Research Paper on General Education

A Brief Description of Liberal Arts Education

Liberal arts education is learning that not only prepares but empowers individuals to handle change, diversity, and complexity. It does this by providing students with a broader knowledge on areas such as society, culture, and science. Liberal education is an approach that strives to develop a sense of social responsibility in students as well as transferable and robust practical and intellectual skills like problem-solving skills, analytical skills, and communication skills. Nonetheless, it ensures that students are in a position to apply skills and knowledge in a real-world setup (Sutton, 2017).

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Liberal arts education traces its origin in ancient Greece, where it was used as the definitive mark of an educated person. The liberal arts education has had its place in the US higher education system for an extended period, but in recent years, it has reemerged in continental Europe, where it originated. During the classical antiquity period, liberal arts acted as an essential education for a free person active in civic life. It enabled individuals to participate in public debate, perform military service as well as defending oneself in a court of law. Nonetheless, the liberal arts were used in the Roman and Greek democracies by the individuals to elect their leaders; hence 'liberating' themselves from dictators or autocrats. At this time, liberal arts education covered only three subjects namely, grammar, logic, and rhetoric. However, the subjected were extended in medieval times to include topics like astronomy, arithmetic, music, and geometry (Quacquarelli Symonds Limited, 2014). The purpose of liberal arts education was to produce ethical, knowledgeable, highly articulate and virtuous individuals.

Today, there are a lot of subjects that fall within the scope of liberal arts education. These subjects cover areas within the humanities as well as formal, social and natural sciences (Quacquarelli Symonds Limited, 2014). Additionally, liberal arts education has a lot of benefits to students. First, it gets students ready to work in a variety of jobs; this is distinct from other kinds of students where individuals advance vocational or professional skills for particular situations. Secondly, the degree is more appealing to employers in that they admire liberal arts graduates because they possess the skills necessary to cope up with a changing workplace. Thirdly, liberal arts education provides students with the skills to become valuable community members. This is because graduates can understand the problems, generate solutions and take action (Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, 2018). Fourthly, it forms an excellent basis for graduate study in business, law, healthcare or other fields; this is because liberal arts education students demonstrate the ability to learn across a diverse field of studies.

A Brief Description of General Education

General education is a form of learning that concentrates on the educational foundation of skills, values, habits of mind, and knowledge that make students ready for triumph in their majors as well as their professional and personal lives after graduation (Nicholls State University, 2018). General education aims at developing some general critical competencies in areas such as quantitative analysis, foreign languages, and writing. Also, it aims at exposing students to areas of knowledge and range of disciplines associated with the sciences and arts.

In an undergraduate program, the general education serves to support the curriculum at the beginning of a student's undergraduate career. Further, it is divided into courses that enhance particular intellectual skills, for instance, the ability to converse in a foreign language or the ability to interpret data quantitatively. Nonetheless, general education is designed to inspire students to undertake undergraduate intellectual careers (Nicholls State University, 2018). Also, it aims at stimulating a sense of intellectual and community discourse amongst students by presenting modern issues where students can engage with each other both inside and outside the classroom; this is because students come from different backgrounds and educational experiences.

In America, most undergraduate institutions require that students meet a range of educational requirements. These requirements must be satisfied for any student to be considered as 'generally educated.' Hence every student must pursue the general education regardless of their areas of specialty or interest as a way of preparing to join the outside world. One of the reasons behind the strong focus on general education in the US is the doctrine of in loco parentis; this is a doctrine which allows educational institutions to act in the best interest of students ( Kelly, 2010). Therefore, it is through the general education that educational institutions bring a student out of his or her best.

How General Education Fits Into Liberal Arts Education

The general education fits into the liberal arts education in that it provides students with broad knowledge and skills as well as specialized knowledge associated with a particular career or a major subject. For instance, the experience in writing or foreign languages can aid in greater understanding of the topics that fall in the liberal arts education. Nonetheless, as discussed earlier, the ultimate goal of general education is to bring the best out of a person. Hence, through general education one can discover what he or she is good at, therefore choosing the right career that relies on liberal arts. Thus, general education perfectly fits into liberal arts education.

Differences and Similarities in General Education Course Assignments for Residential and Online Students

The first difference between the general education course assignments for residential and online students is that in online learning all the classroom assignments consist of assigned reading and occasioned multimedia presentation. On the other hand, residential assignments heavily depend on lectures and face-to-face interaction (Top5onlinecolleges.org, 2018). The second difference is that the assignment feedback for online students is slower compared to resident ones; this is because online courses depend on writing materials and when students get stuck on something, the professor and peers cannot be readily available to provide feedback on the spot.

The third difference is that for online students, the assignment primarily depends on an individual pursuit or small groups in an online class structure. Contrarily, the course assignments for resident students are inevitably a group activity. The fourth difference is that social interaction and networking vary in the two settings, especially in group assignments. In a traditional classroom setting, students are offered a platform for interaction with only immediate peers, but online classrooms contain students from all over the country. The benefit of a large pool of personalities and locations is the ability to create a different atmosphere to the dynamics of a classroom (Top5onlinecolleges.org, 2018). Moreover, in a traditional classroom setting, the most vocal student tends to gain the advantage in a discussion. However, in a chat room, the situation is different where each student has the same opportunity. This yields an even and an open debate where the most skilled writer gets the upper hand, especially in assignments that involve discussion.

One of the similarities between the general education course assignments for online and resident students is the prerequisite to use course textbooks to prepare and complete both reading and writing assignments (Smith, 2018). Resident students use the hardcover book while a majority of online students use an electronic book. Additionally, in both settings, students are required to complete their assignments. Also, the math problem and written papers are part of both class structures (Tucker, 2017). Nonetheless, students in both class settings have access to the internet; hence research materials and websites are equally available.

Direct Methods of Assessments used in Assessing General Education Outcomes for Residential and Online Courses

Class Project

This method involves assigning individual or group tasks. This method can be used in challenging students to think beyond what they have been taught (Tech4learning, 2018). Nonetheless, this method enables students to develop better skills and knowledge.

Course-embedded Assessment

This assessment involves the use of exercises or classroom activities in determining a particular learning outcome (Maki, 2010). A course instructor can evaluate the work of a student by using a rubric. This method can be used in a class or a group of courses because it assesses what is being taught in a program's courses.

Case Studies

This assessment method takes the form of a problem-based inquiry approach as well as the use of real-life situations (The London School of Economics and Political Science, 2018). This method involves placing students in positions that they can play the role of decision-makers in addressing real-life challenges. This method can be used in evaluating the critical thinking of students as a subject in general education. Further, the process can be used in developing teamwork or communication skills by presenting organizational problems that students must solve.

References

Kelly, S. D. (2010). Speech at South China Normal University Guangzhou, China. The Purpose of General Education, 1-5.

Maki, P. L. (2010). Assessing for learning. London: Stylus Publishing, Inc.

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. (2018). Minnesota State Careerwise Education. Retrieved from What is a Liberal Arts Education?: https://careerwise.minnstate.edu/education/liberalarts.html

Nicholls State University. (2018). What is General Education? Retrieved from Nicholls State University: https://www.nicholls.edu/general-education/what-is-general-education/

Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. (2014, January 28). What is Liberal Arts Education. Retrieved from TopUniversities: https://www.topuniversities.com/blog/what-liberal-arts-education

Smith, N. (2018). Similarities between online and traditional classes. Retrieved from The Classroom: https://www.theclassroom.com/similarities-between-online-traditional-classes-8600066.html

Sutton, B. Z. (2017). What is a Liberal education. Retrieved from Association of American Colleges & Universities: https://www.aacu.org/leap/what-is-a-liberal-education

Tech4learning. (2018). Assessing student project work: Techniques to evaluate progress and ensure success . Retrieved from creative Educator: https://creativeeducator.tech4learning.com/v07/articles/Assessing_Student_Project_Work

The London School of Economics and Political Science. (2018). Case studies. Retrieved from LSE: https://info.lse.ac.uk/staff/divisions/Teaching-and-Learning-Centre/Assessment-Toolkit/Assessment-methods/Case-studies

Top5onlinecolleges.org. (2018). Notable differences between online and traditional college settings. Retrieved from Top5onlinecolleges.org: https://top5onlinecolleges.org/differences-between-online-and-traditional-college-settings/

Tucker, K. (2017, September 26). Both online and traditional classes require students to take assessments. Retrieved from Classroom and on Campus: https://classroom.synonym.com/similarities-between-taking-classes-online-campus-4755.html