Bringing Faculty into the Conversation about the Future of

Liberal Education

Technology-Related Issues

• Cost-saving

• Global learning and technology

• Online/blended courses for traditional undergraduates

• Digital literacy

• Competency-based learning

• Promoting experimentation

Education-Related Technologies

• MOOCs

• ePortfolios

• Learning analytics (particularly for flipped and blended classrooms)

• Game-based learning

• Open educational resources

• Technology supporting flipped classrooms

Write down 1-3 issues/technologies being discussed on your campus.

What groups are (and are not) participating in these conversations?

• Board of Trustees?• Senior administrators? (e.g. president, vice-presidents, …)

• Deans?• Early adopters?• All faculty?• Instructional technology? • Those charged with overseeing curriculum? (e.g. course or program directors, chairs, …)

Problem: Need for greater faculty involvement in decision-making related to new technologies and related issues

Frames: Current Discussions• Headlines: debates over such topics are frequent

• Selingo, Jeffrey L. 2013. Attitudes on Innovation: How College Leaders and Faculty See the Key Issues Facing Higher Education. Chronicle of Higher Education.

• The Changing Nature of Faculty Roles: Peer Review 15:3, Summer 2013. Especially David Paris’s piece, “The Last Artisans? Traditional and Future Faculty Roles.”

From “The Last Artisans”

“…faculty members need to negotiate their role on two related dimensions, the professional and the political.”

“…faculty members need to aggressively stake out what their professional role is and standards for it.”

A Complex Problem

• Appearance of ongoing dialogue/conversation, BUT…

• Faculty are not always “at the table”

• Issues often are not framed in terms of their relation to liberal arts pedagogy and goals

Discussion: The Table

One example

Questions

After determine where conversations are happening…

1. How do we ensure that those experienced in liberal education and pedagogy are at the table?

2. How do we frame our approach to change in terms of liberal education values and pedagogy?

Questions

After determine where conversations are happening…

1. How do we ensure the right people (those experienced in liberal education and pedagogy) are at the table?

2. How do we frame our approach to change in terms of liberal education values and pedagogy?

MISSION (AND MISSION-DERIVED ELOS)

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

• A strength: Supportive Campus Environment

• Room for growth: Active and Collaborative Learning at the senior level• Class presentations, group projects, discussing class topics

outside classroom, participating in community projects, participate in class…

“Toolkit” of Effective Practices

•Such as…• NSSE Benchmarks of Effective Educational Practice (academic challenge, active and collaborative learning, student/faculty interaction, supportive campus environment, enriching educational experiences)

• AAC&U High-Impact Practices

• AAC&U VALUE Rubrics

Framing questions for new technology, pedagogy, or structure:

• Does it facilitate students’ acquisition of mission-derived learning outcomes?

• Does it facilitate implementation of high-impact practices?

• Does it move students towards “Capstone-level” mastery of ELOs? (“deep learning”)

Resources for Understanding Current Developments in Educational Technology & Higher Ed

Reports• The New Media Consortium's annual Horizon Report on

how technology is being used in higher education • The EDUCAUSE annual

ECAR Survey on Studentsand Information Technology Use

• The Sloan Consortium's annual reports on online education in the United States

• Pew Research Center's reports on the Internet and American Life 

• The Chronicle of Higher Education's annual Almanac of Higher Education

More Resources for Understanding• Organizations & Conferences• EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative• HASTAC - Humanities, Arts, Sciences, and Technology

Alliance and Collaboratory• NITLE - National Institute on Technology in Liberal

Education• The Sloan Consortium• SXSW.Edu

Resources for Framing the Conversation around Liberal Education

• AAC&U Essential Learning Outcomes• AAC&U High-Impact Practices• AAC&U report, 

College Learning for the New Global Century• AAC&U VALUE rubrics • Chickering & Gamson's widely cited "Seven Principles for

Good Practice in Undergraduate Education"

Contact Information• Cory Lock, Interim Dean of University Programs,

julial@stedwards.edu

• Julie Sievers, Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence, julies@stedwards.edu

• https://think.stedwards.edu/cte/blog/post/bringing-faculty-conversation-about-future-liberal-education OR http://bit.ly/1mvBxOi