1. FOCUS! ECP/SCP Meeting April 26, 2011

2. The real path to greatness, it turns out, requires simplicity and diligence. It requires clarity, not instant illumination. It demands each of us to focus on what is vital-and to eliminate extraneous distractions. Jim Collins author of From Good to Great An Ongoing Leadership Challenge…

3. Chapter 2: Chapter 2: Chapter 2 What We Teach

4. What we teach…Curriculum

5. How are the 21 st century abilities acquired? “A very high level of preparation in reading, writing, and speaking.”( Carnegie Task Force on Teaching as a Profession.) “A very high level of preparation in reading, writing, and speaking.”( Carnegie Task Force on Teaching as a Profession.) Through critical analysis and synthesis of information gleaned from complex, dense prose found in textbooks. Through critical analysis and synthesis of information gleaned from complex, dense prose found in textbooks. Through carefully prepared questions for whole works or for individual sections or chapters. Through carefully prepared questions for whole works or for individual sections or chapters. Through close reading, discussion, and writing in every course. Through close reading, discussion, and writing in every course.

6. What intellectual standards are paramount for success across disciplines? Read to infer/interpret/draw conclusions. Read to infer/interpret/draw conclusions. Support arguments with evidence. Support arguments with evidence. Resolve conflicting views encountered in source documents Resolve conflicting views encountered in source documents Solve complex problems with no obvious answer. Solve complex problems with no obvious answer. Conley (2005)

7. College and Career Advantage… There is a 90% overlap between the needs of workers and those who attend college. (ACT) There is a 90% overlap between the needs of workers and those who attend college. (ACT) The needs of the workplace are “increasingly indistinguishable” from the knowledge and skills needed for college success. (American Diploma Project) The needs of the workplace are “increasingly indistinguishable” from the knowledge and skills needed for college success. (American Diploma Project) “The civic, intellectual, and workplace demands will require that all students can read, write and cipher…think and solve problems …draw upon a rich vocabulary based on a deep understanding of language and the human condition.” ( Schools for the 21 st Century by Phil Schlechty) “The civic, intellectual, and workplace demands will require that all students can read, write and cipher…think and solve problems …draw upon a rich vocabulary based on a deep understanding of language and the human condition.” ( Schools for the 21 st Century by Phil Schlechty)

8. Change Needed… “If we could institute only one change to make students more college ready, it should be to increase the amount and quality of writing students are expected to produce” (Conley, 2007). “If we could institute only one change to make students more college ready, it should be to increase the amount and quality of writing students are expected to produce” (Conley, 2007). Prepare students to effectively produce multiple three to five page papers of the kind they will be regularly asked to write in college. Prepare students to effectively produce multiple three to five page papers of the kind they will be regularly asked to write in college.