2009 Annual Faculty Retreat:
Preparing Students for the Global Century
February 6, 2009 • 8:00 AM–3:00 PM • Illini Union
In the twenty-first century, the world itself is setting
very high expectations for knowledge and skill….
educators and
employers have begun to reach similar
conclusions
—
an emerging consensus—about the
kinds of
learning
Americans need from college
(National Leadership
Council for Liberal Education
and
America’s Promise, 2008, p. 2).
Theme of the Retreat
What are we doing to prepare Illinois graduates for the challenges of an increasingly complex and diverse world? The National Leadership Council for Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP), a decade-long initiative of the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), is studying this question at the national level.
Informed by vigorous faculty and campus dialogue
across
the nation, the LEAP vision for student
learning places
strong emphasis on global and
intercultural learning, technological sophistication,
collaborative problem-
solving, transferable skills,
and
real-world applications—
both civic and job-related.
In all these
emphases, LEAP repositions liberal education,
no longer as just an option
for the fortunate few,
but rather as the most practical
and powerful
preparation for “success” in all its meanings:
economic, social, civic, and personal
(Schneider, 2008, p.3).
The theme of the Faculty Retreat draws from LEAP report findings about Essential Learning Outcomes for Students and Principles of Excellence needed to prepare students for the global century. The report advocates for an education that fosters knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world, intellectual and practical skills, personal and social responsibility, and integrative learning; it also offers guidance on how to build students’ “real-world capabilities.”
In her keynote address, Joanne Munroe, a Fulbright scholar and Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Olympic College in Washington, will describe five ways that faculty members can help students acquire the skills, knowledge, and values that prepare them to effectively face the challenges of the global century:
• Reaching across courses, over time, and between campus and community life.
• Connecting skills and knowledge from multiple sources and experiences.
• Applying theory to practice in various settings.
• Utilizing diverse and even contradictory points of view.
• Understanding issues and positions contextually.
Following the keynote, members of the campus community will have multiple opportunities to explore educational practices that help students achieve the essential learning outcomes. Participants will also share ideas about how these teaching and learning practices relate to the values that underlie the Campus Strategic Plan (e.g., supporting diversity; preparing students to be leaders; encouraging creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship).
Goals of the Retreat
The goals for the Annual Faculty Retreat are to build on our collective knowledge, to share innovative ideas and approaches to enhance teaching and learning, and to develop and promote partnerships within and beyond the campus community.
