The Recentered Curriculum in the De‐centered University
Randy Bass, Vice Provost for Education
@randybassgu
Georgetown UniversityJune 25, 2015
Project‐based Learning Institute
WPI
The future of higher education, and indeed the very survival of your institutions, entirely pivots on what you will be doing the next three days.
CORE MESSAGE
If we were designing the university for this moment in history what
would it look like?
The Design Question
In the new landscape, there are only two dimensions of education that will be unique to universities in 2025, 2030….
Mentored learning
The arc of learning
External Forces of Potential Disruption
Skill‐based Learning
Data Analytics / Adaptive Learning
Open Online Courses
Public Pressure on Access, Metrics of Impact
Purdue‐Gallop Poll on Engaged Work and Flourishing
Two most important predictors of success:
1) Adult mentor who cared about you2) Sustained project
Changing Capacities and Outcomes for the 21st C
“The human labor market will center on three kinds of work:
solving unstructured problems,
working with new information (including complex communication),
and carrying out non‐routine manual tasks.”
In the new landscape, there are only two dimensions of education that will be unique to universities in 2025, 2030….
Mentored learning
The arc of learning
High impact integrative curriculum
Formal undergraduate curriculum
Experiential co‐curriculum
Foundational KnowledgeSome generic and interchangeableSome institutionally‐distinctive expertise
Local and IdentityJesuit and Catholic
Mentor‐basedtradition
Residential, Diverse
Blendedinteractive online
Massive Online
Institutional Brand and Identity
Engaging DifferenceEthical JudgmentSelf‐ReflectionPractitioner education, leadership
Formal undergraduate curriculum
Experiential co‐curriculum
Experiential co‐curriculum
Experiential co‐curriculum
Study abroad Undergraduate research
Community‐based learning
First‐year Seminars
Writing‐intensive Capstone courses
Collaborative Assignments
Where are the high‐impact practices located?
Student AffairsAdvising
Internships
Formal undergraduate curriculum
Experiential co‐curriculum
Experiential co‐curriculum
Experiential co‐curriculum
Accountable talk and thinking
Meet challenges to perspectives and belief, take risks, operate outside comfort zone
Get (and give) frequent and meaningful feedback
Make daily decisions –judgment in uncertainty
NEW ECOLOGY FOR LEARNING
What makes High Impact Practices high impact?
Invest time and effort (time on task)
Opportunity to integrate, synthesize, make meaning
High impact integrative curriculum
Foundational KnowledgeSome generic and interchangeableSome institutionally‐distinctive expertise
Local and Identity‐specific
Urban settingCommunity‐based
Mentor‐basedResidential, Diverse
Formation and the futurerecentered Curriculum
Contribution to a knowledge communityUnstructured complex problemsAuthentic workInterdisciplinary InquirySocial learning
Self‐authorship
Reflection and sense‐making
Students learn on an arc that moves them inward and
outward
Opportunities for integrating theory and practice, connecting disparate learning
experiences
Formal learning Informal learning
HOW DO WE DESIGN FOR THIS CENTER?
Design Principles for project‐based learning in the Recentered Curriculum
(1) Integration from the inside out.
Knowledge of a domain Knowledge of the world
Knowledge of yourself
Heidi Elmendorf, Ph.D.Biology, Georgetown
Formation
The white space of … formation, transformation and whole student development
Domain Knowledge
Knowledge of the world
Knowledge of yourself
New paradigm for higher education?
Design Principles for project‐based learning in the Recentered Curriculum
(1) Integration from the inside out.
(1) Put granular designs in service to the integrative
The split logic of the learning paradigm
Integrative (holistic, coherent):
Design of whole learning experiences
Curricular and co‐curricularCompetencies conceived as part of a whole
Connections & integration
Disintegrative:
Design of discrete or granular learning experiences
Competency‐basedlearning
Learning decoupled from formal boundaries
Analytics that track narrow or micro learning
15‐week Traditional Statistics Course
8‐9 weeks with OLI materials + Professor
Applied projects on student Interests
Advanced topics and problem‐solving
Remaining 5‐6 weeks
Reinventing Introduction to Statistics
Design Principles for project‐based learning in the Recentered Curriculum
(1) Integration from the inside out.
(1) Put granular designs in service to the integrative
(1) Create contexts for reflection and sense‐making (social, communal)
Connect to Learning Project (23 U.S. instituions); Making Connections National Resource Center, LaGuardia Community College; Bret Eynon, Director
What Difference does ePortfolio Make?C2L evidence supports 3 preliminary claims
Sophisticated ePortfolio initiatives:
1. Advance Student Learning & Success2. Make Student Learning Visible3. Catalyze Institutional Change
Claim #2: ePortfolio Initiatives Make Student Learning Visible
ePortfolio initiatives support reflection, social pedagogy, and deep learning.
Helping students reflect on and connect their learning across academic and co‐curricular learning experiences, sophisticated ePortfoliopractices transform the student learning experience. Advancing higher order thinking and integrative learning, the connective ePortfoliohelps students construct purposeful identities as learners.
Building my ePortfolio Agree/Strongly Agree
Helped me make connections between ideas 75.6%
Helped me think more deeply about course content 64.4%Allowedme to be more aware of my growth & development as a learner
69.3%
My (ePortfolio‐enhanced) course engaged me in… Quite a Bit/Very Much
Synthesizing& organizing ideas, information or experiences in new ways
83.1%
Applying theories or concepts to practical problems or in new situations
77.2%
My course contributed to my knowledge, skills and personal development in understanding myself
78.6%
Making Learning Visible to Others
ePortfolio as a Social Pedagogy
• Feedback, Peer Critiques• External Audiences –Family, Professionals, Experts in the field
• Collaborating on Shared Projects
• Constructing Sustained Knowledge Communities
Building my ePortfolio helped me to make connections between ideas…
37.6
82.3
49.1
89.2
0
20
40
60
80
100
Low InstructorFeedback
High InstructorFeedback
Low StudentFeedback
High StudentFeedback
% Agree/Strongly
Design Principles for project‐based learning in the Recentered Curriculum
(1) Integration from the inside out.
(1) Put granular designs in service to the integrative
(1) Create contexts for reflection and sense‐making (social, communal)
(1) Connect what has not been connected
High impact integrative curriculum
Foundational KnowledgeSome generic and interchangeableSome institutionally‐distinctive expertise
Local and Identity‐specific
Urban settingCommunity‐based
Mentor‐basedResidential, Diverse
Formation and the futurerecentered Curriculum
Contribution to a knowledge communityUnstructured complex problemsAuthentic workInterdisciplinary InquirySocial learning
Self‐authorship
Reflection and sense‐making
Students learn on an arc that moves them inward and
outward
Opportunities for integrating theory and practice, connecting disparate learning
experiences
Formal learning Informal learning
HOW DO WE DESIGN FOR THIS CENTER?
Problem Statement
F ORMA L I ZE D C OURS E - B A S E D TE A C HI NG I S F A I L I NG TO MA K E L E A RNI NG I NTE GRA TI V E A ND HI GH- I MP A C T.
P A Y F O R A N E X P E R I E N C E , N O T D I S P A R A T E K N O W L E D G E
iugi: unlock the futureW HA T I F GE ORGE TOW N C OUL D P ROMOTE K NOW L E D GE S Y NTHE S I S THROUG H C OL L A B ORA TI V E P ROJ E C TS F ROM D A Y 1 TO GRA D UA TI ON, I NV OL V I NG S TUD E NTS , P ROF E S S ORS , S TA F F A ND P RA C TI TI ONE RS ?
S YS T E M F E AT U R E SI UGI S
UNL OC K I NG ME C HA NI S M
S K I L L S - B A S E D C ORE
D A S HB OA RD
P ORTF OL I O
iugiIugis are project families that reverse the course-centric learning model.
``̀
Online Course
Lecture series
Reading cluster
`
Class/knowledge
Lab
Today Tomorrow
Knowledge Packets
IUGI
High impact integrative curriculum
Foundational KnowledgeSome generic and interchangeableSome institutionally‐distinctive expertise
Local and Identity‐specific
Urban settingCommunity‐based
Mentor‐basedResidential, Diverse
Formational education and the futurerecentered Curriculum
Contribution to a knowledge communityUnstructured complex problemsAuthentic workInterdisciplinary InquirySocial learning
Self‐authorship
Reflection and sense‐making
Students learn on an arc that moves them inward and
outward
Opportunities for integrating theory and practice, connecting disparate learning
experiences
Formal learning Informal learning
HOW DO WE DESIGN FOR THIS CENTER?
Design Principles for project‐based learning in the Recentered Curriculum
(1) Integration from the inside out.
(1) Put granular designs in service to the integrative
(1) Create contexts for reflection and sense‐making (social, communal)
(1) Connect what has not been connected
(1) Link high‐impact on students to the impact the institution has on the world
Jack DeGioia, President, Georgetown
Three interlocking and inseparable elements of the University:
• Formation of men and women
• Knowledge‐creation through scholarship and research
• Public Good and the Common Good
Top Related