Criteria
The course is transferable to other institutions as a general education course.
The course (or course sequence) provides a survey, overview, or introduction to a particular discipline or broad topic that is generally accessible to a nonmajor.
The course includes the general education outcomes associated with one of the distribution areas
(humanities, social science, natural sciences and mathematics).
The course develops knowledge and skills associated with at least one of the GRCC Institutional Learning
Outcomes (Personal Responsibility, Communication,
Social Responsibility, and Critical Thinking).
Yes No
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1 The team charged with defining the distribution areas worked diligently to review 1) contemporary stances on general education and 2) job- and career-related skill expectations of employers. Relevant published papers and position statements by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), the National Education Association (NEA), and the
Association of Colleges and Universities (AACU). Further, a review of over 25 community colleges’ general education programs was completed. The creation of distribution areas requires scrutiny and decision-making that considers institutional stance on thematic general education and academic disciplinary general education. While both have merits and limitations, faculty and administrators agreed that at the community college level, the latter is more practical. Indeed, an academic disciplinary approach may best prepare students who continue on to the baccalaureate level of post-secondary education. In summary,
Grand Rapids Community College general education programs strives to provide an experience that is grounded in academic disciplines and promotes the acquisition or refinement of important career-readiness skills.
2 Referenced sources include:
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: Learning or literature concerned with human culture. A branch of study that deals with how people create the world in which they live, and how the world in which they live influences identity. Humanities is the study of the human condition in all its forms, including human interaction, expression, creativity, ideas, and values.
Upon completion of a General Education Humanities course at GRCC, students will be able to:
1.
Analyze scholarly and creative artifacts and activities from the past and the present in order to understand the world and himself or herself from different points of view
2.
Utilize the fundamental language and/or set of concepts associated with the scholarly and creative artifacts and activities being analyzed
3.
Articulate and understand the commonalities and differences among human beings from different time periods, cultures, and demographics through the analysis of scholarly and creative artifacts and activities
4.
Articulate and understand the ways in which various categories of human scholarship and creativity both shape and reflect cultural values
5.
Understand the role that various categories of human scholarship and creativity play in inspiring innovation, preserving culture, and encouraging empathy for all of humanity
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National Endowment for the Humanities - www.neh.gov
American Association of Colleges and Universities - www.aacu.org
American Association of State Colleges and Universities - www.aascu.org
"The Heart of the Matter: the Humanities and Social Sciences for a vibrant, competitive, and secure nation" - a publication of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences - www.amacad.org
3 Study of the social sciences seems especially relevant to a community college. Understanding important linkages among human behavior, social conditions, societal norms, and cultural features allows for a more informed and effective student and community citizenry. Referenced sources included:
The Heart of the Matter, a Report of the American Academy’s Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences. The report is intended to advance a dialogue on the importance of the humanities and social sciences to the future of our nation. http://www.humanitiescommission.org/_pdf/hss_report.pdf
Otherwise the two other references were
Association of American Colleges and Universities – Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP) Initiative. http://www.aacu.org/leap/
UCLA’s New General Education Curriculum Requirements http://www.uei.ucla.edu/docs/ge/proposal.htm
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: Learning and literature concerned with individual and societal relationships. A branch of science that deals with how people manage, interpret, or engage individuals, groups, institutions, societies, and cultures. Emphasis is on the factors that influence behaviors, the analysis of societal interaction, and promotion of intellectual curiosity.
Upon completion of a General Education Social Science course at GRCC, students will be able to:
1.
Identify questions and hypotheses important to understanding social phenomena, individual behavior, and/or the operation of societal institutions.
2.
Articulate a theoretical perspective guiding the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data used to investigate individual behavior, social phenomena, and/or the operation of societal institutions.
3.
Comprehend how changing social conditions affect the behavior of individuals, the operation of societal institutions, and/or perception of social phenomena.
4.
Apply social and human behavioral theory to explore their individual rights and responsibilities as part of a civil society
5. Provide scientific evidence on how the interplay of genes and the sociocultural context shapes the development of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors within individuals.
6. Apply social and human behavioral theory to understand alternative interpersonal or cultural perspectives.
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: Learning, literature and experimentation concerned with laws of the natural and physical world. Branches of science and mathematics that deal with how people measure, interpret, explain, define, hypothesize, analyze, research, apply , observe and study the objects, phenomena or laws of the natural and physical world.
Upon completion of a General Education Natural Science course at GRCC, students will be able to:
1. Adapt and evaluate processes to find solutions to multi-step or multi-component problems.
2.
Use calculation and measurement to solve problems, and use estimation to evaluate if the outcome to the problem is reasonable.
3.
Discern relevant and irrelevant information when seeking the solutions to problems.
4 Natural Science and Mathematics are comprised of disciplines that focus on critical thinking, logic, analytic, and synthesis skills. As science and math skills are core components of many national initiatives to increase the quality of the nation’s workforce, a number of publications were reviewed to determine a clear, yet broad definition of Natural Science and
Mathematics. See especially The Opportunity Equation: Transforming Mathematics and Science Education for Citizenship and the Global Economy, a publication authored by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Institute for Advanced Study’s
Commission on Mathematics and Science Education: http://carnegie.org/fileadmin/Media/Publications/PDF/OpportunityEquation.pdf
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4.
Use experimentation or practice to experience and deepen understanding of scientific and mathematical theories.
5.
Develop hypotheses and draw and express conclusions based on mathematical or scientific theory and/or experimentation.
6.
Apply general science or mathematics principles to explain an observed phenomenon or the results of an experiment.
Upon completion of a wellness course, students will be able to:
1.
Apply the six dimensions of wellness 5 to their lives a.
The Six Dimensions of Wellness are: Emotional, Mental/Intellectual, Spiritual, Physical,
Social, and Environmental
2.
Develop a plan to incorporate lifelong healthy habits into their lives
3.
Set personal goals for a healthy diet and safe/effective exercise training
4.
Demonstrate the ability to be physically active by meeting the requirements of the chosen wellness course
5 The Six Dimensions of Wellness model emerged in 1975 by Dr. Bill Hettler. In many ways Dr. Hettler’s model synthesizes ideas and models that were developed since the beginning of the wellness movement which began to be a part of higher education curricula in 1818 when Harvard College became the first post-secondary institution to require undergraduate instruction on hygiene. In 1902 Thomas Storey declared that poor health limited the efficiency of college graduates; by 1910, 84% of the 116 leading colleges in the United States included hygiene in their curricula. Hygiene, health education, school and community health, and public health education were all iterations of what became more widely accepted as “wellness” in the 1970s.
In terms of general education, research indicates a strong correlation among health, number of years of formal education, and socioeconomic status (for example, improvement in any one of the three improves the quality of the other two; conversely, decreases in any one of the three adversely affects the other two). As Michigan ranks 37 out of 50 requiring one wellness course seems logical for a community college.
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