Undergraduate Curriculum Reform Research Articles

Unpacking the 4C's: Evaluating the Integration of 21st Century Skills in Pakistan's New Undergraduate Curriculum

This article presents a critical review of the recent undergraduate curriculum reform in higher education in Pakistan, focusing specifically on the integration of 21st-century skills into the new curriculum. This initiative emphasizes the 4C skills—critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration—as central to the revamped courses. The article explores the effectiveness and potential impact of incorporating these 21st-century skills into the curriculum, as well as the challenges that may arise during their practical, on-the-ground implementation. Diverging significantly from Pakistan's traditional English as a Foreign Language teaching model, which is largely based on the grammar translation method within a teacher-centric, delivery-based classroom, the new courses adopt a Project-Based Learning (PBL) approach. This approach aims to prepare students for effective participation in today's world by engaging them in authentic language use and project-based activities. The review examines the integration of the 4C skills into the curriculum and compares this with global contexts reported in current research literature to identify common difficulties. Overall, this review contributes to the critical research literature on educational reform in language education at the tertiary level, providing insights into the potential benefits and significant challenges of implementing a curriculum that includes the 4C skills.

A Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) Pathway Model in Mathematics

Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) were originally developed by biologists to answer the call for undergraduate curriculum reform and expose more students to authentic research experiences [Wei and Woodin. 2011. Undergraduate research experiences in biology: Alternatives to the apprenticeship model. CBE Life Sciences Education. 10(2): 111–230]. Since their creation CUREs have been well developed in certain sciences, but Math CUREs are all but absent from the literature. Like biology, math programs suffer from a lack of research experiences and many students are not able to participate in events like REUs. In this paper, we propose a Math CURE model. We will discuss our experiences and data obtained from CUREs implemented in our courses and our plans for future projects and iterations of the Math CUREs.

The Power of Partnerships: Changing People and Systems

Abstract This is a story of partnership, investing, and planned change. It is a story of tremendous learning and growth, anticipated outcomes, and a few surprises. The process of undergraduate curriculum reform at Pace University, in conjunction with grant preparation, led to the development of partnerships between and among individuals. As these partnerships evolved, organizations, people, and systems changed.

Evaluation of undergraduate curriculum reform for interdisciplinary learning

In this study, science faculty and educators collaboratively developed a plan to evaluate an interdisciplinary science curriculum and its administration policy. The science faculty were engaged in determining criteria for evaluation and interpreting data. The collaborative evaluation stressed graduate attributes in the affective domain and provided a dynamic for curriculum revision. Four cohorts of students voluntarily completed scales that measured their attitudes toward interdisciplinary study, course-taking patterns, and career choice. The results suggested that students’ involvement and learning loadings were crucial to the effectiveness of the reform. Moreover, the traditional policy at Asian universities that requires entrants to declare a major should be changed, as most university entrants are not certain enough about their interests and abilities to make an appropriate decision about their major at such an early stage.

Editors' Notes

New Directions for Teaching and LearningVolume 2001, Issue 85 p. 1-6 Editors' Notes Alice G. Reinarz, Alice G. Reinarz Alice Goodwin Reinarz is currently director of the Academic Advising Center for the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LS&A) at the University of Michigan. She is also director of Inteflex, a joint program of the college and the University of Michigan Medical School. As an adjunct associate professor of biology, she currently teaches a class on infectious diseases as part of the LS&A First Year Seminar Program. A recipient of the 1990 Carski Foundation Outstanding Teaching Award for the American Society for Microbiology, she has also published in the areas of undergraduate curriculum reform, and careers for science majors and academic advising.Search for more papers by this authorEric R. White, Eric R. White Eric R. White is executive director of the Division of Undergraduate Studies and affiliate assistant professor of education at The Pennsylvania State University. He has been president of the Association of Deans and Directors of University Colleges and Undergraduate Divisions. He has held elected and appointed positions in the National Academic Advising Association and is currently treasurer of that organization. In 1998 the Division of Undergraduate Studies won the Outstanding Institutional Advising Program Award in recognition of innovative and exemplary practice in academic advising.Search for more papers by this author Alice G. Reinarz, Alice G. Reinarz Alice Goodwin Reinarz is currently director of the Academic Advising Center for the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LS&A) at the University of Michigan. She is also director of Inteflex, a joint program of the college and the University of Michigan Medical School. As an adjunct associate professor of biology, she currently teaches a class on infectious diseases as part of the LS&A First Year Seminar Program. A recipient of the 1990 Carski Foundation Outstanding Teaching Award for the American Society for Microbiology, she has also published in the areas of undergraduate curriculum reform, and careers for science majors and academic advising.Search for more papers by this authorEric R. White, Eric R. White Eric R. White is executive director of the Division of Undergraduate Studies and affiliate assistant professor of education at The Pennsylvania State University. He has been president of the Association of Deans and Directors of University Colleges and Undergraduate Divisions. He has held elected and appointed positions in the National Academic Advising Association and is currently treasurer of that organization. In 1998 the Division of Undergraduate Studies won the Outstanding Institutional Advising Program Award in recognition of innovative and exemplary practice in academic advising.Search for more papers by this author First published: 04 February 2002 https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.21AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume2001, Issue85Special Issue: Beyond Teaching to MentoringSpring 2001Pages 1-6 RelatedInformation

Restructuring for Strategic Outcomes

AbstractRestructuring in higher education is ultimately based on the need to continuously improve the learning experience for students and to prepare them for a constantly changing job market. Engineering programs are expected to prepare their graduates for success and leadership in business, industry, consulting, government, and education. Such preparation, of necessity, must display agility in responding to changing needs during times of uncertain and dwindling resources. For this reason, the College of Engineering and Science of Louisiana Tech University has been restructured to achieve significant improvement in accomplishing its objectives. This article describes the rationale and process of restructuring the college, aligning the budget according to the new structure, and developing a strategic plan in the context of an integrated structure and with the goal of achieving strategic outcomes. Early measurable successes in undergraduate curriculum reform, graduate curriculum, and research activity are reported.