Ball State University's Core Curriculum is changing to encourage students to think at a higher level and meet the needs of a 21st century education.
The new curriculum, unlike the current core curriculum which takes only two or three years to complete, will span the four years or more that a student is at Ball State, Juli Eflin, chairwoman of the University Core Curriculum Task Force II, said.
"The new core is based on a pedagogy that leads to a goal of sophistication in thinking," Eflin, who is also chairwoman of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, said.
The core curriculum will be structured into three tiers, and will include a series of classes called WISER. Each of the three tiers has a specific goal that will help students apply what they have learned to many disciplines and situations.
"It's like when you first start elementary school," Eflin said. "You are experienced to things and you gain information from that. As you progress, you gain knowledge, and with that knowledge you can make judgements, which we hope will be good ones. And from that, you can translate that judgement into actions."
Tier 1 is meant to turn experience into information, and students should "isolate discrete, recognizable and usable facts," according to the report submitted by UCC Task Force II to University Senate.
In Tier 2, these facts will be transformed into understanding and students can "reflect on knowledge gained to make choices and direct what they think, say and do," the report said.
Tier 3 is where students take all that they have learned and apply it to their major or other projects.
Another part of the curriculum is WISER classes, which will allow students to take not only general writing classes, but also teach students how to write for their specific disciplines.
Sophomore Andrew McMurray said he wished there was more variety in classes offered in the current core curriculum.
"Besides offering History 150, the department could offer something like Asian history, which could spark an interest and maybe a change of major," McMurry said. "The core curriculum is a lot of filler that gets in the way, but at the same time it gives the different perspectives that you need, such as how to interact with different groups of people,"
The new curriculum, Eflin said, will broaden the range of courses students can take and count towards it. While developing the curriculum, Eflin said Task Force II attempted to visit every department in the university.
"Most departments are already thinking about UCC-21 [the new core curriculum]," Eflin said. "Some departments have even started to review their own departmental core already, such as history and math."
Even though many departments are thinking about the new core curriculum, there were some people who had objections when the report was submitted at the University Senate meeting Thursday.
One of the dissenters, James McClure, professor of economics, said there are many people on campus who do not agree with the new core curriculum but are not speaking up. He also said the task force did not meet its goals.
"When they came up with this new curriculum they didn't think about the resources that would be needed to do this," McClure said.
With tiered classes, many departments would have to change their course offerings, and there could be fewer large lecture courses, Eflin said.
At the University Senate meeting, McClure tried to get a letter of objection about the core curriculum and a minority report forwarded with the UCC-21 report. Neither the letter nor the minority report could be forwarded because of governmental procedure, Bruce Howzeski, chairman of the University Senate, said.
The current core curriculum has been cited as not meeting some of its goals, Eflin said.
"A problem with the current curriculum is that there is no requirement for diversity or multiculturalism," Eflin said. "The core is also missing cognitive skills that students need. Students have all introductory courses and they need more than that."
For the core curriculum to be implemented Fall 2008, the process needs to be completed this year, Eflin said.
If the core curriculum is not passed before the first of the year, Ball State will have to wait until 2010 for the curriculum to be implemented, Eflin said, because the university prints the course catalogue every two years.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
