The liberal arts college and humanist learning

What is liberal education? How do its aims differ from those of either grammar or vocational education? Does it truly deserve its own supporting institution? In response to these questions, Arcilla develops a defense of the liberal arts college. He observes that all projects of formal learning presuppose that the learner possesses answers to three fundamental, existential questions: What is one’s nature? What is the good for beings of this nature? What facilitates this good? We develop better responses to these questions by engaging in liberal learning. The mission of the liberal arts college, then, is first and foremost to support this learning. With this idea of liberal learning and its college in mind, we may nonetheless wonder whether the existential knowledge it seeks is really something that can be learned. Arcilla articulates a version of humanism that illuminates the conditions of possibility for liberal learning and affirms this learning’s intrinsic value. At the same time, this philosophical theory requires for its verification that we engage in liberal learning. Arcilla calls the symbiotic partnership formed by liberal learning and humanism “humanist learning,” and he points out that it is this learning, which is crucial to our other kinds of education, that would be lost if society ceased to support genuine colleges of the liberal arts.     

Evaluating engineering thinking in undergraduate engineering and liberal arts students

ABSTRACT

This study explored if it is possible for liberal arts students to develop engineering professional competencies without detailed engagement with the engineering sciences. Students on a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences programme were compared with their undergraduate peers in Civil Engineering. A new method for evaluating such competencies was developed. Two one-hour individual problem-solving exercises were devised to assess capabilities against 14 criteria, based on the Institution of Civil Engineers’ Competency framework for professional development (2011 The BASc cohort’s scores for each criterion improved notably from the start of term to the end. This cohort rated their capabilities more highly at the end of term and was more satisfied with the answers they gave. Engineering students showed a slight decline in performance against the criteria. Self-evaluation in this group revealed a smaller increase in perceived capability but increased dissatisfaction. Both cohorts felt more anxious about the assignment at the end of the term. PBL environments can improve student competence in attributes associated with professional engineering. The scope of the study is constrained by the small cohort but the findings and evaluation method provide the basis for further development, including detailed statistical evaluation and validation of the evaluation instrument.     

文科女生数学学习障碍探究

现在的文科班,不管是重点中学还是普通中学,女生的数量都占班级总人数的绝大部分。笔者在执教过程中发现,文科女生由于某些原因,在数学学习中存在着这样或那样的障碍,以至于数学成绩提高较慢,进而对学习数学有一种恐惧心理。有的女生甚至是因为数学不好才去学文科的。文章从文科女生学习数学障碍的分类及成因入手,提出一些合理的建议及看法,帮助文科女生克服各种障碍,走出心理阴影,不因数学而哭泣,真正学好数学。     

How the instructional and learning environments of liberal arts colleges enhance cognitive development

This study analyzes longitudinal data from 17 four-year institutions in the United States to determine how the distinctive instructional and learning environment of American liberal arts colleges accounts for the positive impact of liberal arts college attendance on four-year growth in critical thinking skills and need for cognition. We find that, net of important confounding influences, attending an American liberal arts college (vs. a research university or a regional institution in the United States) increases one’s overall exposure to clear and organized classroom instruction and enhances one’s use of deep approaches to learning. In turn, clear and organized classroom instruction and deep approaches to learning tend to facilitate growth in both critical thinking and need for cognition—thus indirectly transmitting the impact of attending a liberal arts college.     

Academic departments as networks of informal learning: faculty development at liberal arts colleges

In this article, we consider the role of departmental contexts and relationships in faculty work within liberal arts colleges. Knowledge about how departmental networks relate to success and satisfaction may inform the work of those who support faculty work in liberal arts colleges, as well as other institution types. Analysis of quantitative and qualitative survey data from faculty members at 13 liberal arts colleges in the US suggests that informal departmental relationships influence faculty experiences. Findings suggest that departmental leaders and colleagues are sources of professional development and support, but that counter-productive behaviours interfere with such support and foster negative workplace cultures.     

基于学习共同体的文科实验教学模式研究

传统文科实验教学常常忽视实验对象的特殊性,抄袭理工科实验教学模式,模仿或重复教师的实验步骤和过程,缺少相互间的交流与合作,无法体现团队力量和创新思维。通过探讨文科实验教学过程中存在的问题,构建以项目为导向的学习共同体,培养学生的团队合作能力和实践动手能力。     

文科物理网络学习系统的设计

本文根据素质教育和远程教学的发展需要，对文科大学物理网上学习系统的内容、结构和组建方式，提出了系统的技术方案，并研制出有适用价值的文科大学物理网上学习系统，对提高文科学生的科学素质具有现实意义。     

Support for teaching the liberal arts: An institutional dilemma

Using data from a random sample of chief liberal arts academic officers in American colleges and universities, the authors examine the support of teaching in the liberal arts (defined as the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities). Information is presented on 15 categories of faculty support for teaching and research, basic teaching conditions, tenure decisions, and merit salary increases. Differences in support are examined among institutions that vary in size, location, sponsorship, and degree level. These findings suggest that liberal arts teaching is in less than excellent health on most American campuses. In addition, the researchers note numerous inconsistencies among resources, standards, and rewards in American institutions of higher learning and urge liberal arts administrators to reduce these inconsistencies where possible.     

Evaluating student engagement and experiential learning in global classrooms: A qualitative case study

The global classroom is an emerging technology-based pedagogy used internationally by educational institutions. To evaluate a global classroom, we conducted a qualitative study using written reflections and semi-structured interviews of global classroom participants, based on two theoretical frameworks: Kearsley and Shneiderman’s engagement theory and Kolb’s experiential learning theory. We analyzed student reflections and transcribed interviews, using the software package, NVivo, with two objectives: (1) to evaluate if global classroom is engaging and experiential to students and (2) to elucidate how student engagement is fostered in the global classroom through experiential learning. Results illustrated a complex relationship between student engagement and experiential learning. During the experiential learning cycle, engagement theory (relate-create-donate) principles contributed to student engagement at varying levels and for different purposes. Based on the results of this study, we created a framework that demonstrates the interactivity of engagement theory and experiential learning theory to describe how student engagement featured in experiential learning during this global classroom, with strategies to maximize student engagement in experiential learning.     

Evaluating online CPD using educational criteria derived from the experiential learning cycle

A set of educational evaluation criteria for online continuing professional development (CPD) courses is developed using Kolb's (1984) experiential learning cycle theory. These criteria are used to evaluate five courses provided by online CPD websites. It was found that these online CPD courses neglect parts of the learning cycle. Suggestions for improvements in these areas are given.     

Jobs and liberal arts graduates: Some critical relationships

Policy deliberations within the university frequently require information useful in shaping discussion and pointing up priorities. Research work among faculty and graduate students often includes data about alumni, students, or staff gathered to answer theoretical questions. This study reports one effort to translate such data into forms useful to the College of Liberal Arts in creating academic policy to meet the altered job market. Organized around the concepts of jobentry, decisions, andchanges in goals, jobs, and majors, the analysis revealed the urgency of the issue, the importance of a satisfaction on the first job, a changing relationship between jobs and majors, the impact of the liberal arts' study on educational aspirations, and the rationale for choices.