IDS Curriculum Revisions
Dear Faculty Colleagues, January 24, 2000
I would like to present the following IDS revisions to the Faculty Association for its approval in our February 2000 meeting.
These revisions received the unanimous approval of the IDS Review Committee on November 11, 1999, after almost two years of work.
In addition, it should be noted that each of the items had been passed as individual motions in meetings between September 1998 and November 1999.
Finally, please note that the changes described below were also passed in December 1999 by the Teacher Education Committee (unanimously) and in January 2000 by the Faculty Association Curriculum Committee (unanimously).
The changes are relatively minor but should have a significant positive impact. We were careful to keep the total hours devoted to IDS at the same amount – 52 hours – and not increase the size of what is already the largest general education program in the state.
The committee worked hard to create this package of revisions. The recommendations are the product not just of the past 14 months of rigorous committee meetings. Much of the groundwork for them was laid in numerous meetings during the 1997-1998 academic year as well.
Please note that the IDS Review Committee has representation from all four divisions. It includes the following faculty members:
Science and Physical Education
* Dr. Frank Dorman
* Dr. Larry Magrath
* Dr. Mike Mather
* Dr. Darryel ReighArts and Humanities
* Dr. Ann Frankland
* Dr. Brenda Brown
* Prof. Jim Dudding
Business/Social Science
* Dr. John Miller
* Dr. Paul Cherulnik
* Dr. Sandy Huguenin
* Dr. Ingrid Shafer
* Dr. Dan Savage (added October 1, 1999)Education
* Dr. Charles Scott
* Dr. Vicki FergusonNonvoting members
* Dr. Joan Hendrix
* Mr. David Mayes
* Mr. Joe Evans
* Ms. Julie BohannonIt is our hope that these recommendations will meet with your approval and be implemented in the Fall 2000 trimester.
Sincerely,
Dr. Randy Lewis
Director
Interdisciplinary Studies
REQUEST FOR CURRICULUM CHANGE
SECTION 1 – Proposed New Course
1. Division: IDS
2. Course number and title: IDS 1003 “Freshman Seminar”
3. Description: As a required seminar for all entering students in their first 30 hours, this course will introduce students to concepts essential to their academic success---interdisciplinarity, the importance of the liberal arts, ethics, creativity, critical thinking, computer skills, and study skills.
4. Role of Course
__X___ B. General Education ___X___ required
5. Justification for the new course: Creating a Freshman Seminar will have numerous benefits to USAO. Many other universities have instituted freshman seminars to address high attrition rates (usually resulting in 8%-10% improvement); low levels of knowledge about higher education; concerns about classroom incivility; a lack of engagement with institutional life; and an inadequate sense of community. The last point is critical. In addition to providing intellectual content, the course should foster an academic community of learners who are also friends. In this regard, the “how” (methodology) of the course is as important as the “what” (content). Instructors should make use of a seminar format as well as new technologies such as web message boards.
Note regarding Orientation: Orientation will continue to exist as an event and students will still be required to take part in it, but the credit they receive for attendance will be part of their Freshman Seminar grade, not a separate one hour credit now known as IDS 1001. The only exception will be students who enrolled before Fall 2000 and have not yet taken orientation. For these students, “IDS 1001: USAO Orientation” will need to remain in the catalog for the next few years. However, in several years we should be able to formally drop this course as well.
6. Syllabus is attached.
REQUEST FOR CURRICULUM CHANGESECTION 1 – Proposed New Course
1. Division: IDS
2. Course number and title: IDS 1013: RHETORIC AND PUBLIC SPEAKING
3. Description: Development of skill in analyzing, assessing, and formulating arguments, in understanding the relationships between logic and language, and in organizing and presenting speeches based on these skills and understandings.
4. Role of Course
__X___ B. General Education ___X___ required5. Justification for the new course: We recommend the incorporation of “IDS 1002: Logic” into a three hour version of “IDS 1012: Rhetoric and Public Speaking” class. While this would be primarily a rhetoric class, we believe that principles of logic can and should emphasized in the teaching of effective public speaking. Because few universities have two hour speech classes, this new three hour class would articulate more effectively. The combination of these courses will also reduce IDS by one credit hour.
6. Syllabus: The final syllabus is not yet available for this combination of two existing IDS courses, though Prof. Roger Drummond has one taught it once as an experimental course during a 5 week term and has a syllabus from that occasion. In Spring 2000, a sub-committee of the IDS committee will determine which textbook(s) to use and will create a final syllabus for the course.
REQUEST FOR CURRICULUM CHANGESECTION 1 – Proposed New Course
1. Division: IDS
2. Course number and title: IDS 2011: “Foundations of Science Lab”
3. Description: A one hour lab that students will take in conjunction with either Foundations of Life Science” or “Foundations of Physical Science.”
4. Role of Course
__X___ B. General Education ___X___ required5. Justification for the new course:
To ensure that USAO students have hands-on experience with the scientific method, we recommend the creation of a one hour lab that could be taken with either “Foundations of Life Science” or “Foundations of Physical Science.”6. Syllabus. To be developed by science faculty.
REQUEST FOR CURRICULUM CHANGESection 2 – Request to Drop an Existing Courses
1. Course number and title: “IDS 1002: Logic and Critical Thinking” and “IDS 1012: Rhetoric and Public Speaking”
2. Current Role of course
__X___ B. General Education ___X___ required3. Justification for dropping this course: These course are being combined into a single 3 hour course to be known as “IDS 1013: RHETORIC AND PUBLIC SPEAKING.”
REQUEST FOR CURRICULUM CHANGESECTION 4 – REQUEST TO CHANGE EXISTING PROGRAM
1. Division: IDS
2. Title of program to be changed: IDS
3. Describe the change: Reduction of the Artistic Expression requirement in IDS from 3 hours to 2 hours.
Justification: The committee voted to decrease the amount of required hours of Artistic Expression from 3 to 2. We determined that the various courses that fulfill the Artistic Expression component of IDS are popular enough that this change will not cause a decline in their enrollments. Please note that we recommend making the same change with our Physical Education requirement. These two reductions are essential for important changes in the IDS curriculum, such as the addition of a one hour Foundation of Science lab and the creation of a Freshman Seminar.
REQUEST FOR CURRICULUM CHANGESECTION 4 – REQUEST TO CHANGE EXISTING PROGRAM
1. Division: IDS
2. Title of program to be changed: IDS
3. Describe the change: Reduction of the Physical Expression requirement from 3 hours to 2 hours.
Justification: We voted to decrease the amount of required hours devoted to “physical activities” from 2 to 1. The one hour “Health Concepts” class (PHED 1011) will remain as a requirement. Students will need to select one hour of physical activities rather than two. The committee determined that the physical activities courses are popular enough that their enrollments will not decline due to this change. As with the reduction of Artistic Expression from 3 hours to 2, this small reduction in our physical expression requirement is essential for important changes in the IDS curriculum, such as the addition of a one hour Foundation of Science lab and the creation of a Freshman Seminar.
REQUEST FOR CURRICULUM CHANGESECTION 4 – REQUEST TO CHANGE EXISTING PROGRAM
1. Division: IDS
2. Title of program to be changed: IDS
3. Describe the change: Adoption of the basic concept of “Writing across the Curriculum” (WAC) as part of IDS general education core.
4. Justification: Our goal is to improve the quality of writing by USAO graduates. Contrary to a common misperception, the adoption of WAC will not result in all IDS faculty being turned into composition teachers. Rather, it should ensure that some kind of writing has a place in all IDS classes, if it does not already. One or more of the following assignments would suffice and many other options are possible:
? A traditional research paper or essay.
? Journal. This is most popular WAC tool. Can be done either on line or in notebook. Would not necessarily have to be graded for grammar.
? Essay exams (if class size permits).
? A less typical writing assignment: compiling an annotated bibliography or writing a letter to the editor.
? Class email listserv or web bulletin board to facilitate discussion when students are not in class.
? In-class writing: “one minute papers” to warm up class for discussion (or to revive it); writing at the end of class to sum up a lecture or discussion that is collected and used to see what students are learning and to keep track of student attendance.
No professor would be expected to use all of these techniques, but instead could select the option that best fits his or her course. Some might choose to give objective exams but use “in-class writing” and a class listserv. Some might have nothing but a final paper. Some might require only a journal. In these ways, the WAC component could be satisfied without too much difficulty, especially if one chooses to use assignments that need not be graded in the traditional sense. For example, student writing on the listserv or in a journal could simply receive a check for being completed.
In adopting WAC as part of IDS, we agreed not to change or eliminate Writing I and II. Our embrace of WAC philosophy should serve to complement these courses rather than supplant them.
Administration of WAC will be relatively simple. A checklist will be circulated each semester to all IDS instructors, who will indicate the ways in which their course satisfies the writing component in accordance with WAC philosophy. This checklist will be returned to the Director of IDS in the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs to ensure that we are working together as a faculty to make writing an integral part of the IDS experience.
REQUEST FOR CURRICULUM CHANGESECTION 4 – REQUEST TO CHANGE EXISTING PROGRAM
1. Division: IDS
2. Title of program to be changed: IDS
3. Describe the change: Creation of a Liberal Arts minor as an option for students.
4. Justification: As an option for students who complete the normal IDS sequence, a Liberal Arts minor will be available to any student who takes an additional six hours of upper-division electives outside of their major. The possible electives must be drawn from a list to be compiled by the IDS committee. There should be no overlap between courses counting toward the Liberal Arts minor and those required for a student’s major.
We believe the Liberal Arts minor will be an attractive feature for students who want something concrete to show for their extensive IDS efforts. Now students will have the option of taking an addition two courses and receiving a minor that is built primarily from required IDS offerings.
Please note that the minor would not cause “double dipping” (i.e., counting courses in two contexts). Because USAO requires many more general education hours than the state regent’s minimum, we can count IDS hours beyond the minimum of 40 hours toward the Liberal Arts minor. For example, a student could use the 12 upper division hours of IDS (World Thought I, II, and III, PEST) in combination with 6 additional hours of coursework to receive the Liberal Arts minor.
For those who like to know more about the contents of the new Freshman Seminar, please feel free to look at the following draft syllabus which I am using in the pilot version of the class this spring. -- R.L.
Freshman Seminar: The Art of Wondering
DRAFT SYLLABUS FOR SPRING 2000 PILOT COURSE
Course Description:
Research has shown that Freshman Seminar courses significantly enhance a student’s ability to succeed in college. The course will help develop writing, reading, critical thinking, and speaking skills which are prerequisites for academic success and responsible citizenship. You will develop these skills and self-awareness as you explore issues relevant to work, education, and values. We will use a discussion/seminar format, which encourages you to explore the issues that are critical to your own goals and objectives, such as academic success, educational and career planning, and understanding the value of a liberal arts education. The seminar relies on student involvement for spark and momentum. You will be active at every class meeting – this will not be a lecture and listen type of course.
Course Objectives: Why are we doing this?
? To get students involved in their own education, encourage individual initiative, and increase the likelihood for academic success.
? To provide students with a working knowledge of IDS (the core curriculum), various degree programs, academic requirements, policies and procedures of USAO.
? To encourage intellectual growth as demonstrated by a greater tolerance for diverse kinds of people, ideas and values, and a willingness to look beyond simple explanations to complex problems.
? To help students become better communicators, overcome inhibitions about writing, understand how to use email and the world wide web (WWW), listen with comprehension and retention, exercise critical thinking, work cooperatively in a group, and participate in public group discussions.
? To inform students of the history and purpose of higher education, especially the liberal arts, and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of students and faculty.
? To develop a community of learners who are also friends and to increase student awareness about USAO’s people, services and resources.
? To encourage life-long learning as a pursuit of liberally educated individuals
Required Texts:
? John Lawry’s College 101: A First Year Reader (2nd Edition). This book is a thematically arranged collection of professional essays, student essays, poems, short stories, letters and a play, which address issues of direct relevance to first-year students. It is designed to provide you with a solid foundation for reflecting on—and making the most of—your college experience at USAO.
? Diana Wienbroner’s McGraw-Hill Guide to Electronic Research. This short book should provide all you need to know to become wired for collegiate success--from the basics of logging on to advanced net surfing.
? Course Reader. This selection of readings comes primarily from James L. Christian’s Philosophy: An Introduction to the Art of Wondering. It also includes selections from psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow.
Assignments:
* Attendance at orientation and other campus events as specified in class; participation in assessment
* Unannounced quizzes on readings
* Journal (typed). On-time completion of approximately 25 thoughtful entries. Journals will not be graded for grammar and form; instead we will assess the energy you have put into the entries as well as the quality of your thought.
* 5 page paper. You must submit a first draft for approval before handing in the final version.
* Two one page “thought papers.”
* Active participation in the “electronic conversation” on the web bulletin board for the class. You must have at least one posting per week to receive full credit.
* 3 emails to instructor regarding the course: questions, clarification, comments are all acceptable. [Note: Univ. of Washington has their FS students exchange emails with their counterparts at a Malaysian university. I think we should try to set up something similar].
COURSE SCHEDULE
Starting Out
Introductions and Ice-breakers
Explanation of Assignments; Expectations for the Class
USAO Heritage
Readings in Lawry:
Tolbert McCarroll: The Journal
Mary Oliver: “The Journey”
Description of “The Journal—The Journey”
In class journal entry: What do I expect of myself here at college?
The Art of Wondering and the Spirit of Philosophy
In the course reader, please read the following brief sections: “The Greek Miracle,” “Freedom to Wonder,” “A Western Dilemma,” “Belief, Doubt, Critical Thinking, and Faith,” “The Four Passions,” and “Socrates: The Wisest Man Alive.”
Linking Electronically
We will meet in a computer lab for this class, which will introduce you to email, web bulletin board for the course.
Assignment to be completed before class: Read Guide to Electronic Research while in front of a computer connected to the internet. Visit some of the URLs in the list beginning on page 33. Some possibilities include the websites for the Louvre Museum, Library of Congress, Online Books Page, Slate magazine, just to name a few. Come to class ready to describe one website you thought interesting and useful.Academic concerns
For today read John Lawry: What No One Ever Told Them about College
Donna Shuster: On Becoming a Better Student
Sam Sifton: John of Arc
* Bring USAO catalog to class to discuss IDS and other courses
Journal: What is the philosophy behind IDS? How might IDS courses benefit you? Here is a quote to ponder: “IDS may be defined as a process of answering a question, solving a problem, or addressing a topic that is too broad or complex to be dealt with adequately by a single discipline or profession.”
– Profs. Bill Newell + Julie Klein, IDS theorists
Understanding IDS (and the Disciplines on which it draws).
One page thought paper assigned today: Here is a sample question for the class to think about from multiple perspectives: are humans violent by nature? Do not just answer the question. You each will be assigned a discipline (such as history, economics, art, English, psychology, biology, etc.) and asked to figure out how that discipline would address this question? You may ask a faculty member for advice, or consult an introductory textbook in that discipline.
? Bring copy of USAO mission statement today (in catalog).
? In class discussion question: how would we synthesize these various (even competing) perspectives we encounter? How can well-trained “experts” disagree on the answer to a question? What does it mean to be interdisciplinary?
? Hand-out summarizing educational theorist William Perry’s Forms of Intellectual and Ethical Development on dualism, multiplicity, contextualism and commitment.Resources: Advisors, Mentors, Peers and other Forms of Support
Today: guest presentation from Student Services representative
Zimbardo: A Practical Guide to Sources of Help
Keating: A Hug for All Reasons
Journal entry: Describe some of the differences you have observed between your high school experience and the college classroom. Amount of work? Syllabi? Reading assignments? Professors’ style?
Orientation to the Library
No readings for today. Please meet in library for presentation on how libraries will be essential to your success as a college student.
No journal entry. Instead…
One page assignment due next class. Find an editorial in a recent copy of the Washington Post, New York Times, LA Times, or a foreign newspaper. Answer the following three questions: What issue is being discussed? How much do you know about that issue? How would you find out more?
What is a Liberal Arts Education?
Scudder: In the Lab with Agassiz
Malcolm X: Prison Studies
Joan Didion: Why I Write
Earl Shorris: On the Uses of a Liberal Education
Robert Oliphant: Letter to a B Student
Ethan Watters: Claude Steele Has Scores to Settle
Journal: What is the hardest thing about college so far? What strategies will allow me to overcome this challenge and succeed?
One page assignment due.
What is Knowledge?
Course Reader: please read sections on “Epistemic Awareness,” “Empirical Knowledge,” “Knowledge from Others,” “Reason Using Known Facts,” “Intuition,” “Francis Bacon: All Knowledge is my Province,” and “The Buddha: One Who Awakened.”
Students and Teachers
Dick Gregrory: Shame
Jean Houston: The Art of Acknowledgment
Louis Schmier: The Power of Caring
Langston Hughes: Theme for English B
Rebecca Lee: The Banks of the Vistula
Journal: Take a moment before or after class, or during office hours, to have a conversation with one of your professors. Who did you talk to? What did you discuss? How did the experience make you feel?
Friendship and Romance
Ellen Goodman: Training for Real Life
Lynn Darling: Sleeping with the Enemy
Meghan Daum: Virtual Love
Anonymous: “After a While”
Journal: Are you happy with the amount you participate in class discussions, not just in this class but other classes as well? What factors encourage you to participate? Do you find you learn more when you engage in the class discussion?
Hand in journal today.
The Power of Art
Il Postino (“The Postman”)
Bring to class one poem you have written or have read. If you have nothing in mind, you may choose one from the Pablo Neruda website. Post one poem on the class website for your classmates to enjoy. Please explain why you like it.
Journals returned.Il Postino (cont.)
No journal entry today.
Paper topics assigned.
Conflict
William Zinsser: College Pressures
Keegan: Inhuman Architecture, Bad Food, Boredom, Death by Fun and Games
Nancy Gibbs: When is it Rape?
Sylvia Miller: Untitled Student Dramatic Production
Journal: You are now in your second month of college. How have you found it? How do you think you’re doing? Is there anything we can do to help?
Community
Excerpt from Koyannasquaatsi (Hopi word for “Life out of balance…”)
Elvira Franco: A Magic Circle of Adult Students
Romana: Touching Lives
Howard Rheingold: The Virtual Community
Journal: Would you say that you are a member of a virtual community because of our class’s web discussions? Can this virtual community be a real community?
Global Community: An Ecospheric Ethic
In course reader, please read “Our Place in the Scheme of Things,” “An Ecospheric Ethic,” “Co-existence,” “Animal Consciousness,” and “Albert Schweitzer: Reverence for Life.”
Regional Identity: An Oklahoma You’ve Never Seen Before
Angie Debo video and discussion
Family Ties
Amy Corey: Untitled (student essay)
Susan Moon: Sons and Mothers
John Lawry: Daughters, Fathers, and Dancing
Andrew Merton: Father Hunger
Journal: Open entry. Write about anything you like.
Finding “Meaningful Work”
Tillie Olsen: I Stand Here Ironing
Richard Rodriguez: The Workers
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on “Flow” in course reader.
Journal: What sort of work did your grandparents do? How will your work life (career) be different? What role will education play in making it different?Conference Week
No class meetings this week. Instead, you must sign up for individual meetings with the instructor to discuss your progress in the class, and at USAO generally, and to discuss your paper topic. Each meeting will take about 15 minutes.
Journal: Looking back on Perry’s levels of intellectual development, situate yourself in one of the “student positions.” Do you see yourself in one of the categories that Perry describes? Give an example.Conference Week (continued).
Journal: What problems am I experiencing in this class? What am I enjoying?Identity
Elizabeth Wong: The Struggle to be the All-American Girl
Andre Dubus: The Fat Girl
Nadine Stairs: “If I Had My Life to Live Over”
Anonymous: “Risks”
Journal entry: The decision to go to college is a form of risk-taking. Write about the various stages you went through in making this decision and what helped you to make the decision.*** Draft of paper due today in class***
Spiritual Quest
Robert Bly: “The Long Bag We Drag behind Us”
John White: What is Meditation?
Gerald Jampolsky: Nothing Real is Impossible?
Rainer Maria Rilke: Letter to a Young PoetPeak Experiences
Bill Moyers’s interview with Joseph Campbell (one hour video)
*** Paper due today in class***
Journal entry: You have done quite a bit of writing this semester in this class and others. How do you see yourself evolving as a writer?Science and the Modern World
Question to think about: What is the role of science in our lives?
See course reader for 4 key readingsClosure
James Keller: Exile and Return
John Lawry: The First Year’s the Hardest
Journal entry (due today): Goethe once said “Wer immer streben sich bemuht, den konnen wire erlosen (Who strives always to the utmost, him can we save).” What do you need from USAO (profs, peers, advisors, resources, etc.) to “strive to the utmost” and succeed here? What do you need from yourself? Are you optimistic about your prospects?Final on-line postings due.
* * * Complete journal due in class today * * *
Have a great break and GOOD LUCK next semester!