Editor’s Note

In this issue of the Journal of General Education, assessment and curricular reform continue to be pressing issues. Thomas Nelson Laird, Amanda Niskodé-Dossett, and George Kuh draw upon data from the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement in their article “What General Education Courses Contribute to Essential Learning Outcomes.” They compare the types of skills promoted by faculty teaching general education courses with those emphasized by faculty who teach other courses. They also investigate if there are differences in instructor practices between these two groups of faculty. They found that faculty who teach general education courses design their courses to emphasize intellectual skills and individual and social responsibility to a greater extent than did instructors who were teaching other courses. In addition, faculty who teach general education courses were found to emphasize integrative learning and reported more diverse interactions than instructors teaching other types of courses. The research results discussed by these authors are very insightful, as they clearly document the contributions that faculty members who teach general education make to support student learning and reinforce crucial outcomes.

Academic leaders and faculty often discover that curriculum reform is necessary to strengthen learning experiences for students. Francis Stage and Jillian Kinzie explore curriculum change in their mixed-methods study “Reform in Undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics: The Classroom Context.” They found that faculty had increased interactions with students and learning became a collaborative and active process. They also discovered an increased focus on authentic contexts and practical knowledge and on interdisciplinary connections. This research study offers important contributions and concrete examples of how faculty redesigned individual undergraduate science courses in an effort to promote student success.

Another example of curriculum reform is creating global interaction and international experiences for students. In their article “‘Making Connections’ at the University of North Carolina: Moving Toward a Global Curriculum at a Flagship Research University,” Jay Smith and Julia Kruse discuss the specific types of curriculum changes they implemented. New graduation requirements included experiential education, for which many students decided to study abroad. In addition, all students complete one Global Issues course. The authors’ portrait of major reform clearly demonstrates how a multifaceted approach to redesigning the curriculum can provide students with more in-depth learning experiences to enhance their global consciousness.

We conclude this issue with two book reviews. Scott Cottrell critiques a recent assessment book, Promoting Integrated and Transformative Assessment: A Deeper Focus on Student Learning written by Catherine Wehlburg. Steve Gump reviews another assessment book, Assessing Student Learning in General Education: Good Practice Case Studies by Marilee Bresciani.

We hope that you find these articles useful as you consider curriculum reform and assessment at your own college or university. You may also want to share your own experiences as they relate to the general education of your students and contribute to jge.