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Liberal Education and the Liberal Arts: Indispensable to America’s Global Future. University of Michigan The Liberal Arts & Sciences in the Research University Today: Histories, Challenges, Futures May 22, 2013 Carol Geary Schneider. Overview. The Need for a Compelling Educational Vision - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Liberal Education and the Liberal Arts:
Indispensable to America’s Global Future
University of Michigan
The Liberal Arts & Sciences in the Research University Today: Histories, Challenges,
Futures
May 22, 2013Carol Geary Schneider
Overview
The Need for a Compelling Educational Vision
Centrality for the Liberal Arts and Sciences Within That Vision
Centrality for High Effort, High Impact Practices, Across the Arts and Sciences Curriculum
1. The Need for a Compelling Vision
Liberal Education/Liberal Arts Education:
Clarifying Our Terms
So, What is a Liberal Education?
The Enduring Goals – from the Ancient World to
the Present Day
Broad knowledge of science, history, society and cultures – leadership knowledge
Powers of the mind: reasoning, discernment, and judgment
Personal Integrity: ethical and civic responsibility
Liberal Education Remains Our Premier Educational
Tradition Because These Goals Remain Constant – and Essential – Even as the
Practices Adapt – Again and Again - to a Changing World
The LEAP Initiative: Contemporary Goals for Liberal
Education
Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World
Intellectual and Practical Skills Personal and Social Responsibility Integrative and Applied Learning
Contemporary Goals for Liberal Education (cont.)
The LEAP Essential Learning Outcomes
– Educators Identified the Essential Outcomes
– Employers Strongly Endorse Them
But Something is Missing…
What’s Missing is a Strong, Compelling and Widely Embraced Educational Narrative Showing…
Why These Forms of Learning Are Central to America’s Global
Future and to Our Students’ Long-Term Well-Being
An Earlier Example of a Compelling Educational
Narrative
The Report of the Truman Commission on Higher Education, 1947, Vol. 1
The Truman Commission– 1947, Vol. 1
The “principal goals” of higher education are “to bring to all the people of the Nation:Education for a fuller realization of democracy in
every phase of living;Education directly and explicitly for international
understanding and cooperationEducation for the application of creative imagination and trained intelligence to the solution of social problems...”
Imagine This Vision Updated for our Time and Century!
Higher Education Needs Such a Vision to Make the Case for the
Essential and Indispensable Role of the Liberal Arts and Sciences in Achieving These
Fundamental Goals…
The Fuller Realization of DemocracyGlobal Cooperation and UnderstandingSolutions to the World’s Most Urgent ProblemsBrainpower for an Economy Absolutely
Dependent on Innovation…
The Nations’ Great Research Universities are Uniquely Well-
Positioned to Articulate a 21st Century Vision
And to Pit it Against the Narrow and Instrumental Conception of First-Job
Training Which Now Prevails and Which the Current Administration is
Doing Nothing to Reverse
This Conference Can Lead to the Needed Educational
Vision
2. Centrality for the Liberal Arts and Sciences
Connect the Liberal Arts and Sciences With the World's Big Questions—
Contemporary and Enduring
Challenges Within Our Democracy
Cultures—Multiple and MultiplyingEconomy—In the Midst of Painful Dislocations
and VolatilitySociety—River Over Immigration and Other
“Social Questions”Politics—Contentious, Fractured, Lost
Confidence in Public Sector
Within Our Democracy…
The Communications and Technology Revolutions…And Their Effects in All Sectors
Education and Equity: Generations of Children Still Left Behind
Social Mobility, the Environment, an Aging Population
A Decaying Infrastructure…and More
Global Challenges
Poverty, War, SufferingSustenance and Human Dignity
Illiteracy and Its EffectsEducation and Opportunity
Energy and the Environment Research and Innovation
Terrorism and FearLaw, Justice, Democracy, Freedom
Global Challenges (cont.)
The United States’ Historic Role in Global Leadership
And as a Voice and Force for Democratic Values and Democratic Self-Determination
The Challenges at Home and Abroad Are Immense—
And the Liberal Arts and Sciences are Absolutely Indispensable in Building
Both Our Commitment and our Capacity to Tackle Them Successfully
To Ensure Our Democratic and Global Future,
Citizens Need
The Capacity to EnvisionAnalytical Skills to Test AlternativesThe Desire and Ability to Solve Problems Across
DifferenceWisdom to Consider Larger Contexts and
ConsequencesCommitment to Devote Time and Talent to the
Making of a Better World
To Ensure the Centrality of the Liberal Arts and Sciences
We Need to Connect these Studies With the World’s Big questions—Contemporary and Enduring
– Example—Redesigning General Education as to Build Global Insight and Cross-Cultural Competence
– Example—Engaging Liberal Arts Students—From the First-Year—in Research Questions Tied to Health, Sustainability, Sustenance, Self-Determination, Democracy, etc…
3. Connecting Vision and Practice: Centrality for
High Effort, High Impact Practices, Across the Arts and Sciences Curriculum
Changing the Way We Organize Learning in the Liberal Arts and Sciences
Connecting High Impact Practices—e.g., Research, Community-Based Learning and Projects—with Big, Cross-Disciplinary Questions
Building Students’ Capacities to Envision, Investigate, Collaborate, and Apply Their Learning
In the Words of the Truman Commission:
The goal is to bring “creative imagination and trained intelligence to the solution of social
problems”—and problems in the workplace as well.
To achieve this goal, we need to foster integrative, problem-centered learning across the disciplines.
Big Cross-Disciplinary Questions
The First Year Experience Should Introduce Illustrative Problems
The Entire Educational Experience Should Build Capacity to Grapple with Significant Questions
The Students’ Portfolio Should Demonstrate Deep Engagement with One or More Significant Problems—Problems That Matter to the Student and Problems that Matter to the Wider Society
Big Cross-Disciplinary Questions (cont.)
Disciplinary Inquiry is Still Foundational.But Students Also Need Experience in Connecting
Their Disciplines with Other Perspectives and Voices.
The Key Question for Research Universities—
and for All of Us…
Will We Use the Digital Revolution as An Opportunity to Flip the Classroom—and Even the Curriculum?– More Time for Collaborative and Cross-Disciplinary
Projects, Investigation, and Research?– More Opportunities for Community-Based Learning?– More Opportunity to Work With Faculty on Significant
Problems and Questions?– More High Impact Practices for Students Who
Currently Miss Out?
Four Recommendations for Research University Educators and Leaders
Articulate that Compelling Vision—For Liberal Education in the Service of Society
Connect the Liberal Arts and Sciences with the World’s Big Questions
Focus the Curriculum on Fostering Powers of the Mind—and Heart
Expect Each Student—Yes, Every One of Them!—To Devote Time and Talent to Big Questions of Their Own Choosing, Support their Efforts, and Celebrate the Results