GEC Issues – Fall 2011
1. Review of GenEd designations for Foundations,
Focus and Diversification courses.
1. Critical Thinking Working Group
o WASC accreditation criteria list instruction in “critical thinking skills”
as an important core curriculum component of undergraduate
education
o Susan Hippensteele has pioneered the use of the Critical Thinking
Assessment Test (CAT) to determine whether courses are actually
teaching this. CTWG is monitoring this effort and will examine the
results.
o Will canvas Departments to see to what extent critical thinking skills
are incorporated into the program SLOs.
o Will examine GenEd Hallmarks and see if critical thinking skills are
consistent with the existing Hallmarks.
GEC Issues – Fall 2011
3. FS compliance among undergraduates
o Foundation-Symbolic Reasoning - Students must pass 1 FS course in their first
year
o Prior analysis in 2006-07 indicated that only 60 % of students comply with this
requirement. Only 76% are in compliance by the end of the 2nd year.
Proposed Solution:
o Although the catalog lists FS as a 1 year requirement, treat it as a 2 year
requirement.
o Send reminder emails:
• Friendly email to incoming freshmen and transfer students (n=1435)
• Warning email to students with 25 – 54 credits (n=654)
• Stern warning to students with ≥55 credits (n=656)
o Future proposed penalty – place a registration hold on students with ≥55 credits
that have not fulfilled the FS requirement
Is it time to re-evaluate the Foundations:
Symbolic Reasoning (FS) requirement
• GEC and the Foundations Board have been studying the FS
requirement for 2-3 years.
• This was prompted by:
• WASC accreditation review criteria
• Relatively few course choices for fulfilling FS
• High failure rates among many FS courses – FS courses have become a
bottleneck in retention and graduation
• Anecdotal evidence that quantitative/mathematical skills of many of our
incoming students are poor
• Disagreement among Foundations Board members and other faculty
concerning how to interpret the FS Hallmarks
• What is really important for a liberal arts education in the 21st century?
Some Historical Background
• The FS requirement was created during General
Education reform in 1999-2000.
• Prior to GenEd reform, there was a 3 credit ‘Math or
Logic’ requirement
o Fulfilled with an introductory Mathematics or Philosophy course
• One perceived problem with this arrangement was that
the Math and Philosophy departments had a monopoly
on offering courses that fulfilled the requirement.
The Current FS Requirement
• 3 Credits of an FS course required in the 1st year
• Hallmarks of an FS course:
1. Expose students to the beauty, power, clarity, and precision of formal
systems
2. Help students understand the concept of proof as a chain of inferences
3. Teach students how to apply formal rules and algorithms
4. Require students to use appropriate symbolic techniques in the context
of problem solving, and in the presentation and critical evaluation of
evidence
5. Not focus solely on computational skills
6. Build a bridge from theory to practice and show students how to
traverse this bridge
Current FS Courses
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Business 250 - Applied Math in Business
ICS 141 - Discrete Mathematics for Computer Science I
ICS 241 - Discrete Mathematics for Computer Science II
Math 100 - Survey of Mathematics
Math 112 - Math for Elementary Teachers II
Math 140 – Precalculus
Math 161 - Precalculus and Elements of Calculus for Economics and
the Social Sciences
•
•
•
•
•
Math 203 - Calculus for Business and Social Sciences
Math 215 - Applied Calculus I
Math 241 - Calculus I
Math 251A - Accelerated Calculus I
NREM 203 - Applied Calculus for Management, Life Sciences, and
Human Resources
• Philosophy 110 - Introduction to Deductive Logic
• Philosophy 111 - Introduction to Inductive Logic
Perceived Problems?
• This is still fundamentally a Math or Logic requirement. There
have been no diversification of offerings due to the restrictive
hallmarks.
• Courses that teach quantitative skills often do not qualify as FS
courses due to the lack of ‘symbolic’ rigor
• Students can get a 4-year degree without taking any type of
math, statistics, or computational courses
• WASC accreditation does not recognize ‘Symbolic Reasoning’ as
a core general education objective.
• WASC accreditation does require courses in:
• College-level quantitative skills
• Critical analysis of data and argument
Requirements
Baccalaureate programs engage students in an integrated course of study
of sufficient breadth and depth to prepare the for work, citizenship, and a
fulfilling life. These programs also ensure the development of core
learning abilities and competencies including, but not limited to:
1.College-Level Written Communication
o FW (3 cr) and W Focus (5 courses)
2.College-Level Oral Communication
o O Focus (1 course)
3.College-Level Quantitative Skills
o FS requirement? Not really since Hallmarks don’t require quantitative skills.
4.Information Literacy
o No requirements
5.The Habit of Critical Analysis of Data & Argument
o No requirements
How to ensure we are teaching quantitative skills?
• In Spring 2011, the Foundations Board and the GEC
voted to recommend a change in the explanatory notes
to one of the hallmarks that would have the effect of
requiring some quantitative content in an FS course
Hallmark 5
not focus solely on computational skills
Students
should
challenged
to use symbolic
trails
of reasoning not
o The
course
must be
include
college-level
quantitative
skills
only minimallly but in maximally efficient and elegant ways
o Students should not simply be trained in mechanical, computational or
formulaic techniques
Proposal forwarded to the
Multi-Campus Foundations Board
• The UH Systemwide Articulation Agreement of 2004 requires
that all changes to the Foundations requirements, hallmarks,
or explanatory notes must be approved by a system-wide
committee
• The proposed change was conveyed to the MCFB in Nov
2011. They will hold 3-4 meetings and will vote on this
proposal by March 2012
• If they do not approve this change, they have been asked to
consider whether an overhaul of the FS Hallmarks is needed
and would be supported at the system level.
What solutions are possible?
1. Change the hallmarks to make the FS requirement strictly a
quantitative skills requirement (in keeping with WASC standards)
2. Split the FS requirement into two requirements (6 cr total):
o Quantitative Reasoning (FQ - 3 cr): Math, Statistics, Business, and other
forms of applied math
o Logical and/or Critical Reasoning (FR - 3 cr): Philosophy and other courses
that teach formal logic and critical analysis of argument
3. Create an overlapping requirement:
o1 combined quantitative and logic course (3 cr), or
o1 quantitative course and 1 logic/analysis course (6 cr total)
What Do Peer & Benchmark Institutions Require?
UHM Peer Institutions:
Colorado State University
Iowa State University
Louisiana State University
Oregon State University
UC Davis
University of Georgia
University of Kentucky
University of Missouri
University of North Carolina
University of Tennessee
University of Utah
University of Virginia
Mathematics
Mathematics
Analytical Reasoning
Mathematics
Quantitative Literacy
Mathematics & Quantitative Reasoning
Quant Foundations and Stat Reasoning
Math and Mathematical Reasoning
Quantitative Reasoning
Quantitative Reasoning
Quantitative Reasoning
Natural Science and Mathematics
3
3
6
3
3
6
6
6
3
6
3 or 6
12
math
math
math, philosophy, and statistics
math
math
math
math, philosophy
1 course in math and 1 course in several disciplines, incl math and philosophy
math, philosophy, statistics, and computer science
math, statistics, and computer science
QA (math) and QB (logic). One of each (6 cr) or one with both designations (3 cr)
diversification requirement, not foundations
UHM Benchmark Institutions:
Indiana University
Michigan State University
SUNY Buffalo
University of Arizona
UC Berkeley
UC Davis
UCLA
University of Colorado
University of Florida
University of Illinois
University of Iowa
University of Maryland
University of Michigan
University of Minnesota
University of Missouri
University of Oregon
University of Washington
University of Wisconsin
Mathematical Modeling
Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics
Quantitative Reasoning
Quantitative Literacy
Philosophical and Linguistic Analysis
Quantitative Reasoning
Mathematical Modeling
Quantitative Reasoning
Quantitative or Formal Reasoning
Mathematics
Quantitative Reasoning
Mathematical Thinking
Math and Mathematical Reasoning
Science/Math
Quantitative or Symbolic Reasoning
Quantitative Reasoning
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
6
6
3
3
3 or 6
3
6
15
5
6
math
math
math, philosophy, and computer science
math, linguistics, and philosophy
math, statistics, and computer science
math
philosophy and linguistics, no math
includes math, physics, economics, and psychology
math
math, statistics, computer science, and philosophy
math, statistics, and philosophy
math and statistics
math, statistics, and computer science
math, statistics, computer science, and philosophy
1 course in math and 1 course in several disciplines, incl math and philosophy
at least 15 cr of Science and/or Math, BS must include 9 cr of Math
many ways to fulfill this, including math and philosophy
3 cr of math, statistics, or philosophy, and 3 cr of other quant courses
Summary of Peer & Benchmark Institutions
• 5 of 12 peer institutions have a 3 or 6 credit math-only
requirement
• 9 of 18 benchmark institutions have a 3 or 6 credit math
and/or logic requirement
• 18 of 36 peer and benchmark schools had a broader
requirement that included, in various combinations: math,
philosophy, statistics, computer science, economics,
business, psychology, etc.
• The schools are evenly split in requiring 3 or 6 credits
One proposal that might work well at UH:
The University of Utah has the following requirement:
Quantitative Reasoning (3 or 6 credits) – students must take either:
-One QA (mathematics) course and one QB (statistics or logic) course, or
-One QA/QB (combined mathematics and statistics/logic) course
We would propose modifying this for UH purposes:
Foundations – Quantitative Reasoning, Logical and Critical Reasoning
Students must take either:
•One quantitative reasoning course (3 cr) and one logic/critical
reasoning course (3 cr), or
•One course that offers both quantitative reasoning and logic/critical
reasoning (3 cr)
Foundations – Quantitative Reasoning, Logical and Critical Reasoning
Students must take either:
•One quantitative reasoning course (3 cr) and one logic/critical
reasoning course (3 cr), or
•One course that offers both quantitative reasoning and logic/critical
reasoning (3 cr)
• Quantitative Reasoning could include math, statistics, business math,
applied math, economics, and other courses that are predominantly
teaching quantitative skills
• Logical and Critical Reasoning could include philosophy, critical
thinking, and other social and natural science courses that incorporate
deductive reasoning skills
Where to now?
• Do faculty at UH Manoa agree that there should be a
quantitative skills requirement?
• Do we want to study whether one of these solutions will
work at UH Manoa before invoking a system-wide
committee? I suggest convening a working group and
seeking broader faculty input.
• Eventually the Requirements and Hallmarks would need
to be formulated and approved by the MFS and then a
system-wide committee. Next year perhaps?
CAT Test
•
developed at Tennessee Tech and tested over several years at numerous
institutions
• Short answer essay test, one hour long
• Faculty scored, detailed scoring guide
Skills Assessed by CAT Instrument:
Evaluating Information
• Separate factual information from inferences.
• Interpret numerical relationships in graphs.
• Understand the limitations of correlational data.
• Evaluate evidence and identify inappropriate
conclusions.
Creative Thinking
• Identify alternative interpretations for data or
observations.
• Identify new information that might support or
contradict a hypothesis.
• Explain how new information can change a
problem.
Learning and Problem Solving
• Separate relevant from irrelevant
information.
• Integrate information to solve problems.
• Learn and apply new information.
• Use mathematical skills to solve realworld problems.
Communication
• Communicate ideas effectively.