Department of General Education at Taipei National University of the Arts, TAIWAN Teaching Excellence Project Report— An Integration of Liberal and Professional Education

Introduction To reach for teaching excellence, faculty and staff members of the Department of General Education are divided into four work units to develop the plan. The ongoing project of the 2005 academic year is focused on the following four major areas.

Establishment of an integral course curriculum through in- depth discussions, an innovative course design, and a reinforced evaluation mechanism 1. Improvement upon course curriculum and teaching standards of general education, with an emphasis on integration and innovation Project Results Development of innovative/interdisciplinary courses offered by faculty members inside and outside the university. Courses include “Life Science and the Arts,” “Art and the Community,” and “Success Stories of Modern Heroes and Role Models”

Development of a Teaching Assistant Program to assist in and document the teaching process, so as to enhance overall teaching quality while promoting learner performance in general Project Results

2. Building a learner support system to help improve students’ basic skills Establishment of a student support system which provides learning resources through student counseling and academic advising to help provide scaffolding and promote students’ learning skills. Creating a dynamic learning experience through field trips, viewings of documentary films, and learning workshops incorporating digital technologies to enrich the learning process Project Results

3. Promoting teacher growth and improving teaching quality Project Results Encouraging idea exchange and experience sharing among teachers by holding panel discussions, book clubs, workshops and field trips Building course websites and conducting peer observation for teachers to share course materials and teaching resources both digitally and face-to-face, so as to inform, inspire and promote teacher performance

Project Results Designing a learner-centered multidimensional learning space Encouragement of visionary, innovative and experimental teaching styles and lesson plans to promote active, experiential and reflective learning 4. Creating a dynamic learning space