State of the GEP
BY WAYNE BOWEN, PH.D., INTERIM ASSOCIATE DEAN, COLLEGE OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES
The GEP Refresh continues! We’re making significant progress in providing Knights with world-class teaching and learning to position them for success at UCF and beyond.
The most recent AAC&U survey findings reinforced the importance of using GEP courses to help students develop skills such as critical thinking, decision-making, and communication. More than 90 percent of employers said that general education in the liberal arts is “somewhat” or “very important” in success in the workforce. At the same time, 87 percent of employers believe that a four-year college degree is “definitely” or “probably” worth the investment of time and money.
The more than 200 hundred UCF faculty members who regularly teach GEP courses play a critical role in helping students acquire these highly sought-after skills. Best of all, we share a commitment to continue to explore ways to strengthen the GEP curriculum and teaching pedagogies. Fifty percent of faculty members who regularly teach GEP courses have participated in professional development opportunities during the Refresh.
Responses to the recent GEP Refresh survey affirmed the importance of learning experiences. Ninety-one percent of respondents said that GEP faculty development opportunities had a somewhat or strongly positive impact. More than 80 percent of those surveyed found value in the General Education Learning Community.
Over the course of the year, we will build upon the GEP Refresh momentum and provide development opportunities.
Join the Fall 2021 Integrative GEP (Refresh) Virtual Teaching Squares!
BY AMY DARTY, M.A., GEP FACULTY FELLOW
Faculty members teaching GEP courses have an opportunity to participate in a self-assessment of the GEP Foundations in your courses. You’ll also be able to observe your peer faculty members’ integrative methods in online, mixed-mode, and digitally enhanced courses. The four-week mini-session promotes dialogue and reflection on incorporating the GEP Foundations through virtual instruction across course modalities.
The primary characteristics of the Integrative GEP (IGEP) (Refresh) Fall 2021 Teaching Squares are discovery and practical implementation. You’ll learn by directly observing colleagues’ teaching/design in Webcourses as an observer, leveraging digital tools and processes to interconnect the GEP Foundations, and communicating with students about the IGEP.
It is also an opportunity to engage in virtual conversations with colleagues about their IGEP approach and challenges. Each teaching square will work with the IGEP Leadership to form strategies and explore resources to put the IGEP into practice. At the end of the four-week session, you’ll have quick and realistic solutions to effectively include the IGEP Foundations in your course delivery for the Spring 2022 term and beyond. Teaching Squares sessions will take place on October 27 and November 3, 10, and 17. If you would like to participate, please register by October 22.
For additional information about the Virtual Teaching Squares program, please email Amy Darty.
Don’t Miss Fall 2021 GEP Foundation Focus Groups!
BY ANNABELLE CONROY, PH.D., GEP FACULTY FELLOW
Let us help you kickstart your assessment in the GEP! The GEP Refresh program is hosting a series of focus groups that will discuss best practices, tips and tricks, and challenges regarding the assessment process in each of the GEP Foundation areas. Focus group participants will receive a Letter of Participation.
If you have questions about the focus groups, please email Annabelle Conroy
Focus Groups Meetings:
Communication: Wednesday, October 27, 12:00 P.M.
Meeting URL: ucf.zoom.us/j/94186926682
Meeting ID: 941 8692 6682
Cultural Interaction: Thursday, October 21, 10:00 A.M.
Meeting URL: ucf.zoom.us/j/98761904114
Meeting ID: 987 6190 4114
Interpretation & Evaluation: Tuesday, October 19, 1:00 P.M.
Meeting URL: ucf.zoom.us/j/94548389074
Meeting ID: 945 4838 9074
Knowledge Application: Monday, October 18, 10:00 A.M.
Meeting URL: ucf.zoom.us/j/94605915033
Meeting ID: 946 0591 5033
Problem Solving: Friday, October 22, 1:30 P.M.
Meeting URL: ucf.zoom.us/j/95736647679
Meeting ID: 957 3664 7679
In The Next Issue
- GEP Opportunities at the FCTL Winter Conference (December 13-14)
- Assessment Task Force forming (for Spring 2022)
- So, You Want To Propose a Course for the GEP?
- Planning for the FCTL Summer Conference
If you have questions or need additional information about the GEP Refresh, please email Wayne Bowen