Liberal Arts Colleges Research Articles

코로나19상황에서의 대학 교양교육과정에 대한 학습자 요구도 탐색

Objectives The purpose of this study is to analyze learners' perceptions and necessity of the university liberal arts curriculum at the time when the government's COVID-19 prevention policy was in full swing. For this purpose, 475 students taking liberal arts courses at A Univ. located in the metropolitan area were evaluated on their experiences of taking liberal arts courses, awareness and necessity of lecture structure, learning activities, academic achievement, academic achievement, and evaluation. Methods As an analysis method, as a result of examining the requirement ranking by factor through the Borich’s Requirement Formula and the The Locus for Focus Model, it was found that there was a statistically significant difference in the t-test for importance and current level. Results First, the content showing the highest trend among the teachers' requests for lesson design perceived by learners was the composition of various theoretical lectures and learning activities tailored to liberal arts subjects. Second, it is necessary for teachers to improve students' ability to solve problems and think through liberal arts classes, and to have frequent opportunities for mutual communication between professors and learners. Third, students perceived positively both at the current level and importance in relation to the liberal arts class grade evaluation. Fourth, students gave an overall positive evaluation of the current liberal arts curriculum. Conclusions The researcher first needs to reinforce the lesson design that can communicate well with each other regardless of the type of class in order to increase the educational performance and effectiveness between professors and learners. It was suggested that universities and professors are required to prepare a standard system that can autonomously design lessons according to new lesson types and monitor learners' learning performance.

코로나19상황에서의 대학 교양교육과정에 대한 학습자 요구도 탐색

Objectives The purpose of this study is to analyze learners' perceptions and necessity of the university liberal arts curriculum at the time when the government's COVID-19 prevention policy was in full swing. For this purpose, 475 students taking liberal arts courses at A Univ. located in the metropolitan area were evaluated on their experiences of taking liberal arts courses, awareness and necessity of lecture structure, learning activities, academic achievement, academic achievement, and evaluation. Methods As an analysis method, as a result of examining the requirement ranking by factor through the Borich’s Requirement Formula and the The Locus for Focus Model, it was found that there was a statistically significant difference in the t-test for importance and current level. Results First, the content showing the highest trend among the teachers' requests for lesson design perceived by learners was the composition of various theoretical lectures and learning activities tailored to liberal arts subjects. Second, it is necessary for teachers to improve students' ability to solve problems and think through liberal arts classes, and to have frequent opportunities for mutual communication between professors and learners. Third, students perceived positively both at the current level and importance in relation to the liberal arts class grade evaluation. Fourth, students gave an overall positive evaluation of the current liberal arts curriculum. Conclusions The researcher first needs to reinforce the lesson design that can communicate well with each other regardless of the type of class in order to increase the educational performance and effectiveness between professors and learners. It was suggested that universities and professors are required to prepare a standard system that can autonomously design lessons according to new lesson types and monitor learners' learning performance.

Student misconceptions of dynamic programming: a replication study

ABSTRACT Background and Context We replicated and expanded on previous work about how well students learn dynamic programming, a difficult topic for students in algorithms class. Their study interviewed a number of students at one university in a single term. We recruited a larger sample size of students, over several terms, in both large public and private universities as well as liberal arts colleges. Objective Our aim was to investigate whether the results of the previous work generalized to other universities and also to larger groups of students. Method We interviewed students who completed the relevant portions of their algorithms class, asking them to solve problems. We observed the students' problem solving process to glean insight into how students tackle these problems. Findings We found that students generally struggle in three ways, “technique selection,” ”recurrence building,” and “inefficient implementations.” We then explored these themes and specific misconceptions qualitatively. We observed that the misconceptions found by the previous work generalized to the larger sample of students. Implications Our findings demonstrate areas in which students struggle, paving way for better algorithms education by means of identifying areas of common weakness to draw the focus of instructors.

Exploring the Colgate Model: A Case Study of the Role of Crisis and Risk Communication in Higher Education

This study of a return to in-person learning during the COVID-19 pandemic at a residential, liberal arts university examines the role communication played to facilitate the safety of students, faculty, staff, and the surrounding community. The study uses a grounded-theory approach to frame the communication situation, and a thematic analysis to highlight the dynamics of risk and crisis message development in the case. Results indicate that messaging was developed through engagement activities in a two-stage process, moving from an informative, two-way engagement stage to a branded, strategic stage that resulted in almost universal success, measured in low infection rates, in the messaging campaign. How did they do it? This article explores that question and, based on this case, concludes that the role of crisis and risk communication is to enable this two-stage process of message development. The article contributes to mental model and situational crisis communication theory by revealing the interplay of the two theoretical approaches.

대학 교양교육에서 인류세(Anthropocene) 위기의 심화와 대응방안에 대한 포커스 그룹 인터뷰

Objectives Recognizing that anthropology has a significant impact on the global environment at the level of liberal arts education in universities, we intend to seek ways to deepen and respond to the anthropological crisis through a Focus Group Interview. Methods Focus group interviews (FGI) were conducted four times for 14 students of the Anthropocene Project at OOO Research Institute in the second semester of 2021 at D University. It was conducted four times in consideration of the ethical aspects of the study participants, and all data were categorized and analyzed through the transcription process. Results Three themes, 10 semantic categories, and 20 semantic units were derived from the Anthropocene's ‘Yesterday’, ‘Today’, and ‘Tomorrow’. In “Anthropocene Yesterday,” “Anthropocene” was recognized as an unfamiliar word, but through this project, it became an opportunity to reflect on the environment with awareness of the anthropocene crisis, and in “Anthropocene Today,” mankind is paying a price for human activities. As a result, concerns were expressed about the deepening of the anthropological crisis by confirming weather changes, environmental destruction, and garbage islands. “Anthropocene Tomorrow” proposed artificial dome, artificial sun, frozen ark, and liberal arts anthropocene Contents as reflections on human activities, interest and practice at the individual and national level, and long-term countermeasures. Conclusions By examining various aspects of the global environment of the Anthropocene in university liberal arts education, the research is meaningful in that it understands the crisis of global ecology through insights into the root causes and solutions that led to the Anthropocene problem.

The Current State of Undergraduate Bayesian Education and Recommendations for the Future

As a result of the increased emphasis on mis- and over-use of p-values in scientific research and the rise in popularity of Bayesian statistics, Bayesian education is becoming more important at the undergraduate level. With the advances in computing tools, Bayesian statistics is also becoming more accessible for undergraduates. This study focuses on analyzing Bayesian courses for undergraduates. We explored whether an undergraduate Bayesian course is offered in our sample of 152 high-ranking research universities and liberal arts colleges. For each identified Bayesian course, we examined how it fits into the institution’s undergraduate curricula, such as majors and prerequisites. Through a series of course syllabi analyses, we explored the topics covered and their popularity in these courses, and the adopted teaching and learning tools, such as software. This article presents our findings on the current practices of teaching full Bayesian courses at the undergraduate level. Based on our findings, we provide recommendations for programs that may consider offering Bayesian courses to their students.

Wrenching Torque

Wrenching Torque

팟캐스트를 활용한 대학 교양 인성교육의 효과

This study conducted model classes for 13 weeks to examine the effectiveness of the Personality Education Adapting Podcast as a teaching material in university liberal arts education curriculum. Based on teaching and learning methods, Flipped Learning and Task based Learning, the course was planned as following two stages. The first stage was listening to podcast contents and reading texts related to the main topic of the podcast as an assignment before the class; and second stage was participating in discussion and in-depth activities focusing on the topic during class. By implementing Factor Analysis on the opinions from 122 respondents collected through surveys taken twice at pre and post class, four main factors were extracted; [satisfaction with the class], [recognition of personality], [satisfaction with my personality], and [recognition of effectiveness of the podcast]. The impression essays were analyzed by applying Delphi method and repeating the process of categorization and keyword extraction through continuous discussion among three experts. Comparing the results from pre and post class surveys by taking Paired Sample t-Test, [satisfaction with the class] factor increased from 3.93 before class to 4.38 after class, and [recognition of personality] factor rose about 0.49, from 4.09 before class to 4.58 after class. [Satisfaction with my personality] factor increased about 0.66 from 3.45 before class to 4.11 after class and the last factor, [recognition of effectiveness of podcast] improved about 0.68 from 3.21 before class to 3.89 after class. Moreover, as keywords and frequency of keyword usage elicited from analyzing impression essays supported the results from quantitative data analysis, it was possible to verify effectiveness of the class with various dimensions. It is hoped that the results of this study will contribute to production and design of educational digital contents dealing with personality education and to the research on personality education utilizing digital contents in university.

Cross-sectional Study of College Students’ Depression, Coping Techniques, and Health Risk Behaviors during the Initial Transition to Remote Learning: COVID-19 Pandemic

Objective: COVID-19 has brought many challenges to college campuses. In this cross-sectional study, we assessed depression, coping, and past 30-day health risk behaviors of college students attending a mid-sized liberal arts university in Florida. Methods: We sent a survey link to all undergraduates. The data, which included depression scores (PHQ-9), coping techniques (Brief COPE), health risk behaviors (alcohol and vape use) and demographics were collected approximately 40 days after the university transitioned from face-to-face to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. We used descriptive and regression analyses using SPSS to analyze data. Results: A total 45.6% of the respondents (N = 759) self-reported moderate to severe depression (PHQ-9 mean= 9.96, SD = 6.2). Students indicated positive and negative coping strategies. Alcohol and vape use increased with higher depressive symptoms scores (p < 0.01). Seniors had a greater odds of alcohol consumption (p < .01); however, freshmen and juniors had greater odds of vape use. Our data revealed some opportunities for positive behavior change. Conclusion: The online transition did modify students’ behaviors. Students who self-reported depressive symptoms were most vulnerable to adopting greater risk behaviors. These students require ongoing monitoring and resources. Colleges should implement rapid assessment of students’ depressive status and risk behaviors during volatile times.

A Study on the Performance of Self-evaluation of Vocational Basic Competency in Non-face-to-face Classes in College Liberal Arts

The purpose of this study is to analyze the outcome of instruction and the implication of improving university student’s vocational basic competency evaluation of non-face instruction in the “untact” era. The contents of this study were the theorectical analysis of competency-based evaluation, and the different analysis of Vocational Basic Competency between pretest and post-test self-evaluation surveys. The subjects of this study were the students enrolled in two Leadership instructional programs and two interpersonal relations instructional programs in the field of liberal arts at Shinhan University. Looking at the results of this study, the results of self-evaluation of the vocational basic competency of students before and after class showed significant differences at the 0.01 level in all 10 vocational basic competency categories and 34 sub-elements. There was no significant difference when it came to the grade and subject of the students. In addition, in the survey on non-face-to-face video classes, 31% of students responded that they were effective, while 69% said such classes were ineffective. The advantages of the untact video classes were 67.7% for repeated listening and 22.9% for time utilization. According to the students, the disadvantages of the untact video classes were as follows: 44.3% for the burden felt by weekly tasks, 20.6% for the lack of rapport between the professor and the students, and 17.5% for the lack of student communication. As for the appropriate ratio of untact classes, 49.4% responded that a proper ratio would be in the range of 20% to 50%. Based on the above students' self-evaluation results of vocational basic competency before and after class, and the results of opinion surveys regarding untact classes, future policies are proposed at the student, professor, university, and national level. Students need to self-diagnose and manage their vocational basic competency. Also, professors need to strengthen the national competency ability, and strengthen their untact online class capabilities. Universities need to upgrade their cyber systems, establish a curriculum development program, and develop management systems to improve vocational basic competency. The state needs to expand its financial support to strengthen the performance of cyber systems and to develop a manual for the operation of liberal arts education, as well as to compile a collection of best practices to enhance vocational basic competency.

A Study on the Concept and Validity of 'Competency-Based Education' in University Liberal Arts Education

This study will discuss three topics. First, whether competency-based education as a national educational policy has validity, second, if competency-based education is applicable to liberal arts education at universities, and third, how members in charge of liberal arts education perceive competency-based education. First, this paper revealed that the definition of 'competency' originated from evaluating the specific job performance ability of individuals belonging to an organization. In this way, the concept of “competency” considered in the strategic aspect of the organization has expanded to be essential to a person’s “success in life” according to the OECD's “DeCo Project,” the EU's “Key Components” agreement, and the US P21 Committee's proposal for the 21st century. Based on the concept of core competencies, the Korean government implemented competency-based curriculum reorganization in public education, and accordingly aimed at the input and output of elementary, middle, high school, and university education, that is, it quantified educational effects and employment rates. Second, this fact was supported through examples of competency-based curriculums at domestic and foreign universities. In foreign countries, competency-based curriculum is selectively applied to practical and professional fields rather than pure learning and liberal arts. Even if it is conducted by the government, it is given considerable autonomy within universities and plays a role in providing necessary support, which is different from the examples found in Korea. Third, in this study a survey was conducted on the perception of 'competency-based education' for university instructors. As a result of the survey, respondents of this survey recognized that it was difficult to apply competency to the teaching-learning process or achievement evaluation process because each university did not sufficiently collect opinions from instructors when setting core competencies and mapping core competencies for their subjects. In addition, competency-based education contributes to enhancing the competencies required by the current society, and it is expected to be effective when applied to specific subjects with instrumental, practical, and professional characteristics. However, it is expecting too much for it to be applied to the entire liberal arts area. In conclusion, this study revealed that competency-based education can be effective only in certain fields, but it cannot be an educational method encompassing liberal arts education, including the humanities, society, and the arts. In addition, this study also revealed that competency-based education is not appropriate as a government’s policy for public education and university education based on various perspectives, such as the theoretical approach, case studies, and perception surveys.

Political citizenship experiments: young people’s quotidian politics and (a)political subjectivities in East Asian liberal arts universities

ABSTRACT Higher education spaces are where ideas about citizenships, social norms, and values are mediated between state and youth citizens. In recent years, there has been a rise of new American-style liberal arts initiatives in East Asia, and yet little attention paid to the interface between liberal arts education and youth politics in this region. This article draws upon qualitative research conducted between 2017 and 2019 at two liberal arts universities in Shanghai and Singapore to examine how students fashion political subjectivities and meanings within the spaces that they live and learn in. It argues for a capacious conceptualisation of youth politics to analyse political subjectivities and sentiments as enmeshed in a relational field tied to wider-scale understandings of social movements and progressive ideals. To do so, conventional framings of universities as sites of political mobilisations need to be recast as sites of political citizenship experiments.

Being an academic retiree: a qualitative, follow-up study of women academics in the Republic of Ireland

PurposeRetirement is a complex process that can impact daily lives and relationships. While some gender differences in academic retirement experiences have been noted, few studies have focused exclusively on women academics’ retirement experiences. This follow-up study aims to explore the meaning of retirement and its impact on retired women academics' daily lives and relationships over time from an occupational perspective.Design/methodology/approachUsing a qualitative, longitudinal descriptive design, semi-structured interviews (n= 11) were completed with women retirees from one university and an academically linked university-level, college of education and liberal arts, in the Republic of Ireland (n= 11). This paper presents the findings of follow-up interviews conducted one year later (n= 10). Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke’s six-phase thematic analysis. A longitudinal analysis was then undertaken using a recurrent cross-sectional approach (Grossoehme and Lipstein, 2016) to enable discussion of changes and continuity that had occurred over time in their daily lives.FindingsThe analysis yielded four themes: (i) continuing to navigate occupational identity challenges, (ii) structuring free time, (iii) appreciating health and well-being and (iv) continuing meaningful professional relationships and activities. Participants described on-going occupational identity challenges linked with contextual factors and experiences of occupational injustices of lack of recognition, lack of inclusion and a lack of choice to continue working in their paid academic employment.Originality/valueThese findings suggest that occupational therapists advocate for older adults, so that meaningful choices in retirement timing can be offered to all equally and so that older people are acknowledged for their contributions to society.

Digging at the Roots: A Reply to Naoko Saito's American Philosophy in Translation

Digging at the Roots: A Reply to Naoko Saito's <i>American Philosophy in Translation</i>

About the Authors

About the Authors

Exploring the Connection between Adult Playfulness and Emotional Intelligence

This study explored the connection between adult playfulness and emotional intelligence. Participants were 325 (39 men, 286 women) primarily European American, (59%), undergraduate students attending a private, four year, liberal arts university in the northeastern United States. Participants completed two standard measures – The Schutte Self Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT) and The Adult Playfulness Trait Scale (APTS). In addition, participants completed an open ended query – “How do you define play?” to complement the correlation analyses. Correlational analyses revealed strong, positive connections between the SSEIT and APTS subscale and total scores. The Fun Seeking subscale of the APTS positively connected to all subscales of the SSEIT. Engaging in fun and having a good time was a playfulness component and temperamental disposition that helps one perceive, manage, and utilize emotions as well as manage the emotions of social others. The Uninhibited subscale of the APTS connected positively to two of the SSEIT subscales – Managing one’s emotions and Utilizing emotions. Finally, individuals who scored high on the APTS also scored high on the SSEIT. This study’s findings suggest that the temperamental disposition, playfulness connects to an individual’s emotional intelligence. Future studies might investigate different cultural and age groups and utilize mixed method approaches to broaden our understanding of how playfulness helps people process emotional experience related to the self and social others.&amp;nbsp;

University student perceptions of health and disease during remote learning in the COVID-19 pandemic

Objectives Assess student perceptions of health and disease during remote learning in the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants Convenience sample of undergraduate students at a liberal arts university (n = 67). Methods Survey administered across multiple sections of a required general education course in Spring 2020. Measures included Fear of COVID-19 Scale, Multidimensional Health Locus of Control, Perceived Health Competence, and COVID-19 perceived impact on students’ communities and wellbeing. Results Students reported relatively low levels of fear about COVID-19, not differing by number or severity of known cases or community impact (p = 0.67, 0.55, 0.11, respectively). Stress and mental health were priority concerns over infectious diseases. Students reported negatively affected emotional (70%) and interpersonal (67%) wellbeing; unexpectedly, over half of students reported positive impacts in ≥ one wellness dimension. Conclusions Student-identified concerns emphasized psychosocial wellbeing, suggesting additional need for mental health resources. Low perceived threat of infectious diseases may present barriers to COVID-19-related prevention behaviors.

Introduction to the Symposium on Macroeconomic Research at Liberal Arts Colleges

Introduction to the Symposium on Macroeconomic Research at Liberal Arts Colleges

Who Are We Missing? Conducting a Diversity Audit in a Liberal Arts College Library

In the spring of 2021, Thomas Tredway Library at Augustana College undertook an audit of the library's print book collection to determine if there were gaps in representation of the voices of authors of differing races/ethnicities; genders; or sexual orientations. With the results of this audit, Augustana College librarians now have a better understanding of which voices and perspectives are missing and/or underrepresented in the print collection. This article documents the audit methodology; shares the results; and provides suggestions and a toolkit for other libraries to use in audits of their own.

Literacy, Curriculum, and Pedagogies: Considerations for Anthropologists Teaching First-Year Composition

Despite the fact that this article began as a formal response to Chattaraj (2020), it serves a larger purpose in contextualizing the first-year composition classroom and the training required to provide effective instruction to students across all academic fields. Although an anthropologically-minded approach to the teaching of writing can be quite beneficial, suggesting that an anthropologist can—or even should—assume the responsibilities of first-year composition without additional training is ill-advised. To this end, this article draws upon not only the prior literature on Composition/Rhetoric, but also on the place and benefits of writing in the anthropology classroom more generally. Because the initial publication (i.e. Chattaraj, 2020) relied strictly on personal anecdotal evidence for academic success in a particular classroom setting at a liberal arts university, the findings are not generalizable to most post-secondary institutions due to the institutional accreditation requirements for educators, the concerning statistics on the literacy rates of incoming undergraduate students, the general objectives of curricular pathways, and the remarkable consistency found in first-year composition courses. As a result, this response presents a transparent overview of the first-year composition classroom and offers concrete suggestions for anthropologists who endeavour to support writing across the curriculum and/or in the disciplines.