Jesuit value and mission and the theology component of their

curriculum. Additionally the timeline behind completing these courses differed across

institutions. At University of Pennsylvania students had the opportunity to complete these

courses throughout their time at the institution while at Georgetown it is expected that students

will complete the core by their second year at the institution.

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Integration

It is generally agreed upon within the academic literature that significant and impactful

learning experiences incorporate the foundational or pre-existing knowledge that students bring

with them into the classroom (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 1999; Fink, 2003; Nilson, 2010).

As previously mentioned, writing seminars are foundational courses that foster the skills

necessary for students to be successful in their chosen academic disciplines. Since all students at

an institution must take these courses, it logically flows that this would be one of the first

opportunities for students to begin incorporating their personal narratives and knowledge into

new academic disciplines.

Furthermore, some of the curricula examined required students to take both a first-year

and advanced writing seminar. This structure seems to mirror Perry's theory of intellectual and

ethical development of college students. Students who are just entering universities may have a

dualistic understanding of knowledge - it exists in absolute black and white terms independently

from themselves (Nilson, 2010). First-year writing seminars, then, can begin to challenge this

notion by encouraging students to incorporate their own personal knowledge into academic

disciplines. In other words, the goal of these first-year writing is to encourage students to see

their own voice and experience as valid sources of knowledge. Once students have come to see

their own voice and knowledge as valid as the knowledge that exists external to them, advanced

writing courses can then teach students the skills to add to the knowledge pools of different

academic disciplines. As mentioned by Fink (2003) "the nature of knowledge in each of these

domains is different, and therefore how one adds to that knowledge whether publicly or

personally, is also distinct" (p. 58). Therefore, our role as educators is to move students to this

place of being confident in their ability to add to knowledge.

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In addition to incorporating student's pre-existing knowledge into the classroom, another

key element of significant learning experiences is the notion of transfer. Bransford, Brown, and

Cocking (1999) define transfer as "…the ability to extend what has been learned in one context

to new contexts" (p. 51). This cognitive ability is key within students. Without it, the

developmental work and skills acquired through one educational experience - such as writing

seminars - would be unable to be applied to new educational experiences. Transfer skills are

established through understanding the big picture and systems instead of focusing on

memorizing all the details (Bransford et al. 1999). Although none of the curricula explicitly had

a goal of fostering this notion of transfer, this skill is fostered within the breadth requirement that

many of the curricula included. Through exposing students to many different disciplines, they

may begin to make connections in the knowledge or skills needed to be successful. It is within

these connections that the transfer skills are being grown.

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References

Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (Eds.) (1999). How People Learn: Brain,

Mind, Experience, and School. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Curriculum and Requirements. (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2015, from

https://www.college.upenn.edu/prospective/curriculum-and-requirements

Fink, L.D. (2003). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to

developing college courses. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

G-PAC | Columbian Undergraduate Academic Advising | The George Washington University.

(n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2015, from http://advising.columbian.gwu.edu/g-pac

Georgetown College. (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2015, from

http://college.georgetown.edu/academics/core-requirements

Nilson, L.B. (2010). Teaching at Its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors.

San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Our Curriculum: The LSA Plan. (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2015, from

http://www.lsa.umich.edu/students/yourstudentexperience/ourcurriculumthelsaplan

What are the General Education Requirements? (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2015, from

http://www.ls.wisc.edu/gened/Req.htm