Describing and Evaluating Curriculum I Describing and Evaluating Curriculum I. Identifying Skills, Goals, Experiences, Content and Values II. Curriculum Maps and Matrices (With thanks to Mary Savina (Carleton College) and Randy Richardson (University of Arizona)

Trends in Higher Education Changing nature of the student body Change in what it means to be an “educated person” Emphasis on skills and habits of mind rather than content Recognizing learning outside the classroom A more cohesive and coherent first year experience and a capstone experience (Thanks to Chico Zimmerman, Perlman Center for Learning and Teaching, Carleton College)

Models of Curricular Change: A Random Walk? How the heck did we end up here? http://www.physics.orst.edu/~rubin/TALKS/CPtalk/DEMO/demo6.html

Curricular Change Gradualism Punctuated Equilibria Always adding, never subtracting http://web.uccs.edu/twynn/macro%20ev%20patterns.htm; Dennis O’Neil

“Increasingly, more professional emphasis appears to be required in understanding the processes and history of the youngest part of the geological time scale and in the shallowest levels of the Earth’s crust.” Gordon P. Eaton Director of the USGS September 7, 1994 5

Curriculum Menu – Model 1 Emphasizing individual course titles and content: Introductory geology (audience) Specialized geoscience courses

If we taught baseball the way some still teach geology: Take one year to teach the history of the game and theories of throwing catching, and hitting a baseball. Take the sophomore year to study the materials in bats, balls, gloves, and playing surfaces. During the junior year contemplate the rules of the game and an analysis of the geometry of the diamond. Finally, in the last semester of the senior year, allow students to play the game. (Modified from Richard Culver, SUNY Binghamton) 7

Curriculum Design - Model 2 Emphasizing sequence and student intellectual development – What are the basics of the discipline? What are good second level courses? What are the most valued advanced courses? What should students carry from one class to the next?

Curriculum Development – Model 3 Start by Identifying “Threshold concepts”– the central ideas from geoscience that are important to all students (majors and non-majors (Randy Bass, Georgetown University) Goals for degree programs Skills to be acquired Geoscience Specific General Experiences Values Other Content

The Fundamental Question What do you want your (seniors, graduates, alumni) to be able to do? For Example . . . What Discipline Specific Knowledge? Which Problem Solving Skills? How to Communicate Effectively?

Student Learning Outcomes Students will be able to . . . Determine the physical and chemical composition of earth materials and the processes that produced them. Identify and fully describe rocks (mineralogy, texture) Interpret their origin (fanglomerate) Make inferences about their source areas (active tectonics) (http://serc.carleton.edu/departments/assessment/learning_goals.html)

First Exercise Defining goals, values, experiences, skills, knowledge About 30 minutes of independent/small group work followed by 30 minutes of Post-It organizing and reporting out. 12

Second Fundamental Question Where in the curriculum (or co-curriculum) do students get these skills, experiences, etc.? Some Examples Visiting Workshop Program, 2009 - 2010

Using the Curricular Map (http://serc.carleton.edu/departments/programs/curriculum_profiles.html) 14

A Matrix Approach to Curricular Design This matrix concept has been used by the geology departments at Carleton College and at College of William & Mary.

Another Version of the General Matrix

A Breakdown by Experience A = always; S = sometimes

Another Version of the General Matrix 18

Exercise 2 Curricular Mapping and Matrix Construction Map and construct a matrix of your curriculum identifing where experiences, goals, program learning outcomes, etc. are situated. About 30 minutes of independent and small group work on the maps and matrix and 30 minutes for reporting out.

Core Courses for BS (Drummond and Markin, 2008, JGE, v. 56 N= 278)

Distribution of Number of Required Courses (Drummond and Markin, 2008, JGE, v. 56 N= 278)

The Scarlet Letter The ssessment

Thinking About Assessment Use the capstone projects Subjects and methods Sources and experiences Use the department review process Check in with alumni Evaluate the course content

Managing the Department Discussion – Barriers and Obstacles Identify principles and broadest learning objectives. Identify skills, experiences, goals, values, threshold concepts, content areas. Diagram or map structure of the major – as it is. Identify the curricular (or co-curricular) locations of the skills, etc. Affirm (or at least acknowledge) perennial debates. Check in with institutional and broader higher ed priorities. Repeat more often than you think you need.

Connecting with Institutional Initiatives Importance of cross-cutting skills – not just “general education,” but also in major Quantitative reasoning Writing Across the Curriculum Visuality Academic civic engagement, ethics, sustainability . . . . (Carleton has between eight and twenty, depending on who is counting)