THE NEW TEXAS CORE CURRICULUM
(OCTOBER 27, 2011)
KEY POINTS
• BASED ON BEHAVIORAL OBJECTIVES
• LIMITED TO 42 HOURS
•
CORE COURSES MUST ADDRESS ALL SPECIFIED OBJECTIVES
FOR THE COMPONENT AREA
• COORDINATING BOARD WILL APPROVE THE CONTENT OF OUR
CORE CURRICULUM (DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTAL, 11/30/13)
• MUST BE IMPLEMENTED IN FALL 2014
• THERE WILL BE A TRANSITION PERIOD WHILE STUDENTS WHO
CAME UNDER A PRE-2014 CATALOG COMPLETE THE OLD CORE
AND NEW STUDENTS WORK ON THE NEW CORE
KEY POINTS (CONTINUED)
• EMPHASIS ON FRESHMAN/SOPHOMORE LEVEL COURSES, UPPERLEVEL COURSES DISCOURAGED OR DISALLOWED
• CORE WILL BE MORE FOCUSED
INTEGRATED COURSES
COURSES DEVELOPED AS CORE COURSES
GENERAL RATHER THAN FOCUSED ON NARROW TOPICS
ACCESSIBLE TO ALL STUDENTS, NOT FOR MAJORS ONLY
EMPHASIZE LIFE SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE
FOUNDATIONAL COMPONENT AREAS
• COMMUNICATION (6 SCH)
• MATHEMATICS (3 SCH)
• LIFE AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES (6 SCH)
• LANGUAGE, PHILOSOPHY, AND CULTURE (3 SCH)
• CREATIVE ARTS (3 SCH)
• AMERICAN HISTORY (6 SCH)
• GOVERNMENT/POLITICAL SCIENCE (6 SCH)
• SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES (3 SCH)
• COMPONENT AREA OPTION (6 SCH)
CORE OBJECTIVES
• Critical Thinking Skills: to include creative thinking, innovation,
inquiry, and analysis, evaluation and synthesis of information
(Must be addressed in all core curriculum courses)
• Communication Skills: to include effective development,
interpretation and expression of ideas through written, oral and
visual communication (Must be addressed in all core curriculum
courses
• Empirical and Quantitative Skills: to include the manipulation
and analysis of numerical data or observable facts resulting in
informed conclusions
• Teamwork: to include the ability to consider different
points of view and to work effectively with others to
support a shared purpose or goal
• Personal Responsibility: to include the ability to connect
choices, actions and consequences to ethical decisionmaking
• Social Responsibility: to include intercultural
competence, knowledge of civic responsibility, and the
ability to engage effectively in regional, national, and
global communities
COMMUNICATION
• Courses in this category focus on developing ideas and expressing them
clearly, considering the effect of the message, fostering understanding, and
building the skills needed to maximize the potential for effecting change
through communication.
• Courses involve the command of oral, aural, written and visual literacy skills
that enable people to exchange messages appropriate to the subject,
occasion, and audience.
• The following four Core Objectives must be addressed in each course
approved to fulfill this category requirement:
Critical Thinking Skills
Communication Skills
Personal Responsibility
Social Responsibility.
MATHEMATICS
• Courses in this category focus on quantitative literacy in logic, patterns and
relationships
• Courses involve the understanding of key mathematical concepts and the
application of appropriate quantitative tools to everyday experience.
• The following three Core Objectives must be addressed in each course
approved to fulfill this category requirement:
Critical Thinking Skills
Communication Skills
Empirical and Quantitative Skills.
LIFE AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES
• Courses in this category focus on describing, explaining, and predicting
natural phenomena using the scientific method.
• Courses involve the understanding of interactions among natural phenomena
and the implications of scientific principles on human experiences.
• The following four Core Objectives must be addressed in each course
approved to fulfill this category requirement:
Critical Thinking Skills
Communication Skills
Empirical and Quantitative Skills
Teamwork
LANGUAGE, PHILOSOPHY, AND CULTURE
• Courses in this category focus on how ideas, values, beliefs, and other
aspects of culture reflect and affect human experience.
• Courses involve the exploration of ideas that foster aesthetic and intellectual
creation in order to understand the human condition across cultures.
• The following four Core Objectives must be addressed in each course
approved to fulfill this category requirement:
Critical Thinking Skills
Communication Skills
Teamwork OR Personal Responsibility
Social Responsibility
CREATIVE ARTS
• Courses in this category focus on the appreciation and analysis of creative
artifacts and works of the human imagination.
• Courses involve the synthesis and interpretation of artistic expression and
enable critical, creative, and innovative communication about works of art.
• The following four Core Objectives must be addressed in each course
approved to fulfill this category requirement:
Critical Thinking Skill
Communication Skills
Teamwork
Social Responsibility
AMERICAN HISTORY
• Courses in this category focus on the consideration of past events relative to
the United States, with the option of including Texas History for a portion of
this component area.
• Courses involve the interaction among individuals, communities, states, the
nation, and the world, considering how these interactions have contributed to
the development of the United States and its global role.
• The following four Core Objectives must be addressed in each course
approved to fulfill this category requirement:
Critical Thinking Skills
Communication Skills
Personal Responsibility
Social Responsibility
GOVERNMENT/POLITICAL SCIENCE
• Courses in this category focus on consideration of the Constitution of the
Untied States and the constitutions of the states, with special emphasis on
that of Texas,.
• Courses involve the analysis of governmental institutions, political behavior,
civic engagement, and their political and philosophical foundations.
• The following five Core Objectives must be addressed in each course
approved to fulfill this category requirement
Critical Thinking Skills
Communication Skills
Teamwork
Personal Responsibility
Social Responsibility
SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
• Courses in this category focus on the application of scientific methods in the
understanding of what makes us human.
• Courses involve the exploration of behavior and interactions among
individuals, groups, institutions, and events, examining their impact on the
individual, society, and culture.
• The following five Core objectives must be addressed in each course
approved to fulfill this category requirement
Critical Thinking Skills
Communication Skills
Empirical and Quantitative Skills
Personal Responsibility
Social Responsibility
COMPONENT AREA OPTION
• Courses in this category focus on the development and application of
knowledge and skills introduced in the previous eight component areas.
• Courses used to complete the Component Area Option must meet the
definition and criteria specified in one of the foundational component areas
• The Core Objectives required in the corresponding Component Area apply to
each course used to fulfill the Component Area Option.
• Current TTU Institutional Options are
Oral Communication (3 SCH)
Mathematics and Logic (3 SCH)
TENTATIVE TIMELINE
•
November 18, Timeline finalized, guidelines for course proposals presented and discussed
•
December 16, 2011, Suspend acceptance of applications to add new courses to the core curriculum
•
January 31, 2012, Call for course proposals
•
May 4, 2012, Deadline for receipt of core curriculum course proposals.
•
Summer 2012, preliminary screening proposals by review committee. Problem proposals will be returned for revision.
•
September 7, Proposals approved by the review committee are forwarded to the appropriate Component Area Committee for
final review.
•
December 3, 2012, Component Area Committees present their list of accepte, revisal needed and rejected core curriculum
courses.
•
March 18, 2013 syllabi returned for revision are due. These syllabi will be forwarded immediately to the appropriate
Component Area Committee for review.
•
May 3, 2013, provisional core curriculum is presented to the Core Curriculum Steering Committee for review and approval
•
September 2013, core curriculum is submitted to the Academic Council for review.
•
November 30, 2013, core curriculum sent to the Coordinating Board for its approval.
•
Fall 2014, new core curriculum is implemented.