Disciplinary Depth: Common Learning and the Major

CLA Document

The task of achieving the six Common Learning Objectives applies to courses in the major as well as to those outside the major. The first objective states this explicitly: "Integrating compartmentalized disciplinary knowledge and multiple perspectives, balancing study in the major with the kind of study that provides students with competing views on complex problems." Many faculty have observed that the goals of general education should be, and often are, goals for the entire curriculum. Our colleagues have pointed to the many ways in which these goals have shaped the content, the structure, or the pedagogical approach already in place in the courses that are taught in every department. Common learning thus occurs not only outside the major but also within the context of the major's requirements for depth and specialization. The GEC recommends, therefore, that departments and programs undertake a review of the relationship of their major to the Common Learning Objectives. These reviews would enable us to meet the second Strategic Goal in Foundations for the Future, "The six common learning objectives ... should be conceived as the special province of neither 'general education' courses nor the major, but of both."

In recent years, departments have devoted considerable energy and effort to curricular discussions. Some have strengthened their existing curricula, while others have effected changes in the structure and requirements for the major. They have attempted to address the changing backgrounds of students electing a particular major, developed opportunities for further specialization within the major, sought to create distribution requirements within the major, engaged new pedagogical approaches in the study of the discipline, and provided opportunities for students to pursue their own creative projects. Such developments are consistent with the goals set out in the Foundations document, even though many of them precede the Faculty's adoption of the document.

The departmental reviews recommended here might take as their point of departure the Bucknell Mission Statement, the Strategic Goals from Foundations for the Future, and the Pedagogical Goals for Disciplinary Breadth courses in addition to the Common Learning Objectives. As they examine this set of complex goals through a disciplinary, departmental, or programmatic lens, faculty may feel that it would be appropriate to consider some revision in the major, building on those aspects of the current program that are meeting these goals while developing new courses, new programs, or new approaches as they deem appropriate. The process of examining the major will, of course, require careful deliberations. We recommend that, over a period of time not to exceed five years, all departments and programs undertake this review. The Curriculum Committee will work with departments and programs to facilitate the reviews.