GCSU plans to incorporate critical thinking into core

GCSU must abide by the University System of Georgia’s new curriculum policy by Fall 2011 by including more critical thinking skills in its courses.

University Senate is tackling the issue, however, the impending 2011 deadline does not mean a rash decision must be made.

“We are looking at this (issue) very carefully. No decisions have been made,” said Deborah Vess, special assistant to the Provost and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools liaison. “We want to find a way without placing a burden on (GCSU).”

Under the new University System policy, GCSU already maintains or exceeds the requirements. In March 2006, the University Senate passed a policy that included many of the same requirements that occurred in the University System policy that passed in October 2009.

The new University System policy is more flexible than the older policy.

“We were constrained by the old policy,” Vess said. “For example, under one area of the core, the old policy mandated we have 12 hours, but under the new policy it has at least six or seven hours.”

Some students see this change as an item that will improve their education at GCSU.

“I think I can benefit from (this change),” freshman pre-nursing major Gabby Mobley said. “I don’t feel memorization helps me (as a teaching method) as much.”

However, some classes may not see much of a change with the critical thinking aspect already in place.

“There is already a lot of critical thinking in the English composition classes that I teach,” graduate assistant John Teschner said.

The University System outlines other changes that must be implemented by the Fall 2011 deadline. All schools must create their own learning outcomes for each portion of the core.

Two other perspectives other than the critical thinking area added include United States and Global. In the social sciences area of the core, each student must take at least one U.S. perspective class and one global perspective class.

Lastly, any class in the social sciences category and transfers to another school in the University System, the class must transfer as long as the student doesn’t switch majors from a non-science to a science major according to the University System Web site.

For 2011, changes will have to be made, but Vess said that the institution will only get better.

“Anything we do we ask ourselves ‘How can we provide the best education to our students,’ ” Vess said.

Posted by Matt Rogers on Feb 26 2010. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry