| Abstract: | General Education requirements, active learning, and interdisciplinary coursework are key concepts related to the renewed interest in giving students a more coherent, more meaningful undergraduate education. Although rhetoric grows apace on innovations in the undergraduate curriculum, little research has been completed on the relationship between intellectual growth of students and innovations in general education. This study is an examination of the relationship between intellectual growth and interdisciplinary general education courses designed to promote lifelong learning. In particular, the study looks at the impact of this curriculum on students in the professional schools at the University. Most students in the sample demonstrated significant growth and had taken on new perspectives, had adopted new ways of dealing with information, and had become more open to new ways of learning.Sheila P. Wright directs and teaches in the All-University Curriculum at the University of Hartford. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut. Dr. Wright is particularly interested in how general or liberal education affects the perceptions and behaviors of students. |
