GEP Connections: Alignment, Reflection, and Inspiration

By Amy Darty, M.A.
GEP Faculty Fellow
College of Undergraduate Studies

The GEP is poised to spur innovation and propel our students toward their futures. How we craft and direct their learning via the Foundational tenets of the integrative General Education Experience will open the world of possibilities as well as prepare students for the next steps in their degree paths. The more we think metacognitively about the way they learn and share with them why it matters, the more we can empower students to apply and adapt these concepts to their own progress. 

Key Points from the first Annual 2024 Transfer Student Success Partnership Conference: Bridging Curriculum and Transfer Readiness 

  1. UCF and our Direct Connect program, which emphasizes the preparation of students via foundational courses, is a leader in the United States Higher Education access and pathways to degree – a standout example to other institutions and leading our students forward faster and better than most of our collegiate peers. 
  2. GEP course alignments at UCF and with our partners are vital in this process, not only to ensure students are completing necessary course foundations but enabling effective transitions to the Knight Nation academic culture. 
  3. Students are not always “DONE” with their GEP courses when they arrive as transfers, either due to continuing needs for Common Program Prerequisites (CPP) or additional coursework planned for minors or certificates – this means all GEP faculty at UCF should be actively looking at transfer students as a component of our GEP learning experience. 

General Education courses are the UCF gateway to: 

  • Understanding the 5 Core Foundations as relational and relevant to every career path 
  • Fostering application of content principles and methods in real time which creates value 
  • Modeling academic success skills to navigate complexity – by using an interdisciplinary lens and showcasing individuality in the pursuit of learning. 
  • Supporting student-driven and coach-supported career development by incorporating reflective practice into EVERY GEP – prompt them to make connections automatically. 
  • Connecting NACE competencies to your GEP course content as a functional skill in career settings (grant proposals, business plans, evaluation standards, efficacy reports, persuasive arguments) 

Preparing GEP students to go beyond knowledge absorption to encourage intellectual curiosity: 

  • Change the focus to activated learning through a show and share (which most GEP entry level students already enjoy) – a 21st century version of “see one, do one, teach one” 
  • Highlight the end goal – learning outcome and intended course/public audience for what a student creates extends beyond an assignment to reflect their topic/task mastery 
  • Identify how your GEP course builds or connects with other disciplines as a conscious reasoning exercise – develop assignments involving your students existing interests or areas of study 
  • Prepare for integrative GEP assignments by investigating the framework 
    • Ask your colleagues across disciplines/colleges WHY they require the GEP course for their major, how is it used at its most basic level and for future expectations. 
    • Use the GEP Materia games or the forthcoming GEP/CPP Infographics to promote integrative thinking about course requirements and diverse majors/minors. 
  • Provide opportunity to develop a new skill or self-taught presentation method which includes the GEP Foundations (Canva, Adobe Express, video presentation, infographic, gaming, etc.) – adds interest, boosts creativity, and produces a career-relevant resume or portfolio artifact. 
  • Take your students on a journey as both learner and guide 
    • Have your students complete a project or activity in which THEY serve as the principal investigators for why a GEP course matters for their degree (make it an interactive challenge or shared experience on Yellowdig or a Discussion). 
  • Include self-reflection by the student on HOW the integrative GEP helped reach course learning goals (not the typical SPI of what faculty created but the efficacy of what the student did with it) 
  • Arrive at the same knowledge while making the delivery method more accessible and relational through more vivid interaction, skill development by the students, and engagement with dynamic information that they can see in action as function of the GEP. 

Scenario 1: Student A is completing Principles of Statistics because she needs it for a Common Program Prerequisite 

  • To make this connection deeper, create opportunity for her to communicate how she will use statistical data or methods in her career. This shows her how the future is being built from the start of her education, not just the end result looking back from the stage of graduation. 
  • Start by having the student investigate how statistics in used in her planned discipline.  
  • Then, your student can create a case study, presentation or Materia product using at least one statistical outcome fundamental to your course (which you can then assess for YOUR GEP Foundation – handy, right?) 
  • If she will be an educator, let her practice statistical analysis for grades or assessment reports, or calculate differential equipment costs to apply for a grant for a classroom activity or a research project. 
  • Knowing she might be running a data center with her IT degree, help her use the principles of statistics to determine server loads or cybersecurity exploit probabilities.  
  • Managing a hotel or a cruise ship someday? Great, you need statistical understanding to assess your customers’ needs – how to manage operational and material costs to create flexible entertainment venues or provide value-for-cost experiences. 

Scenario 2: Student B is researching the impact of marine erosion or water quality for Introduction to Environmental Science, but you want him to make connections across content

  • Support an integrative approach by embedding a transparent process, which helps the student create a living artifact to inform both their assessor (you) and their learning community 
  • The research then becomes less about the process to arrive at a conclusion than rethinking how he can help his fellow students understand the intersections of a topic/discipline with their world 
  • This might be showing a walk on the beach before/after rainstorm which demonstrates measurements/data analysis needed to apply for a beach restoration project, or apply a core concept by observing stagnant water impacts on the fish stock while casting a line and completing fish counts for Florida Fish and Wildlife (bonus points to the student if they connect the math, statistics or political science class they are taking with your science course) 

Want to adapt your teaching methods in the GEP to inspire and connect student learning? Explore your options and join us at the Faculty Center Summer Institute this May to bring your integrative GEP course to life!