General Education Summit 2024

May 23, 2024 in the Buchanan Alumni House McIntire Room

Gen Ed Summit Welcome

Introduction by Assistant Provost Deb Allen and welcoming comments from Provost John Volin.
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The National Conversation Regarding General Education Reform and Integrative Learning (Eddie Watson)

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Sharing Our Gen Ed Story: How Assessment Can Empower Faculty and Promote Learning in Ways Others Can Understand (Kate McConnell)

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Agenda

Welcome and Overview (9:00am)

Interactive Morning Sessions (9:15am – 12:15pm)

This session will begin with highlights from the national conversation regarding general education and will share models and practices currently employed in higher education. These models will be examined through the lens of recent employer research that provides guidance as we prepare our students for life beyond our campus. We will also explore tools, such as AAC&U’s Integrative and Applied Learning VALUE rubric, that provide guidance for teaching and learning practices which have been shown to result in integrative learning and other learning outcomes associated with career readiness. Those who attend this session will leave with an understanding of the general education landscape, key outcomes for this curriculum, and tools and strategies designed for application within a 21st century general education curriculum.

This session will address how assessment can help reframe campus conversations about general education, moving a campus from an initial focus on logistical concerns (What can students transfer in? What “counts” for Area 2? Who owns this class?) to one focused on student learning, and the net value of marrying breadth and depth within undergraduate education. The session will offer both pragmatic strategies for assessing student learning in a complex curricular system like general education, while pressing faculty and students to consider big questions about the purpose of an education and thinking within – and beyond – a discipline.

Complimentary Lunch & Celebration of Recent Gen Ed Reforms at UMaine (12:15pm – 1:00pm)

Afternoon Facilitated Conversations (1:00pm – 4:00pm)

Concurrent sessions of facilitated conversation:

  • The Role of Chairs, Directors, and Advisors in General Education Reform (1pm)
  • Pathways Models for General Education (1pm)
  • General Education Assessment/Course Reaffirmation (2pm)
  • Putting the New Gen Ed Model into Practice (2pm)
  • Open Q&A Session (3pm)

Invited Speakers/Facilitators

Kate Drezek McConnell, PhD

Vice President for Curricular and Pedagogical Innovation and
Executive Director, VALUE, AAC&U

C. Edward “Eddie” Watson, PhD

Vice President for
Digital Innovation,
AAC&U

Resources

The Reason to Celebrate: Summary of Recent General Education Revisions

Highlights of Recent General Education Reforms