PROF. DANIEL ERNST FEBRUARY 7TH, 2011 LIBERAL EDUCATION: LEARNING ABOUT LEARNING. THINKING ABOUT THINKING. CS 146 The Big Picture in Computer Science

Liberal Education What is Liberal Education?

Liberal Education What is Liberal Education?  A philosophy of education that empowers individuals with broad knowledge and transferable skills, and a stronger sense of values, ethics, and civic engagement... characterized by challenging encounters with important issues, and more a way of studying than a specific course or field of study (Association of American Colleges and Universities)

Liberal Education What is Liberal Education?  The aim of liberal education is to create persons who have the ability and the disposition to try to reach agreements on matters of fact, theory, and actions through rational discussions (Chrucky)  A liberal education is supposed to teach you something about everything and everything about something (Knuth)

How will you get there… …if you don’t know where you are going ? Learning to Learn

Purpose of Higher Education “to help college students become Intentional Learners who can adapt to new environments, integrate knowledge from different sources, and continue learning throughout their lives.” Greater Expectations (2002 AACU Report)

Greater Expectations (2002 AACU Report) Becoming an intentional learner means: developing self-awareness about the reason for study, the learning process itself, and how education is used Intentional learners are integrative thinkers who see connections in seemingly disparate information to inform their decisions. Intentional Learners

Savin-Baden and Major (2004) Self-directing learners are highly motivated, independent, and strive toward self-direction and autonomy. They take the initiative to diagnose their learning needs, formulate learning goals, identify resources for learning, select and implement learning strategies, and evaluate learning outcomes. Intentional Learners are Self-Directing

EMPOWERED through the mastery of intellectual and practical skills INFORMED by knowledge about the natural and social worlds and about forms of inquiry basic to these studies RESPONSIBLE for their personal actions and for civic values Intentional Learners Are…

Liberal Education Scorecard

Learning Beyond Memorization Bloom’s Taxonomy (1956) Revised by Anderson et al. (2001) Levels of Understanding Cognitive Domain

LevelDefinition Verb Examples That Can Represent Intellectual Activity Synthesis (Creating) Originate, integrate, or combine ideas into a new product or plan arrange, assemble, compose, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, organize, propose Evaluation (Evaluating) Appraise, assess, or critique on basis of standards or criteria appraise, argue, assess, attach, choose, defend, estimate, judge, predict, rate, select, evaluate Analysis (Analyzing) Distinguish, classify, or relate assumption, hypotheses or evidence analyze, appraise, categorize, compare, distinguish, examine Application (Applying) Select, transfer, and use data or principles to complete new task apply, choose, demonstrate, employ, illustrate, interpret, solve, use Comprehension (Understanding) Translate, comprehend, or interpret information classify, describe, discuss, explain, indicate, restate, translate Knowledge (Remembering) Recall or recognition of information, ideas and principles arrange, define, label, list, name, relate, recall, repeat, reproduce Bloom’s Taxonomy (Cognitive)

Bloom’s Taxonomy Apple Example Knowledge:  What are the health benefits of eating apples? Comprehension:  Compare the health benefits of eating apples vs. oranges. Application:  Which kinds of apples are best for baking a pie, and why? Analysis:  List four ways of serving foods made with apples and explain which ones have the highest health benefits. Provide references to support your statements. Evaluation:  Do you feel that serving apple pie for an after school snack for children is healthy? Why or why not? Synthesis:  Convert an "unhealthy" recipe for apple pie to a "healthy" recipe by replacing your choice of ingredients. Explain the health benefits of using the ingredients you chose vs. the original ones.

Attitudes Motivation Willingness to Participate Valuing What is Being Learned Incorporating Values Into Life Levels of Understanding Affective Domain

LevelDefinition Verb Examples That Can Represent Intellectual Activity CharacterizingHolds a particular value or belief that now exerts influence on his/her behavior Organizing Can put together different values, information, and ideas and accommodate them within his/her own schema; comparing, relating and elaborating on what has been learned ValuingAttaches a value to an object, phenomenon, or piece of information Responding Actively participates in the learning process, not only attends to a stimulus, but also reacts in some way ReceivingPassively pays attention Bloom’s Taxonomy (Affective)

Bloom’s Taxonomy Affective Examples Receiving:  Listen to others with respect.  Listen for and remember the name of newly introduced people. Responding:  Participates in class discussions.  Gives a presentation.  Questions new ideals, concepts, models, etc. in order to fully understand them. Valuing:  Demonstrates belief in the democratic process.  Is sensitive towards individual and cultural differences (value diversity).  Proposes a plan to social improvement and follows through with commitment.  Informs management on matters that one feels strongly about.

Bloom’s Taxonomy Affective Examples Organization:  Recognizes the need for balance between freedom and responsible behavior.  Accepts responsibility for one's behavior.  Accepts professional ethical standards.  Prioritizes time effectively to meet the needs of the organization, family, and self. Characterizing/internalizing:  Shows self-reliance when working independently.  Cooperates in group activities (displays teamwork).  Displays a professional commitment to ethical practice on a daily basis.  Revises judgments and changes behavior in light of new evidence.  Values people for what they are, not how they look.