Summary and Plan Conceptualization - Wartburg Plan of Essential Education - Academic Programs & Majors - Academics

Wartburg Plan of Essential Education

Summary and Plan Conceptualization

In the context of the mission statement which says that

Wartburg College is committed to challenging and nurturing students for lives of leadership and service as a spirited expression of their faith and learning,

the Wartburg Plan of Essential Education is designed to create habits of mind and dispositions that lead to students becoming liberally educated persons and life-long learners in a diverse world. At the core of our understanding lies the concept of critical inquiry that leads to integration. The Plan is designed to teach thinking skills in developmentally appropriate stages, to achieve college level competencies in fundamental academic skills, to connect the discipline(s) to essential education, and to integrate faith and learning with a special emphasis on values and ethics.

At the introductory level are the IS (Inquiry Studies) courses which look at problems/ situations, not from a disciplinary viewpoint, but draw on a variety of perspectives. IS courses help students formulate and respond to questions of personal and global importance in a rapidly changing world. They will discover that the quest for meaning raises more questions than it answers. These questions will lead them to explore particular disciplines. (See goals and outcomes for IS 101, 201below).

The IC (Interconnected Courses) take students to the next level of critical inquiry, especially analysis. In these courses, students draw on disciplinary knowledge to compare and contrast and make connections across and within domains. (See IC goals and outcomes below).

The ID (Interdisciplinary Courses) require students to go beyond analysis to synthesis. Students draw upon the work in their major(s) and experiences in the IC courses in integrating knowledge across all three knowledge domains. Thus, they recognize that using disciplinary approaches cannot adequately address the bigger issues and that a more holistic approach is required. (See also current language on ID courses)

Infused throughout the cognitive development process are the various literacies that also contribute to the development of a liberally educated person. These include information literacy (IL), diversity across the curriculum (DAC), spoken communication across the curriculum (SAC), and writing across the curriculum (WAC). They reinforce skills introduced in the IS courses as well as in EN 112, foreign language, science reasoning, and CA ___ (.5 credit speech class), i.e., ways of reasoning and living.

Terms and understandings

· Goals are broad statements of purpose and intent for courses or categories of courses or literacies. Goals answer the question, "why are we doing this?" for both instructors and students.

· Outcomes are measurable or observable student behaviors that show progress toward the goals. Outcomes are what students must know and be able to do to demonstrate movement toward goals.

· Assessment consists of instructor and student activities. Assessment answers the question, "how can instructors and students measure how much progress students are making toward specific outcomes and goals?"

· Course criteria are parameters for content and structure developed by the General Education Task Force, affirmed by faculty on May 24, and refined by participants in the Collaboration Institute. These are the guidelines for EPC to follow in approving courses.