ISEM 301 – “What is an Educated Person?”
Welcome to "What is an Educated Person?" I'm your instructor, Rodney Frey. You are always welcome in my office. I look forward to visiting with you. You can contact me at: Voice: 885-6268. E-mail: rfrey@uidaho.edu My Home Page: www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~rfrey
Dates, Times, Locations and Event: Tuesdays,
March 24, 6:00 p.m.
Clearwater/White Water Room of the Commons, Keynote Address by Dan
Bukvich, Distinguished University Professor and
Professor of Percussion/Theory and Director of the Jazz Choir, followed by Q and A;
March 31,
6:00 p.m.
Clearwater/White Water Room of the Commons,
Karen Launchbaugh,
Professor of Rangeland Ecology and Director of the
Rangeland Center,
followed by Q and A;
April 7, 6:00 p.m. Vandal Ballroom of the Pitman Center (SUB), Andy Kersten, Dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences, and historian by discipline, followed by Q and A; (view at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrCx1IYSxc4)
April 14, 6:00 p.m. REN 125
Presentation by Rodney Frey, followed by
Q and A;
April 21, 6:00 pm REN 125
Student-led Discussion;
April 28,
6:00
p.m. REN 125
Student-led Discussion;
May 5,
6:00 p.m. REN 125
Student Presentations;
May
12, 6:00 p.m. REN 125
Student Presentations
Seminar Description:
“What are the skills and competencies you seek to have acquired
at the moment you walk across the commencement stage on the day of your
graduation . . . . skills and competencies needed to civically-engage a
democratic society, and a rapidly- changing diverse world, skills and
competencies employers desire, or graduate schools necessitate?”
Initiated by a university-wide, keynote address by one of the University of Idaho’s Distinguished Professors, this seminar will explore the question, “what is an educated person?” Through the academic disciplinary lenses of anthropology, business, history, liberal arts and sciences students will consider the varied skills and learning competencies needed on the day they walk across the commencement stage and receive their baccalaureate diploma. Among the questions explored are, what are employers seeking in a graduate? What does a civil democratic society require of its citizenry? What do students themselves desire from their education? These various interwoven questions will be framed within a consideration of the University of Idaho’s Learning Outcomes.
Along with ISEM 101 and Senior Experience, the ISEM 301 seminars are part of the Integrated Studies component of the university’s General Education. This curriculum seeks to enhance student competencies in integrative thinking, which are critical for problem solving, creativity and innovation, and communication and collaboration. Integrated learning is defined as the competency to attain, use, and develop knowledge from a variety of disciplines and perspectives, such as the arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences, with disciplinary specialization (to think divergently, distinguishing different perspectives), and to incorporate information across disciplines and perspectives (to think convergently, re-connecting diverse perspectives in novel ways). It is a cumulative learning competency, initiated as a first-year student and culminating as reflected in a graduating senior.
A.
Seminar Learning Outcomes:
1.
Learn
and integrate –
Through independent learning and collaborative study, attain, use, and develop
knowledge in the arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences, with
disciplinary specialization and the ability to integrate information across
disciplines.
a.
Emphasis will be placed on using the disciplinary
approaches and methods of
business/economics, and anthropology/sociology, to collaboratively study and
integrate information on the topic.
2.
Think
and create –
Use multiple thinking strategies to examine real-world issues, explore creative
avenues of expression, solve problems, and make consequential decisions.
a. This seminar will explore developing academic strategies for addressing the challenges of an educated citizenry and skilled workforce for the 21st Century.
3.
Communicate –
Acquire, articulate, create and convey
intended meaning using verbal and non-verbal methods of communication that
demonstrate respect and understanding in a complex society.
a.
Students will further cultivate their skills in verbal and writing
communications, along with skills in library literacy.
4.
Clarify purpose
and perspective –
Explore one’s life purpose and meaning through transformational
experiences that foster an understanding of self, relationships, and diverse
global perspectives.
a.
In this seminar students will explore their life’s purpose head-on,
fostering a reflective sense of who each is relative to others and the social
and economic realities they are about to engage.
5.
Practice citizenship –
Apply principles of ethical leadership, collaborative engagement, socially
responsible behavior, respect for diversity in an interdependent world, and a
service-oriented commitment to advance and sustain local and global communities.
a.
Students will gain an appreciation of the critical
qualities of respect for diversity in sustainable local and global communities.
B.
Seminar Learning Activates:
(graded on a 100 point scale)
1.
Engage in and write reflective responses for the
keynote address and three faculty presentations (4 one-page double-spaced essays)
– 20 pts.
(To reflect is not to
summarize, but to seriously contemplate and consider the cultural meanings,
assumptions and implications of a presentation, doing so relative to your own
values and aspirations).
2.
Having read the assigned readings and viewed the
assigned videos, activity
engage in weekly discusses, and lead assigned discussions, providing guiding
questions that stimulate discussion based upon the readings. The seminar
will be divided into 3-5 person teams, who will be assigned a reading, from
which they will develop questions and lead an active seminar discussion.
Each team will have fifteen to twenty (15-20) minutes for their presentation and
to lead the discussion. Start your discussion with a short synopsis of the
reading or video. (graded on
participation and guided leadership) – 20 pts.
3. Based upon library research and linked with your major field of study, research and write an eight (8) page (double spaced) paper on the learning competencies and skills you hope to have mastered on the day you graduate, and reflect on how those competencies will best serve you in the professional and civil life you will be entering. In your discussion, you must address how your own personal leaning aspirations are linked to and embedded within the five University of Idaho Leaning Outcomes. Your paper should include reference to the insights offered in the four public lectures and the reading/video assignments. Your paper should also include at least three annotated bibliographic sources relative to your paper’s topic (based upon library or appropriate Internet sources). Use proper MLA or APA style formatting. See these two brief guides comparing the two styles: Guide 1 and Guide 2. The paper is due on Friday May 8th by 4:00 p.m. – 35 pts.
4.
Based upon you research paper, provide a eight
(8)
minute oral presentation to your fellow seminar participants (maximum
presentation of 6 minutes with 1-2 follow-up questions) – 10 pts.
C. Assigned Readings and Videos:
1.
“General
Education: Connecting to Issues of
Vital Importance for Students, for Society,” Keynote address by Bobby Fong,
The Association of American Colleges and
Universities’ General Education and
Assessment: A Sea Change in Student Learning Annual Conference, 28 February
2013. (pp. 18)
2. “It Takes More Than a Major: Employer Priorities for
College Learning and Student Success (An Online Survey among Employers Conducted On Behalf Of: The Association
of American Colleges and Universities) by Hart Research Associates,
April 10, 2013. (pp. 14) and
“University
of Idaho Learning Outcomes and Employer Priorities” (http://www.uidaho.edu/learningoutcomes)
3. Sanford Eigenbrode (University of Idaho Distinguished Professor 2013 and Professor of Entomology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences) keynote address, October 22, 2014. at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2uPdRgaf7A
4. Mario Reyes, Dean, College of Business and Economics, October 29, 2014 at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFym-8Yy4CI
5. Ryanne Pilgeram, recipient of the Hoffman Award in Teaching Excellence, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, November 5, 2014 at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybL5QfYB6Lc
6.
Why Education for Democratic Citizenship
Matters 1-16, and Conclusion 69
7.
Crucible Moments of Civic Learning: Then and
Now 17-24, Trailblazers for Civic Learning: From Periphery to Pervasiveness
41-49, and Conclusion 69
8. “Liberal
Education: Our Students’ Best Preparation for Work and Citizenship,” prepared by the Presidents’ Trust,
Association of American Colleges and Universities,
2013. (pp. 66 - PowerPoint)
D. Frey's PowerPoint - LEAP Learning Outcomes